#just another fun art study with the sillies

[problemstarchild]

I don't go here (college AUs) but please, for your consideration for Laios/Kabru AUs.

Laios is a returning education veteran and Kabru's in a bunch of the same Gen Ed classes as him. He's trying to figure out this guy's deal and going wild coming up with what kind of guy he is, but he overhears (eavesdrops on) Laios after class telling a friend he's probably going to have to drop out again because he can't keep up with his work and is having a hard time juggling his job and school. Kabru gets WEIRDLY invested in trying to help connect Laios with his benefits (because if he fails his classes he won't have an excuse to observe him up close anymore), also helping him go through the school to set up a learning plan to help him finish his work. Kabru is VERY cagey about why he knows how to do all of this stuff. (Autism to autism radar, PTSD to PTSD radar.) BONUS: Study buddies and Laios stays over, Laios is really neat from his time in the army and cleans up Kabru's fucked up and evil apartment which is so nasty because he's never washed a dish or a clothes in his life.

Kabru has to take another lab science credit as part of his Gen Ed courses and decides to pick Environmental Science, with Senshi as his professor. Laios is working with him as a fresh TA and he's just SO fucked up and weird about science. He's supposed to be studying pond water bacteria under a microscope but instead he's just studying this giant slab of beef who keeps bringing venomous snakes to class and talking about their importance to the ecosystem.

[SILLY] Laios is taking some art courses for fun along with the things he needs for his degree, he's pretty good, but he really only draws animals and sometimes landscapes. One class is figure drawings and Kabru is the model. Kabru's being very professional about it even though he definitely Looked once or twice. They have to show their work at the end of class and Kabru lingers behind a little in a robe to look at the art (and also because he definitely wanted Laios' number) but unfortunately for him. Laios' drawings. Are sooooooo bad. And Kabru tries to be so polite about it after class but also what the fuckkkkkk.

[SILLY] Laios isn't even in college in this one. Marcille is a TA for one of Kabru's afternoon classes. They're not close, but they watch some of the same soap operas and take the same bus to the same stop after class where Falin picks Marcille up and Kabru walks the rest of the way to his apartment, so they've taken to sitting together when possible to avoid Bus Strangers and chatting politely about whatever's new on the Daltian Clan this week. Except the one day Laios pulls up instead of Falin because she's busy taking care of a cat she found on the street or something and Kabru is basically like AWOOOOOOGA and is Not As Subtle As He Thinks He Is about asking Marcille casually about him going forward until she sets them up on an unwitting double date.

Kabru got accepted to this school on a fencing scholarship and fantastic grades. Laios is trying out for the fencing team because it's the closest thing he can legally do to being a guy with a cool sword. Rivalry? Shenanigans?

[dasketcherz]

you'll be left in the dust unless i stuck by ya yar a sunflower i think your love would be too much 🌻

[jellyfiishatr]

Being friends with them!!

a/n : just some friendly hang out sessions with the great spider four >_<★!!

☆☆☆

Characters : Miles Morales / Gwen Stacy / Pavitr Prabhakar / Hobie Brown

content : headcanon / fluff / platonic / pure silliness

☆☆☆

Miles Morales!! (Small Ganke mention!!)

☆ study sessions with these two ofcourse

☆ ^and by study sessions I mean Miles is doing work and Ganke's been done and has been playing videos games since you came over to their dorm

☆ Miles asks for help with English, and you ask for help with whatever you're missing

☆ if not study sesh, then definitely out and about spray painting a new wall

☆ ^I can imagine late night talks with him after he's finished a piece are very heart to heart, he loves to speak his mind to you and hopes you do aswell

☆ I can imagine you meeting his parents are a little nerve wracking since he's mentioned that they didn't like ganke or Gwen

☆ so you tried to be as respectful and kind to them as you possibly could (probably also kissing up to them idk I would too)

☆ if you also do art, you guys compare drawings and give eachother advice on what you need to work on

☆ ^definitely the type to steal your notes and draw in them during class

☆ ^will also steal said notes for a week and forger he has them till your banging on his door in the middle of the night before your assignments due and those notes are very much important to you

Gwen stacy!!

☆ it took a long time for her to actually consider you a friend, a lot of the time you just stayed following her and talking

☆ ^anything you said in those few months prior to her considering you a friend, went through one ear and out the other

☆ She's definitely a teaser, making fun of you in a friendly manner

☆ movie night, or weekly sleepovers at one another's house is a must with her

☆ ^she says she's into horror/action but is really into romcoms, she won't admit that outloud though

☆ I feel like she's really bad at cooking so teaching her how better her cooking skills has definitely happened once or twice

☆ ^she loves when you make her lunches, she usually buys you lunch for the next two days in return

☆ when she's playing the drums you usually sit right outside her window with headphones because she's likes to have her room shut off

☆ ^but she still wants to hang out so she makes you wait outside for about an hour till she's done and has you back inside for dinner

Pavitr Prabhakar!!

☆ Study sessions pt2!

☆ he's a straight A, top of the class student. He doesn't really need to do homework because he does it in class

☆ he does help you with yours though, especially if you're failing

☆ early morning walks, he's an early bird and makes you walk with him because "It's good for the mind!"

☆ if you're not an earlybird, you're grumbling the entire walk about how it's a "weekend" and how "you do this everyday pavitr" and how "you need to stop making me do this"

☆ he doesn't understand whatever you're trying to say and pushes you lightly the rest of the walk (that last part definitelywasnt written by pavitr, no definitely not)

☆ he loves to rant about his girlfriend, talking about how they sneaked out and went on a late night walk that week

☆ if you have an s/o you're definitely talking about them with pavitr, telling him all about them

☆ he's definitely a dog person, he always has a dog following him no matter what

☆ you guys are walking to school? There's a dog right behind you. Hanging out at his house? There's a dog right outside his bedroom window. LITERALLY IN SCHOOL?? A DOG HAS WALKED IN DURING THE MIDDLE OF CLASS AND SAT DOWN NEXT TO HIM WHILE THE TEACHER WAS AWAY

☆ ^everyone think he just has some sort of dog treats on him always but it's really from just recognizing his face from him always feeding them, such a sweetheart

Hobie Brown!!

☆ draws on your hand a lot

☆ ^you always have faded sharpie on you no matter what because of him

☆ you tease him for his accent constantly, saying "pip pip cheerio," or "ello luv." In the most horrible accent ever

☆ You have to go to protests or big government events with him, whether you're political or not he's dragging you along

☆ Always has little trinkets for you everytime you hang out

☆ hang outs in an abandoned building are a daily thing

☆ ^he's probably made you carry a big couch for him to put in a new hang out spot because he said he "knew a place."

☆ he did infact know a place

☆ the playlist guy, he's the one with fire songs to hype everyone up at rallies/protests

☆ knows how to design, outfits, or banners whatever. He knows how to do it right

☆ you'll always have heart to heart conversations with him, early in the morning, mid-day, or late at night

☆ if you ever bring up the topic, "you think we're friends in another universe?" He just looks at you and nods (I've mentioned this before in my hobie hcs)

☆☆☆

[cupid-styles]

Ahhhh I need more hockey!harry 😍 I need a whole back story to how they met, when he started teasing her and for what reason and how they end up together. It’s soo good, I especially loved the jealous blurb, I need more! ❤️

ahhhhh thank you cutie!!! here's a blurb on how they met and got to where they are now

also tysm to cutie @harrysonlylover for this collage!!!! this v much represents their relationship <3

word count: 1.3k

content warnings: none!

masterlist | talk to me

hockey h x ballerina!yn masterlist

patreon

. . .

Things between Harry and Y/N weren’t always like this.

In fact, maybe in another world, they would’ve been friends. Even lovers, perhaps, but that may be pushing the envelope just a tad. They’re both third years, which means they started at the university at the same time. They attended all of those silly orientation meetings and events alongside one another (and few hundred others) that are designed to make incoming freshmen feel more comfortable, but in reality, just make things awkward and cringy. 

(Harry remembers visibly recoiling when he was told to come up with a fun fact, and they weren’t allowed to say anything about their majors or primary sports.) 

(He ended up going with the fact that he was born in London, which their orientation leader, Lisa, was far too interested in — an annoying amount, really. He thinks she tried getting with him at the bonfire that evening, but Harry was so exhausted he couldn’t even be bothered to pretend like he knew what she was getting at.)

But Y/N was in his orientation group, actually. Years later, he still remembers how strong her legs looked in her shorts and the way she tied her hair up with a velvet scrunchie (it was in the middle of July, and the heat was sweltering, sunrays pelting them straight into their backs and necks). He doesn’t recall what her fun fact was, but he does know that they were paired up for some dumb icebreaker activity. In an effort to get them better familiar with the campus, they had to do a scavenger hunt which, to Harry, felt like cruel and unusual punishment considering the rapidly increasing temperature. They were instructed to fill up their free, university-sponsored water bottles and get to work, returning back to the post before 5 pm, where they’d be having some sort of barbecue situation.

At first, Harry thinks she’s shy. Well, she is — she’s quiet and doesn’t say much besides a soft “thank you” when he offers to run her water bottle over to the refill station. She’s focused on the task at hand, though he can both tell that they would rather poke their own eyes out than do it.

“Let’s take a break,” Harry decides, not 20 minutes in. It’s mainly because his eyes zero in on a shady area on the quad, a semblance of shade offered by a large oak tree. Y/N, exhausted herself, doesn’t fight him.

She sits cross-legged in the grass, her posture near impeccable as Harry lays down, fixing his sunglasses into his curly hair. 

“Have you decided on a major yet?” Harry asks, desperate for some sort of small talk — normally, he doesn’t care for niceties, but the near-silence between them is killing him, considering how hot and bored he is.

“I have a ballet scholarship.” she answers simply.

“That’s cool,” he nods, though he doesn’t know a single thing about it, “I didn’t know this school was big on ballet.”

He notices the way she wrinkles her nose, eyes squinting slightly. 

“It’s one of the top dance schools in the country, only behind performing arts universities.”

“Oh. Nice.”

Y/N attempts to shake away his ignorance, head cocking to look down at the male laying at her side. “And you? What are you majoring in?”

And Harry doesn’t really mean it, but it comes out without him even realizing it. It’s just— no one’s asked him that in years, but only because where he’s from, everybody knows he was the top hockey player in the city, number five in the state. Nobody ever expected Harry to go to school to study anything because it was always known that he’d go for hockey. 

So, he snorts. He actually, physically snorts, and the look of apparent disgust is immediately clear on Y/N’s face. Parting his lips, he instantly wishes he can take it back, especially when she straightens her posture to sit up a bit higher.

“I’m sorry, I— I’m here for hockey,” Harry flounders, sitting up on his elbows. “I have a hockey scholarship.”

“And was I supposed to know that?” Y/N fires back with narrowed eyes. He shakes his head. 

“No, of course not.”

“Right,” she says, standing from the shady oasis and brushing her hands over her bum to get any grass off of it, “Let’s finish this.”

. . . 

Harry was wrong about Y/N.

He thought she was shy and quiet, maybe a bit mousy if anything. But no— it turns out, in the few hours that he’s known Y/N, if she doesn’t have a taste for someone, she’ll make it known. It’s not even in outwardly mean ways, it’s just passive aggressive, like dismissive hums at his every attempt at conversation, or him pointing out the ballet studio on their walk through the campus center. He even says “oh, wow, it looks beautiful,” hoping to pet at the excited, passionate part of her personality, but instead, she ignores him. 

She ignores him.

