#my other regular commissions are still open as usual~ all info is in the same link | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

echonidae · 3 years

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let’s talk commission stuff!

hey folks !! so i’ve been reorganizing myself to get commissions back on track, and i’ve got some things i’d like to get your input on, if it isn't too much trouble !! ;v;

it’s a long one, so under the cut it goes sdfghghj

a slightly too long tl;dr because apparently this is a 10min read (i'm so sorry): commission revamp on the works! no date for it yet. gonna be easing myself back with just icons for a while at first (no date for that either thoug, not yet), then the revamp will be in full swing with all the other commission options, and the pricetable for them will be changed in the future as well.

some questions:

1) i’m rethinking commission types, is there anything you’d like to see as a new option? 2) considering i tend to open only a handful slots every batch, i'm thinking about implementing a waitlist (with a bit of a twist: it's split between Current Batch and Next Batch; a little more complicated than a regular ol' waitlist, allows me to get through some of the waitlist queue as work gets done). would that interest you or is it too much of a headache? 100% open to suggestions! 3) i’m organizing a board on trello for commission stuffs !! any suggestions or specific things you’d like to see there?

so! it’s already been over a year since i last opened commissions and i’d very much like to get back to them ;o; it’s been way too long! i miss working with you folks aaa

i don’t have a reopening date yet, but i’m planning on opening only icons for a while to ease back into the process. later on, i'll open the other commission options too. you see, i’m working on a full revamp of the whole thing, including the terms of service and that info image with the examples (because looking back, i think it no longer really represents my current style and how i really do commissions in terms of just... plain old rendering and polishing), so i’ll be working on new drawings and a new layout too, and all that good jazz :D

for full disclosure, along with this overhaul of the terms and such, i will be updating prices too c: i’m still working on the new values though, since i need to figure out what commission types/options the overhaul will have. which brings me to the first question here: what would you like to see as a commission option? for reference, here’s the og options:

(hoo i need to redo those examples *sweats*)

also, one more thing i’d like to note about this revamp situation: there isn’t a whole lot that’s changing really haha it’s just been a long, long time since i last did commissions, so i’m reviewing terms and i might change stuff that’s become outdated, or that needs clarification. if you’ve commissioned me before, the process itself is still the same so no worries! once the revamp is out, i’ll point out anything that has changed too c:

in regards to price changes, those first icon-only batches will be in their original price, and the new prices will only take effect once the revamp with the other options is out. it will be quite a while before until that, but if you have any concerns, feel free to message me any time ! either way, i’ll keep you folks posted !! i guess i also could post the new prices before implementing them, if that helps!

so, moving on! now to the waitlist situation <:3c as in, i’ve never had one, a while back someone asked if i did, and now that i’m reorganizing things, i’m wondering if it would be good to implement one :3c feel free to send any questions !! or suggestions!! i'm all ears!!!

usually i only open a handful of slots for each batch, right, and once they're all claimed, the commissions are closed until all the slots are finished. folks who missed the slots have to wait until the next batch, and sometimes those batches take a while to come back, and i usually just message those who missed the opening once the new batch is announced.

what i'm thinking for the waitlist is, i'll open it along with the batch of commissions, and limit it to a specific number of spots or close it by a specific date, whichever comes first. to apply for it, people would just need to send the form and i can tell them immediately whether or not i can draw their request, and then they'll be placed on the waitlist in the order they’ve been accepted c: pretty standard stuff.

here’s the important bit: that list is basically split in two. the first handful of people on the list, corresponding to the amount of slots for the current batch, will be reached out to as i finish working on the claimed slots, and then anyone else on the waitlist will be contacted shortly before the next batch. if, by the time the list closes, not all the opened slots have been claimed, folks on the list will simply be moved up the queue accordingly c: all of it would be discussed individually, of course, and very well disclosed in the commission info!

there are other points to it as well: anyone would be able to request a spot on the next batch's waitlist instead of the current one, and anyone can leave either list at any point. folks who had already claimed a slot when it first opened would only be able to apply for the next batch's waitlist (to give everyone a chance of getting one), and people on the list, either for the current or the next round of commissions, can be skipped up to a limit if they're unable to continue the order once i get to them.

oh and, before i forget, with the waitlist in place, i think i’d no longer be able to put slots on hold as i used to (as in, before paying the first invoice), as it’d be unfair to folks on the list. in that case, the person would be placed on the list as well if they want to, and contacted as soon as possible : )

also the "up to 2 slots per person" thing would be on thin ice too haha

anyway, this is kind of what i intended to do back then, with reopening slots as work gets finished, but never got around to. i want to make sure i don’t swamp myself with work, but also have it so that folks who want slots have a good chance of getting them, whether for the current batch or the next, as there's only so many slots i can open and work on at once, and time zones and irl things are to be considered too for anyone interested c:

it also makes it easier for me to keep track of messaging folks about new slots and such, and the list would be made public and easily available for consulting too : D more on this later!

so how's this looking? i've never done waitlists before and barely knew how they're supposed to work before starting to reorganize things, so please do feel free to voice your thoughts !! i’m 100% open to suggestions !!! do you think this system would work out for you? any concerns? if anything is unclear feel free to point it out, i'll do my best to explain the process or change stuff that doesn't quite work!!

so!!! now to the very last thing i wanted to talk about ! trello!

