#just sketches i’ve already posted but i added some color to ^_^

[peitalo]

˖ ࣪⭑ KH 22ND ANNIVERSARY / HAPPY BDAY SORA!

[csny]

something something about tumblrs relationship to art that really troubled me a lot in my own development. it’s obviously the fandom and characters website but the incredible pinpoint focus on drawing people, drawing digitally, not knowing how to do backgrounds, making eyes of matching size, “same face syndrome”—all that stuff that i’m sure everyone else has seen ad nauseum as well—is honestly so reductionist. i remember being a teen and thinking my friends art would “never make it” because it was abstract and geometric. obviously in hindsight that’s so stupid, but that was what being online for so long had distorted me into believing. i mean im not saying drawing characters (original or fanart) is bad! im not saying drawing digitally is bad! im just saying that people of course engage more with art on here that they already have some kind of connection to. “wow you drew my favorite character!” etc. so of course that’s the kind of art you’re going to see more of online.

i feel like the only art advice posts i’ve seen circulate also are ones focused on this character-based art focus. things like: how to draw noses, you need to learn how to draw diverse people (true, but like. not if you never draw people. or do nonrepresentational/abstract art), how to do simple backgrounds. even the entire constant discussion of “1. sketch 2. lineart 3. color” i think probably reduces people’s thinking of their own art. idk. it’s not the biggest issue in the world by a long shot. i just wish young artists could hear that the only advice they really need is “make art.” make whatever you are drawn to. never try to compromise something for social media engagement. please

[quibbs126]

hello!!! can you do a starfruit x pomegranate fanchild? it's okay if you can't. ty!!!

I just realized last night that I never actually posted Miracle Fruit over here, my bad. She’s probably been done for like a month now, I just forgot that I never posted her

Anyways, so her original name was Star Apple, since they’re round like pomegranates, have a star shape in the middle, sort of like starfruit but also not, and they’re purple while Pomegranate is mostly red and Starfruit has a lot of blues. But I was struggling with how to incorporate the star apples without her looking goofy so I shelved her. Then later I discovered miracle fruits and was like “you know what, I can see Pomegranate and Starfruit naming their kid that”. And also they’re red and round like pomegranates I guess

Putting this down now, star apples does seem like the better choice, but whatever, I chose Miracle Fruit and I like her. Maybe I can make her a star apple sibling down the road

Miracle fruit:

Okay so first off, that thing on her head is supposed to be a headband, based on Starfruit’s apprentice priests, but it looks more like a hat. I added that hair bit on top to clarify more that it’s a headband, but it still looks like a hat

Anyways, so as you can see I took some liberties with Miracle Fruit’s design compared to her parents. Her eyes are more open and circular and she has the cheek blush because she’s supposed to be a kid, and I thought that was one way to portray it. I made her eyes black because of the black seeds of miracle fruit, and also because the blue eyes didn’t really fit Miracle Fruit’s color scheme, while I didn’t want to give her red eyes because she already had so much red on her design (by the final product I had toned down the red considerably, replacing it with the blue). And I was told the black eyes looked the best, so here we are. Maybe I took too many liberties with her design, I don’t know

I wanted to give her a simple dress, since she’s a young…priestess I think, and then I added the patterns so she doesn’t look too plain. I feel like the outfit she’s wearing looks like from something I’ve seen, but I don’t know, I just based the design off of open miracle fruits. I think the dress looked better in the sketch though

Her necklace was another homage to miracle fruits. Originally in the Star Apple design, she had a head chain (I think they’re called?), like Pomegranate and Starfruit, but I decided giving her a necklace would be better

Anyways yeah, that’s Miracle Fruit’s design, not too much to say really

So as for her character, I don’t have much on that end either. I figured she’d be a priestess from the same place as Starfruit, assuming that Pomegranate reformed and went back to Starfruit, I don’t imagine Miracle Fruit would be learning the dark arts or anything, nor would she be around Pomegranate Village much

Though I will say, her concept at the top makes her look more like an alchemist to me. Hmm, maybe I should have done that instead

Well anyways, so she’s learning to be a priestess, and she has some impressive psychic powers, being incredibly gifted. Though there is also a strange oddness to her powers, one that no one’s entirely sure how to explain

I imagine her to be a small, quiet child, just walking around the halls. If she speaks, she probably has a pretty quiet voice

But uh yeah, that’s her. To be honest the things I had of her might have been forgotten over the month or so, so that can explain the somewhat lacking info section. But regardless I hope you like her!

[ccpowo]

Split tongue Mason!!!

Reworked an old Mason drawing yippie

I never really liked the drawing but posted it anyway, so if you saw it, no you did not

I’ve been kinda developing an artstyle as of lately so I’m kinda excited to see where that’s going

I’m also starting to get into resident evil and I finally was able to buy fe3h wooooooo I love Dimitri

Im also really excited for book 3 and I already pit away some cash to buy it as soon as it’s released hehe

Hope all of you had a better New Year’s Eve than me and good luck for the new year! :D

vv kind of a drawing process and the old sketch vv

Glorious first, rough sketch and the nauseating cleaned up sketch (not the finished product I ended up posting, it's not as terrible somehow)

Did all of that on my phone, on ibis paint and did the rest on my iPad, on csp yippie

Idk if anyone cares but I’ll explain my decisions here:

Okay so, the face was just too long, idk why I was so obsessed with giving him a face that long. The mouth looked awkward as well, the overall shape was bad and, even tho I love it when there's gum showing, I don't think it worked in that drawing, the teeth look weirdly long too. The eyebrows do not make sense either, I placed the eyebrow on the side of his face that's being squished by his mouth high while the other one is low. Does not make sense and it's driving me crazy. I also think that the eyes look boring and soulless. I took influence from different comic book artstyles and completely changed the shape of the eyes. I darkened them too to make it look more sinister. The shading on his face isn't too bad but the pillow shading is killing me. The necklace looks bad too, it's very 2 dimensional and looks like it was painted on tbh I just kinda forgot about it and maybe it's better that way. The hair was pretty nice but it didn't really work for what I was going for in my redraw, would've kept it otherwise. The nsoe is just a bit off and the ears look funky. The pose is awkward as well, just kinda looks like he's staring at you, in a weird weird way. It ended up looking more suggestive than intended tbh. There was no line weight at all, glad that I went for something more painterly. I also added the hearts because I thought it'd be cute to add hearts. Who would've thought that adding hearts to a pretty suggestive drawing would make it even more suggestive! I liked them too much so I kept them. In the end I looked up references for some dramatic lightning, added that on a multiply layer, added some grey and orange, put a black and white duplicated layer of the picture on color dodge, 14% opacity, to make the highlights pop and finished it off with a gradient map yippie

[alangdorf]

A couple various Magolor outfits (Clash cause I realized I only had half finished sketches of that outfit and also Yukari Yakumo from Touhou cosplay for fun) and also Oh hey yeah that thing!

Ummm let’s see, words are hard right now but I should probably give my explaining myself spiel and I’ve already been putting off this post for like a month and a half. Clash outfit was fairly self-evident; I thought it looked good with the red added (apple colors hehe) and I of course couldn’t resist throwing some classic lolita in there. Unlike his usual outfit there’s not space for his wings to stretch out in the back bc Clash is like. Theoretically it’s chill but they’ve got a lotta post-traumatic stress/paranoia/insecurity that morphs into weird tension with the main gang back in the usual universe and then doesn’t fully start getting resolved until after Star Allies (I have other sketches of this outfit - and just other Magolor doodles in general; particularly I’ve been trying to figure out digitigrade leg posing - but I don’t feel like posting them here so I guess you can find them at um. Kirby live radio wiki community feed)

Yukari outfit I had the idea for cause I was thinking abt qi lolita again. Not much to say aside from I figured out why they don’t ever give her the parasol with this dress; it is a distressing amount of light pink to deal with and between that and the pose and parasol shape I sweated my way through most of this piece lol

Aaand Magolor Epilogue a.k.a. self-recognition through the other (derogatory) ….. TWO!! I had the idea for Master Crown boss to bear an uncanny resemblance to 2nd phase Magolor/Magolor Soul a long time ago but like. Turns out it was scarily close already; I just had to add a head and a couple fingers.

