#is it obvious who gets drawn more bc I think it very much is lmao

[everythingwasalreadypicked]

That moment when the guy that you all looked up to at some point haunts your relationship

[tragedry]

hi ry, can you tell us what your fave ashler moment is and why 👀😳

i have a lot anon... like a lot™

so narrowing it down to a single ashler moment is pretty difficult.. but if i had to pick a particular moment that i can't stop thinking about lately, it would have to be this:

EPISODE 57-58 (LET THE ASHLER META POST BEGIN)

idt anyone ever talks about how much ashlyn actually cares about tyler.

we've seen them bicker (like an old married couple) so many times in the webtoon, but this is the kind of moment where you stop and realize that ashlyn and tyler are close. and that they actually trust and care about each other. like a lot.

in chapter 57, during their video call, we get a glimpse of their interaction and it's honestly such an eye opener.

bc we see tyler volunteering to be left behind (out of his need to keep everyone safe and to not be a burden), and ashlyn immediately shoots that offer down with a hard "AND I SAID WE AREN'T GOING TO DO THAT" indicating that they have already had this conversation before, and further emphasizing that she has no plans of leaving him behind. (which not only highlights how they literally bicker like an old married couple, but also how unlikely it is to believe that these two could ever hate each other, so anyone who thinks ashler are trying to slit each other's throat definitely need to re read the source material bc ash would rather eat rocks than leave tyler behind)

(and i love how she even goes out of her way to get mad at him for making light of his current situation. like we can really see how seriously ash took his situation to heart and that no amount of tyler making like of his situation to appease her, could ever make her forget what happened-- which honestly goes to show how: 1.) ashlyn cares about him. and 2.) tyler feels the need to elevate that guilt from her in any way he can.)

i also adore her refusal to leave him behind and how her insistence to stick to their plan goes on for the next two panels or so, not to mention the fact that she literally berates him for his recklessness after waking up from the hospital.

Ashlyn: Not to mention, the stroke from shock could've killed you!

Tyler: Fine, fine, whatever. Stop yelling.

look at his expression from their lil exchange, i love how resigned he is to her nagging LMAO

but going back to my point, the fact that ash goes on to emphasize her point truly highlights the fact that she does not want him to die, making her concern for his well-being quite obvious!

AND THEN WE GET TO CHAPTER 58!!

MAN THERE'S SO MUCH TO SAY!!

(tw for blood up ahead!!)

FIRST OF ALL,

ASHLYN FINDS HIM FIRST.

in a very dangerous, life-threatening, high stakes situation--where every second counts--where tyler's life is literally hanging on by a thread, ashlyn finds him.

she finds him and immediately eliminates the immediate threat to tyler's life.

and that all happens in the blink of an eye,,, well it's probably more than that, but the way these two scenes are drawn is meant to emphasize two things: ashlyn's ability to find tyler and her ability/efficiency to dispose of a phantom in order to protect those she cares for!

and i just love how her expression immediately shifts from concern (upon taking care of the immediate threat) to downright terrified (as soon as she realizes the state tyler is in)

she couldn't even bear to finish her question, and it breaks my heart to see such a haunted look on her face. she is literally faced with the sight of tyler impaled to a tree and loosing far too much blood, and it must have been such a juxtapose to the last time she had seen him (in the hospital, whole and unhurt) that it's no wonder ash literally freezes for a moment here, only for tyler's blood to drip on her cheek.

TALK ABOUT TRAUMA.

i would also like to point out that she came rushing to his aid alone.

with the way aiden and the rest of the group seemed to be looking for her, we can all concluded that ashlyn had been the only one to hear tyler's scream and immediately started running to find him, probably at the expense of leaving the rest of the group in her desperation to get to tyler in time.

and while the rest of the group is obviously taking in the brand new trauma of seeing their friend (brother in tay's case) literally dying in front of them, ash has already recovered enough (or at least has steeled herself enough to find move and focus on the important task at hand)

and it's so important for me to note how she doesn't berate the rest for freezing up.

but she also doesn't coddle them, opting to let them process and handle the situation on their own as she takes in the biggest responsibly (and burden) of climbing up the tree in order to sedate tyler.

literally cannot get over this moment, the slight tremble of ashlyn's hand, the way her voice remains steady as she promises to get him down, followed by tyler's soft "... okay."

(he's obviously in a lot of pain, and talking was probably the least of the things he should be doing, and yet he still felt compelled to answer her)

and can we just talk about the way she was able to hold herself together up until she was able to get down, but immediately had a full body tremble right after.

my poor girl....

chapter 58 truly is one of the darkest moments between ashler (aside from the season finale and the fourth episode following it, which i'll explain in a bit)

i say 'darkest' in the sense that tyler's near death is the manifestation of ashlyn's biggest fear: failing the people she cares about.

her breakdown during episode 52 had been a culmination of having to not only survive but lead her friends to safety from monsters actively trying to kill them every night.

but the tipping point had been failing to stop tyler's fall, followed by having to make the difficult decision of leaving him behind in order to save the rest of her friends, immediately followed by having to see tyler convulsing as soon as they wake up from their trip to the phantom dimension.

could you imagine how horrific the scene is in ashlyn's pov, having to see tyler (someone who normally has a large presence, and easily towers over most of their group) literally looking so helpless in mike's arms?

the realization of ty's fragility, at the fact that all of them are just kids who were thrown into a world fulls of horrific creatures trying to kill them, and having no one else to rely on.. and being shouldered with the responsibility of being the leader...

ashlyn took tyler's hospitalizations (his fall) as a personal blow. a failure that practically leads her to breaking down.

and she had carried that guilt with her, and even when ty had reassured her later on (which is honestly such a good ashler moment btw, feel free to read my thoughts abt it here) it's not something she can easily let go of...

i honestly think that ashlyn still carries the guilt with her--a part of herself still remains haunted by tyler's fall, and she took it as a personal blow.

which leads us back to episode 57-58! where we get to see her practically coddle tyler in episode 57 in her own way (ie scolding him for his self-sacrificing nature and for his recklessness despite the extent of his injury)

and in episode 58, how she had been the first one to find him and was the one to save him (from the phantom) as well as lead the team from extracting him out of the tree.

now that ashlyn has experienced the grief and guilt of failing tyler once, she took it upon herself to make sure it never happens again.

and that's why this particular sequence of events haunts my narrative to this very day, and why ashler has such a chokehold on me.

the idea that ashlyn's protectiveness of tyler stems from her own guilt of failure, along with her growing bond and friendship with him, paired with tyler's trust and growing fondness of her.

(which i've already pointed out before here and here)

all of this to say that ashler is a very compelling ship, with depths and moments that aren't as glaringly obvious, and yet the way in which their relationship has grown and developed throughout the webtoon is irrefutable and becoming increasingly obvious through each episode, especially when you actually take the time to read and check the source material.

anyway, that's the end of my very long ashler meta regarding ep 57-58 (crazy how this isn't even tackling the entirety of the webtoon, but i'll get to that when i have the time to compile each and every moment of theirs and analyze it)

i had a lot of fun talking about them, and i appreciate all the asks y'all are sending me (it's the perfect excuse for me to keep yapping LMAO)

ending this meta with: live, laugh, love ashler ❤️❤️

[u3pxx]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S 2024?!?!

next, you're gonna tell me it's gonna be some made-up year like "2025" next. tch, imagine that.

anyways, whoo! 2023! compared to both 2022 and 2021, i gotta say, my art style took a hard swerve in some direction this year. i mean, look at that klavier from january and that butch kim from just this december! (granted, i heavily referenced the portrait of butch kim but still, i didn't use to paint! mama mia!)

---

the way i drew faces has definitely changed, that's what i get for getting into something that's live-action and into smth that has realistically proportioned art lol

OH! OH! HOW COULD I FORGET!!! IT WAS (and still will be) THE YEAR OF THE OLD MAN!! i really learned how to draw aged faces this year! ach fraulein, i have not stopped drawing people in their 40's-50's! i would say "send help" but i'm actually having a lot of fun ASKSKS

---

i think a funny thing about these art summaries i've done is that they're mostly ace attorney but then there's just a month where i become a different type of ill LMAO this year it was four months for the price of two new interests!

cheers! here's to 2024!!! hope y'all have a fun art year!!!!

---

i'm gonna ramble more below about like, other art things i did this year but i'm gonna put it under 'keep reading' bc this baby is getting way too wordy now WHEEZES

1. FAVORITE THINGS I'VE DRAWN THIS YEAR (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

⚖️ mea culpa comic [x]

drawing this one was so time-consuming and ambitious but boy, do i love the end result! i had fun doing the inks for this one but was it a lot! i usually color in lineart and render everything but i had to stop myself from doing it for this one bc man, i'll die asksks

this also has some of my favorite apollos i've drawn, definitely

also! the part about the lineart not being colored and no rendering ended up being a deliberate stylistic choice for this one bc i had like more freedom to do just shadows with inks without it looking too out of place.

💐 my lawfully wedded zine spread [x]

now this one isn't out yet but take my word for when i say that this is one of the most craxy things i've ever drawn for this year, on account of drawing a comic AND group shot all in one!

also literally one of the prettiest things i've rendered this year, lookit that klav...

🎉 aa4 redraw - 2022 anniversary [x]

kind of like my wedding zine piece, group photos are insane, and rendering like uhhh [looks at drawing] 11 CHARACTERS IS ALSO INSANE if i try and draw a group photo again you have to stop me DFGHDJ

🎨 my art fight stuff [x] [x]

was possessed in the month of july or smth bc i pumped out like how many drawings so quickly (before i got burnt out that is pftt)

pace yourselves and don't be like me pls ajshgdghhjk

💥 people park day [x]

my friend told me that it was very obvious i watched across the spiderverse when they saw this FDFGHJD

but yea! this is when i started getting really into like, thought bubbles or just like, panels or drawings within a drawing when coming up with layouts

i still love the colors on this one...

🪩 fem disco portraits

ok so i haven't uploaded these yet but you have to trust me when i say that something was in the water DFGHDJ

who knew that all it took for me to learn how to paint was butches

2. ALSO DID YOU KNOW THAT I SOLD STICKERS THIS YEAR IN OUR UNI'S ART MART?

THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT THAT SCHOOL I SWEAR PFTTT this experience has also awaken the merch beast in me and i need to make more physical things for my brain to be happy, that's just how it be pfttt

hopefully next year i can actually start like a shopee shop or whatever lmao

3. ART FIGHT

i'm actually quite happy i got to participate in art fight this year! very delighted for all the art i've gotten and very fun to have drawn for others too!!

4. ZINES

i got invited and joined so many zines from 2022 continuing to 2023 that i kind of got burnt out from participating for now ngl ASKSKSKS not gonna be joining much this year oopsiessss! (unless i lose self-control [very likely])

5. SCHOOL

i don't actually like a lot of the stuff i draw for art school bc i tend to cram and not have fun pftt <- adhd moment, tragic! but here are some that i actually kind of like lol

6. THAT'S IT!

i think that's it! thanks for reading all the way down here!! o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

[nyehilismwriting]

not sure if you’ve been asked this beforeeee but how do you implement all the technical jargon? the descriptions of the consoles, the coolant chambers, the effects of a fictional plasma gun on flesh and armor, and the like? do you do a lot of research? and how do you make it sci-fi? (after my 4936^nth play through im now focused on every little word you put to paper 😌)

ummm I don't do a Lot of research - I read a lot of scifi so a lot of the "jargon" is drawn from there... if there's specific parts I want to know about, I'll look up the ways various engines work (car/shuttle/submarine usually) and see if I can find a named part that suits what I need, but I won't spend hours on it. usually if I can't find something within about 15 minutes I'll just make some shit up: there's basic principles, like....engines produce heat, require a power source, require backup power sources, and that power needs distribution and containment - that gives you coolant systems, fusion chambers, generators, and from there if i need to get more specific I'll look up how real engines manage these things.

i try not to use too much technical jargon, because i know that can put people off, and I think...in a lot of cases, the more specific you get, the more glaring the errors can be. I'm not an engineer and I've definitely got some stuff wrong (lmao) but the more attention I draw to it the more obvious it'll be, so...vagueness my good friend vagueness. there's definitely some things I've thought about a loooot more - I have a lot of thoughts about the way IVI works, for example, bc I have. neuroscience degrees and it's something I like thinking about, whereas the space travel and engineering stuff is less interesting to me so I get less specific. at some point I fully intend to have a big exposition dump about the biology of IVI and I expect everyone to sit down and pay attention<3

as for how I make it scifi, I think....again, as someone who reads and watches a lot of scifi I have quite a strong sense of the vibe I'm going for, and the ways it plays into the setting I've built: for example, I've obviously discussed power armour and body armour as things that scytha operatives are equipped with, which then means there have to be weapons designed to bypass those things, and so thinking about that kind of rock-paper-scissors system of different technologies is a lot of fun. a lot of my inspiration for that comes from video games in particular, which tend to be very combat-focused and so do emphasise that sort of thing.

so, yeah, there's a lot of....piecing together bits and pieces, and looking back at things I've already written in and asking how I can work around or with that, and checking for consistency; i draw inspiration from all kinds of places, but particularly my books and also my job:-)

[denzartriste]

Hi denz do you have any set designs for any of the other characters in you pirate AU? (I Might need ideas for art mayhaps :D) like you can choose any character or characters you want

I also just liked seeing your thoughts about technos design bc it made more sense to me when then reading the newest chapter

Hi Ýr! I actually do, and also've drawn up some designs (Ranboo especially, since i needed a visual refrence for their entire. Situation.) The top two drawings are a bit older since i did them a while ago, but i still think its accurate?