i’m making a little trello board for updates on commission stuff! my commission info page here on tumblr and on deviantart both have this little section for updates on each slot’s progress, but i admittedly didn't do a good job keeping them updated (and constantly updating two things in different places just. kinda sucks.), so i’ve been diving into trello to unify that update section in one place and keep things nice and organized and transparent : ) it would be super useful for keeping track of the waitlist too, if that becomes a thing, or for updates on commission status and such!

so far i’m only testing things out, so it’s looking like this right now (sorry for the tiny image!):

(the board is lying btw, commissions are very much closed haha) (also if it’s basically unreadable, here’s the upload on sta.sh)

with all those little lists, the “available slots” and “sketch” and “lineart” and whatnot, i would be moving the card along the process : D and adding the appropriate labels, of course

this way i can have those halfsteps labelled too (working on/halfway through/finishing), since there’s only so many colors i can use without making it confusing (and tbh i’m already not too thrilled about color labels as it is, but it beats typing each individual status, and i’d imagine it’s more readable for folks consulting the list as well)

i really like how this looks so far in terms of organization but i’m unsure if the horizontal scrolling is anything but annoying, specially to folks on mobile (with the way i divide my screen on desktop, it certainly isn’t ideal either), so if you have any experience with that, feel free to let me know your thoughts!! there are a thousand different ways to organize this, and this is all a work in progress too c:

so! anything specific you folks would like to see on trello? i know this is a fairly common tool for commission queues and info and such but i’m super new to this platform, so please feel free to send suggestions! ♥

anyway yeah! that’s it! ;0; !

i’m sorry for the super long post, i’ve just been thinking about a lotta stuff haha i feel like i don’t interact a whole lot as it is, and since commissions are very much a team effort, i do want to get input from you folks on it c: it’s good to get a fresh perspective as well!

thank you so much for reading this far !! let me know your thoughts !!! :D ♥

#oh boy.txt #:3c #;;yeowline #the word batch can be found 28 times in this post #waitlist is present 24 times #slot = 32 times (28 being the plural)#commission? 46 times #phew!#also!#doodlesketch stuff #eye strain #for the art there haha

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apharine · 4 years

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Perfect Storm

Chapter 1 - Route 17

Pairing: Nanu x Reader

Fandom: Pokemon

Rating: E

Read on AO3

My writing commission info!

Summary: Route 17's weather is always bad - but today, it's particularly awful, the usual drizzle having escalated into practically a hurricane. You had business in Po Town to attend to, but it's getting late, and it soon becomes apparent that it's no longer safe for you to be outside. You take refuge in the only place you can think of - the Po Town Police Station with Nanu - never imagining that before the night's end, things would get hot and heavy between the two of you.

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You hadn’t meant to find yourself approaching Po Town at night. And you certainly hadn’t meant to show up unprepared for the weather. It always rains sheets on Route 17, after all - but usually the rain is little more than a nuisance. Tonight, it’s much more than just that. This has to be the worst storm the area has seen in a long while, you think to yourself, trying to walk on in the driving wind. Branches and twigs scatter across the path in front of you, all snapped off the trees lining the route, and lightning strikes somewhere, illuminating the world around you in an eerie flash.

Man. What was with this place? You hadn’t even had a clue that there was so much as a drop of rain brewing in the sky when you were in the Ula’ula Meadow, just a mile away. You decide to double back, get out of here and get safe and dry and warm. Your business in Po Town can wait for whenever this perpetual storm decides to settle down.

It’s not long after you about face that you notice you’re slogging through increasingly sticky mud, having to exert more and more effort each time you pull your feet up from the ground. After a few minutes of walking, it becomes clear why this is happening - you’re walking closer and closer to a flash flood, which has all but wiped out the path only a couple hundred feet away. Visibility is too low to see much further than that, but you’re certain there’s no way you’ll be able to safely cross the rising plain of water and get back to the Meadow. Even though the water doesn’t look deep, you’ve lived in Alola long enough to know that you can never trust what you think you see when it came to floods, and that currents can be much stronger than they might appear on the surface.

You sigh and turn back around. Now what? You don’t particularly envy the idea of begging to get into Po Town, then pleading with Guzma and whoever else was still there to let you stay the night in the Shady House, where you’ll be dry. That’s even if they’d allow you into the Shady House, you realize; it seems just as likely that they’ll have you sleep on the floor in that musty, graffiti-strewn Pokemon Center. The thought is unappealing, but it’s not like you have any more options, right?

A rumble of thunder echoes, and it hits you like a bolt out of the blue, just as another strike of lightning illuminates the sky.

Kahuna Nanu. He lives nearby.

You turn away from the flood, moving as quickly as you can, desperate both to outpace any rising waters and to get in somewhere safe and warm - and, of course, welcoming. You and Nanu have worked together on the whole contain-the UBs-thing for the past year, with no signs of your work stopping anytime soon. The UBs might not appear as frequently as they had at the beginning, sure, but they still come to Alola with surprising regularity. It had actually brought you and Nanu closer together than you’d expected, in much the same way that it had pushed Looker and Anabel together. Nanu had grown on you slowly; he was rough around the edges, sure, but he was the one who always seemed to have your back, who always went out of his way to get just that little extra bit of intel for you to keep you safe. He’d swept in and saved you, once, when you’d nearly lost and blacked out to a horde of UB-02. And, it turned out, he had a hell of a mouth on him, and the two of you could tease each other as good as you got. Sometimes his teasing sounded vaguely sexual to you, not that you minded; he’s older, sure, but he’s handsome. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t looked at his hands - so big and manly - and wondered what they’d be like all over you.

