#i'd draw this but i'm too lazy just imagine i did

[slimey-wallz]

I think I made this back in November!!

Found it in a notebook and thought I'd post it here!!!! ❤️💫✨

[sillyrabbit81]

Fuse

Prompt: Sleepy & Lazy, Daddy Kink from @myaimlessuniverse (x) Thank you so much for sending the prompt in. Sorry its taken so long.

Pairing: Captain Syverson x Female Reader

Word Count: Approx. 600

Warnings: Smut, daddy kink, praise kink, probably some dd/lg vibes (I don't know! maybe!), p in v sex, Sy POV

Authors Note: Hi... Been a while... Probably not what you expected, but I swear I'm working on the Brotherhood, but I also have quite a few of these left so I thought I'd knock one out as a warm up for the smut I'm trying to write in the Brotherhood (the Brotherhood won't have daddy kink in it fyi) I'm not feeling Daddy kink like I used to and so I tried to write this a little different from what I had done before. Fingers crossed! As always I need to thank my amazing mate and reader @nashibirne , your thoughtful and honest comments are always appreciated. I also need to thank @augustsprincess for her reading and suggestions.

It was edited by me, on the fly, there will be errors

Dividers by me.

Masterlist

Celebration Masterlist

Sy tightens his jaw and he breathes out a ragged curse through his teeth as he slips past your slick, velvet folds and into your silken heat. He watches, enthralled by the utterly carnal vision of himself disappearing inside your impossibly tight core.

“Stop,” you gasp and he peers up at you perched precariously above him. 

Your thighs tremble beneath his hands and it takes everything he has to stop himself from grabbing your hips and sliding your blossoming core all the way down his cock.

“You’re doing so well, babygirl,” he says, dropping his gaze back to the explicit view between your legs. 

You’ve only taken the tip of him inside yourself and already he feels that tingle brewing in the base of his spine. He’s waited so long for you, longer than he ever thought he’d wait for anyone and he could barely stand it.

“Just a little more, I know you can do it.”

“Daddy,” you whimper. “You’re too big.”

He groans as sweat breaks out over his forehead. “Fuck, baby. You’re killin’ me here.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” you say, in a voice that quivers as much as your pouty bottom lip.

Sy’s heart breaks and he sits up drawing you to his chest. “Hush. You did so good for me baby. Daddy’s proud of you for tryin’.” 

With the tip of his cock still trapped within your snug pussy, he rocks you slowly, murmuring his sweet praise in your ear as he strokes your hair. His thumb caresses your cheek and he smiles when he feels your soft lips against his pad. His cock pulses inside of you as your plush tongue curls around him and you begin to suck. It doesn’t take long for him to feel your quivering body relax against him. He closes his eyes, content as he feels you hum happily within his arms.

He doesn’t really notice at first, he thinks the soft warmth enveloping his cock must be his imagination. Then he hears you moan.

“Babygirl?” he murmurs, softly.

“Hmm?”

He looks at your pretty head resting on his shoulder. You look almost asleep, your eyes seem to have trouble focussing and you’re still sucking hard on his thumb. But then you sigh and nuzzle into his neck while you roll your hips and there’s no doubt about it, you’re slowly sinking lower onto his cock.

“That’s my girl,” he growls into your ear. “That my good fuckin’ girl.”

Sy clenches his jaw to keep himself in check, each moment you rock your hips and take more of him into you is the most exquisite torture he’s ever had. 

“Am I doing good, Daddy?” you ask, hesitantly, dropping his thumb from your mouth.

He’s trembling as much as you were earlier. He has no idea how you can’t see how much you’re affecting him, that you can’t see that in this moment he’d give you everything, anything, just for a little bit more of your sweet pussy.

“So good baby,” he groans. “But don’t stop, Daddy needs more.”

He has to lay down, he has to see his thickness stretch you open. He holds your hips firmly, keeping you in place as he falls back to the bed. His mouth falls open as he watches the last of his cock vanish and your bodies completely fuse. 

He can’t hold it back, that orgasm that threatened from the start tore through his spine and his hips bucked up from the mattress. His eyes force themselves shut as hot pulses surge through him and even though he can’t see anymore, the image of your bodies finally together is burned into his psyche.

[angermango]

"I'm not cooking or anything, this is just a silly idea- (looks down at canvas) ffffuuuu--"

...

so, first I only wanted to draw Professor Layton with a Reiterpallasch from Bloodborne because haha funny hat man with gun-sword, but then i ended up drafting concept art for "Laytonborne", apparently.

"Puzzles all over the shop... You'll be stuck on one of them, sooner or later."

extra artist commentary:

Layton

yes, this really did just start with me wanting to give Layton a Reiterpallasch because he's a canonical fencer and Bloodborne trick weapons absolutely slap. The Reiterpallasch is literally a rapier with a pistol attached that can mechanically switch to prime either the blade first or the gun first so you can stab and shoot someone at the same time.

Giving Hershel the Bloodborne makeover was kind of funny because he wears such a simple look in canon it was hard striking the right balance between his recognisable look and BB aestheic since Bloodborne loves embellishment especially via lots of belts/buckles and those weird shoulder-cape things. I tried to keep it simple enough though because as much as i think he could pull off a hunter ensemble i don't want to have to keep track of all the funky bits. the Top Hat Stays, of course.

Aurora

Aurora is eerily good a fit in a Soulsborne-esque setting considering she fits the criteria for a "Soulsborne maiden" classic archetype sort of character: After all she's a mysterious pale-haired young woman with mystical origins/powers and a foreign-sounding accent and may or may not have some connection to the wider lore and powers that be of the setting. hell even her whole thing being a golem works in a way as even Bloodborne has artificial humans existing as a concept.

i got a little lazy with changing up her dress for both time and lack of inspiration. I thought maybe i'd really do her up but then I chickened out that her costume wouldn't be recognisable any more so just slapped a belt and some patterns on the shawl bit and called it a night :P (if i'd been braver/more motivated she'd probably look good in an approximation of the White Church set, something like that)

and yeah so as the sketches off to the side are like, no real clue how/why it might be triggered but imagine her having the potential to be an optional boss or something (and she'd whoop your ass)

Flora

idk tho Flora also seems like she could be a good contender for the "Soulsborne maiden" position too in a way, or even if not her whole character and story fits into the world quite well. especially with Bloodborne having the Plain Doll who is a sentient doll made in the image of someone her creator loved/was obsessed with and Flora living in a village of human-like robots which started after her father tried to build a replacement for her dead mother.

Her dress is a combination of all her canon costumes across the games. The fur-trim shoulder cape is from one official art of her, the short shawl and white sleeves and bit around her waist is based on her first dress, and the rest of the dress design is based on her second and third game appearance.

The 'Doll Flora' concept there at the end is just some idea of a false/clone Flora running around as well. She's got some little differences including elements of other parts of Flora's designs over the years that aren't on OG Flora, such as the sash and shoes.

Anton

Anton fits in scarily well to the Bloodborne-y setting, perhaps not too surprisingly given the whole 'vampire' thingy. I sort of envision Folsense and Herzen Castle being a bit like the Castle Cainhurst area of Bloodborne which leans more into the classic gothic horror of a remote and looming haunted castle occupied by a sinister enigmatic character.

And yes, that is a reference to the infamous "LAYTOOON" scream from his canon 'boss fight' in the second game - imagine the whole steaming up and screaming thing being like his boss phase transition animation.

The whole 'withers to an old man/husk' concept seems so very Soulsborne-y it really just fits yknow. like if you defeat him he shrivels up/ages to dust or whatever. RIP gassed-up grandpa.