The bottom one was the first of the new drawings i did, and i think its a bit obvious but that's fine. Gonna just point things out because i think that's the best way to explain :D Also trying not to delve too too much into spoilers but it will be tricky.

The before thing is referencing mainly when Ranboo met Tommy and Tubbo, it's after the boat crashing. Shaded parts are white, because ranboo scars white, and the mouth scars are placed where the jaw connects to the rest of the head. He also has ones on their tear ducks, thats what the scar lines near the eyes are. The top before drawing (the side profile one) has ranboo's braid still in, but thats technicly wrong because while Ranboo had their braid in when they met Tommy and Tubbo, they never tied it again. No reason to that, Ranboo just didnt feel a need to do it.

Their braid is tied on the right

The now drawings include the bandage, cause Ranboo doesnt really want to show his scars (bandage is tricky to do himself, but he can do it and usually does. There is a Reason in chapter 2 Ranboo asks tommy specificly to help him re-bandage his face.)

Last thing about them cause i know this is getting rambly (fully aware no one minds, but also i am trying to be clear and FAILING) : Ranboo has pointed ears. This is not a normal thing. Techno doesnt mention it because he choses not to notice it, but it felt impoprtant to mention since im talking about Ranboo's design.

Little baby tommy zoom in (i doodled it so small lmao sorry bout the pixels)

I just felt like drawing him very little and young. The scar is face paint wow i wonder if its familiar i wonder if thats like, a hint to something who knowsssss :) (Also it might just be mud actually, not face paint. He put mud right next to his eye and he thought it looked SO cool)

Also, pigtails. That was important. He has pigtails. In my heart it matters, fem tommy for the win he deserves to have longer hair

ALSO. The full body is inacurate, but it would be spoilers to do an accurate kid tommy so i sadly can't. When it's revealed i will as a little sorry (and also cause i REALLY wanna draw it but shhh thats not important) (it might also be related to why Ranboo asked Tommy to help him with his bandages. But i refuse to give away more than that)

Last but not least, Tubbo!!!!

He is NOT bald i just didnt want to draw more, so i took an screeshot of and older drawing of his scar because i think that's important. His eye droops and his face is a bit messed up, he also can't hear out of his left ear (obviously) but his other ear isnt that good at hearing either. Tubbo's been around cannons since he was too little to understand that, hey, maybe covering your ears will be helpful in the long run. But he was little and no one ever told him. He figured it out now, but his reflex is more of 'tense and stay very still' instead of 'cover your ears and duck'

He also tends to wear heavy outfits. Like, a big jacket and big boots and just clothes that are so puffy that they give him a round silhouette if that makes sense

[pro-crastinate17]

hello this will be a reaction to black friday starkid because i like to talk about the things i like

(it ended up only being act 1 bc it got super long lol)

ths is only my third time watching it and the first time was like. 2 years ago (the second time was only a few months ago but i didnt absorb enough or write this so here we go again)

will be VERY long btw

in the jingle when angelas sniggle says "we're the sniggles! don't be scared!" she winks when she says dont be scared. this is. foreshadowing :thumbsup:

never getting over "hes deep down in drowsy town, sleepng the dreamless sleep of the dead!"

also JAMES TOLBERT!!!!! his VOICE im so <3 [heart]

also oh my god im reading WAY too far into this but. "hes riding santas sleigh cause hes friends with all the elves" wigglys main allies are uncle wiley and linda monroe, who are played by joey and lauren, who both play elves in santa claus is going to high school!!!

OUGH i love the announcer whose voice is that?? it is reminiscent of big bill hells lol

"i wanted a salad, but now i have a child" never gets old lol. also the exposition in this scene is FLAWLESS mwah

THE LA DI DA DA DAY MOTIF IN THE BACKGROUND LMAO (it is definitely NOT a la di da da day)

"i do not get flashbacks!!! ...i remember bad things vividly." TOM IS SO ME CODED LOL

emma doing paul's "okay" thing gives me LIFE

DYLAN SAUNDERS APPRECIATION MOMENT i love tom houston so much i love dylan saunders oh my goodness gracious literally flawless acting !!! and his VOICE i cant even (also him holding up his hands like the steering wheel is such good foreshadowing for him having been the one driving!!)

tom is COMPLETELY unable to read sarcasm. tom houston autism confirmed. (/silly)

OK OK I KNOW that "bud" is a common way to refer to weed. however. lex smoking weed in hatchetfield and says "bud" specifically?? PERKYS BUDS REFERENCE!

the "to nordstrom? ah shiiit!" he sounds so canadian?? i cant be the only one hearing this lol what was that

COREY DORRIS APPRECIATION MOMENT!!!!! HIS VOICE HIS ACTING HES SOOOO <3 [heart] also the frank and uncle wiley interaction is SO FUNNY !!! and the condescension paired with calling lex "alexandra" is a rlly good way to make it obvious how icky frank is i love it

"honest?" "cross my heart, hope to die" BUT HE WAS LYING AND THEN HE DIES. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE STARKID

am i the only one whos curious about the gerald cinnabon story lmao. what did he DO that was so bad that gary goldstein attorney at law couldnt save him from the consequences?

"thats called a BRIBE and its ILLEGAL!!!" *skeptical look* "...or it SHOULD be." IM GIGGLING

im osrry the "my CHILDREN were accidents" line KILLS ME lmao. esp bc she literally IS making it everyone elses problem (by demanding 4 wigglys)!!

ik this fandom talks a lot about "stop crying gerald i wasnt talking to you" but i dont think we pay enough attention to lindas stanley monologue. like holy shit.

ALSO TOM TAKES THE SPOT BEHIND BECKY IN LINE AND DOESNT PAY ANYONE and no one even notces bc theyre all too busy gossiping lmao also what do you say is SUCH a good song aaaa!!! (why is the homeless man so invested on

"tHe YeArS hAvE pAsSeD"

FRANK MY BELOVED I LOOOVE OUR DOORS ARE OPEN

unrelated but i just noticed curt (the farmer who has peanuts the hatchetfield pocket squirrel during what if tomorrow comes) does not currently have peanuts the hatchetfield pocket squirrel! how does he come to be in possession of peanuts? was peanuts also drawn to wiggly (since he is canonically a sentient being?) what is really going on here? maybe this was the real conspiracy all along /silly

JEFF BLIM WIGGLY HANDS (also distinctly resembles the wiggly hands jon does as wiggly in npmd!!)

also feast or famine is an INCREDIBLE song like actually AAAAAA !!! chaos reigns!!!

is ethan wearing a kilt? or a skirt?? also him saying "more bad" instead of worse GIGGLE

tom scaring gary off just by looking scary is PEAK comedy i take no criticism

"aHhH yUmMy!!!!!"

"I HAVE A HAIR APPOINTMENT TODAAAAAAAAAY"

the resurgence of hello naughty list?? does sthat mean uncle wiley originally wanted lex to be the prophet. DOES THAT MEAN UNCLE WILEY ORIGINALLY WANTED LEX TO BE THE PROPHET.

i cant stop saying "i have pepper spray and i use it more than you can possibly imagine", also "ohh i dont know if you wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna FUCK with me miss monroe" ITS SO SILLY

when he sings the little "why should you give when you can get" BE STILL MY HEART (i have gender envy for joey richter)

"all you gotta do is just do what you do best-" "SHOP." "-be a mother." "...right." I LOVE THEIR DYNAMIC.

"yEs I fUcKiNg SeE hIm"

i never noticed bob is a parody of obama lmao ALSO HIM COMFORTING WIGGLY AFTER HOWIE CALLS HIM A FUCKING WEIRD LITTLE MONSTER LMAO

"iLL bItE yOuR nIpPLe OfF"

the way the wiggly is damaged is NOT what wouldve happened from being shot. but thats ok bc its my babygirl general john macnamara <3 [heart]

MONSTERS AND MEN IS SO GOOD. I LOVE JEFFS VOICE SM JEFF BLIM APPRECATION MOMENT !!!!! also he looks Rigjt at the camera when he says "its nothing on your phone" GIGGLE

[v-arbellanaris]

Re: rarepair Hell. I would like to know how many pits we mutually occupy, so. Could I get a list of like, idk, your top ten (based in enjoyment level) rarepairs? And/or headcanons but I would prefer "and".

okay i'll assume you mean dragon age specifically MFDSKJFSDKJF but okay, i'll list some!!!!

the obvious ones:

fenders (fenris x anders) : i love a good narrative foil

zevistair (zevran x alistair) : idk if this counts as a rarepair but!!! their canon flirting banters always make me go sooo insane. that you can include zevran in the foursome w alistair if alistair is hardened (lol) makes me INSANE. they are basically canon aND YET!!!!!!

warden x loghain : ive written so much abt them already. you get the idea

nanders (nathaniel x anders)

the less obvious ones:

anders/merrill (bonus: anders/merrill/isabela): for all the same reasons i ship fenders (which i would argue is still relatively a popular pair, so not quite rarepair??); they're such good mirrors, they're both encapsulate what the other fears. anders being 100% okay to hurt people despite being a healer vs merrill being a blood mage who has never wanted to hurt anyone is just *chef kiss*. you can take a look at this for more compelling reasons to ship them.

fenris/merrill: for all the same reasons as above. i think if u dont ship each individual LI of the kirkwall polycule w each other, u shouldnt say u ship the kirkwall polycule.

solavelyan / soladaar / soladash / solas x non-lavellan inqs: i still think it should've been a romance option for all inqs tho i suppose they didn't really have the time to develop a non-lavellan route for them, but i love thinking about it, and i love the vibes for it so much. again, i love narrative foils, and i think it's so natural to be drawn to someone who could understand you like that.

alistair x bethany: a not-templar and a not-circle mage, in the wardens together. i think they'd really like each other and have a very interesting kind of energy!!! they've both got these secret bitter/spiteful sides to them, there's a lot of parallels (like alistair thinking warden conscription is a good thing bc it was for him and bethany having v different emotions abt being a warden in general). i've also really enjoyed most of the fics i've read for them.

nathaniel x f!cousland: UNFORTUNATELY THOUGH i dont think i've been able to find the kind of fic i want for them in the tag. i've got too many wips as it is, but maybe one day i'll write the nathaniel/f!cousland fic of my dreams...

nathaniel x anora: this one is admittedly @rosella-writes' fault, but they've got me by the THROAT as a concept

m!hawke/cullen: LIKE ESPECIALLY IF IT'S ONE-SIDED FOR CULLEN it's something that can be SO fascinating to explore (esp in an amell worldstate). [shaking cullen] babygirl what is WRONG with you!!!!!!!

m!hawke/sebastian: sebastian grappling with his admiration for hawke vs his chantry vows but THIS TIME make it mlm..... i think this is probably baby vee coming through w how hard i used to ship d/estiel in the early 00's LMAO. fsr they hit the same beats in my skull.

morrigan/leliana: noooo girlies don't fight haha <3 they should dump the warden and kiss instead <3

josephine/the iron bull: i read a few fics for them that admittedly captured my interest. i think their dynamic is something that could really be interesting to delve into for so many reasons. i've read the evidence and i find it compelling enough to put on this list

[cattytheartcat]

💜welcome💜

Been here since 2015, so I feel I should make an actual bio thingy. For those who has known me since 2015, I'm so so sorry for who I was then. I was 12 years old when I began Tumblr, and was immediately groomed and thought I was mature enough since my 13th birthday was the next day or so at the time. I'm 20 now, and learned from my mistakes and absolutely got therapy. Anyway uhh--

This will get rlly long so I'm adding a "read more" thingy so you dont gotta scroll through my post, but if you're new to my blog I advise checking this post out.