Not that you’d ever find out, you figure. He’s likely not interested in a young thing like you. But at the least, you’ve come to care about him and enjoy his company, and you know he’ll provide you with safe harbor, tonight.

It feels like you’re running for forever before the Po Town Police Station comes into view. Your legs and lungs are both searing with effort as you rush to the door and knock frantically, then wait with baited breath.

After a couple long moments, it becomes clear there’s going to be no response.

“Nanu! Kahuna Nanu!” You call, knocking more loudly and frantically. You announce your name, then add quickly, “Please open up!”

You can’t be sure, but you think you hear footsteps inside. A Meowth cries plaintively. You could just try the doorhandle - it might be open, even this late at night, as is common in friendly Alola, after all.

But a moment later, the door swings open, and a familiar silhouette appears, limned by the flourescent lights of the police station.

“Nanu!” You exclaim, delighted. You'd hug him, like usual, except for the fact that you're soaking wet.

“Girl,” Nanu returns, obviously a bit surprised to see you at this hour. He’s got what looks like a frozen TV dinner in one hand, and he pushes a curious Meowth back from the doorway with one of his feet. You’re a little surprised to hear him call you just girl - after your last rendezvous to exchange intel before a UB mission, you’d insisted he use your name, and he’d complied - but it seems old habits die hard.

“Can I come in? It’s awful out here,” you say, gesturing to the atrocious storm raging around you.

“It’s always awful out there,” Nanu observes flatly, arching one eyebrow. “What are you doing here, at this hour?”

“I was heading to Po Town, and the time got away from me,” you explain quickly. If he would just step aside, you could have this conversation indoors -

"So shouldn’t you be heading home, then?” He asks, and you’re genuinely not certain if he’s trying to be standoff-ish or if he’s just genuinely confused.

“There’s a flash flood down the route, and I can’t get through it safely,” you reply.

“Guess I can’t exactly tell you to just call a Charizard on your ride pager in this, huh?” Nanu chuckles. A well-timed lightning bolt streaks down toward the earth, followed by a peal of thunder, as if to emphasize his point.

“Not exactly,” you say dryly.

“Doesn’t that thing have a Lapras, too, though?” He asks, still refusing to step aside.

It occurs to you that, for as close as you felt to the man, he really doesn’t want you spending the night. The realization hurts, more than just a little, and you swallow hard, feeling your throat constrict.

“It’s a flash flood, Nanu. The waters are so turbulent, I can’t surf in that,” you manage. Suddenly, you’re very aware of how cold you are; the rain is chilly for this time of year, and the wind isn’t helping any, either. A moment of silence passes, and you shiver on his doorstep, feeling tears pool in your eyes. This wasn’t what you’d expected at all. “Please, Nanu, I know you value your alone time, and I’m sorry to intrude on your evening. But my only other option is Po Town, and…” The tears overflow your eyes, and you swipe at them quickly, frustrated with yourself. “I trust you much more than I trust anyone who’s still there.” Despite your efforts to keep your cool, your voice wavers a little; you didn’t really expect to have to practically beg for your safety tonight, and you hate feeling like such a burden, but you have no other choice. Nanu’s red eyes lock onto yours, and he holds that TV dinner still in the air, apparently a bit taken aback. Seeing that hunk of frozen junk gives you an idea, and you clear your throat, hoping that when you continue, you’ll sound confident. “If you let me stay, I’ll cook you a real dinner. Something better than that frozen junk. And I won’t bother you. I promise.”

“You’re not a bother, girl,” Nanu mumbles, stepping out of the way. “Didn’t mean to make you feel like one, or anything. Just surprised by this, is all. Come on in.”

Relief floods your chest - he’s letting you in; you’re safe - and you cross the threshold, entering the Po Town Police Station as Nanu closes the door behind you. Once you’re inside, it becomes apparent exactly how soaked you are; water runs off you and your clothes in rivers, pooling on Nanu’s floor and dripping onto his herd of Meowths below. They cry in protest, and scatter to all corners of the station.

“Oh, by the Tapu,” you breathe, cheeks flaming in embarrassment and tears prickling at your eyes again. You had just promised not to be a bother. “I’m so sorry -”

“Not your fault, girl. Don’t cry,” he adds, putting a big hand on your shoulder for a moment. “You might not be aware, but this is usually what happens when someone comes in from a storm. I’ve got a bit of experience with this sort of thing, living here, you know,” he says cheekily but playfully, giving you a lopsided smirk. You smile tentatively back, recognizing his attempt to cheer you, then glance down at yourself. Water is still streaming off you, and you’re sure that if you were to go any further into his place, you’d make an even bigger mess. Nanu seems to read your mind, saying, “Still. I’ve got to get you out of those clothes, don’t I, girl?”

Your cheeks flame even more at his words. How does he manage to say something so sexual-sounding at a time like this? Ordinarily, you’d have a good comeback, but you’re too thrown off your game at the moment, given the unexpected circumstances, so you stay silent and try to hide your face.

Nanu notices your heightened embarrassment all the same - of course he does, you think to yourself, he’s a cop, he has to notice little things like this all the time - and his smirk grows.

“Don’t go getting all excited on me, girl. I’m just going to bring you some dry clothes. Pajamas all right?”

You wish you could melt into the floor, or, barring that, turn tail and run straight out to Po Town.

“Pajamas are fine,” you say instead.

Nanu gives you some folded grey-and-black pajamas, promising you they’re clean, even if there’s still Meowth hair on them. He waves you into the bathroom to change, then throws a big, fluffy towel your way.

“Thank you,” you say, catching the towel.