I partly rizzed up his suit using inspiration of the Cainhurst Knight set because like. come on. it's too good to pass up the chance to pretty up with and looks a lot like his canon suit in parts.

Did I trace the foyer background art for Herzen Castle for the mockup just for laffs, only to realise partway that 1) Layton and Anton actually fought in the ballroom, and 2) the ballroom would actually make a much better boss arena setting because it's wide open and the arch from the front room leading into the ballroom could totally be the 'boss fog door' part better than the front room?

...so yeah I then drew the ballroom background without tracing this time like a true madman and had a hell of a time with perspective but the plus side is we also get the sword collection from the game there as a cameo because in Laytonborne the good professor brought his own already.

The Masked Gentleman / Randall

Had a bit of a time deciding how to Bloodborne-ify this guy because his suit in canon is actually really. really boring. it's just a white suit like cmon. so to give it that Bloodborne makeover I fell back on the classic shoulder-cape thing that almost all Bloodborne characters have, added some patterns and accessories based on the Mask of Chaos' patterns and the Decorative Old Hunter's set from the Old Hunters DLC (in the leg brace, forearm guard and the hints of gold chains around the upper arms).

He also gets a Threaded Cane, another trick weapon of Bloodborne fame which is as it suggests: A cane weapon that works a bit like a baton/sword combo but in its alternate form it's a whip covered in serrated metal blades which form the cane itself when locked together.

It seems very appropriate for Randall to be like a boss who starts out as the Masked Gentleman and then at half-or-less health you break his mask, reveal Randall and then wings burst out of his back as he enters his second phase rage mode. This concept part felt more DSouls-y than Bloodborne-y to me i think since Bloodborne is less fantastical and leans more into the body horror/monstrous kind of boss transitions? But at the same time it was too good an opportunity to pass on at least sketching out, plus get you some sick fallen angel imagery out of it.

Also the hanging arm pose miiight be a bit inspired by Artorias of the Abyss. just a bit.

Descole

i recall seeing a post somewhere once with this very low-res rare art of Descole sitting in a throne from somewhere i have no idea what it was for. and I remember it kinda reminded me of Lady Maria's promotional art for the Old Hunters DLC so that's why the last picture of Descole exists.

mf already dresses so extra i legit could think of nothing to add to make him more Bloodborne-y unlike the others. I also used his canon sword's design from the games with a custom sheath because again couldn't really think of anything more to do to make him fit more when he's already got a cool signature weapon to show off.

[ash-asteroid]

Winx "Flower Princess" gowns redesign kinda.

I say kinda because I struggle with dresses. And it's more practice for me. Man, I can't believe I was a winx kid that draws and can't design dresses. Probably a by-product of my "I'm not like other girl phases." Anyway gonna ramble about the designs a little.

I did the flower princess ones first because they are my least favorite gowns of the series. I think it's mainly the flowers, so I tone them down, having them being more like accents. Also forgot to design earings for most of them smh.

Bloom I had a lot of trouble. These dresses were used while they were "politicing," so I originally wanted to make Bloom look like her dress was from Domino. But I didn't like how it turned out, probably because Marion was my only reference for a dress (unless there's some background fairy in a dress from Domino. I'm too lazy to check.) So I went back to the general princess vibe instead for all of them. But if I were to redesign them again, I'd love to mix their homeworld's fashion with the typical fairytale princess look.

I have nothing really to say for Flora or Stella. But I wanted to change Flora's hair because I thought it was too casual. Wish I did something other then a bun looking back.

Skipping to Tecna for a second. I did base her dress off those "furtistic" dresses, which is just minimalism, really. And had to change Tecna's purple because if you grey scale the purple and green in the original design, it's pretty much to the same. I do like the color I chose, especially for the contrast, but I feel like it's a little too dark and messes with the vibe a little. Also gave her pants under her dress. I was just about to go on a tangent, but I'll just add it to the end.

Finally, for Musa and Aisha. Idk I felt like their hair didn't fit the vibe. I love them, but they didn't really go with the regal look, and more look like prom hairstyles. For Musa's dress, I wanted the front to be open and have her wear shorts. It just felt like a hint of masculine in a pretty feminine design. Aisha's dress really made me realize I need to look at more dresses because I was struggling with ideas. The rnd result is fine, but man, I need to work on more on gowns.

Anyway, heres me rambling about masculine Tecna. It has no real clear thought or direction and only losely ties to the redesign but whatever.

Hi to nobody, probably. If you are here you should tell me 👉👈. Anyway, I see Tecna and Musa as the most masculine. Musa is the most outloud about it, while you might not even notice how masculine Tecna is. Up until season 6, really. Tecna, for the most part, wore shorts or pants. Dress was saved for the gowns. Her skirts were usually pretty short, and something about them had masculine vibes. I can't quite explain it, but there is pretty simple I can almost think a few are shorts. Personally, I headcanon that Tecna doesn't care for dresses at all. Maybe if she has to, but that's it (maybe I'm projecting, idk. Granted irl, I'm not comfortable with dresses or skirts at all. So partial projecting.)

Basically, I think Tecna should wear suits instead of gowns. And Musa should wear something in between for that non binary energy.) But imagine a gender confused Musa going to her roomie Tecna for advice because Tecna is way more comfortable with leaning a lot more masculine.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[mooechi]

..hey there y'all 😁

so it's been approx. a day since I found out exams have been moved to next week, and I may or may not have ended up dramatically sulking thus resulting in being inactive bcuz I prepared for nothing LMFAAOOOO

but then again, I couldn't find myself gathering the time to open tumblr at all tbh. this week's been a tough one, w all the bombarding of events and all

anyways, I fortunately had enough spare time today to add in a few drawings to make up for my loss (LOL) , and yes, that includes that lazy ass scrap above.

even though I'm most likely gonna be inactive for a little further while, I'd still like to thank my good ol' childhood bestie for taking me out of my whiny slacking shell even temporarily. that mfs definitely gonna reblog this again, so you'll know what I mean.

so first and foremost-- since I've gotten addicted to fbje all the more lately, I stumbled upon a very pretty artwork within the manga. it's official, and I wondered how it'd fare if I were to implement it in terms of demon slayer's gaiden artstyle.

here's how it turned out!

it's not the best, I think I ended up making her look fierce..I honestly wanted to give it komorebi--dappled sunlight, if you will--but my brush ended up not being as compatible with the chosen style of gaiden so...yeah, I ditched that and went for this idea instead!

moreover, I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of notifs I've missed. I'm so sorry that I've just seen it, but I'm glad that I now did..@muitsuri , WHAT HAVE U BEEN UP TO⁉️⁉️..I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE ANTICS UVE DONE- FEEDING THE EVAKARI NATION⁉️⁉️ HELL YEA!!

I express my sincerest of gratitude's to all the appreciation too, thank you all so much! 💕

hence, I've done a lil smth...

I'm never designing wooden walls again cuz wtf did I do

remember that one idea where they snuggle (smth like that) back then? YEPPP finally got the motivation to bring that to life..somewhat.

you see, this was supposed to be in manga style..so imagine the truck that hit me when my dumbass finally noticed that I've been using THE WRONG BRUSH THIS WHOLE TIME

ofc, ended up questioning my life choices at that point. but hey, since it was late alr and I unfortunately couldn't afford to go back anymore, I forced through it 💪

well, that'd be all for now! I'm gonna go get some rest now--though not b4 I catch up to the updates 😘

i am not entirely satisfied yet displeased with the end product of all this..