So when they finally finish the stupid scavenger hunt, Harry couldn’t be more eager to be done with it. He tells her he’ll submit the papers to their orientation leader so she can go fuck off and find whatever friends she’s made, and she does, without even a bit of arguing. It makes Harry sigh as he’s walking back to the big barbecue event in the quad. He feels bad for his cocky response — he didn’t even mean it, and it came off so arrogantly that she would probably forever associate him with it until they went their separate ways. 

He has a hockey thing tonight — the rest of the team that aren’t first-years are already back on campus, practicing and gearing up for the start of the season, so the coach invited him to come meet everyone — but he can’t shake how shitty he feels about someone already hating him. He decides he’ll offer an olive branch of cheese fries (he opts out of a burger or hot dog, just in case she’s vegetarian). He spots her sitting at a table in the same shady spot they were in earlier, two other girls by her side as they chat. From here, she looks happy, engaged in casual conversation with people she could’ve met today or known for years — he really can’t tell.

When he makes it over to their table, he expects Y/N to at least look up at him, some sort of recognition in her expression, but instead she just looks… confused? Bored?

“Hey,” Harry greets awkwardly, feeling that their conversation immediately took a pause due to his presence. He places the cheese fries down on the table. “I’m sorry again about today. I don’t want that to be your first impression of me.”

Based on her demeanor, he doesn’t expect a gracious response; if anything, a lackluster “it’s fine” would have sufficed. But instead, her eyebrow quirks and she cocks her head to the side. 

“I’m sorry. Do I know you?”

It hits Harry in the gut. 

He flounders, his lips parting open and closed like a fish gasping for air. He collects himself a moment later, pressing his mouth into a tight line. 

“You’re right. Must have confused you with someone else,” he replies with a clenched jaw. “Enjoy the fries anyway.”

His legs quickly carry him far away from the table and in the direction of the hockey arena and locker room. He hopes he can pull some skates on and at least shoot around a little, because if he ever has to see that girl’s face again, she’ll have hell to pay.

[benkyoutobentou]

Beginner Manga Recommendations for Japanese Learners

It's time, you've done your due diligence in studying. Now it's time to jump into native material. But where to start? Here are a few manga series that I've read that I think would be a reasonable place for a Japanese learner to start their immersion journey.

Disclaimer: I haven't read every series, and the manga that's interesting to me might not be interesting to you. We also all encounter different words as we go along our language learning journeys. A series that I find relatively easy might have you looking up every other word. The trick is to not get discouraged and just keep on pushing through! As with everything, it gets easier the more you practice.

消えた初恋 - アルコ＆ひねくれ渡: This BL series follows a group of four friends and their experiences with love in high school (it also has a drama adaptation that I highly recommend! Available to watch for free on Viki). This series is so silly and just a fun time. The art has great visual gags and it's definitely a series where you can sit down and not even realize that suddenly you've gone through an entire volume and why didn't you buy more of this series to start with? It has furigana on everything, but the characters do speak pretty casually, so there's some slang and less standard language. This series is completed with nine volumes.

佐々木と宮野 - 春園ショウ: This is another sweet BL about Miyano, a high school first year, who catches the eye of an upperclassman, Sasaki. After asking to borrow Miyano's book, the two bond over a shared enjoyment of BL manga. The vocabulary is pretty simple in this one as well, but it does use quite a bit of otaku slang, which can be difficult if you've never encountered it before. It has furigana on everything, though! This series is ongoing with nine volumes and also has a spin off series titled 平野と鍵浦 which is also ongoing with four volumes.

月刊少女野崎くん - 椿いづみ: The first manga I ever read in Japanese! This series follows a high schooler, Sakura, as she confesses to her crush and classmate, Nozaki. However, Nozaki thinks that Sakura is just a fan of his shoujo manga series, and recruits her to be his assistant. This series is so enjoyably silly with a wonderful cast of characters that absolutely steal the show. There's a bit of vocabulary specific to the process of making manga, but it isn't too overwhelming. There's also plenty of casual speech and some great moments that can't quite come out in translation (bonus fact: I actually wrote a paper on this series and how humor is translated in one of my university linguistics class). It also has furigana on everything. It's ongoing with fifteen volumes.

加瀬さんシリーズ - 高嶋ひろみ: This adorable little GL series follows two high school aged girls, popular and athletic Kase and the shy gardener Yamada, as their relationship develops over their high school years. The vocabulary in this one is relatively simple with the exception of some more specific words, but those tend to pop up time and time again. This one doesn't have furigana but I think it's a great introduction to readying manga without furigana! This series is completed with five volumes, but there's an ongoing sequel series called　山田と加瀬さん that currently has three volumes released.

ささやくように恋を唄う - 竹嶋えく: This is a music based GL series about a high school first year, Kino, who tells an upperclassman, Nagi, that she loves her music. Nagi, however, misunderstands this as Kino confessing her love for her. The story follows both the relationship between Kino and Nagi as well as the trials and tribulations of Nagi's band. This is another one without furigana, but the vocabulary tends to be simple enough that I think it's still pretty accessible. It's ongoing with eight current volumes.

かけた月とドーナッツ - 雨水汐: Our last GL, this follows two coworkers, Uno and Satou, and their blossoming relationship in a society that pushes conformity and marriage on women. I really loved the way this series depicted coming into one's sexuality as an adult. Another one without furigana, but simple vocabulary regardless. A possible difficulty with this one might be the office vocabulary, though. This series is completed with four volumes.

[hotvintagepoll]

Very very very upset about cagney not winning so I wanted to submit some propaganda as his number 1 shooter :( was he conventionally attractive? No… was he the scrungliest cutiest patootiest manlet ever? YES!!!

Some fun facts for you… his first onstage appearance was as a chorus girl (top row, second from left with the killer arms hehe.) He actually had such bad stage fright that he would get sick before going onstage :(( which is hard to believe given the confidence that he exuded onscreen! According to James himself, he didn’t even really have a passion for acting that landed him on Broadway, to him it was ‘just another job.’

Despite a genuinely rough upbringing which influenced a lot of his ‘hoodlum’ characters, he was the complete opposite of the characters he played, apart from definitely being a mama’s boy, much like many of his gangster roles hehe c: He loved animals, art, sailing (despite suffering from severe seasickness hhh) and gardening. He was nicknamed the ‘faraway fella’ by his dear friend Pat O’Brien because of his introverted nature. Here are some of his drawings and paintings. He actually attended Columbia to study art, but had to drop out when his father died in 1918.

He raised horses later in life on his land in Martha’s Vineyard, Verney Farm (a combination of Cagney and his wife’s maiden name, Vernon. He was married to his wife, affectionately nicknamed Billie, for 60+ years until his death.) He was so interested in farming that he was awarded an honorary degree in agriculture from Rollins College, and when accepting the degree, he submitted a paper on soil conservation… what a silly little guy.

James was also a talented boxer—owing to his street fighting youth—and ballplayer. If he hadn’t been an actor, he may have made the major leagues!! Speaking of career changes, he was nicknamed ‘the great againster’ for his constant walkouts from Warner Bros. following contract disputes. On more than one occasion, he threatened to quit Hollywood to become a dentist or a doctor like his brother lolll. Most importantly, he was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild and fought hard for actors’ rights!! Here are some pics of him boxing/wrestling … I love when those strands of hair would fall out over his forehead :D

Anyway I have so much more I could say but this is getting long so I’ll stop here… I just love him so much!!! He was a sweetheart and a cool guy!!! As someone said, this is the verified short king lover website, so SHOW IT!! Vote cagney!!

[devouringbodies]

Hiiii I was wondering if you have a fic rec list 👉🏻👈🏻

Omg hi!!! I just went through my bookmarks and found some of my favorites!! Literally I had the hardest time narrowing down, I've got so many I love, also some I can't remember the Exact plot of that I'm sure I absolutely love and have just forgotten. So I definitely have more up my sleeve if anyone wants more. Head the tags for some of these.

The Enticement of Suffering by jonnimir - latest fic I just read, gory and sexy wound fucking coda to dolce. if you're into that it's SO GOOD

Not Quite Charity by @stranded-labyrinth - au first meeting between Will and Hannibal, hannibal leaves his car in a run down area of Baltimore and will, who's homeless, heckles him about it and Hannibal decides to pay him to watch it for him. I love this will sm!! It's a really interesting look at their dynamic, and is super in character and just a fun au study!!

Perda de memória by bleakmidwinter - amnesia!hannibal post fall fic. I'm actually a sucker for amnesia aus and love the angst in this. It adds an element to Will's struggle and decision making that makes his mindset post fall all the more interesting. And I love how much hannibal is still hannibal despite not remembering hardly anything.

Everything casts a shadow by @ghostforwhat - i looooove season 2 Will killing more people. I can't ever get enough of it. It's written so well and believably here, and the way it changes the course of the season is super fascinating. Currently a wip.

Wolf and I by t_pock - so so sooo fucking good. One of my favorites. It also has a Podfic as well and I love Podfics soo much and relisten to it often. Season 1 au that has more elements of horror, creepiness, symbolism and hands down the best, hottest, wildest forest chase sequence I've ever read. This fic feels more like a folk or fairy tale it's so good, especially paired with the beautiful art the podficer made, as well as the music they paired with the Podfic. Can't recommend this one enough.

A night off the record by barcharonte - season 1 au again, where on the way to Minnesota hannibal and will get snowed in and have to take shelter somewhere. Will is still losing time and hallucinating. Hannibal still tries to take advantage of course. Fun times to be had.

Between ease and foresight by devotional_doldrums - season 1 au (can you tell I like these? Lol) where wills and Hannibal's metaphorical conversations get a little too on the nose and Will finds out. SUPER good hannibal pov, I want to eat parts of this fic the writing is so good, and the author's notes are hilarious.

Sings to me nightly, sings to me brightly by serindrana - psychic connection phone sex what more could you want!!

The joy of creation by fkahersweetness - super dark mute!will post fall. I wouldn't say I think this is Actually how a post fall dynamic would be but in the universe of this fic it's so so sooo amazing. I love the surreality and implied shared visions/psychosis connection that will and Hannibal have here. Also the ending layed me tf out for days.

Radon and its daughters by @chaparral-crown - best most believable and realistic abo au ever. Nuff said.

Speaking of abo the one where Will smells like blood to hannibal, so good. I'll probably survive this by saintsavage

Pochée by ellopoppet - season 1 au! Also with a Podfic, Will's away on a case but is still getting closer to hannibal through texts and calls.

Mon chéri by sandyquinn - cracky Addams family au esque one shot. Just super cute and silly. I'm picky about my cute and silly but the Addams family morbidity fits comedy hannigram to a T.

Never let it starve by northern - another Will finds out in season 1, I truly can't get enough of these. Also bonus bug boy will!!!

Let the river rush in by several - Explores an actual psychic connection between the boys, again I'm a huge fan of this trope.

Hyacinth house by bluesyturtle - MY BELOVED!!!! One of my top top faves, season 1 au, cool cases, great relationship dynamic between the boys, and im obsessed with how this fic portrays Will's empathy and how it plays with his gender a bit. Love the story, love the ending. Also with Podfic!

Pattern break by thisbeautifuldrowning - dark Will au season 2 where he doesn't plot with Jack or go back to the fbi and deals with Hannibal himself. LOVE how this one plays out.

Bloodline by xzombiezkittenx - VAMPIRE AU MY LOVEEEEE this fic is an utter joy if you like vamp aus. The world building is great.