“Yeah. Figure you need it. You’re soaking wet, aren’t you, girl?” Nanu replies, a crooked smile spreading across his face again. Your mouth almost drops open - he had said some flirtatious things to you before, but never anything as overt as this - but you’re mercifully able to smooth your expression over quickly.

You’re still not recovered enough to have a quick one-liner to fire back at him, though, so a moment of silence stretches out before Nanu mumbles something to you about hurrying up and not ruining his floors. You stare at him for a moment longer, feeling a different kind of wetness beginning to pool between your thighs. Despite how much he’d hurt your feelings earlier, at the door, you know he hadn’t meant to - he just had a way about him that offended people or drove them away. His teasing, that gentle touch, his quick reassurances - you know those were all his way of saying he hadn’t meant to hurt you. And you’d be lying if you said you didn’t relish his teasing, especially now that it’s so overt. He’s quite the silver Ninetales, and your mind often drifted when you were around him to how experienced he was - both in life and, most likely, in bed, too…

Though it is a bit hard to take him seriously right now, you think, watching as he throws another towel on the floor and tries to mop up the water you’ve left behind as lazily as possible, just pushing the fabric around with his foot. Several Meowth think he’s playing, and attack the towel and his foot. Nanu curses, but doesn’t change what he’s doing, either, just bats them away with a shake of his leg.

You laugh, and step into the bathroom, closing the door behind you and quickly peeling your wet clothes off yourself. Even your bra and panties are soaked through; both are going to have to come off. You throw all your wet clothes in a pile, towel off as thoroughly as you can (including your hair), and step into Nanu’s pajama pants. They’re nice and loose, with a black plaid design. Nanu’s pajama top goes on next; it’s a grey t-shirt that has a big print of a round Alolan Persian face right across the chest. The idea of the kahuna wearing this makes you smile.

Before you leave, you take the towel and mop up the floor, then fold your wet clothes into the towel. Surely, Nanu has either a dryer or a clothes line you can use.

When you step out of the bathroom, Nanu’s just finishing with the floor, still using his foot to do the job.

“Thank you for these,” you say earnestly, gesturing to the pajamas. Nanu looks up at you from his work, another of those lop-sided grins spreading across his face. “What?” You ask, fighting down the urge to be embarrassed. You could never say for sure if it was his demeanor, his Interpol training, or those unusual red eyes, but Nanu had a way of looking at people intensely, as if he could read everything about them if he just tried hard enough. Which, you remind yourself, he probably could. For a lot of people, that kind of intensity was strongly off-putting. It had made you nervous around him, at first; by now, it mostly just made you embarrassed, as if you’d done something wrong whenever he looked at you like that.

“Didn’t expect you to be so cute in those, is all,” Nanu chuckles unexpectedly, turning to pick up the towel he’d used on the floor. Your head reels - Nanu thinks you’re cute?! More specifically, he thinks you’re cute in his pajamas?! - but you hardly have a moment to think about it, because he approaches you, one arm outstretched. “Give me your clothes, and I’ll go throw all this in the dryer. Should be good to go by tomorrow.” You comply with a mumbled thanks, unable to meet Nanu’s crimson eyes. He doesn’t seem to mind or notice, though, as he simply moves past you and says, “Be right back, girl.”

“I thought we agreed you wouldn’t call me girl anymore,” you blurt, suddenly irritated by the nickname. You’re not a girl, you’re a woman, and you have a name, besides. If he’s going to tease you the way he has tonight, he can at least use it.

“You got a better nickname in mind?” Nanu calls as he walks away, several of his Meowth following him.

“Well, no, but -” you call, about to remind him that your name would do just fine, but a door slams as he enters what must be the laundry room. He’s probably out of earshot, and you’re not likely going to get anywhere with this anytime soon.

Not that it mattered, really. What mattered most was that you were safe and warm tonight.

A Meowth cries from the kitchen, lazily pushing something off the counter. It lands with a clatter; when you shift enough to see what it is, you realize it’s Nanu’s frozen TV dinner. You walk over to pick it up, reminding yourself that you’d promised him you’d cook him a real meal tonight in exchange for letting you stay.

Quickly, you pop the frozen meal back in the freezer, then start looking around the kitchen to see what ingredients Nanu has that you can use. His pantry is somewhat spare, but there’s plenty of cans in here, including some canned mixed vegetables and bean shoots. Not perfect, but you could maybe make a stir fry out of them. You pick up the can and, on a whim, decide to check the expiration date, just in case.

They expired four years ago. You pull a face and put them back in the cabinet, quickly leafing through the other cans to see if they’re all just as bad. Many are - some are, astonishingly, worse - but some are, by some miracle, still good.

“What are you looking for, girl?” Nanu’s unexpected voice makes you jump, and you stand up, holding the unexpired cans in hand.

“Something to cook you some real food with,” you answer. Nanu frowns, one hand in his pants pocket, and opens the freezer door with the other.

“Why?” He asks, procuring the TV dinner once again. “This not to your liking, princess?” Before you can reply, a smirk spreads across his face.

You realize what he’s thinking almost immediately.

“Don’t you dare -” you start, half-teasing, half-serious, but he’s Nanu, and he absolutely does dare.

“Princess is a better nickname than girl, wouldn’t you say?” He grins at you, then has the audacity to try it out. “Princess?”

“If having an issue with a spam-and-pineapple frozen dinner that’s barely a step above Meowth food makes me a princess, then so be it,” you tease him back, trying to maintain your dignity.