I used fbje as reference, both anime and manga.

still, please refrain from stealing. you can take inspo tho!

[kart0]

Thoughts about my life

Have you ever thought that you are going to the wrong path ?

I am an art student. I study visual arts, basically exploring all types of arts, painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, photography, performance, wood cutting, metal cutting ? Anyways, anything you can imagine, we do that.

I've been always disconnected to what I did though. I see all my colleagues, working on their projects with such dedication, such passion and I can't help but think that there's something actually wrong with me. Didn't I want that ? Or did I think this was the only thing I was good at ?

I do not feel enough. And that's an obvious statement. I actually always wanted to be a singer. And a biologist. And a veterinarian. But art was something I always did. So obviously it made sense that I should be doing that for the rest of my life.

I feel so bad. I am wasting my parents money. I am wasting their work and time. And I am wasting my life.

I am a firm believer that getting more knowledge is always a good thing, so maybe I shouldn't be that negative. I've learnt a lot in college. I did things I never thought I'd do, and I actually enjoyed them, such as analog photography. It was fun. It's been fun. But is that all ?

Aren't I supposed to do something bigger, better ? More important ? Shouldn't I try to change the world for the better ? What am I doing, painting silly pictures, making silly art. I could be helping people, helping animals, doing more.

There are no jobs for me here. There are no internships for my course. Nothing. I will not get a job on any company. I will never get a vacation, or health insurance. I will never buy a house, nor a car. What am I doing.

I have to be realistic. I need a job. The world isn't built for people like me, and sure, changes are happening but. They're not enough, and they will never be. I keep thinking I am too different, too off. Like there's something viscerally wrong with me, in my head, in my body.

Here's a secret. I was really serious about biology, and veterinary. Ever since I was a child I was always fascinated with insects. I loved ants and I really really wanted to dedicate my life to them. I wanted to understand their behaviours. What made them do what they did. I gave up after telling myself I wasn't smart enough. I wouldn't pass any entrance exams. The thing is, I know for a fact I am very smart. I'm just lazy. I do not work hard, for anything at all. I am too laid-back. I did not want to study, so therefore there was no point in doing any entrance exams for bio or vet. I wouldn't get in anyways. But. I keep thinking. Where would I be now if I did try.

I keep thinking why am I the way I am. Why am I not passionate over anything ? Besides haikyuu and now, apparently, genshin impact. Why. Is there anything actually wrong in my head ? I am autistic and I am bipolar so like, theoretically, yes, there is something wrong with me in fact.

It upsets me. Why can't I do more. What should I be doing. I wonder what am I going to do.

I can't see myself selling merch on events forever. I'm going to get old, and ugly, and I cannot sell gay merch forever. It's an unstable field, I do not get benefits from a company like health insurance or vacations. I have to be realistic. One day I'm going to get old and my art won't be enough. It's not even enough right now.

One of my hidden wishes and life goals is to work with wildlife rehabilitation. I would love to do that. Sounds very fun, and fulfilling. I am a very methodical, practical, organized individual. I am extremely aware of rules and I am very good at following them. I feel like I'm too much in my head for art. I feel like there's something I lack. Which is, that passion, that fire. I don't have that.

There's the thing though. Would I be fulfilled if I did anything other than what I'm doing right now ? I would wonder why I didn't go to arts, why I am studying this boring shit. I would wish I could be sculpting and drawing. And in the end, all of this would be just a waste of time, helpless and stupid thoughts, that would lead me nowhere. Like now. I know theres no point in thinking and rambling about what I could be doing. It is in my nature to self doubt anything I do though.

Maybe when I'm older and have time, and patience, and love, I can study animals. And work in a rehab center. And take care of birds. I love, love love love birds. I do love cats but I am so passionate about birds.

Maybe I can grow to be an old grandpa, who takes care of birds, and does art for fun as a side job.

But maybe, instead, I could be an artist, who volunteers in rehab centers. Who knows ?

I know for a fact I do not regret going to arts, I love it. It's the perfect field for me. It complements me. It makes me happy. But I keep thinking it's not enough. I'm not going to survive.

Anyways,,,,, just wanted to share some thoughts going through my head rn. I will not be giving up, of course. I just needed to vent a little bit. Thank you.

[alitgblog]

speculating what the s8 islanders will look like as an excuse to draw lol idk why im not going in order here's the sports physiologist

ok so obviously my art style is a bit simpler than the game's and I didn't take a ton of time to render it but I think the elements are there and here's my reasoning (warning this is long lol)

the disclaimer is I read the application once and then started drawing so I think in my head I got it confused and thought this was gonna be the Bobby/Rafael cutesy fun guy of the season and rereading it now I realize I am wrong, but I still stand by certain choices.

Sports physio/cycling thing was a big thing for this. I think he shouldn't have very defined abs but the game will draw him like that. Cyclers tend to have skinnier torsos but bigger thighs/legs and I didn't draw the legs bc I'm lazy but know that in my head, he's got thick thighs. I didn't draw him with like a huge chest or arms also because of that, but because it's still LITG, he does have some definition on his arms, just not a lot. I really think I could see this guy working in sports physio.

And because he takes care of people for a living and is the "big romantic," I think he needs to look very charming, to a point where he's almost disarming. (This is where I got it in my head that he's the Bobby/Raf of the group bc lover boy vibes. Personality wise he feels like Rohan imo who is similar). Therefore I drew a lot of his features as very soft (softer jawline, fleshier nose) but also just big round eyes to draw you in. I looked at Tyrique from love island season 10 for a bit of inspo because I think he's got such a pretty face but still is pretty masculine, and he has big round eyes so that's why I did that.

I also decided on curly hair, in part because of my confusion with Bobby/Rafael, but also I think it adds to the charm because it's clearly styled but tries to look effortless. I used a younger picture of Dev Patel for it. That's also why he has a little bit of facial hair to help age him up but also works with the aesthetic I was going for. The piercings are fully a self indulgent add-in, I just it's attractive.

Ok so this is where it gets confusing because I did intially draw some sharper features on him and had a different color palette for his skin and hair. I was imagining him as "spicy white" just because Bobby and Raf are mixed so they would change it up just slightly for this guy. I think nothing that's too contrasting to make him look brooding like Joyo. So initially this was definitively a tanned white guy with curly reddish brown hair, some facial hair, and a defined nose, and then I was like this is really close to Rocco. So I changed some features and some colors and here we are now at ethnically ambiguous? I'm not gonna think too hard about the ethnicity of this character because this is fake and it's fusebox's problem when they release the real character.