A consequence of consumption by ironlotus - straight up hands down my favorite fic in the fandom I think. It's still a wip, but it's one of the best characterizations, writing, plot, and just perfect outstanding everything I've seen in this fandom. It's an au where before all the events of season 1, Will is kidnapped by Eldon stamments and is kept alive and rescued eventually. It's peak "Will's milkshake brings all the serial killers to the yard" trope and the way everything is woven together, the storylines and character motivations, is just crazy good. Also one of my most favorite hannibal pov and characterizations out there.

Ok that was still a lot, I'm sorry if I missed tagging anyone, and hopefully the links all work!

[slightly-warmer-hibiscus-tea]

CW: OC talk + Rambling / Blood / Gore / Censored Nudity (character sheet) / Mentions of Drugging

(idk why these warnings are so intense, but I swear it's all just silly OC talk T^T)

I’m kinda sorta working on more (comprehensible) TS OC stuff in between studying right now… I wanna hurry and talk about them but without info dumping (if given the opportunity I will without hesitation 😔…) because in terms of the best stories I have conjured up for OCs in general Naudedel and Noble are surprisingly good and I’m very excited to share how deranged they are together…

Right now it’s just about making Naudy readable and working on extra fun stuff… like monsters!

I’m trying to work out his “monster” form…. The concept is there, but the execution is just not ticking the right boxes for me right now… also, the line art at the end is old and probably will go unused, but thought it was something to add here because like hehe look at my deranged son :)

When it comes to the writing I'm going to split it into two chapters. The first half will be a summary+ of his upbringing, and the second on how he fucked up his arm and why. Just enough info to get a read on what his deal is pretty much. I just need to edit the first chapter and rewrite some parts then it's ready to annoy the world!

I'm trying to think of a good design for his original mother... I'm thinking dark hair and milf (¬‿¬)･ﾟ✧ ... honestly I need to start drawing out the designs for all the other TS OCs I've accumulated over the year (?) here's a fun list-

Hickery (bloodhound OC... dilf oc...I've already been made fun of for his name, but it stuck to me so I'm keeping it!)

Maya (another bloodhound OC)

Cove (Hound's ex-husband)

Cetcher's gf + informant, who still needs a good name...

and that one guy! (doesn't have a name yet... but is important in Hound's part of the story... she bashed some of his guys in the back of head with a hammer... it was a whole thing... Leander got involved... gang war stuff, don't worry about it...)

There are technically more OCs, like that Hightown lady Noble befriended during their first few weeks in town. However, I'm not sure if I'm including her in the final plot meeting. But yeah, anyway I'm rambling so on to Noble news!

For Noble, everything is plotted out in advance surprisingly…character playlist and all... just need to find the words to explain their story other than “parasite with a weird God complex feels guilty” I do have some old memes and art of them though!

Noble curse stuff...

Childhood cult stuff...

Current reality...

Poor person masquerade dress censored for tumblr...

Noble folks!

I actually wrote out a whole little thing for the black dress in a what-if scenario of...

"Oh! ,,,What if there is a masquerade in Hightown and Noble sneaks in to get some information on a certain individual who might know a thing or two about curses, but turns out the whole event if devious and their all eating babies or some fucked up shit,,,, and what if while sneaking around they see Leander and are like 'what's he doing here?' and they lock eyes but he ignores them as he ducks into a closed off area with some important looking people,,, once he comes out he walks past them and they lock eyes again as he leaves,,, Noble chases after him and once they catch up they get to see his cold and detached side right before he hides them from the other guest,,, after they talk for a bit, or more like Leander talking over them and their worries as he slowly wipes their memories while they protest that it's not fair only to wake up the next day back in their room,,, thankfully their curse is good for more then just silly bouts of insanity so they have a hunch on what happened, everyone around them who knew where they went the night before were obviously worried and the general consensus is that they might have been drugged and should go check in with Kuras just in case (wow this is getting long...) but on their way to the clinic they run into Leander and of course discusses their current problem with him ,,, words are exchanged,,, a kabedon may occur,,, as he whispers in their ear,,, all fun till he erases their memories again, or at least tires before receiving a little gift that makes him look at this whole curse thing from a different angle." DEEP BREATH! ...Anyways... yeah.

But it was taking so long to write out that I ended up losing motivation so yeah... like everything else we will pray the motivation comes back so I can finish that... plus who knows, I might make an x reader version of it if I can. (don't hold your breath... I'm extremely slow)

Anyway, I'm gonna to shut up now because I've yapped enough. I'mma make some hibiscus tea (ironic) and head to bed... Night night, if you made it this far, thank you for listening to my craziness <3

[thequietkid-moonie]

S/o with in-depth knowledge of psychology

[ HEADCANONS ] [ Mei, Teru ]

[ Toilet Bound Hanako-kun / Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun ]

⚠️ A little bit of spoilers in Mei's part

hehe want to heard something funny? I'm actually a psychologist soooo this may contain hints of actual psychology concepts and things... not too deep because there are waaaaay to much theories and ways to practicing psychology (test, exercises, branches of study, diferent theories, and so on, psychology encompasses many things) besides this should be just for fun!

Thanks for requesting it, I had a lot of fun with this!

Mei Shimiya

Mei sometimes feels trapped in her own rumor, having to always be painting can be pretty tiring at times and the gossips about the die of the Mei that once was alive just make it more tiring for her, but having you around definetly make it more bareble for her, she always has a sincere smile in her lips whenever you are around

Even if you aren't much of talking she always motivate you to talk about whatever you want while she paints, and even if she doesn't seem like it she always pays a lot of attention to what you say, even if you talk about silly things she heards you

She likes when you share your aknowledge about psychology with her, she isn't that interested on the topic but she does like a lot the passion in your voice, if you know so much it must be something you really like and that feeling give her some comfort because it reminds her to the human Mei Shimiya, the one who's wish was so stronge that even was able to pass death with her

Since she always paints you end up telling her about all you know about the psychology behing the art, about how the details are so important and can tell a lot of a person from it, although most of the time is used in specific test, asking for specific drawings and that each drawings reveal important and diferent things about the person. Or, also how there is a branche of psychology more based in the person's perspective, having of example the famous inkblots

As much as Mei likes hearing you rant about all of it she prefers if you don't talk only about art since she gets pretty tired of it quickly. She is actually really interested about all the aknowledge you have and is always willing to heard you rant about all you know, she can't help but smile and feel almost proud whenever you came to her to tell her something new you have just learn

Although, there are moments where Mei just want to stay in silent and enjoy your company, so she look at you in an attempt for you to catch what she is trying to say, if not she will ask you not so politely if you two could just talk about anything else, something that doesn't make her think and maybe cuddle. There are some times where also she need to be alone, all by herself, but if you really wants to be with her and talk about everything and anything she may end up drawing something with what you could distract yourself (she is willing to actually draw another Mei so you could just have her but also leave her alone)

After some time Mei will gain the courage to start asking you her own interest about psychology, by all the information you had share with her, Mei now has a better idea about the complexity of humans and now she can start asking herself, she tries to make it more general at first but slowly goes further and further in her point, asking about the humans in a aspect close to dead, as well about human's desire and passion, how they can get so determinated for something they want

Mei wants to be able to understand the human Mei Shimiya, the one that had unconsciously created her with her passion and wish of finishing that painting, she wants to be able to understand her so bad that she is kinda using you to try and understand her, she loves that you are willing to share your aknowledge with her because of love and that is why she hesitant so much while asking, she doesn't want to feel like she is using you or that she only wants you for your aknowledge or passion (and will hate for you to think that), and, in the other hand she is also a little scare of the answer, what if the answer she gets when understanding Mei doesn't let her satisfied or something? What would she do then?

Teru Minamoto

Teru's life is pretty rough, always having to worry about his studies, about his work as an exorsist, about his family, and for you too, he can't help but worry about you, but it isn't like more weight for him, he loves you so he doesn't mind at all having to look after you (even if you don't need it is just like a second nature for him)

Teru is really smart and is always taking seriously his studies since he wants to keep his status as the perfect student, so there are high chances that he also know a few things about psychology, although the field of study of psychology is so vast that it would be difficult for him to have as much aknowledge as you have (you can actually brag about how you win over him in this, it hits a little his pride but won't say anything because he loves you)

If you like talking about all your aknowledge Teru will be more than happy to heard you talk about it, maybe you two can debate about it with the little knowledge he owns, besides, he learn quickly so it won't be much trouble for him to follow you in the conversation, he likes to point out what he finds more interesting and hearing you own opinion about the topic, as well he will like to know what psychological current do you prefer, it may sound silly or simple but it could help him understand you more and the way you see the people and the world (but he won't tell you that, you could catch his protective intention on that)

Teru may or may not ask you for some advice with his brother, specially when he start feeling sympaty for the supernaturals, but aside from that he don't ask for much aplication of psychology in real life. If you do give him any advice for himself from psychology's point of view he will thank you with a smile but is more probably that he won't actually do it, not because he doesn't believe you, he is just too stubborn

Teru may be pretty easy to be tricked if you use any psychological technique on him, but only because he tent to let his guard down with you (unless he feels the need to protect you), although, is probably that it won't take him much time before he notice it and his reaction will depend on what you were trying to do, like trying to help him to get off of a bad habit he will just laugh at it and find adorable that you wanted to help him (and probably will finally listen to you), but if it is something that goes deeper and even gets into the limit, crossing to be more manipulative, you'll lose all his trust (even if he doesn't say it out loud)

If you two are together then you have to already know about him being an exorsist, and that lead him to warn you about the supernaturals, saying that they are a total threaten and there is no way they would feel any kind of sympaty for humans, so he insist that you shouldn't waist your time trying to aply psychology in them because they are far different from humans, it won't work anyways, the more you insist in trying to understand the supernaturals the more pushy he will be. But at the end he won't hurt you or stop you so if you really want to give them a chance he will make sure you don't go alone while trying to go and interact with them (even if is just you watching them from afar, you have him at your side), at the first and smallest threaten he will be already shielding you and vanishing the supernaturals, if it end up upseting you he will apologize but Teru can't just take the risk of something happening to you

[sankttealeaf]

artistic endeavours

pairing ; arthur morgan x gender neutral!reader

summary ; during a walk around Saint Denis, you find yourself drawing a rather interesting stranger's horse.

other info ; this is completely self-indulgent, because all i want to do is draw with arthur. first time doing any sort of 'x reader' and i had a lot of fun. it's so silly i love it. left the ending open ended because i thought of a part 2 if people are interested &lt;3

word count: 2.5k

psst, part two is here: masterpieces

Finding inspiration for various art projects came easy to you while living in Saint Denis - the city was full of interesting subjects to study and draw, and whenever you found yourself in a creative block it didn't take much to reignite the spark. You had signed up to paint some pieces for a new exhibition at the end of the month, “The Beauty of Saint Denis”, a love letter to the city you currently called home, and so far everything had been going smoothly. Three paintings were complete, with another needing a few finishing touches. The issue was with your main piece, a large oil painting of the Théâtre Râleur at night. Something was missing and you had no idea what it was. With a few days left to go for all submissions to be collected by the gallery, you were running out of time to make this work. You were hoping that some of these paintings would be sold during the exhibitions, and you really couldn’t afford to give up now.