“Good. Sounds like we’re in agreement, then,” Nanu laughs.

“Did you know you have some stuff in here that’s been expired for four years? I think there’s one that’s six,” you add, doing your best to ignore his remarks. You pull the offending cans out and pass them to him, pulling a face as some dust and slime from the oldest can gets on your fingers. “That’s super gross, Nanu.”

To your surprise, this time he’s the one who doesn’t have a quick comeback, instead inspecting the cans himself. When he realizes what you’re saying is true, a blush rises to his cheeks.

Huh. You didn’t even know Nanu could feel embarrassment.

“Nobody asked you to clean my pantry, girl. If you think it’s gross, just leave it alone,” he mumbles, suddenly surly.

You feel unexpectedly sorry for pointing out what was obviously a little bit of a sore spot for him.

“Well, I promised you I’d make you a real dinner as a thanks for letting me stay,” you say, trying to shrug it off. “Just trying to find some stuff to cook with, you know? Besides, I don’t want you to accidentally eat the wrong thing and die one day, or something.”

Nanu snorts at this, but puts the frozen dinner back, then throws the expired cans in the garbage.

“Well, help yourself to anything in there that you can use,” he says, then adds, with an infuriating smirk, “princess.”

#nanu #kahuna nanu #officer nanu #nanu pokemon #pokemon #pokemon sumo #nanu x reader #nanu/reader #reader insert #fanfiction #aph writes

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cosplayinamerica · 3 years

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ARTIST ALLEY : BurntGreenTea

Here at Cosplay in America, I am expanding who I interview to those in the convention scene. Today we will talk to BurntGreenTea who I met in artist alley at Ikkicon, an anime convention in Austin, TX. BurntGreenTea is from Northern California and as stated on his Deviant Art “Hey, my name is Nelson! I like to draw waifus”

EJEN : My first question is why BurntGreenTea?

BURNTGREENTEA: That’s actually my second handle I came up with, I had an embarrassing name before so I wanted to change into something more ironic and more “me” in a name. so I’ve been going as BurntGreenTea ever since. I do drink matcha alot!

EJEN: Tell us how you got started in artist alley, what was your first one and what was that experience like?

BURNTGREENTEA: I started getting interested in doing artist alley at my first Fanime Con back in 2007 as a one day attendee when I was still in high school.

I went with my best friend at the time and it blew my expectations of what a convention was, especially the artist alley since it completely opened my mind that there’s artists actually selling fan art. But I didn’t commit to it until 2012, just when I was in my 2nd year of college.

By that time, I had enough digital art and felt confident that I could do it. Fanime still had the application process of first come first serve (meaning those who apply the earliest will get a spot), so I was fortunate enough to apply fast enough to get a table!

For a first time experience it was nerve-wracking before, during and after the con. But there was something to it that really sparked my interest; and I think there were people that legitimately liked my work and bought them.

EJEN: Was there a point that you went “yeah, this could work” and you made the jump to traveling out of state for artist alley?

BURNTGREENTEA: It was about one and half years after I graduated from college, between that time I worked in a job that was soul sucking but I had many of my colleagues working at, and then after I was applying to animation studios, gaming companies, etc while I was doing commissions and artist alleys at the same time.

It went on like this for almost a year. By this point I felt like I really hit my lowest and felt a great shame that I couldn’t find “stable” work. My parents didn’t really support me doing artist alley during this time since it’s not legit work and it’s more like a fun hobby I can do on the side, all the while I have colleagues and friends who have jobs in the animation or gaming industries. I felt extremely lost, and wasn’t sure the direction I wanted to go in life, so my parents encouraged me to go back to school to get a “safe” degree or trade.

But there was something I knew in the back of my mind that I couldn’t see until I had a meet up with an old friend. She was confident, happy, found her dream job that paid well and she enjoyed the work, and she was completely honest and blunt. When the topic came up of me being lost in life, she asked me, “what did you want to do then?” and I told her honestly, “I really just want to do artist alley and make that work.” “Then just do it.” So I did.

EJEN: After all the time you spent in artist alley, what’s the most important factor that an artist must understand to do decently in sales

BURNTGREENTEA: Research research research. It’s basically “knowledge is power” but breaking down as knowing your audience, yourself (what you enjoy, your strengths and capabilities) and learning new trades while breaking old habits.

EJEN: Can you go more in detail about research, research, research?

BURNTGREENTEA: So this reflects back on my previous answer, so know the convention you’re going into, what you can offer, what’s your budget, everything that would make your experience at the convention you’re getting into a great experience.

I have heard many stories of artists not breaking even and even I had bad experiences due to inaccurate/outdated information or inexperience. For example, there was a first year event that had a $1000 table price tag and promised to bring in 5000 attendees.

This was going to be my second event/convention to table at, so I had no idea what it was going to be like and decided to go for it. It ended up having less than 100 attendees, and I lost a significant amount of money. So now I have to get as much info as I can get to make the convention viable to go to.

EJEN: How do you describe your style and how has it changed if any over the 14 years you’ve done art? What were some of your earlier influences.

BURNTGREENTEA: Right now I can say it’s pretty much anime style, but I can say there were several phases I went through. Looking through my Deviantart gives a great timeline all the way back to middle school until recently.

When I initially started I was getting into anime thanks to friends, so I was very much influenced by Naruto, Full Metal Alchemist, and Gurren Lagann. Then in high school I started to do more digital art, eventually creating artwork bigger and grander just like the artists from Fanime I admired.