Looking back, if I redrew the character, I'd go for full or half South Asian just because I did use dev patel as a hair reference. But also maybe just hopeful because aside from Angie, the other South Asian rep in recent memory I can think of is Marshall (messy), Ozzy (messier), and Suresh (messiest), so I just think we should get a cute one. (also Priya, Rohan, and Arjun who aren't nearly as bad but only one of those is a LI and they're sort of dead right now so)

anyway overall the process of drawing him was kind of a mess because I had confused some things in my head and like I said, was accidentally drawing Rocco (underrated design btw) but this was the first one I did and I don't think I'm right, this is just a fun little activity for me and he's the first one I drew so I wasn't very sure about a lot of things.

so if you read this far congrats for getting though my ramblings. The next ones I'm doing aren't nearly as complicated 😂😂

[sovonight]

drafting radri's mage dress

i started with a shoulder princess sloper—it actually takes cup size into account, which was a big selling point for me, and the bust fit perfectly with no adjustments! i still had to edit it though ofc, the waist was too low and i took it in a bit

i made a first draft with most of the actual features of the dress, in red flannel because that's what i had lying around lol. i french seamed everything (i wanted to learn how to do sleeves & slits with french seams), but my final fabric is on the heavier side of lightweight so i'll have to stick with regular seam finishes for the real thing

the hemline does lift a little in the front when i belt it bc extra fabric has to go under the bust, and i'll be adjusting the princess seam just a liiittle bit, but i don't wanna take the princess seams fully in towards the underbust or anything because then it wouldn't look right if i didn't have a belt on. and anyway the lift isn't that bad either because this'll be ankle length, so 1) who's really looking down there and 2) if anything it'll help me not step on the front hem

oh and the left and right cuffs are different bc i didn't know if i wanted to stick with the pointed cuff i drew. i knew i'd have to add a little loop to the pointed cuff in real life if i didn't want it to shift around, and didn't really wanna do that so i was prepared to just go with the regular non-pointed cuff, but then the regular cuff kept rotating willy-nilly too and i got annoyed at that, so. pointed cuff with a little loop it is

in the drawing i closed the cuffs with ribbon ties, but in real life i uh. can't imagine being able to tie those cuffs closed alone. so i just put buttons there 🤷 which will be a little annoying if i have my wrists down against a surface, like if i'm typing or something, but i kind of feel like i won't be typing in this garment (if i even wear it at all after i finish it lmao). i did think about migrating the button closure to the outside of the wrist, like suit jacket placement, but i feel like it'd look a little weird on the pointed style cuff 😖 and anyway suit jacket sleeve buttons bother me when i leave my wrist against a surface too lol so it wouldn't be a huge improvement

i used this method to attach the collar and sleeve cuffs, which i like the result of but never like executing. it wasn't as tedious on this muslin since i was lazy and didn't baste or press anything, but on the final i'll have to do everything i skipped 😣

anyway the next step is to tweak the pattern a bit and make it ankle length, then make another muslin in my semi-final fabric (semi-final bc it's the same as my final fabric but just in a different color). i'm actually pleasantly surprised that this hasn't felt like a ton of work yet—probably because it doesn't need a lining lol

[cheapsweets]

The resolute Ilyecham

My response to this weeks Bestiary Posting challenge, from The Maniculum!

I've been vaguelly considering how to tackle this one all week (and trying to avoid seeing others' interpretations as much as possible). Again, we have a lot of behaviours, but nothing in terms of a physical description... Did the author just thing 'everyone knows what birds look like', was this just a bird that the reader was expected to be familiar with, or were they all like 'I'm not describing yet another bird... :p'?

It's a pen and ink drawing (dark sepia ink, and a sailor fude nib) over a pencil sketch; the fude nib is interesting as it's meant to give the impression of using a brush - the nib is bent to allow transition from thin to thick lines - I've got a lot of practice to go to get that transition right though (I'm tempted to try an actual brush pen for next week's challenge...)!

This time, I actually used some references! Well, I briefly glanced at some, anyhow... I feel like it has made a difference, particularly in terms of the anatomy (though there are several things I'd go back and change if I was doing this over), but I still need to work a bit more on consistency (and maybe not tackling any too-awkward perpectives...!). I had a lot of fun with this one :)

Reasoning below the cut...

"The Ilyecham is a bird armed rather with spirit than with claws, having great courage in its small body. [Etymology redacted]. For it greedily seizes other birds. [Etymology redacted.]" - So, carnivorous bird, emphasis away from it's claws... I had to double check this, but falcons kill prey with their beak (a sharply projecting 'tomial tooth' on their upper beak), whereas hawks use their claws. I tried to show this, but it's such a small details it might not be obvious. Did you know that falcons are more closely related to passerines (perching birds, like sparrows) than they are to hawks/eagles? I always find that absolutely mind-blowing :)

"It is said that the Ilyecham is lacking in parental care towards its young, for when it sees that they are able and trying to fly, it does not feed them but beats them with its wings, throws them from the nest and forces them from a tender age to catch prey for themselves lest, when they are fully grown, they should become lazy." - Hey, chalk up another one to that old adage 'birds are jerks'... I'm starting to think that bestiary authors were not the biggest birb fans... In the top right of the picture, we have a mama ilyecham pushing the baby out of the nest with her wing. Time to find your own way in the world, baby bird! I tried to distinguish the younger bird's plumage with a different pattern (spotted/dotted); the adult plumage was inspired by goshawks (I know, hawk vs falcon), more because it would show up as distinctive in black and white than any other reason.

As an aside, I really struggled with how to draw a slightly stylised bird nest!

"It takes care lest in their childhood they grow idle, or are given up to pleasure, or grow weak from inactivity, or learn to expect food rather than to seek it for themselves, or abandon their natural vigour. Ilyechams stop bothering to feed their young in order to make them bold enough to seize food for themselves." - Hang on, this is going to be some kind of inspirational virtuous animal thing, isn't is... :p I can imagine some medieval scribe writing 'and so, the ilyecham represents the cardinal virtue of fortitude' or something...

"It is the custom of Ilyechams in the wild to spread their wings when the south wind blows, so that their limbs are warmed by the wind to release their old feathers. When there is no wind, they create a breeze by spreading their wings to face the rays of the sun and beating them; and thus, as the pores of their body open, either their old plumage falls out, or new feathers grow in." - In the top left, we have an ilyecham spreading its wings, facing towards the sun, and doing just that! The feathers blowing away were fun to draw!

[that1notetaker]

Hey Note! Did u think of any cool wacky tech stuff recently? Honestly i love ur designs and im super curious abt it

HELLO?

SO I DONT HAVE MY PC AROUND (lies I'm just too lazy to open the files and go through them atm) BuUT!! BUT! I just happened to have my various notebooks around, which I dutifully carry everywhere and ANYWHERE. Meaning that, yes. I do have some wacky tech stuff around.

I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. They're not even Donnie related, but you can imagine they are.

Spaceships to the left and to the right. Can you tell I love drawing them? They're similar designs, but,,I just love the shapes..

I didn't post a QUARTER of the stuff, It'd probably get too cramped otherewise. Also tumblr only allows 10 pictures--and then I'd be like-oh, I need to explain what everything does in extreme and graphic detail, but there are systems and ways to do that. I can't just...rant. Well, I can. I am. Technically. Not the point.

Either ways, on these pages there are some art studies, but also randomized devices and things that move but would probably sway and unbalance itself to their unfortunate demise were they to come to life. Fun stuff.

Also, these are the ones I've made outside--when I'm on the bus or waiting for the bus, standing at a crossroad...it helps pass the time, and its become one of my favourite pastimes.

I have to learn to be more diverse, think bigger--oh. Speaking of, I'd love to actually learn about engineering itself, so that I can make some of my designs functional. I want to build things, you know? And I want them to look weird and wacky and interesting to look at.

Things that make you question why in the good hell was this a thing in the first place, to be more specific.

Actually, if any of you want, you can send random prompt word or words, and I could try making up something to match! Two words that make no sense next to each other and trying to make it work. That'd be fun. Sometimes inspiration gets stuck until someone decides to kick it back into action. That's what I used to do with this old pc tower. It was cathartic. Anyways. Yes.

@kiwi-smug-silvalina thanks for the ask, you could send it ten times more and I'd still have things to say. Next time I post other designs, they'll be more refined, but for now, thanks :) this made me excited all over.