Ok that’s it see you in a half hour byeee

[katnissmellarkkk]

Okay, here’s Everlark’s Most Married Moments Part Two 🤗. This took me forever and three days to do because it’s super difficult for me to decide which moments to use from Catching Fire and which not, considering they acted very married-like throughout the second half of that entire book.

Edit: Anywaysss I edited this now to condense it because it was too long when I posted it hours ago but here it is now 🥰🥰🥰🥰. Still long but not quite as long.

-

Peeta comes by every day to bring me cheese buns and begins to help me work on the family book. […] For a long time, I’ve wanted to record my own knowledge in it. Things I learned from experience or from Gale, and then the information I picked up when I was training for the Games. I didn’t because I’m no artist and it’s so crucial that the pictures are drawn in exact detail. That’s where Peeta comes in. Some of the plants he knows already, others we have dried samples of, and others I have to describe. He makes sketches on scrap paper until I’m satisfied they’re right, then I let him draw them in the book. After that, I carefully print all I know about the plant.

It’s quiet, absorbing work that helps take my mind off my troubles. I like to watch his hands as he works, making a blank page bloom with strokes of ink, adding touches of color to our previously black and yellowish book. His face takes on a special look when he concentrates. His usual easy expression is replaced by something more intense and removed that suggests an entire world locked away inside him. I’ve seen flashes of this before: in the arena, or when he speaks to a crowd, or that time he shoved the Peacekeepers’ guns away from me in District 11. I don’t know quite what to make of it. I also become a little fixated on his eyelashes, which ordinarily you don’t notice much because they’re so blonde. But up close, in the sunlight slanting in from the window, they’re a light golden color and so long I don’t see how they keep from getting all tangled up when he blinks.

-

“Peeta's argument is that since I chose you, I now owe him. Anything he wants. And what he wants is the chance to go in again to protect you,” says Haymitch.

I knew it. In this way, Peeta's not hard to predict. While I was wallowing around on the floor of that cellar, thinking only of myself, he was here, thinking only of me.

-

“It's completely my business. However it falls out, two of us are going to be in the arena again with the other as mentor. We can't afford any drunkards on this team. Especially not you, Katniss,” says Peeta to me.

“What?” I sputter indignantly. It would be more convincing if I weren't still so hungover. “Last night's the only time I've ever even been drunk.”

“Yeah, and look at the shape you're in,” says Peeta.

I don't know what I expected from my first meeting with Peeta after the announcement. A few hugs and kisses. A little comfort maybe. Not this. I turn to Haymitch. “Don't worry, I'll get you more liquor.”

“Then I'll turn you both in. Let you sober up in the stocks,” says Peeta.

-

“Want to talk about it?” he asks. Sometimes that can help, but I just shake my head, feeling weak that people I haven't even fought yet already haunt me.

When Peeta holds out his arms, I walk straight into them. It's the first time since they announced the Quarter Quell that he's offered me any sort of affection. He's been more like a very demanding trainer, always pushing, always insisting Haymitch and I run faster, eat more, know our enemy better. Lover? Forget about that. He abandoned any pretense of even being my friend. I wrap my arms tightly around his neck before he can order me to do push-ups or something. Instead he pulls me in close and buries his face in my hair. Warmth radiates from the spot where his lips just touch my neck, slowly spreading through the rest of me. It feels so good, so impossibly good, that I know I will not be the first to let go.

-

“We don't have to tell Haymitch we saw it.”

“Okay,” Peeta agrees. He puts in the tape and I curl up next to him on the couch with my milk, which is really delicious with the honey and spices, and lose myself in the Fiftieth Hunger Games.

-

“Do you think we'd have ended up like this if only one of us had won?” he asks, glancing around at the other victors. “Just another part of the freak show?”

“Sure. Especially you,” I say.

“Oh. And why especially me?” he says with a smile.

“Because you have a weakness for beautiful things and I don't,” I say with an air of superiority. “They would lure you into their Capitol ways and you'd be lost entirely.”

“Having an eye for beauty isn't the same thing as a weakness,” Peeta points out. “Except possibly when it comes to you.”

-

“Shall we?” He holds out a hand to help me into the chariot.

I climb up and pull him up after me. “Hold still,” I say, and straighten his crown. “Have you seen your suit turned on? We're going to be fabulous again.”

-

I look up into those blue eyes that no amount of dramatic makeup can make truly deadly and remember how, just a year ago, I was prepared to kill him. Convinced he was trying to kill me. Now everything is reversed. I'm determined to keep him alive, knowing the cost will be my own life, but the part of me that is not so brave as I could wish is glad that it's Peeta, not Haymitch, beside me. Our hands find each other without further discussion. Of course we will go into this as one.

-

We end up on the same elevator with her, and she spends the whole ride to the seventh floor chatting to Peeta about his paintings while the light of his still-glowing costume reflects off her bare breasts. When she leaves, I ignore him, but I just know he's grinning. I toss aside his hand as the doors close behind Chaff and Seeder, leaving us alone, and he breaks out laughing.

[…]

“It's like when you wouldn't look at me naked in the arena even though I was half dead. You're so ... pure,” he says finally.

“I am not!” I say. “I've been practically ripping your clothes off every time there's been a camera for the last year!”

“Yeah, but ... I mean, for the Capitol, you're pure,” he says, clearly trying to mollify me. “For me, you're perfect. They're just teasing you.”

“No, they're laughing at me, and so are you!” I say.

“No.” Peeta shakes his head, but he's still suppressing a smile. I'm seriously rethinking the question of who should get out of these Games alive when the other elevator opens.

-

“Well, you can have final say about our allies. But right now, I'm leaning toward Chaff and Seeder,” says Peeta.

“I'm okay with Seeder, not Chaff,” I say. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Come on and eat with him. I promise, I won't let him kiss you again,” says Peeta.

-

After training, Peeta and I hang out, waiting for Haymitch and Effie to show up for dinner. When we're called to eat, Haymitch pounces on me immediately. “So at least half the victors have instructed their mentors to request you as an ally. I know it can't be your sunny personality.”

“They saw her shoot,” says Peeta with a smile. “Actually, I saw her shoot, for real, for the first time. I'm about to put in a formal request myself.”

-

Peeta and I are finally left alone. He reaches across the table to take my hands. “Decided what to do for the Gamemakers yet?”

[…]

We sit in silence awhile and then I blurt out the thing that's on both our minds. “How are we going to kill these people, Peeta?”

“I don't know.” He leans his forehead down on our entwined hands.

-

“You'd have thought we planned it,” says Peeta, giving me just the hint of a smile.

“Didn't you?” asks Portia. Her fingers press her eyelids closed as if she's warding off a very bright light.

“No,” I say, looking at Peeta with a new sense of appreciation. “Neither of us even knew what we were going to do before we went in.”

“And, Haymitch?” says Peeta. “We decided we don't want any other allies in the arena.”

“Good. Then I won't be responsible for you killing off any of my friends with your stupidity,” he says.

“That's just what we were thinking,” I tell him.

-

Peeta walks me down to my room in silence, but before he can say good night, I wrap my arms around him and rest my head against his chest. His hands slide up my back and his cheek leans against my hair. “I'm sorry if I made things worse,” I say.