The room you used as your art studio was beginning to feel stuffy and small; the ventilation was poor and you had forgotten to open a window to let some air in when you first started this morning. Perhaps that was why you were pulling your hair out, trying to get something down on the canvas - the oil paint was starting to mess with your mind. You sighed, deciding that now was the best time to go for a walk, find something for lunch and not think too much about how close you were to starting this painting from scratch, not that you had the time to do so. You packed away your sketchbook, grabbing a few charcoal pencils and crayons too in case you saw something that sparked inspiration, and left. Fresh air would do you good, you told yourself. 

The city was busier than usual today as you stepped out onto the street, the midday sun warming you up immediately. Your plan was to walk around for a bit, just to see if anything felt interesting to draw, and then grab some food. The walk and air would do you good, even if nothing was drawn. You walked around slowly, pausing every now and then to take down some notes on people’s outfits, wondering if you should add a crowd outside of the theatre to make it look busy. The more you imagined it in your head, the more you decided it wouldn't hurt to try. You quickly sketched down a few ideas, before moving on, not wanting to draw any attention to yourself from those you were drawing. The last thing you wanted was for someone to get angry that you were doing that - it had happened more times than you liked to admit. You decided to loop around the docks, and then walk back around and stop off at that bakery you frequented a lot.

The docks were busy, but there was no surprise there. People walked about, carrying boxes and bags between places. There was enough going on here to definitely spark some form of creativity, and you hoped that something would be interesting to draw. You took a moment to scan over your surroundings, trying to piece together things that could work with your painting at home when you saw something. A lone horse was hitched outside the general store, and it felt like a perfect thing to draw. 

You took out your sketchbook as you approached the horse, careful not to spook it. The pattern was something you had never seen much of before, and it stood out to you the moment you saw it. Maybe a horse was missing from your painting? You began to quickly sketch out the main shapes of the horse, keeping it loose and soft to get the basic idea of how everything fits together. Once you had filled up a page on quick drawings, moving around to get different angles, you opened to a double page and began a more detailed drawing.

“Ain’t you just the prettiest thing,” you mumbled softly, taking a small step to the side to get a better view of her head. You took more time with this drawing, making sure to capture all the details you could, from the markings to the way her mane fell to the style of the bridle. A quick look at the horse and you could tell that her owner loved her a lot, she was clean and looked well fed, and if you knew what kind of treats she liked, you would definitely give her lots of them.

You found yourself getting lost in the piece, now moving on to giving it pops of colour. Your charcoal pencil was tucked behind your ear, and you switched out between two colours to try and match the shade of its coat. The more you thought about it, the more it would fit well in the painting of the theatre. You were excited to go back home to add her in.

"If you're goin' to steal her, you might wanna be a bit quicker at it next time." A voice spoke, taking you by surprise. You quickly turned around to see the owner of it - a tall, rather rugged looking man. The guns at his side made you weary, and you closed your sketchbook, holding it closer to you.

"Oh, no, I ain't in the horse stealing business, sir," you said quickly, taking a step back to put some distance between you, him, and the horse. "But if I was, your horse would be one I'd steal." The words left your mouth before your mind could tell you that it probably wasn't the best way to compliment someone's horse.

The stranger raised his eyebrow at you, giving you a once over. "Sounds like somethin’ a horse thief would say.” He let out a small chuckle to himself, and then shrugged. “You don’t look like much of one, anyway.”

He wasn’t wrong, you definitely didn't give off the same vibes as a horse thief, though you didn't know many to compare yourself to. You watched as he gave you a nod, walking around to the opposite side of the horse. 

"Definitely not going to steal her." You looked down at your sketchbook, giving it a small wave in his direction. "Just drawing her, if that's alright. She looked really interesting, and I've been facing a real bad block lately."

“Saint Denis seems to have a lot of you artsy folk around, huh?” He asked, as you nodded.

“It’s a unique city. I find that there are a lot of things to draw here,” you replied, opening up back to the page you were just on. “Lots of horses, too. None as good as yours, though.”

“You sure you ain’t trying to steal her?” He raised an eyebrow, and you were quick to shake your head again.

“I promise I’m not!”

“I’m just messing with you.” He gave you a smile. “You're some kind of artist, then?”

You nodded. “It’s one of the only things I’ve got going for me right now. I came to Saint Denis to capture its beauty, and haven’t left since.”

“Beauty is a strong word for this place,” he replied, scrunching his nose up as he spoke, and you tilted your head to the side in confusion.

“You don’t like it?”

“Too crowded. Too… city-like.”

You let out a laugh. “Funny that, considerin’ it is a city.” You turned to a new page, deciding to get a closer sketch of the horse’s head. “I hope I ain’t keeping you or anything.”

“Nah, you’re fine,” he said, and you looked up to see him take out a brush from his bag, giving his horse a quick brush down. “I know how frustrating it can be when the thing you’re drawing leaves too soon.”

“You’re an artist, too?” You stopped, giving him a look up and down. He didn't seem like the artistic type from the outside, but you supposed looks could be deceiving. He looked to be the kind of person you would bump into late at night, looking for trouble. The guns on his sides didn't help with that much, but he didn't appear to be threatening. The way he looked at his horse was anything but threatening.

“I draw. Not a proper artist or anythin’.” He looked at you, and you gave him a small smile.

“I think anyone who draws can be considered a proper artist,” you said, as he shrugged in response.

You watched him for a few moments, before going back to your sketch, smoothing some lines out to give the impression of shadows and depth. It wasn’t your best work, but for a fast sketch, it was decent. The stranger had moved during your sketch session, and was now leaning up against one of the wooden poles that held up one of the various awnings on the store, hat tipped in front of his face. You paused for a moment, your pencil hovering over the page before the horse’s head. With a deep breath, you began to very loosely draw the man. You had drawn other people that day, so there was nothing weird about doing it again. But with the person so close, you could feel your cheeks warm up from embarrassment - all he needed to do was look up and catch you drawing him. But he didn't. 

You kept things simple, using few lines to give the impression of features, smudging other lines to use as shadows. A quick line behind him, and you had a very rough outline. You took a mental note of the colours he was wearing - a dark red shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the well worn jeans, the dark boots. He looked like trouble, and yet here he was, letting you draw his horse without a complaint.

The sudden rumble from your stomach brought you out from your drawing session, and you knew you had enough to use as a reference for your painting now. You did feel a little bad for keeping him waiting, and looked down at your drawing of his horse’s head. You didn't have any change you could give him to thank him for your time, but you did have art… With one quick movement, you ripped out the page. Closing your sketchbook and shoving it back into your bag, you approached where he was leaning.

“Sorry for keeping you around,” you said, as he tipped his hat back, looking at you. He straightened up, giving you a nonchalant wave of his hand.

“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, it’s easier to draw things when they’re still,” he said. “You done?”

“Yes. Thank you. Uh, here-” You held out the drawing for him with a smile. “It’s not much, and you don’t have to take it, but… a token of gratitude, if you will.”

He looked down at the paper, gently taking it from you. You watched as he held it up to where his horse was, looking between them. “‘Ain’t much’? I can’t even tell the difference between the drawin’ and her!” He looked at you with a smile. “Thanks, uh…?”

You told him your name quickly, holding out a hand for him to shake. Between all the art, you had completely forgotten to introduce yourself. 

He took your hand in his, giving it a firm shake. “Arthur Morgan.”

“Thank you, Arthur, for letting me draw your horse,” you said, taking a small step back once you let go of his hand. You wondered if it would be weird to invite him along to the opening night of the exhibition, as you felt pretty confident now that you’d be able to finish the piece. You knew what it was missing now, after all. He carefully placed your drawing in his satchel, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. You rarely share your art with anyone, let alone hand someone a piece for free, and you weren’t too sure what had gotten into you to do that. There was something about Arthur that made you feel like you could share it easily. You stepped aside to allow him to walk by you to his horse.

Arthur gave you a nod, as he walked to his horse, unhitching the reins from the post. He turned to look at you. “There’s a lot of good places outside Saint Denis to draw at,” he said, pulling the reins over his horse’s head. “Lots of animals, too. Even more horses.”

“Maybe I’ll have to branch out one day,” you replied with a laugh. “Take a week long trip out to New Hanover, I’ve heard a lot about the landscape there.”

He seemed like a well travelled man to you, and you could easily see yourself going around to different places to draw landscapes and animals and people. Horses were expensive, so you would have to travel by train, and then find somewhere to stay… Maybe you would take his recommendation. You could always do with new focuses to paint whenever you got bored of Saint Denis.

You hadn’t told many people that your art was going to be displayed yet, and Arthur seemed interested enough in art. It wouldn't hurt to drop the suggestion, right? You searched through your bag for a small card that held the information for the exhibition on it. Your brain was telling you that it was strange to ask him to come along, but you pushed the thought away. It’s a public event, anyone could come, it didn't mean anything if you asked him to drop by. He turned to mount his horse, and you spoke up.

“If you’re in the area at the end of the month-” you started, making him look back at you. You took another deep breath to get you through this, holding out the business card to him, “the gallery downtown is hosting an exhibition, and I should have some art up on display there…” You hoped he understood what you were hinting at, as the thought of asking this stranger to see your artwork was causing a bubble of anxiety to rise in you. “Opening night is when I’ll be there, but it’ll be up for a week after that if you're still in the city.”

He took the business card from you, reading it and flipping it over in his hand. “I’ll drop by if I can,” he said with a smile, and you felt your anxieties leave you. With a smile, he nodded at you, before pulling himself up onto his horse. “Been nice talkin’ to you.”

“You too, Arthur.” You gave him a small wave. “If you ever need a drawing partner, be sure to let me know!”

“I might just take you up on that offer,” he laughed, and you watched as he left, walking off down the street. 

Nothing would come of it, most likely, but the idea of going around with someone and drawing together filled your mind. Especially with the idea of travelling - maybe this was your calling? To travel and paint together with someone. You pushed that thought away, not wanting to get too attached to the idea, however lovely it may be.

You began your walk back home, eager to get out the paints. This was going to be one of your best pieces ever, and you were now looking forward to the exhibition instead of dreading it.

[caelanglang]

Can I just say how much I absolutely ADORE your art style <33!!! The way you draw soukoku is so soft and sweet, they're literally just two sillies! My favorite one is definitely the drunk Dazai one because of how squishy Dazai looks and how flustered Chuuya is.

I saw a glimpse of Ranpo in your recent art and my whole world just stopped, hope it's not too much to ask but would LOVE to see Ranpo in your art style someday because I'm sure he would look the cutest TvT! Of course no pressure or rush and you're always free to turn this request down, genuinely just wanted to drop an ask to send all my support to you and just say how lovely your art style is because it always makes me so soft TAT ❤

Awwww thank you so so much!! The drunk Dazai was so fun to draw ehehehe I was planning to work on a drunk Chuuya soon if my time permits! I'm a bit nervous drawing the other bsd characters but wow you noticing my messy Ranpo makes my heart melt ;w; thank you for liking it!! I'm still trying to get used to drawing his outfit (another hat and coat study hhhhhhhh) but here's what I've got for you! Thanks for giving me an excuse to draw him x3

ranpo's design is already so cute so idk how to add up to that but I hope you like it anon! Thanks for dropping by :D I appreciate kind requests like these dw!