[artfightdramaconfessions]

So, this year I did my first Art Fight; I had joined in 2021 but kept myself as a spectator to observe it and see what the rules would be like, how things are done, the general etiquette of it - and I think, being involved in the fight is very different from watching it.. Wholesome, sweet and kind on the outside; very distant, lazy and disorganized on the inside.

Personally, however, I had a wonderful time! I think I pumped out loads of art and I am proud of what I did for others; high-quality, fully-rendered, respect being given to character features and everything being on-model. I drew exactly 80 pieces, majority of them being waist or fullbody, and only about 5 simple-shaped characters and 3 mass attacks. It was heartwarming to see much of it later being posted on Toyhouses, in the character's reference pages, and elsewhere. All around, I was satisfied in what I was able to provide and enjoyed drawing characters I wouldn't personally design, like drawing really cute girls and ferals when I usually lean to monsters and men! I found unique designs, novices and beginners, all sorts.

And while I got a quarter of defenses in return which I absolutely cherish and some sweet comments on a majority of my pieces, I saw how others have complained about not being given responses for work that they've poured hours into... That made me wonder if that's just.. Generally the mentality of artists now; either too introverted to show appreciation to fellow artists in spite of us collectively knowing how challenging it can be to make art, or just joining to farm and then acting too tired or busy to actually participate. - And then the other half almost kill themselves and psychologically drain themselves in the parasocial cycle that Art Fight has to offer in its "trading environment". Sure I could be classified in the latter group too, but I still practiced self-care and got shit done compared to the burnout horror stories I see. It's quite a wild contrast to observe, and leads to psychological turmoil on both sides when one only gives and the other only takes.

There's also the case of people joining the fight and not contributing at all; just picking a side, dropping some characters, (sometimes a broken promise) and then disappearing. I do not want to hear the "they have real lives off the internet, they were busy" excuse, either - I too have a life: I am a teacher during the week /and/ I have a weekend job. When it is summer holidays for the Northerners, I am down in the Southern hemisphere, dealing with the winter, working and freezing my hands up to the point I don't want to create art sometimes when I get home - but I was still perfectly diligent and on top of things.. But hey, maybe I'm built different, and some people are simply just lazy and want rewards without the effort, or quickly assume they deserve more than what they should.

On the bright side, I'm glad I didn't deal with anyone hostile or disrespectful, and I only encountered two genuine art farmers who pretended they didn't know how to draw or "weren't skilled". Always the same excuses, at some point we have to stop giving them the benefit of the doubt so often; As gatekeepy as it is, I'd imagine a game for artists should be reserved for artists, it's not like an unfit marine biologist would want to participate in the Olympics, let alone be allowed to, so why should people who otherwise hate drawing or don't want to learn the skill and deliberately say such things want to join? In a sense it feels like a mockery towards art and the exchange of creativity in general, and I've been on porn sites that check the quality of your art before they post it better than this! There should be at least an entry requirement for signing up for Art Fight where you send in an artwork before the mods verify your account; there would be a fuckload less farmers, for certain.

I'm hoping that maybe, just because it was my first Art Fight, that /maybe/ this high-attack low-defense ratio of mine is to be expected, and if I just manage to spread my art to even further crowds and find new people to attack, I'll find others who will like my designs and be eager to draw them with the same level of eagerness I had to draw theirs. All that matters to me is if I find people who /want/ to draw my characters, not feel obliged to, in the same way I was never obliged to draw that pink, ridiculously-well-endowed Succubus or stocky, angry little Pokemon - but I did it anyway! I simply enjoyed the spontaneity and diversity of character design and unfamiliar fandoms. In the end, after all I've said, it doesn't matter how much art you get in return, it's about how proud you feel about what you contributed to the fight, and what you learned and discovered in the fun little world of character design.

I don't feel discouraged to draw less next year, I'm going to simply relent, but I can see why other artists hang their heads after their first time when they encounter hostility, are ignored, or don't get what they want out of it.

I think these are some things that I would want to improve if I could:

The ratio should calculate points, that will really incentivize people into prioritizing quality over quantity with their attacks. If you want to see how many attacks VS defenses someone has, just go and check on their front page (if you want it to specifically see how many attacks and defenses they had in one year specifically, they should add a sorting filter for that). The only "downside" I can imagine is an increase in mass-attacks, a joy for some but not for others.

After July, I think that we should still be able to submit Revenge-Only attacks during August - and to not have revenge chains be exploited, only be able to post a revenge once on a Level 1.. Level. I see a lot of people seeming guilty for not being able to attack back within the month or being a minute too late to submit a revenge, and then also just being too shy to submit the attack off-site / not being able to do it offsite / not thinking it's worth it without getting points / etc. - and easy resolve would be to allow revenges to still be posted during August, and Moderators can calculate the event scores and winners in September; trying to cram all of the admin into 12 days is insanity and I am speaking from a perspective that deals with a painful amount of admin. Also, get a fucking search bar that's accessible for everyone, holy Hell.

I'm.. Not sure if my tangent was in good spirits or not, it's rather just thoughts that have been rolling around in my head while I've been reflecting on my experience. Hope everyone else had a good Art Fight and reached their goals, or met and made some friends through it. :)

.

[mud-castle]

Why yes I am continuing this, bc I have more time for this but less time to draw due to lowering the number of projects I'm focusing on but also taking only one less credit hour than the allowed max at school, thanks for asking.

Anyway, onto reading The Hidden Kingdom:

How many dragons are in the Talons of Peace? I got the vibe that they were a super small group from the first book, due to the dragonets only knowing the three guardians and Morrowseer, but dragons being surprised that the Talons actually existed.

I know their main purpose was to raise the DoD, but that does bring to question what everyone who was not a guardian did. They didn't serve as any back up or help when the DoD was captured. Or really do anything as the DoD was running around the continent.

It would've been interesting to expand on what they actually did aside from raising the DoD. Did they run relief operations? Help those displaced or injured by the fighting? Etc.? They had some dragons under cover, what did they do?

I've always wondered. If Nightwings are held in such a high regard of being able to perfectly predict the future and read minds, and the Talons (as well as many others) seem to have faith in the prophecy, why bother with the false dragonets at all?

I'd kinda expect Morrowseer to get offended that they're questioning him to the point of having possible replacements who didn't hatch on the brightest nights. I always thought it was Morrowseer's backup plan, but rereading this, I'm realizing it was Nautilus's plan.

Squid knows what's up.

^^^YESSS GLORY GO OFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Dragons canonically have tea in WoF, worldbuilding time. Some teas can be made with bone broth, and I'm choosing to assume dragon tea isn't leaf juice so much as bone juice spiced up with some leaves. Since this is only mentioned with Queen Moorhen, it's a Mudwing invention, that might've been adopted by their allies the Skywings, hence why Glory knows what it is.

Hmmm, ya know, it would've been super interesting if the Rainwings actually were the ones behind this in some way but withheld that info from the DoD since they're total strangers.

You could make it work too, a Queendom of reclusive dragons who don't want this terrible war anywhere near their home, so they scare them away. Orr the Queens of the Queendom want to keep their pacifist dragons happy and kill these trespassers in secret to both keep the peace, their own territory, and their way of life safe.

Damn, that's really sad tbh.

I think it says a lot that Glory has had more positive thoughts about FUCKING QUEEN SCARLET than any of the guardians.

Fuck the guardians, all my homies hate the guardians.

Also Glory is touch-averse.

This is meant to be seen as a bad thing that Rainwings don't take prisoners considering how Tui presents them later on and the way this scene is portrayed.

But honestly, Liana has a point, what would they do with them? They're not in the war. They don't need anything from them. At most they'd probably just want them to leave.