-

Because I will be more valuable dead. They can turn me into some kind of martyr for the cause and paint my face on banners, and it will do more to rally people than anything I could do if I was living. But Peeta would be more valuable alive, and tragic, because he will be able to turn his pain into words that will transform people.

Peeta would lose it if he knew I was thinking any of this, so I only say, “So what should we do with our last few days?”

“I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you,” Peeta replies.

-

The moment we step off the elevator, Peeta grips my shoulders. “There isn't much time, so tell me. Is there anything I have to apologize for?”

���Nothing,” I say.

-

“Hello, again,” he says, and gives me a kiss. “We've got allies.”

“Yes. Just as Haymitch intended,” I answer.

“Remind me, did we make deals with anyone else?” Peeta asks.

-

“How are you?” he asks Peeta. “Do you think you can move on?”

“No, he has to rest,” I say. My nose is running like crazy and I don't even have a shred of fabric to use as a handkerchief. Mags rips off a handful of hanging moss from a tree limb and gives it to me. I'm too much of a mess to even question it. I blow my nose loudly and mop the tears off my face. It's nice, the moss. Absorbent and surprisingly soft.

I notice a gleam of gold on Peeta's chest. I reach out and retrieve the disk that hangs from a chain around his neck. My mockingjay has been engraved on it. “Is this your token?” I ask.

“Yes. Do you mind that I used your mockingjay? I wanted us to match,” he says.

“No, of course I don't mind.” I force a smile.

-

“Don't worry, I won't go far,” I promise Peeta.

“I'll go, too,” he says.

“No, I'm going to do some hunting if I can,” I tell him. I don't add, “And you can't come because you're too loud.” But it's implied. He would both scare off prey and endanger me with his heavy tread. “I won't be long.”

-

Nothing. I find nothing. Not so much as a dewdrop. Eventually, because I know Peeta will be worried about me, I head back to the camp, hotter and more frustrated than ever.

-

“I'm going to try to tap a tree,” I say. My fingers fumble at my belt and find the spile still hanging from its vine.

“Let me make the hole first,” says Peeta.

-

“Peeta,” I say as calmly as possible. “I need your help with something.”

“Okay, just a minute. I think I've just about got it,” he says, still occupied with the tree. “Yes, there. Have you got the spile?”

“I do. But we've found something you'd better take a look at,” I continue in a measured voice. “Only move toward us quietly, so you don't startle it.” For some reason, I don't want him to notice the monkeys, or even glance their way. There are creatures that interpret mere eye contact as aggression.

Peeta turns to us, panting from his work on the tree. The tone of my request is so odd that it's alerted him to some irregularity.

-

I catch sight of Peeta and Johanna standing at the tree line and I'm filled with a mixture of relief and anger. Why didn't Peeta come to help me? Why did no one come after us? Even now he hangs back, his hands raised, palms toward us, lips moving but no words reaching us. Why?

-

Peeta presses his hand against the surface and I put my own up to meet it, as if I can feel him through the wall. I see his lips moving but I can't hear him, can't hear anything outside our wedge. I try to make out what he's saying, but I can't focus, so I just stare at his face, doing my best to hang on to my sanity.

-

I know it's stopped when I feel Peeta's hands on me, feel myself lifted from the ground and out of the jungle. But I stay eyes squeezed shut, hands over my ears, muscles too rigid to release. Peeta holds me on his lap, speaking soothing words, rocking me gently. It takes a long time before I begin to relax the iron grip on my body. And when I do, the trembling begins.

“It's all right, Katniss,” he whispers.

-

“Katniss, Prim isn't dead. How could they kill Prim? We're almost down to the final eight of us. And what happens then?” Peeta says.

“Seven more of us die,” I say hopelessly.

“No, back home. What happens when they reach the final eight tributes in the Games?” He lifts my chin so I have to look at him. Forces me to make eye contact. “What happens? At the final eight?”

-

While Johanna collects water and my arrows, Beetee fiddles with his wire, and Finnick takes to the water. I need to clean up, too, but I stay in Peeta's arms, still too shaken to move.

-

Peeta and I volunteer for the first watch because we're better rested, and because we want some time alone. The others go out immediately, although Finnick's sleep is restless. Every now and then I hear him murmuring Annie's name.

Peeta and I sit on the damp sand, facing away from each other, my right shoulder and hip pressed against his. I watch the water as he watches the jungle, which is better for me. I'm still haunted by the voices of the jabberjays, which unfortunately the insects can't drown out. After a while I rest my head against his shoulder. Feel his hand caress my hair.

-

“If you die, and I live, there's no life for me at all back in District Twelve. You're my whole life,” he says. “I would never be happy again.” I start to object but he puts a finger to my lips. “It's different for you. I'm not saying it wouldn't be hard. But there are other people who'd make your life worth living.”

-

Peeta rinses the pearl off in the water and hands it to me. “For you.”

[…]

“Thanks,” I say, closing my fist around it. I look coolly into the blue eyes of the person who is now my greatest opponent, the person who would keep me alive at his own expense. And I promise myself I will defeat his plan.

The laughter drains from those eyes, and they are staring so intensely into mine, it's like they can read my thoughts. “The locket didn't work, did it?” Peeta says, even though Finnick is right there. Even though everyone can hear him. “Katniss?”

-

There's nothing to do now but wait. Peeta and I sit at the edge of the water, hand in hand, wordless. He gave his speech last night but it didn't change my mind, and nothing I can say will change his. The time for persuasive gifts is over.

-

“I want to go with them as a guard,” Peeta says immediately. After the moment with the pearl, I know he's less willing than ever to let me out of his sight.

-

I take Peeta's face in my hands. “Don't worry. I'll see you at midnight.” I give him a kiss and, before he can object any further, I let go and turn to Johanna.

-

[spookyheaad]

Big ol art dump (Trigger warning below)

Both KenUno and Tesoro/Stella have rotted my brain faster than age, I’ll tell you that much.

Also working on Tesoro stuff, ideas for the music zine (that’s confidential tho lmao), and some Tesoro/Stella fic stuff.

I know I posted this already but I cleaned up the lines! Dunno how I wanna color them tho; wanted to do Muken but it’s so dark. I’ll find a way around it tho.

Here’s some more from a sketchdump I’ve been chipping away at.

Been dying on my modern AU KenUno hill recently.

All I can say is that thoughts are being thunk. I always give my long haired men a haircut for fun. Love playing with their hairstyles.

Quick little winter outfit doodle (Unohana made the hat so of course he has to wear it)

Aww a little kiss ☺️

Shhh don’t tell anyone that Zaraki likes to snuggle/be snuggled.

Ok some Tesoro/Stella stuff :))))

The bleach blonde!Tesoro idea, not very fond of it, but maybe I’ll play around some more. The idea came from a One Piece fighting game where Tesoro has an alternate color scheme that made him blonde. (Can’t remember if I posted this already, but I updated it)

Bonus follow up image:

This man has been irreparably damaged by his past, lots of insecurities. But Stella would never lie to him. His voice brings her such comfort.

Finally, some interloper stuff.

This sketch I haven’t touched in a while, so I added some shading and kinda called it a day. I actually like how it looks, it offsets the strong red color.

HEFTY TRIGGER WARNING FOR THE NEXT IMAGE: GORE/DECAPITATION

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YOU NEVER STOPPED BEING A SLAVE

EVERY NIGHT YOU BEG FOR DEATH

YET YOU DO NOT WISH TO ACCEPT WHAT I HAVE TO OFFER

YOU SHIVER IN MY PRESENCE

LIKE A PUP TORN AWAY FROM THE WOMB OF THE BITCH

OUR EYES SHARE THE SAME SKULL

YOU MADE ME, YET YOU RUN

EMBRACE ME AND ACCEPT

THE ATROCITY BORN FROM YOU.