💜BASIC BIO💜

♡Catty

♡she/her [cis woman]

♡bisexual • polyamorous

♡artist, sometimes writer, shitposter, reblogger

♡Creator of The Matrix 5; Reformations AU, Ashesverse AU, Running Like Hell ARG, Slendyverse (MLP x Slenderverse) AU, Grand Eden Hospital, Nightmares In Paradise (fan spn) AU

♡assistant Public Relations, assistant Music Department Head, and Artist Lead for PoniesOnline

♡creator of the blogs; Ask Psychosishy, Ask the Ashesverse, Ask the Hugoverse (multiverse of Hugo Weaving), Ask All MLP OCs

v--links to ask blogs--v

♡past creator of the blogs; Ask Slenderverse (deleted), Ask Zalgoverse (deleted), Ask all the mlp OCs (deleted for a long ass time lmao), RaveV blog (deleted), Smynth blog (deleted)

[Divider by etNoir on Deviantart]

💙DNI💙

《If you disregard any of this "just to spite me" you are getting blocked immediately》

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☆racism, sexism, ableism

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☆controversial content/persons (until clear evidence is provided during drama, I wish to NOT partake or be involved)

☆(irl people) shippers

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☆TC/Simon/ChurchGrimmed [personal issues]

☆Dandelionmoths [personal issues]

☆Freakwolffreakish/Caresse/GoreyBloodyTeethsArts [groomer, erp as a minor character x an adult character, drama queen]

[Divider by King-Lulu-Deer on Deviantart]

💜frequent tags💜

♡important -> something I think is important to know. PSAs, warnings, etc

♡very important -> similar to the above tag, however much more urgent

♡wishlist -> things I might buy for myself

♡[name] aesthetic -> aesthetic posts that remind me of my OCs or favorite characters/people

♡[ship name] -> aesthetic posts that remind me of my ships

♡my art -> art I've made

♡old art -> art I've made from 2015-2020

♡amazing -> Tumblr classics baybee (funny or really bizarre things really)

♡other art -> artwork made by others

♡fanart -> artwork made by others for me

♡towards toxicity -> vague posting towards toxic people who fucked up my heart big time

♡witchy tips -> tips and stuff regarding witchcraft

♡art tips -> helpful artwork tips!!

♡me fr -> stuff that I feel represents me!

[Divider by King-Lulu-Deer on Deviantart]

💙FIND ME EVERYWHERE ELSE LOL💙

Deviantart: CattyTheArtCat

Art Fight: CattyTheArtCat

Toyhouse: CattyTheArtCat

YouTube: Catty TheArtCat

Instagram: catty_the_art_cat

Discord: [gotta be someone I know lol]

Kofi: Catty The Art Cat

RedBubble: Catty The Art Cat

💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜💙💜

That's all really lmao. Yeah I may have been in some shitty situations and been a dumb fuck of a kid but uh. I'm better now weehee

Also even though my account says "NSFW", it's moreso because I post/reblog (cartoon/drawn) gore and blood and violence. Yknow, creepy Grimmdark Creepypasta shit. I also post/reblog suggestive content, maybe even sexual humor, but I never post flat out porn (at least, not anymore). Do NOT follow me if you're expecting trans fetish bullshit or cheap PornHub shit. I don't do that shit.

Another thing I wanna add is that even though I'm anti-proship, I DONT CONDONE HARASSMENT AND DEATH THREATS. That's just as low as the proshippers themselves, you are no better. Most proshippers are a hive mind (teehee The Matrix reference go brr), yknow, saying the same shit; "antis should kay why ess!!", "Minors DNI unless you're an anti", "being anti [pedo, rape, incest, etc] = evangelical puritanism even though they mean actually bad shit not kink and sex in general!!", etc. They are hypocritical bastards that push and push until they can milk out "receipts" to publicly shame you.

If you're an anti but go out of your way to "prove them right about antis being horrible", you are not welcome here. You are the reason why people prefer proship rather than. You are the reason why we are seen as the "bad".

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Know me from petty immature drama? Here's some clarification!!

My stance with minors interacting with my accounts

My stance with Palestine [I also have a post about trying to support Palestine and Lahaina]

My response to the Pyro situation

My stance and response to Rashad

If you want more info or evidence for any of these DM me and we can talk it out like actual mature adults 👍

[vermanaward]

dawntrail msq, 92-95

earthenshire

i'm just getting this out ahead of time. if this ends in another cheese debacle im. pls don't

apparently 'use your words to ask for things' is a concept that moblins are allergic to. god dammit

koana is that guy who studied abroad for a semester and came home all 'they do it Like This in Sharlayan We Should Too'

dont love that he's internalised so much that the foreign way is besterest, or that the writing keeps half supporting his assertions

[while standing right next to an aethyryte] whyyyyy do we have to taaaake a booooooooat

wait this is why we had that aside with the melodramatic elf wasn't it. sigh

so as well as speedrunning his character arc he's speedrun his citizenship arc. good for him i guess?

cool, role quests unlocked. time to ignore those until level 98

okay the gulool jaja fight was p fun

also i like that this whole hting isn't just. heeheehoohoo trial by combat goes brrr. he's like if izaro actually rubbed his braincells together and didn't set the empire up to fail

[koana voice] everyone will think twice about fighting us once we have advanced technology

yes that's definitely how this works. also absolutely the reason garlemald left sharlayan alone. not because sharlayan kept running away like the cowardly fucks they are.

wow. gee. lamat got herself catnapped this definitely wasn't incredibly predictable

doing the stealth section while it's pissing it down with rain so my girl has her bright white umbrella out = top tier

well. koana's not having kids the old fashioned way

and once again we all just. stand there like muppets while the bad guy retreats.

then again literally all of this could have been avoided if someone had. escorted the catgirl when she was lured into the Very Obvious Trap. sigh

either way this is going to end with one of the cats on the throne and the other in an advisory capacity. and i hate it

i had to xp grind here bc of Miscalculations. how embarassing -_-

worlar's echo

finally realising that the urqopacha day theme has the same opening as the sohm al theme. concerned about what further parallels are going to be drawn. is valigarmanda nidhogg's ex? is estinien going to get posessed again? pls say no

at least there's not a blue hair elf pld for them to kill off this time

okay so i was wrong about valigarmanda. i still expect that the seal in the city will house a boss fight, though.

new prediction: the feat of ice will start with 'strengthen valigarmanda's prison', and end up being 'actually just fucking kill it'

pretty purple bird. it's the next dungeon boss isnt it

dungeon 2 - worqor zamor

alisae green dps LMAO

how i feel during prog sometimes. tbh

krile uses aoe spells?? in dungeon??? what is this MADNESS

hot Damn i like boss 1 a lot. it's cute but also its mechanics are kinda fun

i also like that trusts don't just run to the safe spot straight away any more. little details in programming them that makes them seem more human

boss 3's no slouch either. honestly a good dungeon alround tbh

the gear is unique too. dyes too

aaay got the orc roll too

valigarmanda

...and we didn't use erenville's magic macguffin when lamat was missing because....?

WHY COULDNT WE FEED IT THE INFORMATION IN THE FIRST PLACE. christ this is so needlessly padded

the normal was pretty fun. ex hopefully will be interesting. the persistent dot on everyone after the add phase was an interesting touch. music slaps too

it occured to me about half way through that if valigarmanda is/was an auspice, it probably lost itself to aramitama at some point, which is. sad, honestly. give your local long lived sentient animal a hug before they go mad and blow the world up

also i noticed krile casting aero ii at vali and. i guess her ai script just loops aoe spells in part of it, instead of being smart enough to tell between single target and multiple targets. at least she aoes i guess.

oh. the "golden city" was amarout wasn't it. 🙃🔫

iq br'aax

so instead of using our words and just. asking someone what this recipe is, we're going to watch people and divine a particular recipe from the aether. why is this storyline so allergic to people talking to each other like adults

what am i saying this is xiv nobody talks to each other like adults. urianger least of all.

[consults crafting log] well either it's higher than level 95, requires a master crafting book, or doesn't exist. there i solved the trial can we- [dragged off stage out back]

...why the fuck is french toast a level 93 recipe

oh okay i used my words and asked someone and we were forbidden from being told this information so i guess we're just following quest markers until we stumble upon it by happenstance and exposition

oh my god alphinaud shut up about the fuckin firewood

brokering peace by appealing to a greater xenophobia is. it sure is a tactic i guess

not that he's wrong per se but like.

if there's been peace for eighty years tho, and barring the use of something like black rose, you'd have thought the cinderfields would have grown back by now. ash is a wonderful fertiliser, after all. but what do i know

(even then the east end still has more regrowth that. an old battlefield in the middle of a rainforest? okay.)

pls krile i powerleveled cul so i could afk macro my own consumables. i do not cook

i keep periodically remembering the person responsible for overseeing this expac and i'm just. yeah. the heavy handedness. yeah.

Oh Boy Parenthood Drama man

Wuk Lamat Has Two Dads (but no mom. xiv pls)

"several cutscenes" says the prompt, while there's the telltale solo instance marker around an npc. sure, jan

apparently squex did not in fact get the memo that people hate rp battles

wol: [popcorn intensifies]

mamook

we are actually visiting. an entire map during a single arc of the story. this is unprecedented. at least outide of final zones, anyway. which i know this isn't bc my shared fate and aether current trackers are half empty

you know i. i'm extremely not a fan of how it's the lizards of all the groups here that are the supremacists who are not above lying/cheating/stealing/etc. just saying

SILVERSCALES MENTIONED

actually i've been sorta wishing i could bring it up. 'yeah i beat several shades out of him for bullying harmless tonberries. who then finished him off with their knives, yes, but fucker had it coming'

why are there alkonosts here 👀 not that it really matters but. pretty birb-not-birb

man we're gearing up to Power Of Friendship the racist supremacists again aren't we

whatever. lower yak'tel is so pretty, i can't wait to fish here :3

i like how everyone assumes that we're on the level and didn't murder bakool for his blessed scales like he kinda deserved

GLOW IN THE DARK BANANAS

actually i just saw a glow in the dark skeletal alkonost and now im wondering if the glow in the dark isn't like. radiation or someshit

i guess it tracks that the one thing wuk lamat would learn from the wol would be the ability to look at an enemy who despises everything that they are and go. "FRIEND SHAPED. :D"

oh okay we're Power Of Science (And Also Friendship)-ing our way out of this

which is great and all but man. sometimes people are just power hungry dicks, you know? this is the same shit we went through in garlemald. 'waugh they were only xenophobic warmongers because they had to live in a shitty country and people were shitty to them'. which, again. werlyt author -_-

...the catboy's going to quit, isn't he

ilevel for this battle is 666. lmao

"everyone ready?" erenville: [flees]

i didnt realise roegadyn were from yorkshire

i'm going to go out on a limb here and assume the fact that kettie is still alive is connected to something in not!amaurot

im also going to crash here bc its 2am and ive been awak since [looks at clock] too early. TMORROW: WE CONTINUE

[cdroloisms]

uhhhh ,, , hi ??

i feel bad bc i havent been here in. LITERALLY forever lmao - hope you guys r all doing good!! ive been working on some stuff but it’s been pretty slow going, and school is also A Thing, so i definitely havent been writing as much as i’d like. 

as an apology, have this? really self-indulgent feel-good syndicate + c!dream centric oneshot bc i felt like writing this so u know. why not. 

tws: implied torture, abuse, self-harm, disordered eating, starvation mentions, prison arc themes - overall everything’s just blink-and-you’ll-miss-it mentions, not too much angst here for once! c!sam and c!quackity critical, sorry guys but we r still in the prison arc and they still r on their “fuck human rights” arcs. 

Dream leaves.

 It’s a surprise - or maybe it isn’t one, Niki isn’t quite sure. She’d never grown to quite trust the man, she knows, and she can’t really tell if the bitter twist of emotion that swells up her chest when Phil comes to her city with the news is betrayal or resignation - what can she say. She’s gotten more than her fair share of broken promises. They don’t exactly faze her anymore. 

 None of them seem all that surprised, save Techno, who entirely fails to hide the worry that flickers over his face when he calls the Syndicate meeting to officially inform them of what’s going on. She shares quick, careful glances with the other members when his back is turned - despite how many times he’s been burned, Techno still seems so adamant at holding onto every thread, trusting all too easily those who would use and leave him behind without a second glance. He can handle himself, she knows. Still, that’s not going to stop her from slapping Dream upside the head for being yet another worthless person to betray her friend’s forgiving nature. 

 Nothing much changes in the next few weeks. Niki has to admit, it’s strange without Dream around - he’d not been an ally, much less a friend before dipping completely, but he had been some sort of constant - and Niki is self aware enough to know that she misses him, a little, the same sort of way you might miss an old routine once it’s gone, if only for the familiarity. She still visits Techno and Phil with various baked goods, knowing that Phil would have his hands full just keeping Techno from running himself ragged - makes sure to check on Ranboo, whose nerves have inevitably returned with Dream’s disappearance. To be honest, she doesn’t worry as much as he does - ally or not, she’s spent enough time with the Dream that had left prison to expect that he won’t exactly be able to get himself very far should he come for the four of them, and doesn’t particularly care about he might pull with the rest of the server - if things get bad, she’s sure Phil and Techno will have it handled. She asks Phil, once, what happened, and he shrugs. 

 “I don’t know, mate,” he heaves a chest to the side, pulling out a stack of stone blocks that Niki gladly holds for him. “One day we woke up and he was just- gone. Everything. Was like he wasn’t ever there at all.” 

 Niki hums. “Why’d you think he’d do something like that?” 