This doesn't hint at Rainwing laziness so much as the effect of Glory's hypermilitarized upbringing.

That is super cool.

I imagine Rainwings are world-class botanists, who are quite skilled in breeding plants for particular purposes. An example being flowers that can line your floor and not die from you walking on them everyday, or that perhaps regrow so quickly it seems like they're not dying.

I'm continually upset with the narrative of this book for making Rainwings out to be the exact stereotype everyone thinks they are, because there were a number of directions the messaging could've gone.

Glory goes on to say that sun time probably makes you smarter and fiercer, when really it's just good for your overall physical and mental health.

I'm not saying make the Rainwings especially skilled or scary, as fun as that would be, but she could just let them be peaceful, what's so wrong with that?

This book could've been about Glory --- who was raised to think you always had to keep giving to the world to be worth something, that you should expect the worst in others, that this world with always chew you up and spit you out so you gotta be tough and always hide your vulnerabilities--- realizing that yeah, the Rainwings are genuinely just a peaceful, calm group who do mostly enjoy napping in the sun, and spending time with their friends. That's fine.

There seems to be this thought that you must be sacrificing or suffering in some way to be good or worth respect, but that's not a healthy mindset.

Like the book could've gone the route of Glory getting angry at them for being (in her eyes) uncaring and lazy, content with giving nothing to the world, only for it to be pointed out to her that hey, maybe we don't want to be risking our safety and happiness for petty squabbles that lead to nothing but tears and bloodshed. Maybe we want to live in a place where we can raise our families and live and work alongside friends without fear of war and destruction looming over our heads. What's so wrong with that? Why are they considered stupid for living like that?

Sure others don't live the way you would think is ideal, but who are you to come into their home that they welcomed you into and judge their livelihoods?

Like bitch, I wish I lived there. I wasn't built for the grind.

No, we will not talk about the fact that the Rainwings didn't seem to care when their friends, queen, and students disappeared for long periods of time because I am not emotionally calm enough, and we're not in that part of the book yet.

I also just noticed that, though Glory may hate Kestrel, she also thinks the most like her out of all the DoD, which is... giving me a number of thoughts and ideas.

[dragonflysos]

You should do this with Erik and Almeda................... I think certain people would very much appreciate it................ not me and kira

Too lazy to draw this one but you get the idea:

Hey there! Please introduce yourselves. -Howdy! I'm Erik!... Have I been here before? - *silent glare* (its Almeda)

What do you think of the character on the other side of the meme? -Well, I tend to like most people and I'm sure I would like them... if I were'nt scared they were gonna kill me given the chance... -They seem nice.

How did the two of you meet? -*looking around cautiously* They um... tried to kill me.. -... oh him? yeah that sounds about right.

What was your first impression of each other? -scawwwwyyyyy -Poor lil guy...

What kinds of things fo you like to do together? -I.. we don't? -I've met him like once

Between the two of you, who would you say is in charge? -I would probably do what he says, given the -you know- sword and stuff. -He seems like the kind of guy I'd listen to.

Mind sharing your best and/or worst memory of each other? -When she tried to kill me/ -When I tried to kill them

Clothing swap! DON’T QUESTION ME, JUST DO IT. -Not sure how you got a wanted pirates clothes but... oh hey this is nice and snug! I could get used to this. -I feel like I'm trapped in a fluffy cocoon. When can I change back?

Try giving an impersonation of the other a go! (Whether or not you’re still dressed as them is up to you). *It's just this vine* Erik's impression of Almeda is the dog, Almeda's impression of Erik is the screaming lad.

Now that you’ve had a taste of what it’s like to be the other, is ther anything you’d want it change about them? -Yes, many things in fact. -Nah, he's fine

How do you imagine your relationship being in the future? -Say what now? -Idk, I just met* the guy *using this term losely

Wow okay. Everything is okay now. Lets all hug it out or something to wrap this up: (plan out what your ocs will do with your friend her for this collaborative panel) *cut to door slamming and you can hear Erik's hurried footsteps, followed by a fall and quickly more footsteps, this time more akward than before* *Almeda stands and looks at the interviewer* So uh... am I getting paid for this or...

[rkn001]

I've got to know, whats the process to your artwork, like how did you learn to draw poses and features as you do? Sorry if that's an odd question, just genuinely curious!

oh, that’s not an odd question; i appreciate asks like these haha! unfortunately my answer to this is going to be a bit long, so apologies in advance for that.

for poses, i devote an hour or two per week to practice a lot of figure drawing. it basically entails me collecting some references for poses, like the pose tool from posespace or pinterest (especially if i’m looking for some dynamic poses, though that entails being creative in how i search), and just... draw these poses from sight to the best of my ability. how i learn and how i practice is really just that. it's a great way for me to build a mental library of poses i can fall back to if i'm feeling like drawing freely without references.

but figure drawing can be hard and exhausting, and it takes time to work up to a point of drawing one figure for 10-20 minutes straight. and if that practice were my actual drawing process every time, i'd easily get frustrated every time i draw. so instead, (especially if you're starting out!) i recommend looking into gesture drawing, a method of capturing the dynamism of a pose in under a minute or a couple of minutes, or even a couple of seconds, without worrying so much about proportions and whatnot. imo this stuff is actually the backbone of figure drawing, because if you're not considering the overall movement of a character and just drawing the parts of the body individually, your character is going to look stiff and inanimate. think of gesture drawing as if it were like writing an outline to a school essay, before writing the essay! (in fact, i actually find that there are many components of gesture drawing which have wormed its way into my style.)

i guess face features are a different thing, because i tend to take bits and pieces of what i like from different artists' styles, and meld them into some alloy that is my style. sometimes i also do some face studies, but…not that much.

as for a general overall process to my artwork, i actually can’t give you a cookie-cutter recipe to do so; if you squint at my posts, you might notice that each does a different approach. it’s because i’m constantly experimenting with how i draw, and i’m constantly being inspired (re: borrowing some ideas) by many, many artists who do fantastic work all around. but...maybe i can give a simplified idea of my process, if that helps?

say that i'm drawing a character doing a thing. i would imagine the pose that the character is doing, maybe collect some references on said pose, and do a quick gesture draw using those references before drawing the character over that sketch while fixing proportions or whatever else. i guess an example of this would look something like:

(i used this reference, which unfortunately isn't really a great example since it's a photo of a toy and not a human figure, but whatever.)

but as i said, this is pretty simplified for a process; the actual process depends! it can be hella messy, hella disorganized, and hella experimental. hell, most of the time i don't even follow the above two steps; for the sake of economizing my time (re: laziness), i tend to fall back on my mental library of poses (for the better or for the worse i guess). as for my coloring process...i'm still trying to figure that one out lmao

anyway, this is getting too long, my bad. well, i hope this answers some part or parts of your question. if not, feel free to ask more questions if you'd like!

[evanox]

I've never introduced Lee Maehwa (my LL oc) properly, mostly bc I can't draw too well, but I still wanted to post this fic for LegacyTober; kudos to @anonymousbeefriendfanfics for this wonderful idea!!

Day 2 Theme: MC + Cold (thought I'd combine the themes bc I wrote this many months ago to help me cope with the cold) m.list

Once Sage disappears into the bedroom—our bedroom, they remember with a skip in their heartbeat—Mae tugs one glove off and snaps their fingers at the air twice. The friction produces a spark of magic that floats in lazy spirals before sinking into the wood and setting the hearth alight. As rising flames breathe life into the cold, dark room, Mae sinks to their knees to bask in the warmth.