When I finally started my education in my art program in college, I started getting the proper training in lighting, form, and composition. This time period my pieces were more western-influenced, like more realistic faces and body proportions, but there was something missing in it that I wouldn’t understand until after I graduated. It’s around the same time when I wanted to do artist alleys full time that I was more true to myself in the style and got more flashy, more colorful and composition.

EJEN : How do you decide what Alley to apply for. What’s your personal criteria for conventions to do artist alley at?

BURNTGREENTEA: Local cons are usually easy for me to decide to apply for due to the cost being low(transportation, housing, etc). If there’s anything that involves flying out of state, I have to factor in much more information about the con, personal experiences from other artists, and if it is viable for an anime fan artist to break even and also turn a profit. Usually big conventions like Anime Expo and Otakon are the must go to conventions for their huge attendance numbers.

EJEN: Describe to me a typical day in the Alley!

BURNTGREENTEA: Due to the times right now, it seems like almost a dream to be in an artist alley, haha. Here’s a usual day of being in the Alley: Waking up early to get ready, getting breakfast and caffeine before heading inside a convention.

Usually getting there early, either me or some art friends would walk around the Alley and check out other artists before it’s open to the public. There would be some art friends I made along the way that I can catch up with briefly, chatting about the next shows or projects. I would have probably stayed up kinda late working on physical commissions and would need to go back to my table to continue finishing them up.

When the Alley opens up, it’s mostly engaging and talking with familiar customers or friends, while also working on commissions during the down times. Friends would go on food or snack runs, and I would get an hour to go shopping during the day somewhere as a break.

By the time it ends, it would have felt like it had gone in a flash. But with heavy eyes but our hearts full with a day accomplished. If we had the strength, we would check out an event or explore the convention hall abit more to absorb the atmosphere. Getting dinner with friends after a job well done, while we have another day to look forward to spending time with fans alike.

It’s really nostalgic to reflect on a typical day to be in the Alley, and having to have that all stop for almost a year now.

EJEN: Since the pandemic, how are you coping with this change both personally and business-wise?

BURNTGREENTEA: I was honestly hoping conventions would come back around at the end of May, but that never happened so I had to approach things differently. Luckily I had a freelance gig that I was working part time, so I had a semi-regular income on the side while I applied for virtual conventions and commissions.

It was tough since I wanted 2020 to be the year I would do the most conventions ever but that plan derailed. I also focused on my online shop and my social media presence, which so far is paying off!

Like everyone this year took a mental and physical toll, but I also ended up working on more projects and digital work to help keep me distracted.

EJEN: What are your plans for the future, what are you working on?

BURNTGREENTEA: My goal is still to go back to doing conventions, but at the moment I’m going to give that a pause. Currently I have a contract job that’s ending soon, and I have something that’s NDA that might come up, crossing my fingers! That’s the near future, but for the time being I want to refocus on learning new things and refining my art since I’ve gotten rusty.

EJEN: Finally who is your waifu?

BURNTGREENTEA: My waifu is Lucina from Fire Emblem!

Visit BurntGreenTea’s Etsy!

#artist alley #artist alley interview

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raendown · 4 years

Link

I was bribed in to this by @rookie-d and @sleepysenseis and I regret nothing. Show some love to Rookie’s art for this au as well!

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Word count: 1893 Rated: G Summary: Owning and running a bakery with his husband isn't exactly where he thought life would take him but Tobirama wouldn't trade this for the world.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Patissier-pation Award

The familiar chime of a bell greeted him first as he walked through the front door, eyes down to inspect the mail he had gathered on his way in. Mostly junk, a couple of bills, and a letter that he would bet his entire bank account had come from Hashirama. He would know those graceless spiky letters anywhere. Off on some nature retreat for the past month, there was little doubt this letter would be filled with the same rambling nonsense as the last one had been, lengthy descriptions of the woman he had apparently fallen in love with at first sight.

Under the hum of halogen lights and the ever present smell of baked goods Tobirama could hear a slight groaning sound that made him smile. Instead of going to look for the source right away he continued to flip through the mail until he had sorted junk from bills, slipping behind the till counter to put everything in its right place. Running their own shop was hard work some days but always worth it in the end. While he was there he tidied a few receipts from the day before and used a nearby rag to wipe off a bit of icing probably smeared around by a customer’s child. Only when he was satisfied that everything was in order did he finally turn to look at the plush couch set just a little ways apart from the rest of the seating area. During peak hours the various armchairs and stools were usually filled with people taking a few minutes to enjoy the treats they had just purchased.

Since right now was not peak hours the only person to be found was Madara, stretched out across the couch that Tobirama had quietly purchased just for moments like these. A fond smile touched his lips as he watched his favorite idiot rub at a full belly with furrowed brows.

“How many of those tarts actually made it on to the shelves?” Tobirama called out to him with a lightly scolding tone.

“Most of them!” Madara shot back. Then he groaned again while both hands paused to delicately cup his stomach. “I could have sworn I only ate a few. Just to taste test. Quality checking is important!”

“I see.”

The argument might have been a bit more believable if Madara didn’t use the same one every time he overindulged in his own products. He was the one who initially came up with the idea for the two of them to open their own bakery and Tobirama supposed he should have known then that doing so would lead to regular episodes like this one. His husband was an amazing patissier but he was also his own biggest fan. Or his stomach was, at least, and Madara had never been known for denying whatever his stomach wanted.

“Did you by any chance happen to find time to finish the Sarutobi order before you took your little snack break?”