 “If I could understand half of why Dream does what he does, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, would we?” He smiles at her from behind a crate. “Shall we bring these things upstairs and start on dinner?” 

 Niki laughs, knowing that the conversation about Dream is over. “Of course, Phil.” 

Dinner is a welcome distraction; all of them have gotten better at cooking in recent months, between her baking and the veritable library of recipes Phil knows that she’s never even heard of, but Phil is still the only one she really trusts to hold his own behind the stove - Ranboo is still a little too nervous around water, and fire, and much of everything, and though Techno can be a perfectly capable cook, he’s been distracted as of late. She has a strong feeling that left to his own devices, he’d just grab a stack of steak and disappear for another few weeks, searching the server for information. 

 Honestly, she’s a little thrown off by his behavior - he’d not done anything like this with Tommy, if she remembers right, and had hardly seemed affected by Wilbur’s betrayal on the Sixteenth at all (then again, she was a little too lost in her own head to notice if he was.) She tosses her head over to ask Phil, who’s leaning over a few carrots he’s slicing to throw into the stew he’s making, and the man pauses, frowns. 

 “From what I know,” he starts, words slow, careful, “they’d spent three months in there together, and the conditions weren’t exactly- stellar. According to what Techno said, I’d assumed they had come to some sort of understanding.” He goes back to the carrots, expression dipping into shadow and out of sight. “Guess I was wrong.” 

 Niki hums. She can see it, sort of - spending months together with someone, no matter how insufferable, probably would end with some degree of attachment - she thinks back to plotting through sleepless nights with Jack, anger and grief leaving them simmering, crabs in the same pot of boiling water, remembers looking into his dead-eyed gaze and seeing her own stare back - and feels a brief pang of guilt. Besides, Techno is Techno. She’d never met someone so willing to forgive, understand, reach out despite everything that’s happened - for Dream to take advantage of that feels almost too obvious. Of course he would - what were they all thinking?

 “He’s Dream,” she says as if that explains everything, flipping open the oven door and feeling a wave of heat blast her face. Phil hums lowly, understanding. “I hope Techno will be alright.” 

 “He’s tough,” Phil cracks a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, “And he has us on his side. He’ll get through.” 

 Niki opens her mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by the front door slamming open. Outside their quaint little cottage, the wind howls - it sounds like the beginning of a blizzard out there, flurries painting the world in a thick blanket of white. In the door, Techno strides into the entrance with loud, decisive movements, shutting the door loud enough to make the walls shake. Inadvertently, Niki finds her eyes drawn to the small pile of snow that he’s tracked into the house - Techno’s usually so careful to kick it all off on the porch, never liked it much when there was a pile of melting ice and snow dampening the floorboards and soaking into his shoes. He huffs harshly, stripping off a snow-dusted scarf from his face - a long, multicolored abomination that had been the product of her attempting to teach Ranboo how to knit. Phil has reached his side, hands splayed over his upper arms, eyes soft in the corners from concern. 

 “Techno, mate-” his tone is chiding but his movements gentle as he brushes snow off of Techno’s signature cloak, “you’ve gotten snow everywhere. What were you doing, dueling a blizzard?” 

 Techno shakes his head, not meeting Phil’s banter as usual, fur sticking up from the snow melted into it. His voice is gruff and holds little humor - unconsciously, Niki feels her shoulders tense. 

 “Phil, call a Syndicate meeting.”

 ---

 Phil, per usual, is unrelenting, so it’s not until a quick dinner and some hurried messages to their final member later that the Syndicate is gathered in their meeting room, Techno pacing the length of the room as they wait in their respective seats. He looks less frazzled than he did when he first entered the house, in part due to Phil’s sitting him down to eat and picking through his fur to smooth it out of its windblown spikes and tangles - Techno had grumbled at him to stop preening him, but looked a lot more relaxed by the time they were all finished with their food. Still, his ear flicks periodically, twitching toward ssome sound that Niki can’t hear, movements tighter and jerkier than she is used to. He’d always been a little flightier after the prison, but not quite like this - everything here feels like that but dialed up to eleven. Inexplicably, it reminds her of Dream. 

 “Techno?” Phil gestures towards his seat, prompting, and he settles into it with an obliging huff. 

 “Y’know, Phil, the code names are kinda pointless if we never use ‘em,” he says, words carrying no real heat - he looks back at the rest of them, lips thinning into a line. “Anyway. I called this meeting because I found a couple leads on Dream.” 

 “O-oh,” Ranboo stutters, tail lashing behind him. 

 “You don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to, mate,” Phil reminds him gently, a sentiment that Niki affirms with a determined nod. 

 “There’ve been some reports- rumors, really,” Techno says, calling their attention again, and they all turn towards him, “of increased activity around the prison again. The Warden spending more time on its grounds, movement seen around the walls and around the portal- so I decided to go check it out for myself.” 

 Niki frowns, and watches as Phil does the same beside her - Techno had seemed to avoid the prison if he could help it, save for when he went on the initial mission to break Dream out. It was no secret to them that he didn’t exactly like the place. 

 “We could’ve helped if you asked,” Phil reminds him, and Techno shakes his head. 

 “I know, Phil. It’s just- that place is bad news. I’d rather keep you guys away from there if I can-” his hand goes to his head with a poorly hidden wince. “Sorry, Chat’s a little- worked up, at the minute.” 

 “Sorry, we’ll stop interrupting you,” Niki says, cutting off Phil before he says anything else. “So you went to the prison?” 

 Techno takes a second to gather his thoughts, mumbling quietly in the way that usually means he’s telling off Chat. “Right- I decided to stake out the portal. The rumors were right- Sam has been hanging around there, entered and left the prison four times yesterday. And today-” he hesitates, expression visibly darkening. “This morning, about an hour after the Warden arrived, Quackity came to the prison and went through the portal. He left the grounds about six hours later.” 

 “Quackity?” Niki frowns, eyes flicking over to how Phil has stilled in his seat. “What is Quackity doing at the prison?” 

 Phil ignores her question, reaching towards Techno, something indiscernible in his gaze. “Mate…”

 “He smelled of blood when he left,” Techno says, words sharp, and Niki feels her heart skip a beat. “Warden left about half an hour after, and I came back here.” 

 Ranboo clears his throat, sounding tentative. “Okay,” he drums his hand on the table when they turn towards him, eyebrows drawn, “but what, exactly, does this have to do with, uh, Dream?” 

 Techno and Phil trade glances, one of their bouts of unspoken conversation that Niki’s grown extremely used to. They seem strangely hesitant, she notes internally, Phil looking towards Techno with a question written clearly in the planes of his face. Techno sighs, a long puff of air through his lips as he closes his eyes and turns his face towards the table. 

 “You know how Dream was- injured,” he starts slowly, looking back up at them. Niki shifts uncomfortably - of course she noticed, it was impossible not to - if not the bandages that peeked under his sleeves and the cuffs of his pants, then how skinny he’d been, all skin and bones curled up uncomfortably in a pile at the corner of Techno’s couch. She’d not know the extent, by any means, and had always assumed that they’d been self-inflicted - she’d been in a bad enough place on her own before to know how your head can make you want to hurt, sometimes, how eating food can feel like choking on sawdust and the world could feel so much smaller when focused into delicate pricks of pain. Phil’s eyes are trained on Techno - on his face, then on the pinkish raised skin of a still-healing scar along his forearm, and she feels understanding settle like a rock in her gut. 

 “The Warden had apparently been lettin’ Quackity into the cell to torture Dream for the revive book,” Techno trails off, eyes narrowed and seemingly fixed on a random point of the opposite wall. “By the time I go there, it’d been goin’ on for months.”

 “But wait,” Ranboo’s tail moves even more erratically behind him, “You mean you think he’s back- there? How?” 

 “He has to be back in the prison,” Techno points out. “I can’t imagine anyone besides him that the two of them are goin’ to just start torturin’- Sam had been iffy about the whole thing when Quackity started in on me. It has to be Dream in there again.” 

 “But how did he get in there, then?” Ranboo asks, visibly confused. “Last time it took the entire server to lock him up!”

 “There were no signs of a struggle,” Niki points out, matter of fact. “I believe you, Techno, but I don’t really know how they managed to drag him back so easily. I can’t imagine he was jumping at the chance to go back in there.” 

 Techno shakes his head with an uneasy sigh. 

 “I have a feelin’ of what might’ve happened,” he says quietly. “And I really hope that I’m wrong and he’s less of an idiot than I think he is.” 

 ---

 They set out to investigate - and maybe attack - the next day, Techno and Phil taking on the bulk of preparations as Ranboo stays behind. He’d been understandably uneasy about the whole mission, so they’d left him back by the Syndicate room to set off their pearls in case anything went wrong. (“By the end of the day,” Techno had said, giving Phil a look with the corner of his lip quirked upwards, “don’t be like Phil here and think I meant the end of the month, alright?”) They’d all be supplied with armor and weapons, thanks to Phil, but she’d been handed the bulk of their potions, arranged neatly in her inventory by type in case they’d be needed. She lingers in the back of the room as Phil and Techno chat amiably over the sound of making last minute repairs on their armor, listens to Techno’s ceaseless reminders for Phil to be careful, watches as they make sure that their stasis chambers are properly prepared should they need them.

 (She watches as Phil nudges Techno’s shoulder when he lingers behind a certain chair, empty as long as she’s been part of the Syndicate, the fountain behind it bubbling quietly without a pearl inside. Techno sighs, expression strange. 

 “Should’ve set him up with one,” he says, quiet, and Phil pats him on the back. 

 “You couldn’t have known, mate. We wanted to wait a little before telling him about the Syndicate, remember?” 

 Techno hums, noncommittal. “Still.”)

 They Nether travel to the site of Techno’s lookout, which ends up being a little shambling thing with dirt walls dug into a small hill looking towards the prison portal, having hardly enough space to fit the three of them. Phil looks at it with no small amount of apprehension, and Techno shrugs lightly, wearing an expression that makes Phil turn to him with a look that makes Niki break into giggles. Techno crosses his arms- “in my defense-” and Phil looks up at the dirt ceiling with a long-suffering sigh. 

 “You couldn’t have made this a little roomier, mate?” Phil asks, voice dry as kindling, and Techno raises his hands by his head. 

 “Hey hey, it’s discreet, it gets the job done, it’s perfectly structurally sound-” the sound of the leftmost wall crumbling, along with the cloud of dust that puffs from it and fills their tiny space, undermines the tail end of his statement and leaves him sputtering, Niki falling into another fit of quiet giggles. Underneath it all, Phil sighs again, raising his wings behind him. 

 “...these are going to take so long to clean out.” 

 To his credit, Techno looks sheepish. “Sorry, Phil.”

 They sober up quickly; Techno turns around to the opposite side of the hill, where he’s hidden some peepholes inside the dirt - Niki settles herself by one, leaning forwards to put her eye to it and catch a glimpse of the prison looming over the water. It’s been repaired since the breakout, she notes, the gaping hole in the roof completely gone and replaced with obsidian, as intimidating and undamaged as it had been before, if not more so. Phil makes a considering sound from behind her.

 “Same plan as last time?” He asks, and Techno shakes his head. 

 “They’ve probably reinforced it, and Dream’s blueprints won’t include anything new the Warden’s added. I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved Dream to a different location completely. We don’t want to draw too much attention, either, we were cutting it pretty close during the breakout.” He narrows his eyes. “I was thinking we’d try something a little stealthier, this time. “ 

 He gestures at Niki, who blinks back at him with wide eyes. 

 “You got a couple of invis potions for us?”

 She distributes the potions among them all, one regular and two splash potions of invisibility each, and Techno points towards the prison once she’s done. 

 “The most important thing is to get through the portal,” he says with a grim expression. “Worst comes to worst, once we’re inside we can always blast our way through - but gettin’ through that portal is our first priority.” 

 Phil narrows his eyes at him. “The portal is locked, though. We’ll need to follow someone else inside- and I’m pretty sure Sam uses pearls, so he’s out.” 

 Techno nods. “Which is why I’m bankin’ on the prison gettin’ another visitor today. We’ll just have to wait.” 

 Niki swallows. “Do you mean-”

 “Quackity?” Techno turns away, not quite meeting her eyes. “I’m not totally sure, but he’s not exactly the type to just give up on his goals. He’s pretty predictable- an empire needs an emperor, always needs something new to rule- you know the type,” he says, tipping his head towards Phil. “He’ll be mad at Dream for disappearin’ on him and won’t miss the opportunity to prove he has the upper hand again. I’m not sure that he’s going to come today-”

 “-but you wouldn’t really be surprised, either,” Phil finishes for him, eyes steely with cold determination. “I trust your judgement, mate. Just stay safe- from what I’ve heard, Quackity has been...erratic.” 

 “When is he not,” Techno huffs a short laugh, shaking his head. “I’ll be fine, Phil. Just be careful, both of you. Don’t get too close. And if things get messy- which is what we’re tryin’ to avoid, by the way- then don’t do anything too risky. Our priority is gettin’ in and out alive.” 