Sage shouldn't be able to see them from where he stands in the other room, yet they still hear him call out, “Don’t stick your face too close to the fire.”

But the flames have stretched out a pair of kind hands, offering to cradle Mae's face and gently rub off the icy air clinging to their numb, flushed cheeks. If there’s no other pair of hands to relieve them of the cold's sting, what can Mae do but succumb to these? After an hour spent outside, it's impossible to resist the temptation, so Mae elects to ignore Sage's warning and calls back, “Don’t drop your gauntlets on the floor!” 

In the momentary silence that follows, Mae could imagine his hands hovering in the air, shed gauntlets pointed to the ground, and his brows furrowing as he considers. Then there's a heavy thud of metal against the floor—that Mae did not expect. "I heard that!"

"They’re in the corner behind the door; you can't trip on them there!" 

"Oh, you—" Whatever they had to say dies at their lips when Sage turns up behind them, footsteps as soundless as a cat's despite his size, and unceremoniously throws his heavy cape over their head. Grateful for the extra layer of warmth, Mae backs away from the fireplace as the frustration growing in their chest melts into contentment. "Tulsi's gonna get mad if she knows you still mistreat your armor," they lazily drawl, craning their head back to flash Sage a sly smile.

"Who's gonna tell her; you?"

"Mmm. I might."

“You’re full of empty threats, Maehwa.”

“Oh, not this time, and that's a promise since you'd like to try me.”

Sage only grunts before crouching down to unlace Mae's boots; not that Mae would ever willingly step past the front door with their shoes still on—heaven knows they've given Sage enough grief about wearing his inside. It’s just that the task has gone completely forgotten in Mae's desperate pursuit of warmth.

"If you're gonna get this tired from the cold," he hums, easing one boot off their leg, "maybe you should leave the errands to me."

"And waste a perfect chance to go on a date with you?"

"S'just grocery shopping…" Sage’s hair casts long shadows over his downcast face as he slips off the second boot, but the prominence of his nose bridge and cheekbones shine golden before the dancing flames. It’s hard to see the flush of red painting his cheeks, but Mae knows it's there by the way his tail curls inward and the slight quirk of his lips.

"Oho! Weren't you once ready to settle for a hair-combing session as a date?"

It's not often that they would talk about the time before everything went to shit (as Tulsi so eloquently puts it). Sage has come to regard the man he was back then as an entirely different person—a better lover, probably; more human than monster, he’d whisper to Mae on late nights when they had to cradle his head to their chest, for only hearing their heartbeat could put his troubled mind at ease.

Mae leaves him no chance to go down that path tonight, however, leaning in so he can't escape their gaze as their voice drops into a soft purr, "Anything can be a date if I'm having a good time with you."

He shakes his head, and Mae can peep a fond smile before he turns away quickly, grabbing the pair of boots to put away. "This a date then?"

"Well, by definition, it should be," Mae hums thoughtfully, "but if any time I spend with you is a date, then there won't be any time that is not a date. Wouldn't 'date' lose its meaning then?" They frown at the hearth as if the answer would be buried within the burning embers, but the effort only makes their head hurt and their eyelids grow heavy. "Oh, does it matter? It's a date if I say so." 

"Can't argue with that.” Sage kneels by their side to press a kiss on their temple. Mae waits for him to sit down so they may flop over his lap for a little nap, but he is already standing up and walking away. 

“Where to?” 

“You're not hungry?" he calls back from the open kitchenette. Prompted by the rustling of bags, Mae looks away from the fireplace to find Sage swiftly sorting out the groceries before he gathers the vegetables for washing. "Dinner's not making itself."

“But the fireplace is right here.” 

The subsequent stare-off lasts a mere few seconds before Sage scowls—not out of inconvenience, but because his stubborn fool knows too well just how tightly wrapped around their pretty finger he has become. No, it has never been an inconvenience for Sage, not when Mae’s triumphant smile as he gives in to their whims makes it worth it. He gathers the ingredients off the table into one arm, and what doesn't fit, he balances over the cutting board in his other hand along with a clay pot. 

“Heaven forbid you make the arduous five-step journey between the kitchenette and the fireplace twice.”

“You’ll start wilting if I take too long. Like one of your dramatic plants, you know the one—the dotted leaves? Forget to water it once, and it’s already falling over itself.” He sits cross-legged by their side and kisses Mae’s affronted pout away, then pushes his hair behind his shoulder before grabbing the knife to make quick work of the vegetables. 

Mae wordlessly crawls into the long shadow cast by his broad back and undoes the loose tie, threading through fiery gold hair that fades into dull silver as the silky strands slip out and twist around Mae's fingers. Too often did these stray strands end up in the food whenever Sage cooked, so the pair had agreed he shouldn’t touch the cooking until he pulled his hair back. 

Once satisfied with their finger-combing, Mae pulls his hair into a neat bun but leaves some hair out to frame his face. All combing sessions must end with them pressing a kiss to Sage’s hair, a kiss to the nape of his neck, and a kiss between his shoulder blades, where Mae finally rests their cheek. Their hands slide over his bare, toned back, appreciating every curve of muscle before crossing around his waist. "So stiff… Let me rub your back before you sleep."

If Sage hums in assent, Mae can't hear it over his loud purring. He's so, so warm; they could just melt over his back and let the soothing vibrations lull them to sleep. Sage wouldn't complain much, but just because Mae offered to rub his back later doesn't mean they want him feeling as stiff as a plank before then. They slide off and curl up by his side, adjusting the fluffy cape into a cozy cocoon until their finger catches on one of its many holes.

Mae pulls the fraying hem for closer inspection. The red fabric has turned black with old stains of mud (or blood, they could no longer tell) that no amount of washing could help. “The weather's only gonna get worse. You can't keep using this cape.”

Sage only spares them a glance before going back to work. “This one does its job just fine.”

“It’s old and worn out. I can keep it at home for myself when you’re away. You should get a new one.”

"Was that your plan all along?" There's a small, teasing smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "If you want it all to yourself, just say so."

"How dare you!" Mae huffs, and they try to ignore the little tug at their heartstrings when his smile grows into a grin. "Well, yes. Maybe. But that's not the only reason! I still think you should get a new one."

“Sounds frivolous.”

"You say it like we splurge on the daily! Would you call it frivolous or a waste if I asked for a new coat?"

There's no response, save for the frustrated thumping of Sage's tail against their thigh, which usually means Mae has a point and he's upset about it, and that's answer enough for them. 

Sometimes it is easy to put yourself in a loved one's shoes—to empathize with their struggles and pick out the words they need to hear—but when the world has been moving on without you for six months, the gap can often be too huge to bridge.

Still, Mae rises, one arm supporting them and the other reaching for Sage's knee. "I know the past year has been difficult… but we're safe here, right now. And there's more to life than just surviving. You deserve nice—even frivolous—things, Sage. I'll even pick it myself, then it'll be special, and you can't say no." Their hands move to his cheek, thumb caressing the darkened web of scars branching from his right eye before gently coaxing him into facing them. "Okay?"

Mae knows Sage can't help how his eyes glow brightly in the dark, one golden and the other fiery red, but the weight of his gaze feels too heavy as he silently studies them. Undeterred, they lock eyes with him, not backing down until he finally relents and presses his cheek into their palm with a sigh. “Whatever I say, you’ll still go through with it, wouldn’t you?”

“See? You know me so well.”