[worldofkuro]

i’ve returned 🙈 (i’ll be 🐒 anon bc i think the emoji is kinda neat haha)

anyways, i’ve thought of some other headcanons

-Alastor wld prolly take reader to the woods to look at some deer. I mean, who wldnt want to look at these majestic creatures, also, he most likely showed reader to impress them haha (showoffff)

-French is a pretty hard language to learn (i think) so i’d jst put in the assumption that it’s difficult for reader. But Alastor is kinda fluent (also considering his mom speaks french from time to time), so the problem turns into an excuse to hang out with one another (study sessionss yayyy i hate studying but if its with another person itd be fun)

-Both of them doodling some silly pictures of some things they saw, OR THEM TRYNA DRAW EACHOTHER AUUUUUHHHH, thatd be so cute,, both of them are pretty/kinda artsy so arts and crafts are always a fun thing to do in their spare time :>>

anyways that’s all from my rotting brain, i’m glad u liked my last headcanon and i hope you’ll like these ones hhhh 🏃💨 *runs awayys*

Well, welcome back my cute 🐒 !

Alastor would take you to the woods, first, because indeed he wants you to meet a deer. He wants to be the one to bring a smile to your face, it’s one of his biggest pride. But also, on a sadder note, he would take you to the woods so you could know your way inside it. He wants you to know that if you were in any danger, mostly because of his father, you could run toward the woods and be safe inside it. He didn’t want you to feel like a prey but like a hunter. Like this, you could also feel closer to him.

His mother is creole, so she does know her way with french. Alastor likes the fact that his Father couldn’t understand it, it shows how this man is just a stranger in his own house. But of course, that means that you need to at least understand some french! And if you happened to learn quickly, oh dear, you both would be gossiping in french in front of the very person you were dissing. You would be an unstoppable team!

Both of you are very artistic indeed but Alastor is more talented when drawing forms, but never coloured it unlike you who, he thinks, has a way with color. Maybe because your life is brighter than his? So most of the time, Alastor would draw and you would add the color just after! 

I always like to know what is going on inside your mind ! Sometimes it’s nice to know how you perceive the characters, for now, you are all spot on! See you soon 🐒 !

[capn-twitchery]

do you have any tips for drawing expressions? it’s one thing that I always notice about your art, I love how expressive your characters are.

thank you so much!! it really means a ton bc expressions are one of the things i've focused & worked the hardest on over the years :D ♥

which ALSO MEANS--HA, YOU ACTIVATED MY SPECIAL INTEREST TRAP CARD i am now going to talk at you all for far too long about it >:) buckle up!

prefacing this by saying i Love animation, this makes me biased as hell with where i get my sources + how i study art. anyway!

i think my biggest #1 tip is don't be afraid to get goofy with it--characters don't have to look cool and stoic all the time, they can be silly! if an expression reads better, but looks a little off-model, do it anyway! make that guy look weird!

i draw little thumbnail expressions a Lot, whether for actual art or for just fun doodling. i don't have any recent ones to hand-- but here's some from a while ago. they help a ton to figure out what works quickly without worrying about actual facial features

they also help to see if i can push an expression further, it's easier to test out weird things on a tiny round doodle and then translate that into an actual drawing later on. pushing expressions To The Limits is a really good exercise in itself!

gonna put the rest under the cut bc it's getting long & i have a lot more to say

ok this in itself is a whole topic i can go on about for hours, but i'll try to keep it semi brief--i Love considering how different characters would show emotions! how one character would express sadness, how that would be different to another, how one character would smile vs. another, stuff like that!

related, giving characters individual expression quirks. twitch's :3 mouth & lazy lidded eyes if you could see them anyway & Very Smug Eyebrows, while grace has heavy low eyebrows & sad puppy eyes & usually looks at least 10% unsure at all times. it makes every single twitch smile look slightly not genuine and makes grace look. well. you know. the quirks are really fun to think of, and it makes drawing expressions feel a lot more fun when you personalise them!!

expressions can be easier to think of when you put characters in scenarios & consider how they'd react. it can also help to think of the character Moving/talking, instead of as a static image. mini comics or just adding dialogue to art helps a lot with this, i've only just started doing it and i'm having a blast!!

ok this one is weird and hard to explain and might only be applicable to me bc i can't see images in my brain-- but i'll throw it out there just in case! lots of artists make faces in the mirror to reference their own expressions, but it's never worked for me

i Do still act stuff out in my brain & make faces irl, but instead of doing it in the mirror, i just make the expression & consider how my face is moving in Words? ok for example This Comic, last panel for twitch--i'd run through the dialogue in my head and move around how i feel like they would, and list it off in Words--raised eyebrows, closed eyes, tilted head, etc etc. then i have a framework to base the expression on! and i don't need to stare into my own face in the mirror for reference. no mirror needed at all, actually. win/win. i do this for body language too

(yes this makes you look insane btw. sorry. if you do it too long best case scenario you get very dextrous eyebrows and worst case scenario you might start making cartoon character faces irl (or both) (i'm both))

not sure how much it helps specifically with expressions outside of animation, but it's a fun exercise--learning the limits of a character's face, animation calls it squash & stretch. drawing a face in the two most extreme states. so on character expression sheets you'll see weird faces like this⤵️ that's what that is

another exercise, i always have a ton of art saved that i like the expressions of. usually a lot of concept art for films. i'll do studies of them & redraw them, and/or take ocs and redraw them with those expressions! it's a great way to look at how other artists do stuff and yoink bits you like.

you'll hear this a lot if you look up Any art tips, but references & studies are great. i get a lot of inspo from disney concept art bc their artists are very talented people, but currently i hope disney studios' own hubris eats it alive. i want to see mickey mouse buried in a hole, the rat bastard. anyway some places i personally take inspiration from:

i look at a lot of animation concept art, some good sources are characterdesignreferences, livinglineslibrary, there's pdfs of animation art books all over the place too.

specific concept artists i like are jin kim & shiyoon kim !! they do Great expressions.

outside of film industry, tealin and tracy butler of lackadaisy cats are some inspirations! tracy butler has a great expressions tutorial here

if you find this stuff interesting & like reading, the illusion of life by ollie johnston & frank thomas is an incredible insight into the thought process behind stuff like this! there's a pdf here, unfortunately just a scanned copy but worth a read if you like this stuff!! specifically chapters 'character development', 'animating expressions & dialogue', and 'acting & emotions'

sorry that was an essay and a half but hopefully it was a little bit helpful!! i always love talking about this stuff so if you want anything clarified/just wanna talk about it more i am Always ready to go off >:3

[blondeboyfriend]

𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝟐 (𝟏𝟖+)

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐃𝐍𝐈

« Devotional 1 [ PAIRING ] DIO x f!reader x Hol Horse [ AUTHOR'S NOTE ] Dio using his fangs to pull corks out of wine bottles comes from this. Also I kinda amped up the silliness which I apologize for. I couldn't help it. Drunk!DIO is just too much fun to indulge in. [ SYNOPSIS ] The return of Hol Horse. [ WORD COUNT ] 4.3k [ CONTENT ] Canon AU, POV switching, alcohol, dubcon (power imbalance, everyone's drunk), threesome (mmf), nipple play, oral sex (m + f receiving), anal sex (m receiving), voyeurism, sadomasochism, handjob, gun play, objectification, degradation (Dio gets degraded), some D/s elements, biting, marking, pet names (pet, darlin', sweetheart), orgasm control, impact play, not beta read.

You hadn’t thought much about Hol Horse since your previous tryst. While it was exciting and memorable, you occupied yourself with other things. You didn’t want to get attached to the hitman. Loving Dio was bad enough. Why let another reprehensible man into your life? You didn’t need to shoulder that weight.

You found that tending to the mansion’s lush gardens was a worthy task, one that filled you with pride. Your favorite time to garden was in the evening, when the sun wasn’t as cruel. You enjoyed the pinkish-orange hue that overtook the sky as the gloaming inched closer. Everything looked that much more beautiful when bathed in a blushing glow. You felt safe, at ease, like nothing could go wrong if your hands were plunged in rich, fertile soil.

That’s why it was such a shock to hear Pet Shop’s foreboding shriek as you deadheaded some carmine-colored poppies. You dropped your shears and looked around, seeing no one.

“Call off that damn bird!” You heard a familiar voice yell.

You finally spotted the panicked hawk, swooping around menacingly. You hoped he had refrained from bombarding Hol Horse with icicles.

“The fuck is he doing here?” You asked.

You stumbled to your feet and tried to make yourself visible, attempting to wave Pet Shop down like he was a vicious airplane.

“It’s fine!” You shouted, suddenly feeling foolish. “Can he even understand me?” You wondered out loud. “I mean, he seems pretty smart…”

You shook your head and decided not to think too hard about it. The sudden absence of Pet Shop’s shrill cries of alarm was enough to quell your nerves.

“One second,” you said as you struggled to open the gate, a task you had never attempted yourself.

“Take your time, darlin’.”

After about a minute of struggling you finally managed to get the gate open.

“Sorry,” you panted, wiping the sweat from your brow. “Usually someone else does that.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Hol Horse said kindly.

His gaze was full of dreamy longing. You wondered if he looked at his numerous girlfriends this way.

“So… Can I… help you? Do you need something?”

He adjusted his hat and shook the starry-eyed look off his face.

“Lord Dio asked me to come. He said it’s important.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Important?”

You knew Hol Horse wasn’t here on “business” so to speak. Whether he knew that or not was another thing, but you were quick to catch onto Dio’s will. The vampire tried to be as opaque as possible with his true desires, only revealing information when he felt it was beneficial. But the more time you spent around him, the easier he was to read.

“His words, not mine.”

“Alright,” you sighed. “I’m sure he’s lurking around somewhere.”

You led Hol Horse into the mansion and set out to find Dio. You vaguely recalled him mentioning that he’d be in his study if you needed him. Most of the search was spent in silence, excluding your annoyed sighs when you’d fail to find your lover. There was no hint of him in the study and no one else in the mansion seemed to have kept tabs on him.

“This happens,” you muttered, wandering through the art gallery. “I’m sorry this has become such an ordeal.”

“It’s no trouble at all. To be honest I’d be perfectly happy if we never find him.”

You turned around and looked at Hol Horse with disgust.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I—C’mon, sweetheart, you think I wanna be here?” He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one. “I’m pretty sure I won’t be leaving this place alive.”

“Don’t be fucking dramatic.”

You strode into the chapel and scanned the room, seeing nothing.

“I’m not being dramatic. You gotta know what he’s capable of.”

“I know,” you moaned. “I’m aware and I don’t care.”

Hol Horse was aghast. “Well I do! My head’s on the chopping block, not yours.” He took a hit off his cigarette and flicked the ash to the floor.

“He’s not going to kill you for fuck’s sake. I’m pretty sure he wants you to top him.”

“What the hell does that mean? Top him? He wan—” Hol Horse paused, seemingly realizing what you meant. “Oh, you’re kiddin’ me.”

You walked by the lectern and noticed an empty bottle of wine leaning against the foot of it. Dio must have been in here at some point.

“That can’t be it.”

You ignored the hitman’s panicked realization, instead focusing on the faint groaning and labored breathing emanating from the altar. You spotted another bottle of wine, this one half-full.

“I’d rather have him kill me, if that’s the case.”

“I think I heard something.”

You crept closer to the altar, looking around the large, ornate table it sat on. You glanced underneath and saw nothing but darkness.

“Never mind,” you sighed, walking away. “He might be—WHAT THE FUCK?!”

You stared down and saw a pale hand wrapped around your ankle, cold fingers digging into your flesh. Instinctively you stomped on it. Hol Horse ran to your side, drawing Emperor and aiming at the hand now feebly clutching your leg. You heard what you could only describe as a pathetic hiss.

“Dio?”

“How could you do this to me? After I, Dio, have done so much for you.”

“Are you crying?” You asked, squatting down to get a better look at the tragic heap at your feet.