 “We can handle ourselves, Techno,” Niki reminds him with a small smile. “And Ranboo is there in case anything goes wrong.” 

 “Alright, then. Here’s the plan.” 

 ---

 It takes quite a long time for Quackity to arrive, long minutes that Niki spends fidgeting in the corner of the room, brushing her hands over seams of the netherite plates that Phil had shoved into her hands, back at the Syndicate room. The set is inexplicably light - not weightless, by any means, as it is still netherite, but not nearly as bulky as any set of netherite armor she’s owned or seen in the past. The runes are precise, lines thin and exact, written with graceful strokes of lapis. 

 “Phil’s the best metalworker I’ve ever met,” Techno tells her with a small grin, catching her in the middle of tracing what she can make out as an Unbreaking rune along the metal strapped to her forearm. “But then again, he’s had the time to practice.” 

 “Are you calling me old again?” Phil huffs, and Techno flashes a smile her direction before looking at Phil with a slight grin. 

 “Well, Chat is,” he says, lips twitching when Phil glares back. 

 “You can’t just blame Chat every time you insult me, you little shit,” Phil groans, and Techno only grins wider. 

 “Phil, my ad revenue,” he complains, a dramatic lilt to his voice that has Niki stifling a snort, and Phil’s glare only grows deadlier. 

 “You’ll have more than your ad revenue to worry about if you keep this up,” he mumbles, going back to keep watch at one of the peepholes and stilling as he does. “Shit- Techno, Quackity’s here.” 

 Techno straightens up, hindered slightly by the low ceiling of their room. “Alright- we all know the plan, right?” 

 Niki nods in the affirmative, pulling out a splash invis and letting it settle in her hand, the glass cool beneath her fingertips. She reaches into her inventory and lets her armor fade into it, takes a deep breath and watches as the two across from her do the same. She doesn’t wear armor often, but so close to the prison, feeling mining fatigue settling deep into her bones - she’s never missed the security it offers more. Techno keeps watch, waiting- drops his arm in a signal. Now. 

 Niki throws the potion at their feet, flinching back at the sound of shattering glass and feeling its effects seep into her skin. When she opens her eyes, she can’t see anything but the inside of the room that they’d holed themselves in and the faintest of wisps rising from where their feet must be, curling around the grass. 

 (Please let this work, she begs to no one in particular as they walk towards the prison. And if you can hear me- please keep us all safe.)

 She hardly breathes as they follow Quackity across the path, holding someone’s hand in her own - Phil’s, by the feel of it - careful to muffle her footsteps in the grass and stand still whenever Quackity’s eyes come a little too close. Thankfully for them, he seems focused, hardly stopping or looking around at all as he walks towards the prison’s portal, movements stiff as he walks forward. He punches the button on the wall particularly harshly, and Sam’s voice comes crackling through a speaker a second later. 

 “I’m here for my visit,” Quackity says, punctuating the sentence with a snort of laughter that doesn’t sound particularly sincere. Niki hasn’t seen him in a long while, not after everything that happened in Pogtopia, and she feels a chill worm down her spine - this man looks nothing like the one that had laughed and danced and sung at her birthday party what feels like an eternity ago. What happened? 

 Sam sighs, the sound turning into a sharp burst of static through the speakers. “Hello Quackity,” he says, voice deep and tired. “Please step into the portal after I tell you to and then wait on the other side.” 

 “I know the drill, Sam,” Quackity rolls his eyes. “Just because the bastard was gone for a few weeks doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten how this damn place works.” 

 “Just going through protocol, Quackity,” Sam replies, and something about this response has Quackity exploding into a brief fit of laughter, the sound grating against Niki’s ears. She feels her grip tighten on Phil’s hand, air caught in her throat. 

 “Protocol- ha. Whatever you wanna tell yourself, pal.” Quackity smiles, cold and cruel, and Niki tries not to think about how she’d seen that same grin on Wilbur, eyes sparkling from the light of the lanterns hung from the bridges and walls of their ravine, remember how she’d looked into them and realized her old friend wasn’t there, anymore. Quackity disappears into the portal, and after a second, the hand around her own pulls her inside of it too.

 On the other side, Quackity taps his foot impatiently, crossing his arms and waiting- Sam’s voice comes through the speakers again, words clipped. 

 “Go through the portal,” he says, and Quackity does- once again, they wait for a second for his body to disappear, then go within it themselves, pressed close enough together within its frame for Niki to feel the warmth of a wing wrap around her shoulders for a quick second before they’re out of the hot, stifling air of the Nether and into a large, neatly made lobby of blackstone and quartz. They duck into a corner, watching as Quackity moves towards the front counter, the Warden waiting there with his arms crossed over his chest. He looks- tired. His movements are slow, footsteps loud against the floor, shoulders tense and back hunched. He walks around the counter, sword strapped to his belt, and Niki feels her breath hitch at the sight of dried blood still stuck to the blade in patches and splatters.

 “He ready?” Quackity asks, holding his hands out - Niki catches a flash of metal as Sam drops something into them, watches as Quackity raises what ends up being a pair of shears, dangerous-looking and gleaming with enchants, to the light. 

 “Yes,” Sam says, side-eyeing Quackity with a small glare. “You know, it’s supposed to be your job to clean those things off when you’re done with them.”

 “I told you, busy day back in Las Nevadas yesterday,” Quackity waves a hand- “I’ll do it, alright? Don’t get all pissy now. What happened to being partners?” 

 “You said we’d be done with this months ago, Quackity,” Sam sighs, and Niki feels a light tug on her arm as Quackity and Sam begin to walk towards the wall to the right of them, breathes in slow and deep as she follows Techno and Phil towards the others. The wall yawns open with the hiss of redstone firing and pistons pulling blocks upwards, opening into a dark hallway that feels like entering the maw of some sort of giant, insatiable beast. They step inside as one, and the door shuts behind them. 

 “We’ll be done soon enough,” Quackity says, and Niki feels hairs rising on the back of her neck. “Trust me.” 

 They stalk forwards through a labyrinth of blackstone, Niki brushing the palms of her hand against her clothes when it goes clammy from adrenaline. Halfway through, she pauses to tip back a second potion of invisibility, careful to keep her movements slow and steady as not to make a sound - the liquid is silvery, cool and light on her tongue, and she lets the effects wash over her with her breath caught in her lungs before moving forward. The tunnels are simpler than she’d expected, bearing little obstacles or checkpoints - Quackity makes a wry comment a second after (“Guard tunnels today, huh? Appreciate the hustle, pal-”) that confirms her suspicions. Despite the potion particles still whirling around their bodies and the sounds of their footsteps, too loud in her own ears, they manage to make it forwards without much trouble, entering a large room with a doorway filled completely with a curtain of lava. 

 “Set your spawn,” Sam says, still stoic, and Quackity rolls his eyes again before doing as told. Niki keeps looking back at the lava flowing past the wall, its heat filling the room and making her already slick palms even worse, and Sam moves to the side to flick a lever, eyes trained on the lava slowly bubbling in front of him. 

 “Give me your tools?” Quackity asks, and Sam sighs before doing so - Niki watches as he hands over a netherite axe, then potions, then a few raw potatoes that Quackity accepts and puts into his inventory. Sam raises an eyebrow once he’s done, hand tight around the handle of his trident. 

 “You bring your own sword, today?” He asks, seeming irritated, and Quackity shrugs. 

 “Sorry pal, I need to make a new one. Guess I’m borrowing yours again.” 

 Sam sighs again, louder, and hands over his sword as well, watching as Quackity swings it a few times experimentally. The blade skims a little too close to her on one swing and she can’t quite help the squeak that escapes her lips as she throws herself out of the way, feels her heart hammer in her ears as she backs up against the wall. Please don’t hear that please don’t hear that please don’t hear that please don’t hear that-

 “Quackity, wait.” Sam raises a hand, ear twitching as he looks over in her direction with narrowed eyes. “I think I heard something.”

 Oh fuck.

 “Well, guess show’s up then,” Techno drawls, and both of them whirl towards his voice, giving Niki enough time to pull her armor back on, scrambling to get her sword and shield in her hands as Phil does the same besides her. Pieces of armor appear where Techno is standing, then a bucket of milk- oh, why must her friends be so dramatic- and Techno’s standing there, smiling sharply, with Orphan Obliterator held loosely at his side. “Let’s get this done, then.” 

 As one, Techno and Phil blur into action - Techno moves forward to catch the prongs of Sam’s trident on his blade as Phil parries Quackity’s blows with his own sword- they move fluidly, easily covering each other’s backs as the room devolves into chaos. Niki remembers their guidance as she flits in and out of the fight, scoring quick hits to keep the Warden and Quackity off balance while remaining out of range from their weapons, and it’s not long before both of them have fallen with a spray of items and experience orbs scattered all over the floor. 

 Techno moves over to block off the exposed face of the bed with a block, looking over at the two of them with an uncharacteristically severe expression. “They’ll be back soon- we have to move fast. Niki, you have those fire res, right?” 

 She nods as she reaches into her inventory, finding the potion’s orange-pink glow and smashing it at their feet. They dive into the lava together, Niki scrambling to keep up, her arms struggling to move through the thick lava, loses sight of both until she flails into something directly in front of her and hands are pulling her up out of the lava. 

 “There you go, mate,” Phil smiles down at her as hauls herself to her feet, making a face at the feeling of the lava clinging to her clothes. “Yeah, swimming through lava isn’t exactly fun. You good?” She flashes him a thumbs up, and he laughs- “Niki, you’re still invisible.” She flushes pink- right.

 A few sips of milk later, she gives him a proper thumbs up, and he laughs, loud and bright. She looks past him to where Techno’s crouched over something- someone, she realizes with a start, in the corner. Dream’s back in prison clothes, ragged and ill-fitting, and he’s curled up with his back towards the front of the cell, shaking enough to be obvious even from where she’s standing. Techno speaks lowly, voice barely more than a deep rumble in the air, almost inaudible.

 “You there, Dream?” 

 She watches as Dream turns his head, looking up with wide, bleary eyes. His hair flops in front of his face, and something within her itches to brush it out of the way. “T-Techno?”

 “Yeah nerd, who else?” Techno smiles, and Dream seems to blink awake, drawing himself up with a shuddery breath. 

 “Techno- it’s a trap- what are you doing here?” he hisses, and Techno gives him a look, deadpan.

 “Yeah, yeah, it’s a trap- come on, Dream, we’ve been over this by now, bro. You have to know that their traps aren’t goin’ to do anything to me by now,” Techno rolls his eyes, reaching forward to steady his hands on Dream’s shoulders when the other man sputters and struggles to breathe. “Easy, now. Geez, you wanted to prove me wrong about being homeless bad enough that you came back here? We could’ve just made you a house, you know. You didn’t have to go this far.” 

 “I- they were gonna kill you,” Dream breathes, face twisted up uncomfortably, and his eyes flick past Techno’s face to where Phil and Niki are standing at the opposite wall of the cell. “All of you- they said-”

 “And that’s what I thought you’d say,” Techno groans. “Come on, you idiot, I thought you were smarter than this-” 

 “They were right there, Techno!” Dream fires back, eyes alight. “You- they were right there, what were you thinking, they could’ve-!”

 “And my best friend is a necromancer, remember?” Techno shakes his head. “Come on, Dream- Sam and Quackity? You know we can handle them in a fight, especially when you can just revive us if anything goes wrong. You don’t have to do this whole self-sacrifice thing, bro- there’s only so many times I can break into the same prison, y’know.” 

 “You’re so stupid,” Dream huffs, but he leans in anyway, head just barely settling against Techno’s shoulder. “I- I can’t believe. You’re so dumb.” 

 “Hey, don’t be sayin’ that to the guy that’s breakin’ you out of prison,” Techno laughs, slinging Dream over his shoulder with an easy motion and laughing harder when it makes him yelp. “That’s just bein’ ungrateful. You’re making Chat sad, man, and when they’re sad they don’t subscribe-” 

 “I regret this entirely,” Dream says, voice muffled against Techno’s shirt, tone completely flat. “Put me down- you idiot- I’m staying here. You’re worse than Quackity.” 

 “Rude. Now you’ve really made Chat mad. I demand an apology-” 

 “Boys, boys.” Niki can’t help giggling, watching the way their gazes snap towards her, rolling her eyes as she moves forward with a few potions held loosely in her hand. “Dream, do you want a health pot?” 

 Dream seems to deliberate for a second, before nodding at her, expression slightly strained. “...sure.” 

 “You two can finish your argument after we’ve broken out of the biggest maximum security prison on the server,” Phil drawls from behind her, arms crossed at his chest. “Come on, now, before Sam gets back.” 

 “Isn’t this the only maximum security prison on the server?” Techno asks aloud, an amused expression on his face - one that only gets worse when Phil glares at him with one ice-blue eye. 