“Of course I did,”’ Madara huffed. Generously sacrificing one hand for a moment, he pointed imperiously towards the order counter where there indeed were three boxes with the shop logo printed on the front stacked neatly together and tied with ribbon. Inside there would be a dozen cupcakes each with, if Tobirama was remembering currently, blue icing and rainbow sprinkles arranged to spell out the recipient’s name. A fairly simple order. He wasn’t surprised Madara had finished the whole thing while he was gone, though he was surprised there had been enough time left over to gorge on the tarts he’d put in the oven before he left.

Since he trusted his partner Tobirama didn’t offer the insult of going to check the order. Instead he mentally checked it off his list of things to do before heading in to the back to go wash his hands. There was still another order he needed to get a start on, although most of it would have to be finished tomorrow. He was fairly sure they wouldn’t have enough icing until their shipment arrived the next morning.

A quick peek in to the fridge on his way by confirmed his suspicions. Although they still had a tub each of pink and white, yellow was running low and the red was all but entirely gone. If he tried to decorate anything he might have enough to use red for a couple of accents but certainly not enough to cover several dozen cookies in the pattern the order called for. It was a good thing all this wasn’t due to be picked up until late tomorrow.

Hands clean, Tobirama tied an apron around his middle and began pulling out the ingredients necessary for making his specialty gingerbread, one of the quickest selling items on their menu every winter. When he was younger he never would have believed that life would take him here. As a child he’d mostly been obsessed with science and little else. Most of his career dreams had centered around NASA or biochemical research, plans for changing the world with his magnificent discoveries. Now he co-owned a bakery with his husband and spent most of his days rolling dough or decorating cakes, all in between manning the till and watching children’s faces light up as they picked out which treat they wanted to take home. It was hardly the auspicious career he’d always imagined but it was a good life, full and happy, one that he wouldn’t trade for anything. Not even for the trips to outer space he used to dream about.

So lost in his own musings was he that it felt as though he’d only just begun mixing the dough when he looked down and found row upon row of perfectly shaped cookies all laid out before him. Some were made to look like people, some like trees, and others still were laid out in thick flat sheets with which he would later build a house. Gingerbread was always quite fun to work with. A quick count told him that he already had everything he needed as well as a couple of spares in case one or two of them burnt in the oven yet there was still just a bit of dough left over.

With a whimsical smile he reached for his tools again and began to shape a new pair of cookies.

Baking gingerbread didn’t take all that long, almost as much time as it took for them to cool once they were back out of the oven, and as he packaged everything to keep it safe for tomorrow he set his final two creations aside. It may have been a whim but he’d never sent anything out of this kitchen that hadn’t received his full effort and he wasn’t about to now. There was, after all, just enough red icing left - not to mention plenty of black.

Madara was still draped across the couch in the front shop when Tobirama came out to check on him, one of their fancier order boxes in hand. The bellyache appeared to have passed and instead pulled the man down in to a light food coma. Long dark lashes fluttered against pale cheeks when Tobirama bent to stroke one of them, rousing his husband from what looked to a very peaceful if possibly undeserved nap.

“Mnng? I wasn’t asleep.”

“Your snoring tells another story.”

“T-that wasn’t snoring! I was just humming a song under my breath!”

Lifting one eyebrow, Tobirama shook his head. “Mhm, very convincing.”

“Shut up! What’s that? I didn’t think we had anything else going out today. Did I forget something?” Madara frowned and his eyes grew distant as he went over their orders for the week in his head.

Rather than let him suffer Tobirama simply placed the box in his lap.

“You forgot to greet me properly when I came back from running errands but I’ll forgive you for that just this once. These are for you, if you’ve still got room in your belly.”

“Oh?”

Always intrigued by the promise of more sweets, Madara plucked at the edge of the box to pull the tab keeping it closed out of its slot. He lifted the lid with an almost childish expression of anticipation that morphed in to a graceless full-mouthed gawk when he spotted the gift inside. Much to Tobirama’s horror, he caught sight of what looked to be tears gathering in his husband’s eye.

“Is that...us?”

“Yes it is.”

“We’re holding hands. And you gave yourself a little fur collar just like your favorite jacket!”

Tobirama rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck. He really liked that jacket. “A little extra detail never hurt anyone,” he murmured as though in protest.

He was mortified to see Madara cradle the cookies in one palm so he could use his other hand to gently stroke the little red icing lines marking where Tobirama had tattooed his own face during a rebellious youth. The number of times Madara had given those marks the same gentle attention were uncountable and it never failed to draw a little color in to his cheeks, embarrassed that his heart could be so softened by such a simple gesture.

“Just eat them and go back to moaning about your belly,” he grumbled even as he leaned in to the touch. Madara huffed at him in amusement.

“What brought this on, hm? I feel like I’m being rewarded for something.”

“It was a whim and nothing more.”

Something about that seemed the right thing to say as Madara puffed up like he’d been complimented, as though being gifted cookies made out of leftover dough were the greatest gesture of love.

“Thinking about me, were you?” his husband asked with a sly undertone.

“I am always thinking of you,” Tobirama admitted. It was true so he saw no reason to deny it.

Madara blinked once. “Oh. Well...I’m always thinking of you too. So there!”

Both of them blushing and flustered, two silly little gingerbread men still held ever so carefully in one of Madara’s palms, Tobirama was eternally grateful there were no customers in the shop to witness the disgustingly sweet scene they were surely making. With a rough clearing of his throat he pulled away and cast his eyes anywhere else in the room.