This was originally just a Gustave Dore study of one of his pieces from Dante’s Inferno, but then I had an ✨idea✨.

More of Tesoro interacting (kind of, I guess? 😬) with interloper. It’s also been a year since I updated the Tesoro/Stella fic and I am slowly working on new chapters, I promise you that.

[biolizardboils]

Crumpled Up Pages: Old Captain Underpants WIPs #1-4

The First Epic Movie turned 5 earlier this month, and I dug through some old folders to write this post about it. In the process, I found some fanfic ideas I’d written down, fleshed out a little, and then forgot about for years. So while hyperfixation still has its grip on me (and while there’s still some extra activity in the tag), I figured I’d finally set these dust bunnies free!

A few ground rules before this deep dive descends:

When I say “fleshed out a little,” I’m putting major emphasis on the “little.” Some of these docs contain detailed notes and snippets of dialogue, but others are just a title and a vague one-sentence summary. I’ll be transparent about what each one contains, and try to fill in the bigger gaps by memory.

If you were around for the CU Fandom Renaissance of 2017, some of the ideas here might sound familiar, ‘cus I refitted them into fanart and headcanon dumps that actually got posted. I’ll link to those where they’re relevant.

These were all written and abandoned months before a CU show was even announced, so there’s no Epic Tales content or characters in here. Sorry if you were expecting any!

I’m splitting this into two posts cus it was getting and taking too long. This first part will cover the 4 simplest, fluffiest WIPs; the second one will tackle the 6 sadder, more character-heavy ones. And with character-heavy stuff comes spoilers for the movie and books — especially the books. If you haven’t read all 12, you’re probably wondering why anyone would care about Captain Underpants spoilers. First off, your loss; second off, BEWARE!

And finally: if you write fanfiction and feel inspired to use any of these ideas? You have my permission to do so! Seriously, steal anything here and put your own spin on them! I don’t care much for credit, but if these old things help fuel someone else’s creativity, I’d love to know!

That’s enough prep, probably. Plug your nose!

WIP #1: Inspiration

It can come from even the worst of places. ...And people, in this case. [Book!Verse, pre-Book 1.]

This document contains a long script, but no context; I can remember the gist though, so I’ll insert that in-between dialogue. Basically it’s third grade, and George and Harold are in detention again. They cheat to fill up the blackboards like usual, but they’re too bummed out to start a comic afterwards. George sits around stewing in his frustration while Harold angry-scribbles Mr. Krupp yelling.

“...Why does he hate us so much, George?”

“I dunno. Maybe ‘cause he can’t handle our coolness? …Nice drawing, by the way.”

“Thanks. …It’s making me sad just lookin’ at it, though.”

“Yeah, me too. …I wonder what he’d look like if he smiled.”

“...?”

“...I mean, like, a real smile, not an I’ve-got-you-now smile.”

“Oh. Hmmm…”

Harold erases Krupp’s wide yelling mouth and draws a goofy smile in its place.

“Aw, man, now it’s just creepy.”

“Darn.”

The boys keep editing the drawing until it stops being creepy and starts being funny. George erases Krupp’s toupee, remembering the time they stole it and the teachers couldn’t take him seriously without it. Harold draws one of his office curtains around his neck, adding more color and kinetic energy. Soon they’re struggling not to laugh out loud, but they manage to calm down… until George gets an idea that takes the sketch from great to legendary.

“Waitwaitwaitwaitwait. Remember what my pop said about Superman yesterday?”

“That he looks like… DUDE. Duuuuuude.”

Harold redraws Krupp’s entire lower body so he’s only wearing underwear. Then with a flourish, he adds the finishing touch – two dots on his chest – and they both lose it. All their laughter finally prompts the real Krupp to check on them, and predictably, he rips up the drawing. It upsets the boys in the moment, but they’re still in much higher spirits than before, and brainstorm a new comic about their new creation as they skateboard home.

“You think we should make his origin issue first?”

“Naw, let’s get right to the action! His outfit’s already the perfect hook – finally, a superhero who actually does fly around in his underwear!”

“Yeah, and he could fight with Wedgie Power!”

God, rediscovering this gave me the most uncontrollable grin. From the date it was last opened, I think this fic was meant for September 1st, 2017 (Book 1’s 20th anniversary), and I gave up after missing it. For shame, 2017!me. For shame.

——————————————————————————————————

WIP #2: Untitled Boomer One-shot

Harold won’t admit it, but he’d slay a dragon for his little sister. [Book!Verse but only cus this scene was deleted and is thus dubiously canon]

This doc’s nothing but notes, so I’ll paraphrase the plot: Ms. Hutchins takes Heidi and Harold to Boomer the Purple Dragon: Live! Harold was gonna stay with the Beards but they cancelled last minute, and he’s grumpy about it the whole time. When the show ends, kids gather in front of the stage to meet Boomer; Ms. Hutchins suddenly gets an important call, and makes Harold walk Heidi up there. 

But the dragon’s mascot suit is big up close for a 6-year-old, and Heidi gets so scared she starts crying. She’s rooted to the spot and waves her arms in panic, but “Boomer” thinks she wants a hug and waddles closer and closer... until Harold kicks him in the groin. Their mom understandably grounds him for it, but Heidi is grateful and calls him her hero :)

This one was based on the classic “kid hits mascot in the weak spot” genre of AFV, but also on an early memory of mine! My sister and I loved Arthur as babies, so our mom took us to see this thing. The characters suddenly being real (and huge) was so upsetting that we scream-cried until she took us home early. (Speaking of Arthur, it’s a shame Heidi’s never really done anything in canon, I can see her having big DW energy.)

——————————————————————————————————

WIP #3: When Worlds Collide

It was less “love at first sight” and more “love at first squawk.” [Book!Verse, Book 7.]

A quick refresher: George told Harold to take Crackers back to dinosaur times, but he left her in the treehouse with Sulu instead. Later in the book, they’re shown snuggling in their sleep 🥺🥺 Anyway, this fic was about what they got up to in between! It’s actually the most complete of the lot, but only because it’s so short and simple.

It opens with Harold introducing them to each other, leaving out some treats for them (hamster food for Sulu, crackers for Crackers), then telling them to play nice until he comes back. They do not. Crackers pulls a Thunderclap the moment Harold leaves, Sulu karate-chops her throat until she spits him out, and they wreck half the treehouse in the ensuing chase.

Eventually they settle for standing in opposite corners and hissing at each other. Then Sulu… *squints* …records Crackers’ hisses with his bionic ears and plays them back so they can communicate? …Yeah, okay, why not. The outline ends after this sudden development; I’m guessing they talk things out and start to catch feels, before settling in to sleep. Anyway here’s the few sentences I actually wrote out:

Harold opened the door, Sulu got on the floor, and in walked the curious dinosaur.

[…] As predator and prey faced off, a little boy and his mother happened to be walking down Vine Street. “Mommy,” said the little boy, “I can hear a bionic hamster and a pterodactyl fighting in that treehouse!”

“Oh, please,” his mother scoffed. “How do you even know what that would sound like?”

The boy considered pointing out the CHOMPs, SQUEAKs, and SQUAAAWKs emanating from the tree in big blocky letters, but decided it wasn’t quite worth the trouble.

The doc ends with a reminder to not refer to Crackers with any pronouns until the two pets can understand each other. Also I was gonna title this after a Tony Orlando and Dawn song as foreshadowing, but I couldn’t choose one, so instead I went with this Spongebob song lol.

——————————————————————————————————

WIP #4: Untitled Tommy One-shot

The school’s been near bully-free ever since Treehouse Comix Inc. was formed. Tommy reflects on this from the safety of his locker. [Movie!Verse with a hint of Book 9. CW: discussion of bullying.]