 “Shut-” he sighs, shaking his head. “You two are chaotic little shits, you know that?”

 “Don’t compare me to him, Phil,” Techno complains, Dream mirroring his words with muffled protests of his own, and Phil breathes another drawn-out, long-suffering sigh as he rubs at the bridge of his nose. 

 “Niki, give us some fire res please?” 

 She finds the potion bottle between giggles, throwing it to the ground as she tries to choke down the laughter rapidly bubbling up her throat. “Of course, Phil.” 

 She looks back at Techno and Dream before jumping into the lava, the two of them once again lost in some sort of argument, Dream draped over Techno’s shoulder. He’s breathing easier now, she notes, and Techno looks looser too - a little less tense, leaning back with a perpetual quirk to the corner of his lip as they fire insults back and forth. This is familiar, she recognizes with a soft twist in her chest, the same way that Phil and Techno can finish each other’s sentences and look at each other with laughing eyes sharing the same memories of the past, the same way Ranboo watches Techno’s every step as he adjusts his stance and lifts his sword and Techno laughs and calls him a main character in turn, the same way she and Phil will settle together on the porch over cups of tea and sit at each other’s sides for hours. The rhythm between them is one well-established, the road well-worn - she imagines them, huddled in this dingy cell for months together, and breathes in slow and deep. 

 “Come on,” she smiles, making sure to keep it on her face when Dream meets her eyes with wide, startled ones of his own. Dream still isn’t an ally, and isn’t a friend. 

 But - she watches as he smiles back, something inexplicably warm in her chest - maybe, one day, he could be.

[liloinkoink]

a few weeks ago i went thru the “where is your rider” 3L animatic by @aroaceacacia​ frame by frame in DMs to a friend to explain what i liked about, uh, nearly every image in the animatic, so just for fun ive collected and cleaned up my comments on it. i expanded on a bunch of the stuff i said previously and made it all sound more coherent. that said, this is a mix of analyzing the actual content (by someone who is not an artist) and just. pointing at frames i liked. 

we’ll start with these opening red frames! i am not fast enough to grab individual screenshots w how quickly they change (i just hit screenshot randomly and this was the one i got), but i think theyre all super pretty and i love the way the images changing is set so neatly to the song itself. plus. the red fading into black vignette and the slight smoky texture of the overlay is rlly nice. one day ill slow the video the hell down to see what the individual ones are, but the tnt minecart’s a favorite of mine, personally 

...i immediately went back and slowed the video down to minimum speed to look at the frames. here are some favorites

the tnt minecart! i mentioned it before but i am such a fan. for all i love the red army this IS still my favorite kill, sorry ren. this is a fun angle on it, too. it looks so small like this. i also think its really fun this is the frame which first gets the title 

i had never noticed this one before slowing this down but i love the inclusion of tango’s minigame! and the no pearl rule martyn got added, lmao

cleo beloved. this one is just looks nice. shes so pretty....also just fun considering this bit seems to include a bunch of significant moments from the beginning-to-middle of the series, inciting incidents for the red king to rise. cleo asking ren to keep this secret is definitely one of the bigger parts of that, so this is a neat one

when this one zipped by i’d assumed that it was cleo taking pizza, but looking at it now im realizing this is probably scar’s hand, isnt it? there arent stitches like cleo’s hand has, but there’s a scar more reminiscent of, well, scar. love when you can tell someone thru smth like that kinf of small detail 

this is the first panel of the entire animatic, which, fitting enough. ren gets his bloody crown. love the way the blood looks on this frame. (also, bc i was just talking abt minor details to identify hands, love ren’s watch)

i really love the way fire is drawn in this whole video. i dont have important commentary here i just Love fire. 

the brush texture for a lot of this whole video is rlly nice, i love the splotchy texture a lot of the backgrounds have / the fire here has. i dunno what its actually called but it reminds me of like, a sponge (i remind you i am NOT an artist)

obsessed w this frame. disembodied hands comin out of the grey. the & placed nicely in the middle of the handle of the axe. simple and very nice. also i love the edges getting lighter. this is just a real fun frame to me

now that pale white horse is our and we know this video is like, very much supposed to take place right after the trap set by the desert... like i know i knew this lyric was abt ren’s now-yellow eyes, but i dont think it really stood out to me till seeing it Right After pale white horse

MARTYN IN THE REFLECTION OF RENS GLASSES. scream. 

something im always fond of in writing is imagery about smiles when relating to a person’s identity... got a whole tma oneshot with a dozen and a half lines about smiles from a monster wearing the face of a friend. so i love this line, and i love the smile paired with ren’s glasses covering ren’s now-changed eyes. his eyes are different, but his smile’s the same...

love this frame also for obvious reasons (Guy Who Is Obsessed With Ren’s Execution) but god i just love the red mist on the axe. looks cool and is So effective in conveying how actively malicious this axe and the obligations attached to it feel. 

plus like. i know this animatic uses a limited color palette so blue isn’t in it. but it almost feels like the mist is so tangible it’s drained the blue color out of the diamond axe. which. Nice. 

also the angle is so fuckin nice for this too like. also, a down-below angle like this is one which i’ve heard in the past be referred to as the "hero's angle" (least when ive used it in photography?) and thats just. a fun detail to me, personally, for this shot

god. the axe looks so fuckin BIG when you do it from this angle. absolutely lovely shot its a favorite of mine probably (if i say that a lot dont call me on it)

i think me calling out this shot was definitely predictable Considering My Writing but [screaming and cheering] THIS IS SO GOOD. BOTH HOW ITS SET TO THE MUSIC PICKING UP AND ALSO THE FACT THAT THE CUT AND BLOOD SPRAY ARE SO CLEAN. THATS A CLEAN ONE HIT SHOT CONVEYED WITHOUT SHOWING THE ACTION AT ALL. I LOVE IT. another absolute favorite frame for sure

also love the red hair tie and streaks of red in his hair. but god. what a damn powerful hit this would have to be

i dunno what it is about this shot in particular but i love it. maybe the hair over his face? his posture? not sure but i am a really big fan. it looks like, idk, creepy? in a way the other ones of ren immediately following it arent (tho theyre also quite good) also the red lines on the crown make me think his crown is full of blood like. a cup. which is fun [since writing this i have set this frame as my icon on twitter] [i have also since realized that the red lines do indicate the crown is, in fact, full of blood]

i love him your honor

also the smoke coming in darker/thicker with ren as ren gets closer. ren’s face as Just The Teeth (wicked shape to your smile...).

the gesture he’s doing is also really fun like. very showy. its one i see in... a lot of scar fanart, honestly? which i think is fun. it feels really showy, absolutely screams arrogance/bravado. 

ive written before how i think a lot of the red king act ren put on was fear-fuelled theater, like. the red king was a defensive measure, a prey animal fluffing itself up to look bigger and scarier to fend off something that might devour it. a banner for a bunch of terrified people to band together under to be less afraid. that’s what this gesture is in my mind

JUST REALLY NICE. love ren as a red silhouette and martyn as a green one.

i reference this a lot later one so ill just say as much here: i love this animatic’s commitment to this limited color palette of red/yellow/green + monochromes. lends to some really clever stuff, especiallt when the colors are used to denote what life a player is on

OKAY. THIS SHOT...

AND THIS ONE

love the red mist/smoke at the edges. im so fuckin obsessed w that, it looks cool and ive made my opinion on this texture/effect very clear already, i love it. but also, i love the way martyn appears to be clearing it all away with his hand

like. this is the mist from the axe at the start. this is Red Life Bloodlust. this is ren hitting martyn and saying “go ahead, kill me again, you have the ability.” this is red name bloodlust encroaching in on martyn and ren. in the first of those two frames it’s closing in and then the second one hes waving it away 

none of that can make him hurt ren again

(...also i like that martyn’s hair is lined with red. looks nice)

and then the next frame its all gone. there’s not really any red at all.

...also this is such a good frame. look at ren's face ill fucking cry. the lighting in this is so good. i love it. i love the bright white moon, i love the shadows on ren and martyn, i love that one of the brightest points is ren’s dumb fond face, i love his hand on martyn’s cheek and martyn holding it there...

also im just realizing that those are phantoms and not clouds.

AND RENS CROWN. it IS full of blood [see. i got there eventually]

anyway love that the next two frames after this really nice calm one are the sandcastle fucking exploding

LOVE THE WAY FIRE AND EXPLOSIONS LOOK

I SAID THIS W THE FIRST FIRE FRAME BUT I LOVE IT. ITS SO NICE. feels like you dipped a sponge in paint and smushed it onto the canvas, which is a very wet and not-at-all firey way of making fire look, which makes it super interesting and very enjoyable

youd think with the writing ive done that id have a high stomach for injuries but i actually dont have any stomach for it at all, so, every time i see this arrow thru the head sequence it makes me gasp. love it. esp the blood coming out of the eyes, WHAT a detail. simple yet Very visceral to me. esp since it starts w them both looking like, pretty bored? it just GUTS you despite being relatively clean. same with his hand up in the air there as he falls

love this frame. martyn's run looks slightly goofy to me which ALSO makes the next frame of him being shot a gut punch. also the looming trees and brush textures are So Good. this is also another really fun example of the limited color palette being used to show lives. usually martyn’s drawn with his hair colored blond, but here, as he’s about to lose his green life, the only color available to him is green. also, not coloring his hair makes the fact his eyes are green stand out way more. this is the first frame ive really noticed it

also i like that martyn gets shot on the line “rested while living.” its funny

ABSOLUTELY ADORE THIS FRAME ITS SO FUCKIN GOOD

just. cleo’s eye being red and yellow. the harsh red line in the center bisecting the frame. everything about the skull half. i love this. ive got no analysis for this one its just sick

love the eye coming into the moon obsessed. also it took me till now to notice like... i keep pointing out how much i like how this animatic only uses green/yellow/red plus monochromes, yeah? something i think is fun is cleo’s frame prior to this doesn’t use green, even tho cleo’s green-tinted. there’s just yellow and red. but this one w the zombies does. 

this frame’s always been a little jarring to me and i think its just... this might be one of, if not The, most green frames in the animatic. the entire lower half of this one’s green! i dont have anything super analytical to say about that i just think it’s neat

i love this one too the dogs are so cool. i love joel’s red stripe and his fuckin... red mist. return of the mist! 

i also like that the mist-wisps dog shapes in the bg have red eyes. it could easily be the same sort of vignette background that this animatic has plenty of (which is what i think i processed the white edges behind joel as the first time i watched this) but instead they have eyes. theyre dogs, hinting Many More Dogs. all very good.

IN LOVE WITH THIS FIRE ASPECT SWORD

i just. my favorite color is red. my second favorite color is gold. my favorite palette is red/gold/black/white. this is a very me-bait frame. also the angle of the sword just feels like someone’s walking with it held out to the side/down. while that makes the epee fencer in me want to yell (put your point on target buddy....) it does look sick as hell

this frame is perfect no fuckin notes 10/10. fantastic and recognizable scar silhouette. fucking evil looking scar. i just love the super simple but super fuckin evil eyes/mouth. he looks unreasonably threatening

...and grian in the bg the frame after grinning just as evilly despite having yellow eyes. love it. love his hands on his hips its just fun. also the rings of grey behind them are so neat. 

also i love grian so every time he shows up i am like [points] <3

my favorite color is red so any very red frames will have my approval. love this. 

im also just realizing it sorta copies the fire aspect sword frame. sword’s helf at the same angle, but now we’re not preparing for war, there’s not fire ready to burn. we’ve had war and we’ve won it

the dead joel frame. he looks so fuckin small. hes got no dogs. hes on his own, hunted down in the desert, no help and no one hes even really gonna miss him. top tier. very sad

also... smth abt the dogs being white wisps before and there’s just grey lines away. very neat. im also realizing right now as im looking at this, is it the crater in the desert? the lines feel like he’s in a hole, the slightly sandy edges giving way to a grey dip feels like a burned-away hole/crater... fun 

...forgot to get the scott frame but i love how its green yellow and red. its a really pretty frame

GOING TO CRY. LOOK AT THEM..... LOOK AT MARTYN AND HIS FLAG..... ABSOLUTELY LOVELY.

fuckin. whats the word im looking for. starts w a v. valorent? v... VALIENT. ...valiant. i spelled it wrong [this was sent as like 6 texts and i condensed it into one line. just wanted everyone to see me spell this word so very wrong]

also like that ren's crown is noticeably bloodier

the bright yellow sunlight coming in from the side... the color/angle its at feels reminiscent to me of golden hour, which is my favorite hour to take photos at and also, on occasion, makes me emotional simply by Happening. i have teared up just by standing outside somewhere pretty during golden hour on more than one occasion in my life. so i like this frame a lot

the few seconds of the flag swaying in the wind. very clean animation. very nicely timed to the music. really nice to look at. feels vaguely lonely bc of the music its set to being so forlorn. rlly effective tone switch

gen is very good at using very simple visuals to effectively do and convey very complex and interesting and emotional things and also kill me dead

such as this.