“No!” He barked.

Hol Horse withdrew his stand and took a few steps back. He took a final drag off his cigarette and let the butt fall to the floor. He crushed the smoldering cherry with his heel.

“Did I hurt you?” You cooed, rubbing his cold hand.

“Maybe.”

Dio was a mess. His blonde hair hung in his face, cascading down his shoulders. The whites of his eyes were red rimmed and kohl smudged. All he had on were a pair of chartreuse silk shorts that barely covered his ass and a turquoise knit sock on his left foot for some inexplicable reason.

You stroked his chilled face, trying not to reveal the pity you felt for him.

“I’m sorry.”

He grumbled something indecipherable.

“… Uh. Hol Horse is here.”

Dio’s eyes briefly widened before he recomposed himself. He stood up with no problems. But swayed a little once on his feet, like a skyscraper drifting on a windy day.

“Hol Horse,” he bellowed.

Hol Horse straightened his posture, a minor attempt at looking more robust. “Yes, Lord Dio. You said you needed to see me.”

Dio shifted his gaze to you.

“Did I say that?” The vampire hissed under his breath.

Dio’s eyebrows were furrowed, ripe with frustration. You could have sworn he was pouting, a common occurrence when he’d get drunk alone.

“I asked you a question, pet.”

“I never heard you say that.”

The three of you stood in silence, the only sound emanating from a ticking clock. Hol Horse’s anxiety sucked the air out of the room regardless of his brave facade. Dio held his palm to his forehead. He looked like a postmodern version of a Rodin statue.

“I remember now,” he said quietly. “Hol Horse, I need you—”

“You what?” Hol Horse blurted out.

Dio dropped his hand and glared at the hitman.

“Don’t speak out of turn,” Dio slurred. “I need you to…. Ugh.” The vampire groaned in frustration. “I need you to…”

You rubbed Dio’s back while he tried to find his words.

“Why don’t we have him come back another time?” You said softly.

“Tch. No,” the vampire growled. His gaze darted around the floor, sighing in relief when he saw the half-full bottle of wine. “He came all this way.”

“I’m actually not staying too far from here—”

“Quiet!” Dio snatched the bottle of wine off the floor. “We’re going to make it worth his while.”

“C—could y’all not talk about me like I’m not in the room?” Hol Horse laughed.

“My apologies,” Dio said, eyeing the label of the wine bottle. “You should stay though. Have some wine.” He handed the bottle to the hitman. “It’s a dry port, imported from Póvoa de Varzim.”

Hol Horse held the bottle like it was a grenade missing a pin.

“I’m not much of a drinker.”

Dio clenched his fists like an immature child not getting his way.

“Did I ask if you were much of a drinker, Hol Horse? Pet,” he said, snapping his fingers at you. “Did I, Dio, say that?”

“Don’t treat me like a dog, you drunk ass.”

“I can’t win with either of you, can I?!” He cried out before snatching the bottle back from Hol Horse.

He used his fang to pull the cork out of the bottle. He yanked it off his tooth and threw it across the room. He took an oblivion seeking gulp. A trickle of the crimson liquid dribbled down from his mouth, collecting near his collarbones.

“Hol Horse!” He announced, wiping his wine-stained lips. “I’m done playing games. Come here closer.”

Hol Horse went to grab the bottle from Dio, but was denied.

“No. Get on your knees and open your mouth.”

Hol Horse frowned, but obeyed. The hitman opened his mouth and looked up at the vampire. Dio gave him a sick smirk before pouring a steady stream of wine into Hol Horse’s mouth. Part of you expected him to choke on it, but he swallowed it like a professional.

“Good boy,” Dio purred, patting Hol Horse on the head. “Hmph. Take your stupid hat off.” The vampire unceremoniously knocked Hol Horse’s cowboy hat off.

“Can we at least drink out of glasses?” You asked.

“Do you think they drank out of glasses during the Bacchanalia?”

“The what?” Hol Horse asked.

He got on Hol Horse’s level so he could stare into the hitman’s eyes.

“The Bacchanalia, Hol Horse! The Roman festival dedicated to Bacchus.”

“I’m not much into history, Lord Dio.”

Dio looked thoroughly distressed. He gazed up at you expectantly.

“You know what I’m talking about, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Lots of hedonism… And other shit.”

Dio got to his feet and grabbed ahold of your shoulders, his face mere inches from yours. You could smell the sweet aroma of port on his breath.

“It wasn’t just hedonism, my pet. You’re selling it short. It was sheer ecstasy. A celebration of the flesh and its wonders.”

You frowned. “Didn’t maenads eat people in a drunken frenzy and uproot trees with their bare hands?”

“Maenads are Greek, you swine. I’m talking about Roman mythology. You’re thinking of bacchae.” Dio groaned. “Euripides did write about them ripping men limb from limb, but I don’t recall them eating anyone. Though that would be very intriguing.”

“Ar—are you going to eat me?” Hol Horse asked.

“Just your ass,” the vampire said matter-of-factly. Suddenly his face lit up. “Wait, yes! I did ask you here.” Dio smirked again, corners of his lips curling up. He stepped towards the hitman, his footsteps nearly silent against the cold, marble floor. “On your feet,” he said softly.

Hol Horse stood up with trepidation. Dio tucked a lock of the hitman’s sandy blonde hair behind his ear.

“I wanted to apologize for how I left things between us last time.”

“Really?”

“No. But I didn’t get to have as much fun with you as I wanted. Isn’t that right, pet?”

You nodded. Dio expressed his disappointment to you a multitude of times. Usually after he fucked you into a coma-like state and felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable around you.

“I—I,” Hol Horse stammered.

Dio wrapped his arms around the hitman and clung to him like a sloth.

“Come on. You can’t deny my charm.”

“He definitely can, Dio. Don’t be weird.”

You stepped closer to the two men. Dio buried his face into Hol Horse’s neck. Hol Horse swallowed hard and reluctantly patted the vampire’s muscled back.

“At least help me finish this bottle of wine. It’d be a shame to waste it.”

“That would be your own fault for throwing the cork across the room,” you snarked.

“I’m five seconds from killing you.”

You sighed. “Is that my cue to leave?”

“No!” Hol Horse blurted out. “I mean, no. You should, uh, stay! Please stay.”

“He’s right. It’s no fun without you,” Dio relented.

You decided to stay, not only for Hol Horse’s best interests but also because you wouldn’t mind fucking around with him again. The three of you moved to Dio’s bedroom and finished off the bottle of port. You were all sprawled out on the vampire’s bed in your underwear, clothes in little piles on the floor. You and Hol Horse were already riddled with bite marks because Dio simply couldn’t keep his hands off the two of you, interrupting conversation by biting your shoulder or your neck. Never hard, just enough to remind you he was there. The poor thing had little interest or ability to maintain a conversation.

“That’s actually pretty admirable of you,” you said, stroking Dio’s head as it rested in your lap. “I feel like most men would take advantage of a woman in that situation.”

“I respect women, that’s why.”

“I respect women too,” Dio murmured.

“You kill 99% of the women that come across you, honey.”

“What about you? You’re alive. And I’ve fucked at least four women without killing them for the record.”

“That’s not impressive, and you know that,” you chastised.

Dio pouted. He knew you were right, but he’d never admit it.

You reached for the bottle resting on the nightstand only to realize it was empty. You frowned, but knew opening another bottle would be asking for trouble. Dio noticed your expression and sat up.

“Should I get another?”

“No,” you said.

“Yes,” Hol Horse answered at the same time.

Dio got up from the bed and skulked around until he found a bottle of vintage merlot amongst his various treasures. He again pulled the cork out of the bottle with his teeth and hurled it across the room. You stifled a laugh. He took a sip from the bottle before handing it off to Hol Horse who mirrored Dio. The hitman held out the bottle to you, but you shook your head.

“You’re no fun,” Dio slurred.

The vampire groaned and draped himself over you. His body was so cold up against yours, but you welcomed it. The port wine left you warm and tingly. Dio nuzzled his head into your neck before pressing his lips to it. He began to suck on it and his teeth lightly grazed the skin. He pinched your nipple between his fingernails and you winced, but welcomed the stinging pain.

“Don’t be a stranger, cowboy.” You cringed internally at your drunken term of endearment. You made a mental note not to say anything else along those lines.

Hol Horse obliged and crawled over to you on his hands and knees. He flicked his tongue against your nipple and sucked on your breast. You placed your hand on the base of his skull and held it close to your chest. He swirled his tongue around your nipple. Dio rubbed your clit through your underwear, an act that made you slightly uneasy because of his pointed, claw-like nails. Your body tensed up with every swipe of his finger.

Dio smiled against your neck. “Nervous?” He asked.

“Maybe. It feels good though,” you replied.

He applied more pressure to your clit and a whine freed itself from the depths of your throat. You twirled a lock of Hol Horse’s hair as he continued to suck on your breast. You thought about pulling on it, but refrained. You wanted to be kinder to the hitman; you felt obligated to spoil him.

You clenched your jaw and felt as if you were ascending, surrounded by blonde angels.

“Could one of you please, uh.” Hol Horse said, his breath hot against your nipple. “Could one of you touch my cock or somethin’?” He sounded almost pained as he asked the question, like he was embarrassed to desire you and Dio’s touch.

You decided to take the lead, gently pushing Dio away from you. Hol Horse got off his hands and rested on his knees. You pulled down his boxers, revealing his semi-hard cock. It was just as big as you remembered it, long and on the thinner side with not a vein in sight. You stroked it, biting down on your bottom lip as you watched the tension melt away from his body.

“Squeeze it tighter,” Dio heckled.

You didn’t bother responding to him, instead directing all your attention on Hol Horse. You cunt throbbed as you gazed at his face as it contorted with pleasure. Dio reached for the bottle of merlot and took a sizable gulp. He came closer to Hol Horse and grabbed the back of his head.

“Tip your head back and prepare to swallow.”

The hitman heeded Dio’s instructions and graciously accepted the wine pouring into his mouth. Dio’s coordination was nothing to write home about; the wine ended up on Hol Horse’s chest and ultimately the vampire’s bedding (something he would deeply regret in the morning).

You rubbed the tip of Hol Horse’s cock, running the pad of your finger along the slit. Droplets of precum seeped out of his cocktip.

Dio took another sip from the bottle of wine and placed it on the floor. He cupped the hitman’s face in his hands and kissed him deeply. Hol Horse looked momentarily surprised before succumbing to Dio’s alluring nature. He bucked his hips against your hands, thrusting his cock deeper into your grasp.

“Aw, do you need to fuck something?” You teased, squeezing the length of it.

He broke the kiss and mumbled a quick, “Yes.”

Dio jumped at the opportunity to bottom for the hitman. It was almost as if he immediately appeared in front of Hol Horse, naked on his hands and knees.

“Did you use your fucking stand?” You asked.

He smiled, and said nothing.

Hol Horse stroked his cock slapped it against Dio’s taint. You took a seat in front of Dio and gaped at the sensuous sight. The hitman rubbed Dio’s sumptuous ass and gave it a hard smack. He teased Dio’s hole with the tip of his cock, slowly pushing it inside.

“Anytime now,” Dio ordered.

Hol Horse furrowed his brow and slammed his cock into Dio’s ass.

“Fuck!”

“Lord Dio, I—I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hur—”

Dio groaned. “Shut up. Pet, grab the lube.”

You shook your head at their stupidity and grabbed the lube Dio kept in his nightstand. You handed it to Hol Horse who coated his cock in with the silicon-based lubricant. You sat back and watched as the hitman eased his cock back into Dio.