A Kid I Never Named knocks on Tommy’s locker and offers to trade Pilkeymon. They have to be sneaky, because it’s the 90′s and they have to slip a Link Cable through the locker vents without being spotted.

As they trade, the other kid asks Tommy why he hides all the time. He explains that it’s a habit from when Kipper Krupp terrorized the halls. But Kipper left four years ago, and the legend of Wedgie Magee has kept other bullies at bay ever since; the other kid points this out and asks why he still hides. This led into “a somber discussion on adverse school experiences and the long-lasting coping mechanisms they cause” (exact words from the doc). Unfortunately 2017!me never wrote any dialogue, and I’m mad at her for that.

Trivia drop! I used the Pilkeymon joke a few times at @treehouseblogsinc, but it’s way older than that, and also not mine: Pilkey.com used to have a coloring game named Pilkeymon’s Paintbox. It even had art of Dav’s old spiky-haired avatar with Pikachu ears! There’s no trace of it on the Internet anymore, but I swear I’m not making this up.

I left a note here to add that Tommy has glow-in-the-dark stickers in his locker, which ended up in this headcanon dump. There’s also a list of last names I came up with for him but never chose between: Chambers, Lakatos (which I shared once here), and Lockenspiel. Right now I’m leaning towards the last one, it rolls nicely off the tongue.

——————————————————————————————————

That’s it for now! Not gonna lie, I’m still nervous about posting the other 6 WIPs. Most of them deal with Book 12, and all the tough subjects that that entails. But hey, I made this bed, and by God am I gonna lie in it. Thanks for reading so far!

[macabrecabra]

PROCESS RANT For my larger pieces, I’ve decided to do “process posts” to go through how the piece came together for the interested people at home!  FINAL PIECE FOUND HERE

This piece took a long time as wanted to do a good job and it had some tricky perspective, I’m terrible at drawing vehicles, let alone a hippy van, various changes to lighting and color, and reworking Zag’s arm.

In the end, very happy with final product!  

I spent a lot of the early sketch phases looking for good refs but found very few that could be used, so a lot of it had to use perspective tool and grid map to help with setting it up.  

Cars....I am bad at drawing cars, a van was a big order and spent a few days JUST making sure it looked like one. You can see from earlier sketch to finished one, it went through a lot of shapes and color choices. I went for red both to match the pallet better...and that the blue contrasted too much, taking attention away from Zag as the focus. 

In original sketch/early concept, Dusa wasn’t there, but instead just another shade reading a map, however, during background coloring, felt inspired to give Dusa a small cameo in the background and render her in proper. Also number one fan was added as a last minute addition as felt the top of the van was a bit empty! 

The “To Athens” sign was changed in post as with some research, the city of Corinth was a big worshipper of Aphrodite, which fit more with the “Love and Peace “ jive of the peace...and also why Aphrodite’s symbol is on the side of the van!   

When rendering, I often notice more the issues of anatomy or the like, in this case, Zag’s right arm was not settling right and was looking off. Canvas flipping took place and eventually I solved the issue by erasing the whole arm/shoulder/chest on that side and creating a new layer under the already rendered parts to draw the entire arm. The hand and sign were rendered on the top layer so I could keep adjusting/working with the arm until it finally was looking right c: Just part of being an artist! 

Very pleased with how it turned out and glad of how I pushed myself with this one ^_^

[pisoprano]

My current art process (July 2022)

Thought it might be fun to show off some of my (still developing) artistic process since some of the other Miraculous Ladybug comic creators I’m a fan of have done so recently (and I need to work on being my own hype person).

[note: this is all in reference to my ML fan comic Runaway Catwalker, which updates at @runawaycatwalker​ ]

Before I do anything, I write the script.  Since words are cheap, I might write out the same scene/beats out several times coming from various angles to give myself fodder for what I eventually will use in-comic (at least a third of my 43k draft document right now is stuff I’ve already thrown out, and much more of it will be cut as I transition the words to the comic page).  For example, here’s an alternate version of the interaction that takes place on Page 10:

When I’m ready to start working on the next installment, I pull up my comic template and start making sketches to get a feel for the layout.

Earlier on, my sketching process was more deliberately messy, with handwritten text and a larger line weight.  I soon stopped doing this since I realized that I was investing in a version of the comic that wouldn’t exist, so it’s better to just use all the same basic tools regardless of what phase of the process I was in.

This is more how I do my sketches now:

Once I’ve sketched out the full comic page, I start working on the lineart, using the sketch layer as a mostly-transparent guide.  If anything is in the background (or otherwise is complicated), I’ll use multiple lineart layers to keep things separate if I so I can easily adjust things later.

Then I start adding colors. By now, I’ve got a dedicated color palette for all the reoccurring characters (plus some other colors that come in handy) and any variations in shade just come from the fact that my main color layer is at 80% opacity.  In cases where colors might seem complicated (such as Ladybug’s spots, Alya’s shirt, or things with fading colors), I’ll often ink in oversimplified colors for the character that I’ll add details to later.  If the colors are for magic powers or tears, those get their own color layer.

On the occasions when I actually put effort into my backgrounds, I’ll pull up a reference from the Miraculous Ladybug Wiki to use.  Otherwise, I’m usually content to let page’s overall color and/or some vaguely colored blobs do the trick.

At some point, I’ll start adding ovals/rectangles to my Speech Bubbles layer and panel divisions to my Front Panels layer and realize that--no matter how much I tried to account for the room available--I will be covering up something I didn’t mean to and therefore I will have to start moving pictures around and/or figure out how to convey things in fewer words.  I’m usually not entirely happy with the final layout, but I think it’ll be easier to live with now that I’ve decided to now include the version without text bubbles in the Read More of my posts.

Back when I first started making this comic, blissfully unaware that it was about to take over my life, I put additional effort into adding shading.  That was abandoned by page 3.  I’m not even a quarter of the way through what I want to do yet and I’ve been at it since February, so as far as I’m concerned, avoiding shading means I’m saving my sanity in the long run.

The final step (besides actually posting it) is creating the image description for the page.  This usually consists of me copying all the text boxes into a document, fixing any typos, and then trying to describe what I see in each panel.  It’s an interesting exercise for me, as a writer who seldom describes anything in prose, to try to reverse engineer visual storytelling, but I hope it helps people get a better read on what’s going on in the comic.

And that’s it!  Hopefully that was interesting to you, let me know if you have any questions.

[kookyfabarts]

For this week’s assignment,I’ll showcasing more of my progress pertaining to my all encompassing project that was based off of the Internet Culture assignment on Module 9.To put it briefly,I took on the approach of exploring the more niche aspects of the aforementioned Internet Culture,which was in this case,video gaming/otaku culture,more specifically,the phenomenon of online artists creating their own characters and incorporating them into the lore of their respective video game/anime/comic/cartoon series.I’ve decided to combine both the previously mentioned outline with the second.The second outline pertaining to one of my favorite group of undersea creatures:Sea slugs.I figured I would combine the two in order to showcase my extensive body of artworks,especially since each character’s final look will be presented in the form a fittingly thematic GIF format.I’ve already showcased the previous character,Noumé Speckles Umber,The Enigmatic Sea Slug Hybrid,so I figured I would continue the trend with another sea slug.Except this time,it’s a bat-winged sea slug with the scientific name,Gastropteron rubrum!Image photographed by scuba diver,Pietro.Formis on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CuH2SqQtftS/?igshid=MWNoYnM3enBjMWJzbg==

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pietro Formis (@pietro.formis)

Now with that settled,it’s time to showcase the proof of concepts/works in progress!First up is the basic pencil sketch and in progress line work .Quick note:I’ll add a content warning for trypophobia(fear of clusters of holes).I’ll provide the alternative renditions along the way as well!(The same goes for the works in progress).