i think so much abt them leaving dogwarts empty at the end bc they simply couldnt defend it anymore (and how coming to try to reclaim it is what kills them) and all those feelings are conjured up right here. it looks so small man. that’s their home and they left it

forgot this was the next frame. double what i just said.

every shot of the red army makes me [sobs] look at ren... look at him face...........

also i like that ren's crown is no longer gold, JUST red. everyone only gets the colors of their name, now, and the lack of gold makes the blood in ren’s crown stand out SO much more now that its the only color. even when his head is tilted back and thus his crown is harder to see, the blood stands out. 

plus. yknow. the yellow is for bigb, while the other red names get little red details (we have once again confiscated martyn’s blondness). plus the vibrant red banner next to them

also i. rlly love the stringy look of everyone's hair? and the fluff on ren's cloak. texture... esp etho’s hair i love etho’s hair so much

and ren. i said look at him face already but Look at him. ill cry. look how fond he is. i love him. how could we ever let anything bad happen to him

also as always love the background. i know its kind of minimal but its very fun. Texture......

i know this is the thumbnail but im in love w it. props for putting the red army to the line about armies

martyn's face... i love him look at him look at his SMILE. the little blush on his face. the golden buttons on his coat. AND his hair. love the swoopy bangs

and etho. etho my beletho. look at him..... going to hold his face in my hands. i love his little red dot eye and his hair

and bigb!! he looks so proud. i love the halo the moon gives him w the bit of green and the little blushes. this is a zero analysis panel i just love the red army 

ALSO LOVE THE BG HERE. REALLY NICE. the vibrancy of the moon and the shading on the trees are both rlly fun, same w the bright moonlight catching on the water

skizz. crying

ETHO MY BELETHO. I JUST LOVE THIS FRAME A LOT

...ive got to stop saying etho my beletho im Absolutely incoherent

anyway. god i just love this frame. the clean, strong red is so good against the whites and greys. its just so nice to look at

also etho's expression like i know theres not a lot there but also i really like the quiet fondness as he looks at his flags. and his hair. ive pointed it out three times now but i really like his hair

RETURN OF BIGB’S GREEN HALO... not the moon this time! just how to indicate hes a green life when his skin doesnt have any green in it! really clever

also the blond hair and gold crown!

...and now its time for pain speedrun

MARTYN BEING CLEAN AND THEN BLOOD SPLATTERING ONTO HIS FACE IS SO. WAHHH REALLY NICE I LOVE IT. visceral without even showing whichever death it is that happened. So fuckin good. 

also like... this frame following the frames before it its really fucking jarring. this right after the bigb frame? the red army frames? and then just immediately martyn, covered in blood? they didnt get to win! they didnt get to spend like any time together! they gathered together and they died!

i think another thing that makes this frame so jarring (and thus effective) is like. martyn’s core colors are green and yellow. blond hair and green clothing. both in his skin and primarily in this animatic. this is basically the first time we see him (not as a silhouette) without them (the only other one is the golden hour one, so. he doesnt have yellow inherent to him, but hes still got some yellow), which makes it even like. worse. subtle and devastating!

wrote all that and have much less to say abt this frame except like. bye etho </3 the way gen draws fire is still pretty

the music video being mostly static, even when fire is shown, until now, this fire burning and moving as it does. rlly adds smth. makes it all more real. also Real Nice

i also like the arrow in the middle is still visible. you can make out the shape of it, just vaguely. sick as hell

WAILS

also god the fact that as far as i can remember to this point all the blood in the mv has been CLEAN and fully opaque. that ren's blood on his clothes (and martyn’s on his clothes the frame before) is like, not fully opaque? its the spongey texture, not clean red pen. this isn’t paint. this is soaking into and staining his shirt. its really fucking nice

images that cause me immense pain. ive got no analysis here. tho i do like that the “will” that should be red is black bc its written over blood

IMAGES I THINK ABOUT EVERY DAY OF MY GODAMN LIFE IMAGES THAT REWIRE MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY IMAGES THAT RUIN MY DAY IMAGES I AM IN LOVE WITH AND WANT TO PLASTER EVERYWHERE ON EVERYTHING

THEY WERE SO CLOSE. THEY WERE SO CLOSE.

THEY DIED SO CLOSE. THEY DIED IN THEIR HOME. THEY DIED TOGETHER BUT NOT TOGETHER AND THEY WERE SO CLOSE TO WINNING AND THEY DIDNT

AND AGAIN. THE SMUDGIER BRUSH/SPONGE BLOOD. I LOVE IT. suddenly its not paint its THEIRS and its REAL and its. augh

everything i find compelling about renchanting duo is contained succinctly and wordlessly in this specific frame and it means everything to me ever

also its just really pretty to look at. harsh red/black/white/grey is the ideal color palette and i love how its used here. same w the gradient there at the edge of the altar

artistically and symbolically flawless

i Would eat this image given the opportunity

[rahleeyah]

Leah. Leah. Toes?? Carisi?? Liv?? Are you ok???? Is this a cry for help?????

lmao ok so

this was a joke, obviously; in the context where this initially came up i needed an act that was overtly submissive but also unexpected/uncommon enough to solicit a laugh so obvi i went for sucking toes thinking we'd all have a good laugh - which we did - and the gc had a good time with it and so i decided to bring y'all in on it.

but

now i've been thinking about it for a while and we know how dangerous i get when i been thinking about stuff. and the thing is there's actually something sort of compelling to me in the Discourse we have unearthed here

so i have no particular feelings about feet - they're just feet! - but i believe in the potential eroticism in every part of the body, really. like any body part can be sexy, or desirable, or become part of sexuality bc good sex to me is about the whole body. a delicate ankle, a "well turned calf" - there's actually a phrase for a sexy calf - collarbones, shoulders. i've got a hickey on one of my shoulders right this very minute.

and for the most part when we start waxing poetic about someone's jawline or belly or forearms or what have you, it doesn't really cause a stir.

but dear god, don't mention feet!

i've known a number of people in my life who have like. a strong aversion to feet, which has always made me sort of go huh? bc like, feet aren't inherently dirtier or grosser than any other part of the body - provided they're kept clean and taken care of which is true of everything. fingers can be gross, if they're not clean and maintained. anything is gross and dirty if it's not cleaned and maintained. thighs get sweaty. the backs of your knees. your neck. your ass sweats and your underwear spreads that sweat all over your junk. the small of the back gets sweaty. and yet those are all places one might be kissed without anyone complaining!

and i think it's important to check in with ourselves periodically and ask "how much of this repulsion is innate, and how much of it is a learned stigma?"

like body hair, right? there's nothing gross or unnatural about body hair on anyone, man or woman. every cis woman i've ever slept with had some degree of hair on her tummy, from a little bit of goosedown to a full on happy trail. it's normal! and it's kinda cute. why do we expend so much energy on hating our bodies in their natural state?

bc when we hate ourselves it makes money for corporations! bc the more we hate ourselves the more money we spend trying to contort ourselves into something else, and every piece of media we consume plays into a narrative that keeps us unhappy and buying razors and shaving cream and nair and and and and

so like the body hair one is obvious, right, like there's a clear line that can be drawn from razor manufacturers deciding post WWII to target women's body hair to expand their share of their market and rake in more cash when previously it wasn't really a thing. so what about feet?

why is the foot fetish the one mainstream fetish we're all so comfortable dunking on all the time? why is that the one that we're supposed to shame people for having? why is it so easy to dog pile on that but the forearm girlies get a pass?

is it just that so many people genuinely hate feet? or is the cause and effect the other way around; do so many people hate feet bc we started receiving messaging pretty early on that liking feet makes you weird, and jesus no one wants to be weird, so let's tuck that away?

ANYWAY

the point is, it was a joke, but it's a joke that's led me to thinking more about the way we interact with our bodies, and with each other's bodies, and it's been making me wonder if maybe we couldn't all give ourselves - and each other - a little more grace.

[tendercoretroglodyke]

kind of annoying how ppl on here are just SO eager to advocate for the outright culling of all introduced (aka "invasive") species and act like anyone who is concerned for the welfare of the introduced species are painfully naive and/or PETA members (I usually see this regarding feral/outdoor cats, but w other species too)

tl;dr there's SO much more nuance when it comes to introduced animal control methods than simply a TNR/culling dichotomy, and some of you NEED to learn that reading some reactionary rants against animal rights activists doesn't make you an expert conservationist!!

Source: I'm an animal behavior & conservation master's student who recently took a class on human-wildlife conflict and wrote an 18 page term paper reviewing the massive invasive species problem in Australia, all the control methods, and the various perspectives regarding those control methods--which earned me an "It was a pleasure having you in class!" from my professor 😌

strap in lmao this is a crash course in my term paper

the longer these people rant about it the more blatantly obvious it becomes that they're just jumping to the opposite extreme from animal rights activists bc they think that makes them good environmentalists or makes them seem smart. like I GET the appeal, ofc it would be NICE to have a simple answer to managing introduced species by telling yourself "the health of the ecosystem comes before the welfare of the dirty rotten invasive species, so let's just kill them all"

but like. first of all it's almost DEFINITELY a more complicated situation than 'introduced species overpopulates and eats and/or outcompetes the native species and causes them to go extinct' (there are MULTIPLE forces at work here). second, culling is NOT always the effective cure-all you think it is!!! for ex/ culling of cane toads in australia ends up just.... making room in the ecosystem for more cane toads!! ALSO! encouraging people to go out and kill every "invasive" animal they find can often lead to NATIVE wildlife being killed accidentally, AND killing methods that are extremely painful and drawn out!

then there's the issue of animal welfare, which yes, introduced species ARE entitled to. the terminology around the discussion of how to "combat" the tides of "invasive" species only encourages us to see this situation as a war with an enemy hell-bent on destroying our ecosystem. but that's bullshit. they're literally JUST animals, which have been displaced by HUMANS, and for some reason their population ended up thriving in this new place. they aren't evil, and they DO deserve some compassion.

that said, obviously control measures often need to be taken against introduced species when they become a significant problem for the endemic species, and often TNR isn't an effective or practical method on its own. but TNR and culling aren't the ONLY control options--there are actually several control methods, each with its own levels of efficacy and welfare, each of which differs depending on the specific species and environment. these include methods like immunocontraception (high welfare, moderate efficacy), releasing species-specific viruses (extremely effective in australian rabbits, but VERY poor welfare), or hunting & trapping--for actual USE, unlike with culling (moderate-high efficacy, relatively moderate welfare if done properly)

then there's the question of whether introduced populations SHOULD be controlled, and if so, how much, and should they be completely wiped out just kept at a manageable population, etc etc etc. the concept of battling invasive species is VERY much a western preservationist (earlier trend in conservation) concept. this idea that the ecosystem would run in perfect stable harmony if not for humans (and the species we introduce around the world), and it's our moral obligation to keep the ecosystems around us EXACTLY as they were when we found them... as much as possible. but that's simply not true!! yes obviously humans have had a... significant impact on the environment and its animals. it's hard to overstate this point! but that doesn't mean that we are supposed to play impartial gods over our local ecosystems and make sure things stay exactly the same.

the fact is, many indigenous cultures DON'T view introduced species as a significant problem, barring more extreme circumstances. in my research I found surveys of aboriginal australian opinions on invasive control measures and many had said they DON'T see them as invasive, because they grew up on this land and therefore have a right to be there, just like any of them. indigenous cultures, to my knowledge, also tend to have a stewardship over their land not based in CONTROL (like western conservationists) but as an equal PART of a functioning ecosystem. rather than trying to "fix" the ecosystem like a benevolent god, they are a PART of the ecosystem and they adapt to the changing balance of it just like all the other creatures must.

that said, when they DID believe it was time to take some control measures, those surveyed were much more likely to prefer control methods like hunting for use over things like poisoning or culling, calling those methods a waste of a natural resource.

anyways. I've spent way too long on this instead of doing my project lol. I gtg but please know you don't HAVE to advocate for culling invasive species to get ur conservationist cred!! there's a lot of nuance in these situations and it's not a bad thing to care about the wellbeing of ALL animals--it's actually a good thing!!

[franeridart]

Anon said: Okay so scrolling through ur jjk makes me even sadder actually. Amazing art tho dont get me wrong ive been here since u were into haikyuu but god this is just adding salt to the wounds. At least its pretty salt with emotional value and stuff

HAH it’s okay I get where you’re coming from lmao personally I find it healing for me specifically to spend a few straight hours in a universe where they’re all happy and okay, but I can see why for some people looking at the could-have-been’s might make it more obvious of how bad things are in canon actually rip

Anon said:Hey bestie its me. I did catch up to the manga. Wtf im in so much pain. But when i recover i apologise for the spam reblogging. Anyways damn. Damn. Just. The manga really hit me

So glad to hear it got to you too 🙏 sorry for the pain, but, I mean, it’s good pain isn’t it! at least there’s that haha

Anon said:your drawings of gojo being clingy to suguru is so cute! ahhh now im thinking about how infinity must makes gojo touch starved so everytime after mission when he knows he's not in danger anymore he always clings to suguru and never let go like an overgrown koala😭❤

Anon the thought of Satoru keeping his infinity off for Suguru and Shoko exclusively and of Suguru being still an exception even after everything till the very end keeps me up at night it’s my favorite headcanon I !!!! love just how deliberate on Satoru’s part every received touch is, it makes the fact that he’s willing to be touched by them so much more significant  😭😭

Anon said: What are your thoughts on Wakunan, if you still in Haikyuu? My favorite member is Matsushima.