With a soft kiss on his lips, Mae lies back down, snuggling into Sage's cape. The silence that follows is comfortable, filled by the crackling fire and soon joined by the pitter-patter of rain against the rattling windows. As their heavy eyelids slowly succumb to sleep and the sweet melody of fading autumn, Mae is only vaguely aware of Sage's rough hand closing around theirs and the soft kiss he presses to their fingers.

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

hello again! it is i, the anon from not quite but nearly exactly a week ago, back again with even more lengthy stuff, if i may be so bold. although at this point i feel almost like it's a full letter, just anonymous and forcefully shoved into a mailbox from seemingly nowhere 💦

aside from me rereading cyanide narwhal the equivalent of maybe three or four times fully in the past week, dear author, your good writing convinced me to fully read one of your other zhongchi fics instead of doing art in my free time, like i wanted to. (there's not been a good uninterrupted free time for it yet, though. i still really want to. however first i'd like my mind to calm down and settle on a few specific ideas instead of looking at the Entire Fic and going "let's draw it" because that,,, in no way is that a starting point, brain,,,,) anyway,

i am not entirely sure where i was going with that train of thought but i must add that, unsurprisingly, your writing certainly did not disappoint. if i may put it this way: i find your writing to be very refreshing and tasty. as long as that doesn't sound weird...? also... i am not really much for shipping, not that i have anything against it; but it really does take some good writing for me to enjoy it, since i don't tend to think about it much myself, so there is also that. (needless to say, i did indeed enjoy it.)

anyway, back to the topic of cyanide narwhal, i do have to ask... what is ajax wearing in his various dreams? considering that they can occur in a few different places, and, well. i assume his outfits would also vary accordingly, at least to some extent. the abyss, the fatui, his parents' house, or some form of liyue- there's quite a significant difference between all of those, so unless the environment doesn't at all affect him in his dreams, i assume his outfit(s) would vary accordingly, to be at least somewhat suitable, if not be copied from the memories themselves (when the dreams are memories, which i get the impression of being a frequent occurrence? *smacks the bad somehow-not-nightmares-but-still-bad-dreams with a stick*). i don't know what to think or which to think is more likely? but i just have to know,, actually i'm curious about how often his outfit varies just in general, too, because that is something i am somewhat uncertain about, but i wanted to carefully search for mentions or at least hints of that before asking about it, and i haven't yet. for why must so many different details be so important to know confidently if i only have a simple wish to draw 😔

also my pov as someone who is something of a perfectionist because i loathe making mistakes on something i care for (read as: literally anything i put effort into, but especially things i very much care for, which includes anything hyperfixation related, and- yeah, you get the idea): *holds head in hands staring at/trying to imagine ajax's heist outfit in the few drawings/descriptions i can find* what does it look like from behind. is it still very similar to a fatui agent's. what extra details or differing details or embellishments. where is it the same. what is different. i can already see some small elements of his normal outfit in game, mostly very clear elements from the delusion phase outfit, and of course a large resemblance in the style to the fatui agent's outfit. i can't get a full full front view either but rear view is the one i have even less of an idea of. side?? side view?? his outfits in general just have so many details that being unable to know fully what specific mix of them is working together is- *pained noises, strongly overthinking every aspect imaginable*

(that isn't meant as a complaint of any sort, i'd manage even if i can't get more references. but for a person who usually struggles to even bother to use references, and that just sounds bad and lazy, because it probably is, but anyway, this is a weird feeling, to search for them so hard with difficulty :'D)

my dear we stand on the exact same boat (on the topic of perfectionism and obsessing over details) and so i both salute you and present you with a probably too overly-complicated answer that i hope will help you;

putting it under the cut to spare everyone's dash;;

Ajax' clothes in his dreams

you are correct in that, generally, if the dream is a memory then yes, he wears an approximation of what he was wearing in that memory, or straight-up the same outfit. if the getup in the memory is intact, like a memory of a normal day at the fatui, then he has the same outfit. but if the getup isn't intact, like- idk, a memory of a dangerous mission where his uniform got kinda torn, then he has an intact verison of the outfit instead. but if it is a memory too distant that the attire of back then wouldn't fit (ie. like a memory from the abyss) then he's wearing whatever he had on upon falling asleep.

so, as an example, in the dream he has of when he got kicked out of his parents' house (when they make snowmen with xiao), he would be wearing his sleeping clothes. this because, in the memory of the dream, ajax was 14 and therefore the clothes he'd had on back then would no longer fit his adult body.

if it is a dream that calls back to no memory in particular, then- whatever goes. i'd say most of the time he'd be wearing whatever he had on upon falling asleep, but some dreams are amalgamations of indistinct memories, and so he could be wearing any other outfit. like a randomizer if given options from his wardrobe.

(while we're on that topic, xiao's clothes in the dreams he enters are generally a variation/something similar to his everyday clothes, as oposed to whatever he fell asleep in. this is because xiao has a degree of control over the dreamscape (though minimal at this stage), and can thus alter how he presents himself – like when he first appeared to ajax as a sort of anemo shade/ghost)

2. do Ajax' outfits vary

yes. but also. i'm- rather embarrassed to admit it, even if i know it's fanfic and therefore not beholden to the level of perfection over minute details that a proper published book ought to be (what with most fanfic posting as it gets written, with little chance to go back and correct mistakes (i know you can, but i feel like i'm cheating everytime i have to do it even though it should be well within my right as the author;;)); but i, uh, may have completely forgotten about ajax' clothes.

so like. he arrives with his heist uniform (i'll get into that one in a bit for your other question dw <3), that i do remember. then he borrows clothes from morax a handful of times. but then guizhong takes him to a tailors? and like- gets him clothes? but for the life of me i cannot remember if i ever got around to writing them actually picking up or making use of those new clothes. like straight-up, i have no idea. it has just left my brain. like i know i could go back and try to find it but honestly? i feel like that's just not as important for the purposes of the story, even if it will forever grate on my consciousness. so, so they get clothes at the tailors, but i do remember it being like- we'll come pick those up once they're done, so ajax carries on using his heist uniform and morax' clothes in alternation. if i remembered to have them pick up the clothes, then he would've worn those only once or twice (i think??) before the whole snezhnaya trip and subsequent celestia spy mission happened. which. has seen him donning nothing but the heist uniform, so. for the past chapters, that's all he's been wearing. he has occasionally worn his hesit uniform but without the intricate coat, which is the same outfit he has in his brithday artwork but like- with black pants.

i apologize about the whole tailor's clothes situation but believe you me i'm more annoyed by it than any of you probably are (i doubt many of you care all that much about such an inconsequential little detail lmao)

3. heist uniform

it is indeed just a fatui pyro agent's attire from the game- but like, only the coat. i'm working under the assumption that our modern fatui don't wear that sort of stuff, even if their uniforms are indeed not as dull as any ordinary soldier's. so like- by comparison, a pyro agent's uniform (from the game - our game, not theirs) would look intricate and ornate. i know ajax has a ceremonial getup, the one from the lasso trailer, but 1) that got revealed as i was already several chapters into the story and 2) i assume that's like- for very formal events, not heists. so,

it's a pyro fatui agent's coat, but the red accents are all shades of black and grey. the back looks exactly the same as the in-game model does, i think. the only major difference that i can think of is that he doesn't wear the hood, and that he has his red scarf on. so like- take tartaglia's model and take the scarf portion apart (front and back), and put it on a pyro agent. that's it.

the clothes under the coat are his delusion design from the bossfight, only the vision at the belt remains the same hydro from his playable model.

so uh- i hope that was helpful? thank you so very much for venturing into another fic of mine, i hope you liked it as well <3