Basic Pencil Sketch with in process line work!

Alternative rendition:

Up next is the finished line work!

Alternative version

After that,the in progres coloring

Alternative rendition:

And last but not least,Rubrus”Tangerine”Marigold,in GIF format!(I’ll show the still images of the final look first and foremost).

Final product in GIF format!

Alternative rendition:

Quick note:I’ll post the still image of the Rubrus’s final look in my next post.The same will be done for the GIF making progress!I figured I would would with contrasting complementary colors such as orange and blue—since I’ve already used those colors in the original piece.I also took some creative liberty of adding more spots on Rubrus’s bat wings to add some consistency with his character design.Aside from the original photograph of the sea slug being utilized as my main muse,I typed the creature’s scientific name on Instagram’s built-in search bar,and while I can’t add anymore images due to me reaching Tumblr’s image-adding capacity,I admired the images of the creature so much that with the use of many photographer’s use of lighting and color—that I just couldn’t resist being playful adding numerous kinds of spots.As in the case of the effects used in the GIF such as,Wobble,Melt,DuoTone(consisting of blue and orange)—as well as InstaColor,all of them compound to theme of Rubrus’s actual species being peculiar,yet elegant little sea slugs exploring the vast ocean that encompasses our world.More to come in the next post!

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

335 of 2023

True or False Inspired by Random Posts on My Instagram Feed!

Created by joybucket

Christmas makes me happy, and I can't wait to decorate for it this year. 🎄 I'm a fan of puns. ...and I've made some pretty punny jokes! "All I Want for Christmas is You" is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. 🩷 Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end. The children I babysit never listen. I still am haunted by traumatic and painful memories from my past. ....and I don't know how to let them go. I'm grateful for so many things in my life. ....but I'm nervous at the same time, because life is also very dangerous and scary. I believe that everyone has a purpose; we were all put on this earth for a reason. I wonder if the best thing that will ever happen to me has already happened to me or not. ....and I also wonder what it is. I can't even remember the last time I took a bubble bath. 🛁 I take bubble baths often. 🛁 I grew up in a house with a clawfoot bathtub. 🛀 I think I actually like baths more than showers. 🛀 I wish fall lasted longer, because it always seems like the shortest season. 🍁 I believe I will overcome whatever obstacle I am facing right now. I've seen a lot of "positive" quotes online that I don't agree with. Sometimes positivity can be toxic. Sometimes the things we call obstacles are actually stepping stones. I'm just taking things one day at a time. I want to learn how to turn my handwriting into a computer font, because that would be cool. I've read every C.S. Lewis novel. 📚 I've said "I love you" to someone within the past 24 hours. When people say "go big or go home," they dramatically underestimate my desire to go home. I want to do more things that make me forget to look at my phone. I wish I didn't know so many toxic people. Graphic design is one of my hobbies. I wish I could take more naps. I've had too much coffee today. ☕️ Someone in my family is named Walter. Friday is my favorite day of the week. I really need to do laundry soon. 🧺 I've sketched in a sketchbook within the last 24 hours. ✍️ I've recently eaten pizza. 🍕 I don't of anyone named Beyonce but the singer Beyonce. I feel encouraged by reading many of the posts in my Instagram feed. I feel encouraged by reading many of the posts in my Facebook newsfeed. I've never used Twitter. I think the Instagram logo looks cool. I own a Bible. 📖 I've had someone give me a Bible as a gift. I know the verse John 3:16 by heart. I enjoy listening to songs in foreign languages. ....even though I don't understand the words. I wonder if I will ever be truly satisfied with my life. There's something I want to do that I've been putting off. ...and I'm not really sure why, because I want to do it. At some point in my life, I've considered becoming a teacher. 👩‍🏫 I love the color orchid. I wish I owned a pair of hot pink cat-eye glasses. I've gotten caught cheating on a test, and I got in trouble. I like eggnog better than coffee. I've added a new post to my Instagram Story within the past 24 hours. I have an invisible illness. I wore a blue shirt this past 4th of July. I can't even remember what it was like to not be in pain. I'm a fan of JJ Heller. I enjoy filling out "Bingo" templates for my Instagram stories.

[theunaestheticstudyblr]

UNIVERSITY WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental health and illness is already hard enough, but adding school pressure on top is hard. High school was easier for me since there is a lot more structure and a lot less choice, which is why I'm targeting this towards college and university students.

Firstly is attending class. Getting to class is a major hurdle, especially with a commute like me (1 hour+) broke people problems lmao. Driving that long to go to a class just to drive back home is already exhausting and unpleasant, especially knowing professors will post slides or something after class anyways. But you have to drag yourself there. One thing I do to help is dress up. I'll do my makeup and put on nicer clothes. Why does this work for me? I hate wasting stuff, especially money and to me, putting on makeup is spending money essentially (same logic as using rare items in a video game idk). I can't just sit around the house and waste the money I just put on my face so I gotta go to class. Small things like this to trick your brain works so well. Before this, there was a restaurant I absolutely loved next to campus so if I went to every class for two weeks I would reward myself by going there. Another thing that helps is making plans with people ahead of time. They'll hold you accountable on days that you can't.

Take rest days. Schedule one whole day a week where you don't do school or go to work. It's a day completely off for anything. I use this day to do chores in the morning and then just lay around and do absolutely nothing all afternoon and night. This helps recharge and reduce stimulation and socialization. It gives your brain that little rest it cries for every day. I used to panic so much about this one day because I could be working and making money or studying or doing anything to be productive until I had a week where I couldn't do anything because I broke down completely, mentally and physically. Now I see it as a preservation day. I use this day to recover from everything.

Make your notes pretty. I hate going back and looking at my messy class notes. Everything is scattered and messy and I get frustrated. What I do instead is make a virtual, concise copy that is pretty to me. I'll add little sketches, color, pictures, etc. This helps draw my attention and allows me to study while doing it! Making the second copy forces you to go through the material after a class is over and review the material to decide what is truly important and then organize it all and then rewrite it all. This has been a huge help.

Use class breaks to snack or grab coffee. One thing I have found in many people with high anxiety is that food and drinks really help calm you down. I've found some research suggesting it's because food is a signal that things are safe and therefore makes you more relaxed, though I don't know much about anthropology and psychology fields. I find this really helps to calm me down after I had a very stressful test so that I can be more present for the next class. Gum helps a lot on high anxiety/panic days as well.

Download the notes or slides, especially if posted ahead of time. This way you have access even if you don't have wifi. You can even pull them up in lectures so you don't have to focus on the board the whole time. For my people with autism, this has helped me so much. There are times where you can't focus on the professor and the slides and the sounds and writing, so doing this cuts out having to watch the teacher and the board. Bonus points if you can record during lecture as well so you can revisit parts that you zoned out in or couldn't focus on.

Keep a journal or diary and list your activities, food, weather, etc in it as well as your mood. This can help you find correlations to hack shit. My favorite way of doing this is through the Daylio app (I wrote a post about it here). Like I notice that days when it's rainy, I study and read more and days where I walk more and eat breakfast, I focus better and am happier overall. This information helps so much. If I know it's going to rain tomorrow, I won't try to force myself to study a bunch today and instead save that energy for later. Instead, I'll take care of myself and go for a walk or something. Knowing how you work and why really makes a HUGE difference.

This might just be my autism brain, but finding cool things related to the topic at hand has helped me keep interest in at least a little of the subject, helping me study more. Like I don't like chimaeras (a fish group) BUT for some reason I love fish teeth and these fishes have a very unique tooth set. This at least let's me know something instead of just ignoring and forgetting everything. 20% is better than nothing.