“Is that better?” Hol Horse asked nervously.

“If you’re going to talk, Hol Horse, at least degrade me. Your pitiful attempts at comforting me are boring.”

Hol Horse breathed in deep and exhaled slowly. You watched eagerly, desperate to know what curses would fall from the hitman’s lips.

“You’re the one that hasn’t shut up once tonight,” Hol Horse growled before shoving Dio’s head into the mattress. “You oughta keep quiet and let me use you like the worthless slut you are.”

“Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about,” Dio called out, his voice muffled by the sheets. “Tell me this is the only thing I’m good for.”

“I don’t know why you keep flapping your jaws, I thought I told you to keep quiet.”

“Say it or I’ll kill you,” Dio growled.

“The only reason something as wretched and disgusting as you exists is so people have something to abuse.”

“Nngh, no abuse,” Dio said, lifting his head slightly.

The hitman apologized, not knowing of Dio’s dreadful childhood. You ruffed the vampire’s hair lovingly, a small consolation.

Hol Horse continued to drive his cock into Dio’s ass, groaning as he bottomed out. You relished in the symphony of gasps and moans coming from the two men. The hitman’s balls clapped up against Dio, each occurrence eliciting a breathy whine from the vampire. Hol Horse reached around Dio and grabbed his neck, forcing him to crane his head back.

“Fucking you is like fucking a whore.”

“I’m not averse to you paying me for this, if that’s your thing.”

Hol Horse let go and pushed Dio’s head back into the mattress. You felt like you were going to implode with pleasure. Seeing the two of them fucking each other was driving you wild.

“Point your gun at him,” you said while you took off your underwear.

Hol Horse summoned his stand and pointed it at the back of Dio’s head. Dio dug his fingers into the mattress in ecstasy as the barrel pressed against his skull. You spread your folds and dipped your fingers inside your cunt.

“Is your finger on the trigger?” You purred, rubbing your clit.

Hol Horse grinned. “You know it is.”

You squealed with delight and continued to play with your cunt, coating your fingers with your arousal. You made eye contact with the hitman while you sucked your fingers clean. You knew he wanted you.

Dio looked up, face still half-buried in his bed.

“Let me eat your cunt,” he moaned, words nearly intelligible.

You grabbed the hair on top of his head and lifted his body up, making him get back on all fours. You placed your hand under his chin and lifted it so his vermillion eyes would meet your gaze. He stuck out his tongue and you brought his head to your cunt. He teased your clit with the tip of his tongue. You tossed your head back and hummed happily as he serviced you. Hol Horse’s thrusts shoved Dio’s head against your body. With each thrust the vampire grunted as he sucked on your arousal soaked folds.

“That feels so good,” you groaned.

Dio’s oral abilities never ceased to amaze you. It was like his mouth was made to be buried in someone’s cunt. His soft lips and long tongue were blessings.

“Fuck,” you whined. “This absolutely is the only thing you’re good for.”

Dio let out a delighted moan. He arched his back and took a more active role as Hol Horse’s fucked him.

“Oh shit,” the hitman groaned. He now lacked the concentration to maintain his stand.

You felt your body growing warmer by the second, heat radiating from your core. You braced yourself against Dio while your strength withered away.

“I—I’m close,” you moaned.

Dio showed your cunt no mercy as he sucked on your clit. Your breathing lost all rhythm, instead becoming labored, quiet gasps with some moans sprinkled in between. You fell back, your body hitting the mattress with a thud. You caught your breath and smiled, utterly satisfied.

“Suck my cock n—no—now,” Dio stuttered.

Hol Horse helped him onto his knees and the vampire reached out to you. You couldn’t even dream of denying him. You crawled a short distance to him and wrapped your lips around his aching cock. You savored the sweet precum that trickled from the tip, focusing on the slit of his cock. His moans grew louder and louder, definitely audible to anyone that happened to pass by his chambers. He was becoming undone. Hol Horse continued to pound his cock into the vampire’s tight hole, his eyes locked shut.

You looked up and watched as Dio demanded Hol Horse to open them and kiss him as he came. The hitman obeyed and shared a sloppy, drunken kiss with the vampire.

It didn’t take long for a deluge of cum to erupt from Dio’s throbbing cock. You swallowed every drop, gulping it down ecstatically. You loved when Dio filled your mouth with his cum.

“I, fuck, think I’m getting there too,’ Hol Horse said. His voice was pained.

Dio pulled Hol Horse’s cock out of him, his expression hinting at a devious plan.

“Lay on your back.”

Hol Horse did as he was told and stroked his cock, longing for it to be deep in Dio’s ass again. Dio got on top of him and guided it back inside. The vampire bounced up and down on the hitman’s cock with a disturbing half-smile on his face.

“D—Dio, I—”

“Is that how a weakling like you is supposed to address me?”

“Lord Dio, I don’t think I can hold it in.”

“Oh, my dear Hol Horse, but you must.”

“Please. I—”

“If you want it that bad, you must beg for it.”

You watched, completely entertained by Dio’s cruelty.

“Please let me come, Lord Dio. I’ll do anything.”

Hol Horse continued to thrust against Dio, the two men finding a rough rhythm.

“And what would that be?” Dio asked, his tone tranquil and deliberate.

“I’ll be your slave. You can use me whenever you want. I don’t care. Just let me come.”

“My slave, hm? Can I hold you to that?”

“Ye—yes. Yes. Yes,” Hol Horse babbled.

“You want to fill me with your cum that bad”

The hitman nodded. “Want you so bad.”

“Should I let him come, pet?”

“Oh yeah,” you said, anticipating the rapturous sounds of Hol Horse’s orgasm.

Dio leaned over and put his hands on Hol Horse’s shoulders.

“Come, slave. Come for your master.”

Hol Horse barely let Dio finish his sentence before he filled the vampire with his milky white cum. You watched as it leaked from Dio’s hole. You were amazed by the amount that the hitman pumped inside the vampire.

Dio sighed happily and rolled off of Hol Horse, cum still leaking out of his ass. Hol Horse looked mildly terrified because of the promise he made to his new master.

“Bath?” You asked, getting up off the bed.

“Yes,” Dio said, holding out his hand.

You helped him to his feet, letting him rest his head on top of yours.

“I guess I’ll head out then,” Hol Horse said softly.

“Don’t be an idiot. You’re coming with us,” Dio yawned.

You smiled and beckoned for Hol Horse to follow. The hitman appeared reluctant, but ultimately decided to join you. He believed that a relaxing bath was the perfect moment to renegotiate the verbal contract he had just entered with the vampire.

[cyber-corp]

A summary/review of parts 1-100 of Homestuck

~by a gecko who knows what a Megalovania is

Let's start things quick and simple. It is the distant year of 2009, where the date is the 13th of April. It is the protagonist John Egbert (aka Zoosmell Pooplord)'s birthday. How fun!

John's actions are very much based around RPG mechanics (the Sylladex, Captchaloging, etc.), which as indicated by the chatlogs seems to be the norm in this world.

Once he opens the magic chest in his room, he gets access to a variety of artifacts, some of which he'll use later. He only takes the smoke pellets at first because he's stupid.

We get some glimpses of the author Andrew Hussie's dated yet charming late-2000's humour through asking John to shit on his desk.

After nailing a Little Monsters poster to his wall (a gift from his Dad), he gets a message from one of his friends on Pesterchum, TG, who says that he got the beta for SBURB for John's birthday.

However, his dad has just come home and John doesn't want to go through the trouble of holding a conversation with him. In the meantime, he figures out how to use his Strife Specibus by allocating the Hammerkind Abstratus, and reads the GameBro magazine, which John seems to have a loathing for.

However, with the freed up room in his Sylladex, he creates a convincing disguise to fool his dad and grab the SBURB beta (it won't).

He goes downstairs into the living room, examines his father's shitty harlequins, knocks over and picks up his Nanna's ashes and opens a large gift for himself, which is also a large harlequin.

Before deciding to sticking fake arms on the harlequin, John gets a message from another Pesterchum mutual, TT.

TT oddly knows everything that John has done up to this point, including being in possession of the SBURB beta and wearing a funny disguise. They tell him to go get the game from his father from downstairs.

After snooping around his father's study and playing a little tune (which is a great way that Homestuck utilizes its medium), John heads outside to the mailbox, to find that dad has already scooped the mail.

But there's a sense that something isn't quite right. With "Windchime Foley" by Clark Powell playing over empty streets and a main title appearing, it implies this scene is the true beginning of the story. The text mentions a "Desolation" that's playing the tune diegetically throughout the streets/town. Maybe it will be a long day.

John heads back inside to finally confront his father and sneakily get the beta, but oops! The disguise didn't work (who would've thunk it?), and there's only to get pass him, which is with a Strife!

(This fight scene's really cool, I quite enjoy this)

After the Colonel's book activates the smoke pellets, John quickly snatches his father's PDA as a joke, and finally gets his hands on the SBURB beta, which is where I ended off.

So is it good? I mean, yeah.

Even if I only read what is a tiny, tiny fraction of Homestuck's story, I can still see how so many people became obsessed over it. The cutesy, almost surreal art style (complete with low quality JPEGS in the vein of Newgrounds), Hussie combining the mystical with the silly in his writing, and the brief bits of music in it illustrate a very "calm before the storm" feeling. I can definitely see how people like Toby Fox were inspired by it.

Despite what some think, the first little bits of Homestuck are an enjoyable experience which foreshadows something bigger yet to come. Solid 8.

[chibishortdeath]

Ok, I’m sick of seeing only Netflix posts lately so I’m ranting about Simon lol

Unfortunately I had some nice paragraphs written for this but tumblr crashed while I was writing so this is my second time making this post (TwT)

TL;DR with the rant under a cut for easy scrolling, I am deranged and have studied all of Simon’s outfits, here’s some fun tidbits and I guess kinda a guide about his fashion sense :3

Oh boy, where to start XD. Castlevania has a lot of intricately detailed usually gothic and/or visual kei inspired fashion designs, usually with some amount of historical accuracy, thanks to Ayami Kojima, that the series is known for. But before this, the character design style was very different. From the very 90s shonen anime inspired Richter, to Christopher being deadass shirtless in a skirt at one point, to John Morris being in basically casual clothes, there’s a lot of variety in it.

Well, being the silly Simon super fan I am, I’ve studied all his outfits a ton over the years I’ve been a fan of the series and oh boy they are INTERESTING :3. I’ve noticed a lot of elements are consistently reoccurring, specific to him, and some are very much not specific to him lol. Anyway, just trust me on this one, overanalyzing the closet of an NES barbarian to be able to make new outfits for him is FUN >:3c.

So, I’ve seen him not wearing pants thrown around as a joke before, but it’s actually the truth! Besides the Haunted Castle wedding suit (an outlier that should not be counted lol), I actually have never run into a design where Simon is wearing full length, proper pants. The closest he ever gets is black tights in Simon’s Quest and occasionally shorts, but on that topic, shorts aren’t even his most common choice! Let’s look at some of his oldest designs:

This one is really hard to tell, but based on the angle of the lines, the shadows, and context clues from other art for CV1, I don’t know if that’s actually supposed to be shorts 💀💀💀!