I AM in fact still into haikyuu, but anon I’m so sorry I straight up had to google who these guys are I totally forgot they even existed ??? I feel so bad oh my god 😂 I’d say it’s fair to guess my thoughts on them are non-existent m( ,_, )m sorr

Anon said: Wanted to come by and say I love how you do faces and expressions and mapping in your comics. U are super talented and I love your art style, I hope the universe brings you something nice bc your work always brightens my day when it comes across my dash

ANONNNNNNNN the nice thing the universe brought me was your ask!!!! this kind of stuff is so rewarding to hear thank you so much!!!!! <3<3

Anon said: hiii have you added any jjk prints to your redbubble yet?

Not yet! Still trying to figure out if there’s anything worthy of being uploaded on there, since 99% of it was made on procreate and I’m still figuring it out... I’ll see what I can do! Thank you for being interested!!!!

Anon said: It’s been a while since you’ve drawn BNHA! I kinda miss it tbh... but I bow down to your godlike art n( ._.)n Also s5 is out tomorrow and I’m so hyped!!!

Anon said: hi! no pressure, i love your jjk art its so incredible, but do you have any bnha art in the works or have you mostly left it for jujutsu kaisen? either way theyre amazing shows, just asking!

Anon said: Do you still do BNHA fanarts or has your focus shifted over to jjk totally?

It has been a while, hasn’t it! I don’t currently have anything in the work but there’s a couple things I’ve been keeping on the backburner of my brain as a reminder that I want to draw them as soon as the mood strikes - it won’t be krbk tho! Just putting it out there. I can’t say whether I’ll ever draw that again as of now, ngl, I’d need hori to backtrack on what he did with them a lot to feel inspired for them again, sadly 🙏

Anon said: as someone who doesnt read the jjk manga and only watches the anime i am very confused by everything on this blog but were gonna ignore that cuz art pretty

Oh my god it’s just a ton of spoilers for you isn’t it 😂 I’m glad you still stick around despite all of it being meaningless to you, tho!! Thank you so much!!! <3<3

Anon said: I love your drawing so much, it's inspired me to draw more and refine my own art style!! I've got a request tho... how bout kiribaku childhood friends au?? Ik you've already drawn some but they would be so cuuute as children

SUPER GLAD to hear my stuff could make you feel like drawing more!!! That’s always a wonderful, amazing thing to hear!!!! But as I said for now I don’t have any plans of drawing krbk for a while, so sorry! ;; hope you’ll understand  🙏

Anon said: Bruh your reincarnation au, for a good while my brain didnt comprehend that satoru had his glasses hanging of his hoodie but instead interpreted it as one of those school girl tie things. Bruh i thought he was wearing a schoolgirl uniform my mind was goin wild with it

I need you to know that I’ve been thinking about this ask since I got it. It’s been stuck in my brain. It’s just been constantly there. He’d rock it, btw

[stargaze-issei]

"write for me" (t. kei x fem!reader)

summary; after years of crushing on you, the introverted writer from class, tsukishima finds a way to let all his feelings out. if he couldn't talk to you, then he would write to you.

genre; fluff.

warnings; none.

word count; 1.3k

autor's note; i'm sorry but i thought once about tsukki being a writer and here i am now lmao. i could totally see him using writing as a coping mechanism bc he can't express his feelings. is this self inserted? yes very much. anyways, enjoy.

everyone knew tsukishima was smart, he liked to read and was and extreme geek. he could tell you trivias from every marvel movie if you asked. maybe that's what drawn him to you. imagine how hard his jaw dropped when he saw his middle school crush in his same classroom, there, in karasuno. to yamaguchi, it was hilarious. your figure hadn't change so much during holidays, if anything, you were even prettier. of course, tsukishima would never say that out loud. he had made sure to get a seat from behind you, in order to make his staring less obvious, but never escaping from yamaguchi's comments on how he should at least talk to you.

the first time he noticed you, was during a break in your old school. you were sitting in the floor with a notebook supported on your thighs, writing something with a weird speed. even between all those noisy kids, balls flying around, you seemed so focused on your writing that it almost looked out of place. kei's head was filled with questions on what got you so excited to write, because being a writer himself, he knew that inspiration was a hard thing to get. since that moment, his eyes always found a way back to you. sometimes, you just stared at a blank paper, or write your brainstorm down. it would be a lie if he said he never wondered what was on that paper, on those notebooks. more than once he stayed up all night thinking about it.

"there are tons of others schools! it has to be a sign, tsukki!" yamaguchi had tried to convince him to talk to you for ages, but an uncommon shyness struck the blonde whenever it came to you.

"shut up, yamaguchi" he always shut him down, but his friend understood, and seeing tsukishima get flustered was always a pleasure to sight.

in the whole time he knew you, you never seemed sad. yes, you were usually by yourself, but he catch on those small smiles whenever you were satisfied by what you wrote, or when you laughed at yourself for any reason. he was sure that, at least throughout middle school, you were happy. someway along the way, it changed. you were making new friends, and to anyone who didn't pay attention, you were happy as always, but he knew you weren't. tsukishima desperately wanted to talk to you, he hated seeing those bags under your eyes, that fake smile. he wanted you to be happy and didn't know how to help you.

"hey y/n.

you looked sad today, i wanted to talk to you but i couldn't. is it because you stopped writing? if it is, please don't, i look forward to read something from you.

ps. please don't get scared, i'm not a stalker. i just like you, a lot"

he folded the little note in two, he would deliver it after practice in your locker. if he said he wasn't nervous, he would be the biggest liar ever. his hands were shaking while writing, in practice, he couldn't block a single hit because he was too busy thinking about your reaction. of course you would get scared, who wouldn't? he basically said that he watched you enough to know when you are sad and asked you to keep doing something as private as writing. but he did worry about you. the only other option was to actually talk to you, but that was not happening. first, because he had a reputation to keep. tsukishima kei, the sarcasm in human form, showing feelings over a crush? nope, not in this lifetime. second, at least this way he had the benefit of the doubt. if you thought he was some cute, sweet boy, maybe you wouldn't run away, but if you knew it was him, it was over. most people were scared of him.

he decided to do it, against all his better judgement. 

the next day, he made yamaguchi pretend to talk to him near you locker only to see your reaction. every minute seemed eternal, until you finally arrived. he couldn't avoid thinking how pretty you looked in your uniform. both him and yamaguchi, who he had updated of his doings, stared at you while the piece of paper fell to your feet. thank god the halls were full enough for you to not feel their piercing gaze, because they weren't even blinking. as you read, tsukishima could swore his heart stopped beating. but when he saw your lips curve in a smile? he was done. he had made you smile. you were smiling at his handwriting, at something he wrote, damn, it felt like a whole world had been presented before him. he didn't had butterflies in his belly, he had a complete fleet of birds.

it became a routine to leave you little notes, saying how cute he thought you were, or him asking things, even if you couldn't respond, he just wanted you to know he cared. 

"hey y/n. 

i thought you presentation in japanese history was amazing. and don't even think i'm biased, because of course i am, but that's not the point. how you smiled at the end made it ten times better.

ps. that hair pin looked really pretty"

as usual, he waited until the end of practice to leave it. a paper folded was stuck with tape outside your locker that time, blocking the entrance. his heart started to beat faster, had you left him a reply that time?

"hi, you.

it's been a month since you started leaving me notes, it would be rude of me to not answer. you make me feel really good, you know? i was surprised at first, nobody else notice how sad i was but you. i'm not anymore, mostly thanks to your words. i can't get you out my mind, it bothered me to not have a face to place in my thoughts. i wanted, no, i want to meet you so bad. do you really like me? i like to think you wouldn't lie to me, so i won't lie to you. i'm pretty sure i like you too. i can even hear you thinking, how could i like you if i don't know who you are?, well, think again, tsukishima kei." 

the first thing he felt was fear. god, he was so scared. he re-read it, it said you liked him back. did you though? he was so... unlikeable. someone as nice as you just couldn't be into him. but he wasn't anyone to say who you could or could not like, so–

"hey, tsukishima" that voice. he had heard it so many time, but for the first time was actually to him. his name between your lips sounded like a completely different thing, something amazing tsukki could hear for hours non stop. slowly, he turned around to face you. you were still in your uniform, meaning you had stayed there for three hours just waiting for him. "aren't you gonna ask me how i figured it out?"

a soft how left his throat. you were kind of entertained by his reaction, you understood the shocked, you had felt it when you realized it was him sending you those cute notes four days ago.

"when the guy you like since middle school starts acting strange, you can tell. and the way you wrote, like you knew me from a long time. i was between you and yamaguchi, so i took my chances on you" both of you were to afraid to move, scared that the other was going to disappear "would it be okay if i ask you on a date?" all your confidence had left your body before asking that question.

"that's all i want, dumbass" he answered, going back to be his usual self. you laughed, making his heart skip a beat. "c-can i... get closer?" that was everything you needed to walk towards him, your moves seemed to synchronize perfectly with his. 

kei's arms wrapped around your neck, him being to tall to reach your waist, and your arms were around his torso. he felt so warm, like the hug you were expecting your whole life.

[bomnun]

idk if were still hating on s0yeon but if i may add my own two cents

maybe its because i have somewhat high standards when it comes to idol produced music (being a uni walwal and lego will do that to u ig) but soyeon is just.. mediocre? when it comes to producing her own music. she comes out with a few bangers and parts of the songs are really good, but shes not able to consitantly keep up that energy. like, she has potential, but i feel like shes unable to really channel it in a productive way without guidance

imo i feel like cube saw the trend and success of self produced idols, especially seeing how pentagon, btob, hyuna, and clc were succeeding with making their own music, they decided to market s0yeon as the next big idol producer, but she wasn't able to live up to the hype. fans will defend her to kingdom come but wont recognize that she needs to learn more or put more time and energy into making music than she currently is.

(also, im pretty lenient when it comes to idol rappers, since many of them dont really have an interest in hiphop and are just rappers bc the company wants them to be, but miss ethnic hip is just.. her rap isnt even fun or enjoyable to listen to it sounds so forced it makes me wonder what was going on in the studio ehkssgja)

oh you're very welcome to keep the discussion going ahjkdss

lmao i like those groups too so i get you, and after just ... listening to more music it's so obvious exactly what she's made, and it feels like she always falls back onto the same formula... slow intro usually by her or minnie, verses that sound oddly similar throughout songs by minnie/miyeon/yuqi, her rap completely ruining the flow of the song she herself made, and and often the same melody. to the point where it doesn't feel like a conscious decision, but like it's the method she has of writing songs. her doing most of the arrangements on her own is p impressive, and sometimes it feels like she's more skilled at that. compared to a lot of (k)pop they can be pretty simple, and sometimes it's impactful and feels very intentional and right (hann, hwaa almost, latata, c1c no) and sometimes it feels extremely empty and unpolished (oh my god, lion, uh-oh, tomboy ...) and overall i don't think she knows how to finish off a song a lot; a lot of the songs she makes just end, even if they've been more dynamic and less static overall the climax just isn't there. the only thing that gets switched up is the instrumentation ~inspired~ by whichever culture she's "borrowing" from next.

i agree w you that they def saw people being drawn to that, and, hey, it's cheaper than outsourcing and buying shitty demos from people who- pitigi bitubi we WILL avenge you

going to say smth that feels mean and very subjective but i do think cube wanted her to be a fusion of hyuna and hui dsfksdfjh but she doesn't live up to either of them, and, yeah marketed her as the creative mastermind, cool female rapper, strong leader they noticed people would latch on to.

i'm with you on idol rappers. i do not know a lot about what's considered good rap at all or what makes rap good, so it's not something i'm going to speak on. i feel like a lot of kpop rap is just There to make songs more dynamic and get some more momentum and move forward, in a quick way that requires less thinking about the composition, bc if there by default is going to be a rap break after the first chorus that transition between first chorus and rap break doesn't require as much careful thought nor any new, original ideas. some of that still sounds fun though, and if it feels like a natural part of the song idm it. not comparable to Rap rap, and not to be seen as such... fans should stop with that and a lot of unneccessary rap should be cut, but it feels like a lot of rappers... they're either shoved into that position bc the group Needs A Rapper! or theyre someone who enjoys appropriating hip hop culture 💀 to be edgy. s*yeon for example being the latter!

and i do especially wonder what the team around her and the other group thought of her "ping pong" rap...did they think it was good too lmao