Find a reason to study what you do, even if it's just that you need this class to graduate. Just taking classes for no reason seems like something neurotypical people are able to do. I can't do it. I need a reason and if I can't find one, I just give up. I used to always say it was useless and pointless and didn't understand why it was required. But I realized the reason to take it is because I want a piece of paper that says I traded lots of money and sanity for it. And that reason has to be good enough.

Make study games. Games are more fun than lifeless paper. Matching games, crosswords, coloring pages, whatever you like!

Feel free to add your tips to this post as well!! I always have room for improvement and experimentation, especially for really hard days. I still find myself skipping even online classes some days. No one had all the answers or has everything figured out. This is just an incomplete list of things that have helped me out a bit and made college life a bit easier.

[freyjas-light]

How-To: Bind runes

Hey guys! I got a lot of interest in my last post about my bind rune creation, so I thought I would create a little guide on what they are and how to create and use your own!

First thing you might be wondering is: What is a bind rune?

Simply put, a bind rune is two or more runes put together to form a new rune. Usually, the creator will choose 2-3 runes and combine the components of these runes on a center vertical line. Typically, these runes correspond to each other in some way and are chosen based on a certain intention (prosperity, protection, love, ect).

That’s all fine and dandy, but what can bind runes be used for?

Personally, I see bind runes a lot like sigils. Why I choose to use bind runes over sigils is mainly just personal preference in my practice. Using bind runes make me feel more connected to my gods and I feel like I get the added bonus of tapping into the powers that the runes hold themselves. I feel better asking Freyja to help me imbue power into a rune, a shape that’s held power for centuries, than a symbol I just created 15 minutes ago. 

Now, I’m in no way saying that you CAN’T do this! I used to use sigils a lot in my work. But I’ve recently been diving deep into a rune study and after really connecting to the powers that these runes hold, and feeling how connected some of my gods are to them, this is personally the path I have chosen to take. 

I use my bind runes for boosts of power, protection charms and wards, good luck and prosperity... if you can think it, you can create a bind rune for it!

And now for the fun part: How to make a bind rune!

First things first, decide on your goal/intention. It can be something as simple as finding love to growing your income to protecting yourself from negative energies. For this workshop, I’ll be working on a bind rune to help strengthen my connection to my past lives.

Next, choose which runes you want to work with. This is where a little bit of rune knowledge can help, but don't let that scare you away! A quick Google search can answer most questions. I personally like to reference The Divination Handbook by Liz Dean, and then cross reference with personal meditation and google searches to come up with my own personal definitions. For my specific intention, I'll be working with Mannaz, Eiwhaz, and Raido.

Time to grab a pen and paper, it's drawing time!

I like to lay my chosen runes out in front of me and let me mind wander on the shapes and meanings for a couple minutes. Do any initial shapes come to mind? Write them down. After a few minutes when I feel like I can fully focus on my runes and my intention, I start combining my runes. Important: there are no right or wrong answers! Does it speak to you? Good! Use it!

After exhausting my options I circle the one that feels the best, and ta-da! You've made a bind rune!

Okay, now what do I do with my new bind rune?

The first thing I like to do with my new bind rune is charge it and really set it's intention. I'll rip off a piece of paper, use a color corresponding pen to draw it. I then hold it in my hands while envisioning it's purpose and the results I wish I gain. I especially like holding it with it's initial parent runes to really seal in some extra energy. From there I'll either let it charge under some crystals until I feel it's ready to use, or I'll burn it to release it's energy (or my favorite, BOTH!).

You can also put it under your pillow and sleep with it, put it in a corner and let it just do it's job, bury it, ect.

Other fun ways to use to new bind rune include adding it to your artwork, drawing it in honey in the bottom of your tea cup, drawing it on your forehead in moon water, drawing it in the fog on your bathroom mirror, or sketching it in sand or dirt. The possibilities are endless!

Now go forth and manifest! Let me know if you would like to see any more of these informational posts! Special shout-out to @bear-my-bones for inspiring this post!

P.S.- I feel like I would be doing my duty as a Völva injustice if I didn't put a disclaimer on here that runes have their own energies. Unlike sigils where you fully create the energies that get manifested, with bind runes you are borrowing those energies from that parent rune. It's important that if you don't already have a relationship with the runes, to sit down and study the ones you choose for your bind rune, and to be prepared to possibly make an offering to those runes to ask for their permission to use some of their energy. You'll find that most runes are extremely open to sharing their knowledge as long as you show you're opening to learning.

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings: one allusion to sex

A/N: me and @samuel-de-champagne-problems are doing a 500 follower co-celebration that you can find here! we would love to hear from you <3

Masterlist

Chapter 34

You came down the stairs in the morning to see Spencer staring out the window of the sun room.

He occasionally sketched something in his journal, poking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, before glancing up again.

“What’s up, love?” you asked him, wrapping your arms around his waist from behind so you could peek into his journal full of sketches.

“I want to build a treehouse for Jo to use and the twins eventually. Maybe even grandkids,” Spencer smiled softly.

“I like that idea but please tell me you are having someone help you. I don’t want you up on a ladder by yourself,” you warned him.

“Derek was more than happy to help,” he kissed the top of your head.

“I’ve got to go to Lowe’s to get the wood planks. Do you want to come too or I can bring all the kids with me?”

“I am not going to miss alpha-male Spence,” you bit your lip, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“I’ll get the kids up if you make coffee,” he bargained.

“Deal,” you gave him a quick peck before sending him up the stairs.

Spencer came back downstairs with the two twins in the double carrier and Jo holding his hand. He was dressed in jeans with a measuring tape hooked to his belt and the leather brown doc martens you bought him on his feet.

“I was not expecting to be this turned on at 8 in the morning,” you whispered to him with a giggle which caused him to blush.

“Can we get donuts on the way, Mommy?” Jo asked.

“Of course, Baby J. Let’s go.”

-

You had Ollie and Ophelia in their portable car seats in the shopping cart while you and Jo were eating your donut munchkins and watching amusedly as Spencer pretended to know what he was doing.

“It’s okay to ask for help, love,” you reminded him.

“Fine,” he huffed, “Let me go get an employee. I have all the practical knowledge of how this should work but believe it or not, I was never a big handyman. I would just call my landlord when something broke.”

After getting the wood situation settled, Spencer brought Jo to the paint swatch section.

“Princess, you can pick any color you want for me and Uncle Derek to paint the tree house,” Spencer told her.

Jo took her time, carefully examining each swatch and considering her options before deciding on a pale lavender.

“Excellent choice,” Spencer smiled, kissing her cheek, “You got your love of purple from me.”

-

“I’ve got it!” Jo announced at the knock at the door.

“Jo!” Derek smiled as she opened the door.

“Uncle Derek!” she jumped into his arms.

“Long time, no see, kiddo. You’re growing so fast.”

You walked into the entry way with Ollie and Ophelia in your arms.

“Spence is already out back. Please be careful, you two. I don’t want to drive to the hospital today,” you cautioned.

“I’ll be out in just a second. I need to see my two godbabies first,” Derek extended his arms, taking Ollie from you and giving him little kisses on the cheek before doing the same to Ophelia.

“They still keeping you up at night?” Derek asked.

“Not as much nowadays, it’s a little harder with twins because as soon as one cries, the other follows. But Spencer always insists on getting up so I really can’t complain,” you smiled.

“Alright, I’ll head out there and get to work so Jo can have her new treehouse as soon as possible,” Derek waved.

“Hey, man,” Derek greeted Spencer as he walked outside.

Spencer looked up from his journal, “Oh, hey! I have got some preliminary blueprints sketched out that you can take a look at. Thank you so much for your help today. I really appreciate it and the kids will too.”