In both his cute little manual doodles and his almost more adorable teeny 8-bit sprite, his outfit is a belted tunic of some sort! So like, the equivalent of a really tiny dress or a long shirt XD. And really, his cover art design is kinda just a more detailed version of these. They both have a distinction between a top and bottom part of the upper half, they both have big belts, they both have the tall boots and arm guards, they both have teeny skirt part, and Fun Fact! They both have red in the hair! I color picked a nice high res scan of the CV1 cover art, and yes, there’s red in his hair!!! It’s like a nice mix of dark reddish blond, it’s a very fun hair color :3.

However, that’s not where CV1 ends in tunic vs shorts debate:

THAT’S A SKORT— DO YOU SEE THAT DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE HALVES, ONE IS DEFINITELY A PANTLEG LMAO. So yeah, skort Simon is also a thing thanks to this particular magazine scan lol, thus leaving us with the possibility that it is both a skirt and shorts on the CV1 cover that he’s wearing X,,,,D. Never change, Simon, never change.

Besides the tunic, there’s some other interesting details to his CV1 era designs! :D In a lot of depictions he has this neat cape, something that returns in some Simon’s Quest art and Smash Bros lol, but he’s never shown wearing it in game. What’s interesting is that Trevor actually gets a cape in his game’s opening as well as Christopher in Belmont’s Revenge if I’m remembering correctly. It’s very neat seeing Simon character design details rubbing off into other characters :3. I like to think lore wise that it’s the same cape that’s been passed down to Simon from those two.

He also has the headband! Iconic! But have you noticed the little ball shapes at the ends of the tails? They’re either knots or, infinitely cooler option, beads :D!!!!!!! And I wouldn’t be surprised if they were because that leads me to another design: X68000–

Now this one is one of my favorites :3. It’s kinda like a forward facing version of his original design but with some new details! And his headband gets this cool lookin, intricate distinctly metallic design on it, something I’ve seen a lot of artists simplify to a general crescent moon shape. But it is kinda similar to the shape on his belt buckle, something that I still have no idea what it’s even supposed to be. Also, his arm guards and the thing at the end of his necklace (which may or may not have vampire teeth on it, they could just be metal spikes though) are similar; it makes me wonder if it was an attempt at a tortoiseshell pattern? Filigree? Whatever it is, they’re all matchy matchy about it.

This design also gives him the staple left shoulder pauldron, of which has these huge stitches holding it on and an added belt that connects to his other belt armor. Get used to belts, he has a lot of those X,,,D. What’s really neat about this one’s belt is that he has both a hilt for the family sword but also one for the whip on the other side, and they’re on the wrong sides for drawing the weapon properly 💀💀💀💀. Which is also funny considering his CV1 cover art has the sword on the other side, which is kinda wrong too? Who knows, maybe he’s ambidextrous and just doesn’t care what sides they’re on lol.

The biggest thing I can say about this design though is that a lot of these accessories and armor pieces look homemade, like as if he just took teeth as a trophy himself and strung them on a cord or made a shoulder piece and put it on an already existing belt he had. Adding onto this, there’s also the possible beads on his headband and the cords around his boots (which could be an attempt at a certain actual historical type of shoe that I cannot remember the name of for the life of me rn, in which case would make these not boots and actually corded shoes with very nice big fluffy socks hehe, I am forcing you to imagine him with big fluffy socks—) and yeah! I can see him making his stuff on his own :3. Which is so cool! I love this idea so much, it makes for a lot of things to imagine him doing hehe. Also gives him a hobby??? Yeah :)

No indication of if he’s got shorts or not in this one, maybe I’ll count how many have skirts or shorts and put that at the end of this lol.

But shorts get another point again cause we’re looking at Chronicles:

Oh Chronicles. Well, the first thing I wanna mention is that, this is Ayami Kojima’s design for him, so here we are seeing a very interesting mix of the visual kei style and 80s barbariancore in a way that honestly slays (figuratively and literally). And, surprisingly, there is something historically accurate about this design, and it’s not what you’d probably expect. Based on the width, material, cross rivets, and the buckle on the front, Simon is wearing an actual dog collar. Like, for dogs. Like it’s dog armor used primarily for hunting dogs I just— Again, never change Simon, never change 💀💀💀.

We also see Simon preferring to put his armor on his left side again with the torn in half coat. It’s also somewhat similar to 1600s coats, not really of any specific country in fashion that I can tell, however the sleeve being that short is not accurate, leading me to believe that he probably tore that off too lol. Very Chrom Fire Emblem of you, Simon, and another example of him D.I.Y.—ing things. The basic elements still stay similar to past designs. Shorts, distinct upper and lower half of shirt, belts, armor on said belt, sword and whip hilts, arm armor and tall boots (shout out to the heels on this one), and armor on the left, unfortunately no headband though. But that distinct bottom half to the shirt part of his outfit in this one is defined with… a corset? Yeah!!! That’s a corset!!! Though the proper name for the time period might be a stay or a girdle, but Simon is straight up wearing a belt over a corset. And said corset over a coat. Half of one. Don’t question him—

But the main entries to his 80s bara-barian half of the wardrobe, let’s get to some knightly aesthetic outfits, of which he does have a good amount, starting with SCV4:

Simon’s knightly outfits are usually a similar silhouette as his original tunic look, just in metal this time and in various colors. SCV4 has his armor as gold on the cover, blue on the Japanese cover and manual art, and green in game! And they’re all pretty much the same with mild variations. On the cover art, his shoes are corded sandals with nothing under them, but in game and in most other artwork they are these metallic boots with the classic X shape of the cords baked into them. Some art gives his middle belt armor section this cross with snakes on it, which is an odd thing to be referencing here. It’s either a staff of Mercury, usually associated now with medicine but was an alchemical symbol before that, or something else I can’t find any info on. There’s also a big ab window because these are all proper half shirts lol. Straight up a metal breastplate with nothing under it, a pretty bad idea tbh 💀.

All in all, these are generally really simple, but there’s one more thing before I stop talking about SCV4:

I LOVE this design. It’s this really nice blend of the older CV1 era style and the metal armor of the later ones, very cool. Shout out to the eye creases and the dead stare shadow over his eyes too, they really conveyed the effects of witnessing the horrors well lmaoooo.

Again, tunic, belt, arm guards, headband, the usual, but, speaking of symbols, there’s something about this one that’s been driving me nuts forever: I cannot find out what that symbol on his paldrons and belt buckle is!!! It’s this upside down triangle with a bent rectangle missing the bottom line over it and it LOOKS distinctly intentional, but I can’t find it or what it means anywhere!!! I tried searching through lists of alchemical symbols, religious symbols, nothing so far has been close (TwT ). Regardless, great design, definitely in my top 5.

And what else is in my top five? Oh yeah babey, it’s Simon’s Quest time:

Ah, Simon’s Quest with his fuck ass bob and the stolen Ravenloft image— but unironically, that armor fucks fr. Again, similar silhouette! If there’s any take aways from this post, it’s definitely that Simon is a little shirt, little pants kind of guy. A severe lack of long sleeves and long pants legs until now, and even then, these are skin tight. Heck even his boots(????) are vacuum sealed, just look at those fabric creases by his ankle!

Now, it’s honestly really hard to tell if his “gloves” and “boots” are supposed to be in some parts metal due to the shading on them and the base armor being very similar. I personally like to depict the forearm and calf parts as metal and the hand and ankle parts as not, but eh. Like most things regarding Simon, I suppose this too is up to interpretation XD. There’s some variation in color in some scans having the underclothes be white, dark blue, or black, and the armor be any range of red to purple to brown too. But towards red and black is probably the most accurate due to his sprite being those colors.

But this is a shockingly rare case of Simon being fully covered in one of his outfits, and I’m inclined to think that there’s probably a reason for that. Not only does he have a rotting curse right now and drawing straight up gore on the cover of an NES game was just not an option lol, but he’s not letting his guard down anymore after being hit. Which would also explain the sudden change to all metal armor as that can’t be cut through as easily as leather.

Speaking of all metal armor, oh I looooove the detailing on his. The gold accents to his byzantine (a nice in between color of red and purple, a color that is also reused in Smash Bros again in the middle corset section of his outfit) are what I would call stylized floral patterns, kinda in the way that fleur de les don’t really look exactly like flowers but still are supposed to represent one. Not sure what kind exactly, but possibly some sort type of angel’s trumpet? Very neat regardless. The gems inlaid in it are all green on top and around the belt, but the center belt buckle is bright red. It’s a very jewel tones color scheme!!!

Well anyway, if tumblr will let me have more images, I’d like to show off a few other random examples of outfit elements he’s had before I close this off with something :3

This was a pretty recently found scan of Simon wearing get this: a pleated miniskirt. Probably Roman armor inspired, as some of his other magazine scans have depicted him as such. One ad for SCV4 and another (live action even) for Simon’s Quest has him even wearing like a Roman helmet and everything, it’s odd. Add helmets to the list of things Simon might wear. Hmm maybe I should make a tier list of things based on how often he’s worn them…

Moving on!

This one goes for the bold choice of giving Simon not only an expected tiny belted tunic, but side slits on the legs! And uh um a little too much detail but uh— It’s also this kinda white, kinda bluish, kinda silverish color? Add this to Simon’s color palette I guess lol.

Which reminds me that I didn’t mention colors very much until now whoops. Throughout all of hie designs he primarily seems to wear neutrals like various browns, greys, and metal tones. But he also has a lot of color. Like as in there’s enough different colored designs to make a whole rainbow of Simon outfits. Common combinations like dark green, gold, and wine reds; blue and silver; brown, gold, orange, and kinda purplish greys; etc etc. And his HAIR. Oh boy, would this guy love modern hair dye X,,,,,D. He’s had it various blonds, reds, browns, even black at one point, blue, green, unnatural red, pink, and in one concept design white! Personally, I like depicting it as a nice in between of red, blond, and brown, it encompasses the most I think.

The final thing I wanna mention is the Smash Bros design, which I unfortunately can’t show because I’m on mobile and have met the 10 images limit whoopsie— (_ _ ;). This design is really a good culmination of a lot of elements. Not really definitive or anything, but very good :3. And it has something I didn’t mention earlier that I’ve noticed in some Simon designs: random belts or metal around his upper arms and thighs lol. The Smash Bros design in particular has the arm band things on both sides, Chronicles has it on the not half coat one, but this is another thing I’ve seen other characters (Christopher in particular, but his are just gold rings) have. The leg thing is less common, but yeah, that exists lol. Thank you Simon for uh bending two pieces of metal around your leg…? It’s cool XD. The corset also makes a return, as well as, once more, the same basic silhouette with the armor only on the left side, the belt armor pieces, etc etc. He’s very particular about that—

Well, anyway, Simon definitely has a vibe going on, but here’s a brief summary of things he seems to like:

Skirts, tunics, long shirts, and shorts (and skorts I guess), but nothing past about half his thigh, generally over the knees.

No long sleeves or pant legs (unless it’s tights when absolutely necessary).

Armor primarily to the left, unless it’s metal, in that case usually a full plate or paldron set.

Belts, hilts, belts on his arms, and neck, and hanging off of things, and legs, yeah belts—

Boots/tall socks, corded or not, and something on his forearms or wrists.

Headband! Seriously out of every Belmont he is the most dedicated to these lol.

Necklaces and beads and other little accessories and adornments are also cool.

Alrighty then, have fun Simon-ing and I encourage you to look through his or other characters’ designs and pick them apart a bit sometimes, even if it’s just through what’s on the wiki :3. If anything, I think it’s a good exercise in character design and consistency! But yeah, I wrote all this late at night and can’t think of anything else rn. If I do I’ll do a sequel I guess hehe. Either that or I might rant about another character hmmmmmmm—