“Of course. You know things between me and Savannah are getting pretty serious so maybe my kid will be playing up there one day too,” Derek smiled.

“That’s so great to hear, Morgan.”

“I have you to thank for that. Seeing this life that you created outside the BAU inspired me. It made me realize I want more than to be a travelling single man my whole life,” Derek stated.

“I’m happy you’ve found someone you can see yourself settling down with,” Spencer smiled, “You and Savannah are welcome over any time for dinner.”

“When did you know Y/N was the one?” Derek asked.

Spencer couldn’t believe the Derek Morgan was asking him for girl advice. But then, he remembered he had everything. He had managed to win over his dream girl. His soulmate. His everything.

“The first time she laughed at an awful joke I made. I just knew from that moment on, I wanted to hear it over and over again and I would do everything in my power to keep that smile on her beautiful face,” Spencer admitted.

The sliding glass door of the sun room opened.

“Sorry to interrupt but Jo and I just made some fresh lemonade and I don’t want you guys to get dehydrated out here,” you said as you placed the pitcher and cups down on the table, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Spencer’s lovesick gaze was laser-focused on you.

“I asked him when he knew you were the one,” Derek informed you.

“Oh,” you smiled softly, reminiscing, “For me, it was on our first date when he held every single door for me and would even run ahead to make sure it was open. I knew I had found myself the perfect gentleman.”

You gave him a quick peck before heading back inside.

-

You woke up already crying. You cuddled further into Spencer’s chest as you teared up.

“I don’t want to go. Please, Spence, I want to stay home with you and the kids,” you sobbed.

“Love, remember, I asked you last week if you wanted to go back or if you wanted me to find a job instead and do you remember what you said?” Spencer cupped your chin and gently forced you to look up at him.

“I love teaching,” you sniffled.

“I completely understand if you change your mind but I think you should give it at least a day.”

“No, you’re right,” you kissed him before getting up and heading to the bathroom to get ready, “Besides, it’s spring so before you know it, the semester will be over and I’ll have all summer with you and the kids.”

“That’s my girl,” Spencer smiled.

-

“Okay bye, my beautiful babies,” you kissed Ophelia and Ollie’s heads, “Be good for Daddy while Jo and I are gone.”

“I will text you pictures of them every hour on the hour and you can facetime us at lunch if you want,” Spencer assured you, giving you a goodbye kiss.

“Ready, Jo?” you asked, extending your hand for her to grasp on to.

“Yes, Mommy,” she grabbed your hand.

“Have fun at school and work!” Spencer called out, crouching down and moving Ophelia and Ollie’s little arms as if they were waving goodbye.

-

Your day had gone as well as could be expected. You felt like eventually you would be able to adjust back to your regular work schedule. Spencer’s constant texts throughout the day and the multiple framed family photos that he got you for your office desk definitely helped.

You got home, setting your keys and bag down on the counter next to a takeout bag. Of course, Spencer got you takeout from your favorite restaurant on your first day back because he’s just that sweet.

You hadn’t heard any noise from within the house since you got home so you headed out to the back porch.

You saw Spencer in a hammock tied between two trees in the yard, soaking up the sun. Ollie and Ophelia were sprawled across his chest with a protective arm draped over them and Jo was curled up into his side with his other arm wrapped around her.

You quietly walked over and snapped a picture that definitely would be added to your office desk’s collection before laying down on Spencer’s other side.

He awoke from the rustling you made trying to get yourself settled.

“Why are you crying, love? During our last check-in, you seemed fine,” he whispered concernedly.

“Nothing is wrong, my family is just too cute and my husband is too sweet,” you smiled softly, “Now pass me a baby. You can’t hog them all to yourself.”

in case you missed it, i posted a stand-alone smut one-shot of RF titled ‘All Clear’ but it is not necessary to read to continue the plot of the story and it is strictly 18+

taglist (just ask to be added or removed): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @harrystylesandthegoobs @cmily @jswessie187 @rem-ariiana @hoodpankow @mochionly @doctorreiding @reidsfish

[desertdollranch]

Caroline’s Expanded Collection, Book 5: Caroline’s Battle

As part of an ongoing project, I am attempting to fill in the gaps of Caroline’s collection by imagining and creating what I think she would have been given had she been released in the Pleasant Company era. She was only available for three years, and had only a few outfits and accessories before she retired. As I’ve been rereading her stories, I’ve tried to identify exactly what elements in her books could have been turned into clothes and playsets.

Caroline is pictured here with the things I’ve made for her that are related to her fifth story, Caroline’s Battle. In this book, Caroline and her mother have just rescued Papa and brought him home after nearly a year since he was taken prisoner by the British. But so soon after his arrival, the British begin an attack on Sackets Harbor, and Papa joins the militia. It is up to Caroline and Mama to bravely defend the shipyard, no matter what.

I read through Caroline’s Battle looking for ideas about what small accessories to give to Caroline in her expanded collection, but there aren’t very many in there. The book takes place over a very short period of time in mostly one place, the shipyard. But I did manage to come up with a few things!

The dress she wears on the book cover was never made available in her collection, so I made it myself. I posted about it a week or so ago, so I won’t rehash that here. The exact colors aren’t well depicted here by torchlight, but by daylight they’re a little closer to what I made.  

The next item I will include in this book’s collection is her parlor, seen in the first photo above. When Caroline was available from American Girl, the parlor was a sort of standalone item not specifically connected to any book. But Pleasant Company had most of a character’s items tied to one particular book, so that’s what I’d do here if it were up to me. 

My Caroline’s parlor isn’t AG brand but was built by me, from foam board and a few other materials. I won’t go into detail here, because you can see how I did that in this post. I have since added onto the parlor a bit with a few more small accessories. In the above picture, the sculpted bust and the five-fingered vase are newer. The bust is a thrift store find and I made the quintal vase.

The things on the top shelf here are also new. I made the figurine (for Felicity’s birthday collection), the miniature ship is a thrift store find, and the horse was a plastic toy I repainted to look like the one included with the American Girl brand parlor. 

Now for the small stuff.

Here we have Papa’s leather-bound ledger in which he keeps all the records relating to shipbuilding. There are also sketches of ships he plans to build, a quill pen and ink, and a slate for Caroline to practice her arithmetic and handwriting, skills that were necessary to help Mama keep Abbott’s shipyard running smoothly in Papa’s absence. In Caroline’s Battle, all of these things are removed from the shipyard’s office and brought to the Abbott home, to be stored in the root cellar in case the invasion reaches into Sackets Harbor. This information must be preserved and kept out of British hands.

I made my ledger from faux leather that fastens with a button. This material was once a jacket, and so I used the front placket with the buttonhole already made. That’s just construction paper inside.

Caroline’s slate is black foam board and wooden craft sticks. The slate is mentioned in Caroline’s third book, A Surprise for Caroline, but I figured it would better fit in with this particular collection. 

For the sketches, I printed out old illustrations of 18th and 19th century ships.

I believe the American Girl brand parlor should have come with some furniture, like this chair. The only seating there is the window seat. So I’ve added that, using a Kingstate brand chair. Kingstate makes some very nice doll-sized furniture. This was a surprise thrift store find at a store that very rarely has any dolls or toys.

That’s it for this collection. It’s not much. I wish I had some more small items I could have made, but the only other things I could think of to give to Caroline that’s mentioned in the book is the bonfire, torches, and the pistol that Grandmother has Caroline bring to the shipyard and deliver to her mother. I don’t think Pleasant Company or American Girl would ever make a doll-sized gun, so I opted not to include it. And the bonfire with torches would probably be difficult to make realistic or have any sort of play value, especially without the whole shipyard being available as an accessory set!.