“Right,” he said gruffly, “eat your cookies. I’m going to go take inventory so we can call in another supply order tomorrow.” Spinning on his heel relieved him of the sight of his beloved husband cradling such precious if silly gifts but it did not spare him the sound of a quiet voice trailing after his rapid footsteps.

“I love you.”

Tobirama wrinkled his nose against the wave of mushy feelings in his chest until the urge to turn around and throw himself down on the couch with his partner had faded. He stepped out with purpose, with dignity, with every intention of going to make himself useful for the rest of the afternoon. But he did pause in the doorway to the kitchen long enough to turn his head to one side.

“Love you too,” he murmured.

It felt like capitulation but, then, Madara had already won his heart many years before and the life they’d built together would always be sweeter than any treat he could bake for himself.

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #modern au #bakery au #fanfiction #yes the title is a pun #would you expect anything less???#i considered two other puns as well xD

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yeslahrt · 3 years

Text

Commission Details & TOS

The prices indicated on my commission sheet are base prices for the examples shown on the graphic. Here is more information to help clear up any additional question you may have. Once I am commissioned, it will be assumed that you have read through the information below!

WHAT I WILL DRAW:

Animals! I can draw a variety of animals and would love to have more practice to expand on my portfolio.

Mythical animals! I will do my best to illustrate your fantasy animal.

Monsters! I will take a stab at drawing your weird creature and make it look awesome.

D&D characters! Anthros! If it has a skeleton, I will do my best to draw what you want.

Yes, I am open to drawing sensual illustrations per my taste.

WHAT I WILL NOT DRAW:

I am still working on gaining more experience with using perspective, therefore I will not draw mech. One day, though.

I do not have the experience to draw gore.

I do not have the experience to draw chibis.

No, I will not draw pron for you.

WHAT TO EXPECT...

INQUIRIES & ORDERS: All clients should tell me everything that I need for your quote. If the client is too vague, I may not be able to accurately portray the character in the same fashion as you would like. (See below for info regarding references). Once we are ready to move forward, you will receive an invoice at the PayPal email you provide me.

I will not start working on your commission until the invoice is paid. If the invoice is not paid within 72 hours, I will send a confirmation of cancellation of your commission and discard your project. You will then have to wait until I have slots available again.

Repeated offenders will be denied service and potentially banned from my services.

Responsibility of following copyright notices and laws will fall solely on the client. Please do your own research and due diligence when commissioning licensed characters that do not belong to you. *

WHAT I NEED FROM YOU:

PayPal Email: (Please note that I only take USDs.)

Commercial or Personal Use? (If commercial, please explain.)

Printed and Framed? (Yes, I can have your illustration printed, framed, and sent to you for additional costs.)

Type of Illustration: (Please tell me what to illustrate for you. IE: Icon, extra small (XSm) portrait, regular portrait, half body, full body, etc.)

Do you want flat color for your illustration? (+$10 for regular portraits, +$15 for half body, +$20 for full body illustrations)

Do you want full color and shading? (+$30 for regular portraits, +$40 for half body, +$50 for full body illustrations)

More characters? Additional characters per illustration START at half cost as a base idea, but prices will vary depending on your commission and how much added work it will be.

Quick Personality: (Used to get a sense of the character I will be illustrating.)

Extra additions? (Do you want them smiling? Crying? Serious? What do you want them doing, if applicable?)

Do you have references? (If yes, I will ask you to email them to my business account. Do not send them to me via Tumblr.)

REFERENCE GUIDELINES

Please send me pictures of your character(s) for reference! Things to consider: potential hairstyles, outfits, color palettes, preferred skin tone, other illustrations of your character that you commissioned from other artists, etc. Anything to better help me portray your character correctly is good.

I also need a few words about their personality for setting a mood for your character. This should be no more than three sentences max.

If you have a pose in mind, please reference the pose. Otherwise I will take artistic freedom with the rough sketch.

WARNING: Do not send me a link to your toyhouse or website where I have to get the references myself. Otherwise you risk your inquiry being rejected.

Yes, I am okay with clients sharing a google folder of references specific to your commission with me.

WiPs & WORK PROCESS

You, the client, will receive periodic WiPs of the initial rough sketch that will lay down the foundation of your commission. This is the time for you to tell me if there are any major concerns or adjustments that should be made to avoid incurring additional work fees.

You will eventually be asked to confirm the rough sketch before I begin working on finalizing the line work and illustration. Once confirmed, minor details can be requested to be altered and changed, but the main part of the illustration will not be altered without incurring additional fees.

Once the line work has been finalized, I will begin working on adding flat colors. I strongly recommend you to send me color palettes if you are very particular, otherwise I will take artistic freedom with the illustration. You will again be sent a WiP to make any color corrections. If any of the flat colors are off, this is the time to tell me before I finish your commission with the final shading.

POST PERIOD OF REVISION: I will make minor alterations within reason after the first 72 hours of completion. Any changes that require me to go back and rework the line art, which will lead to me fixing colors/shading, (ex: a different outfit) you will incur an additional 50% - 75% of the original commission cost.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: If you are having me design your character for the first time and your thought process is exceptionally particular concerning your character, you may incur an additional 30% conceptual design fee for the additional time I will spend with you to make the actualization of your character the best it can be.

DELIVERY OF COMMISSION: I will send you an email with a link to your finished commission (usually via Google drive). Unless you have specifically requested for a printed and framed bundle, there will be no physical product or merchandise exchange.

WHAT ABOUT DEADLINES?

The client is more than welcome to suggest a date that they may need the commission to be completed by. Depending on the type of turnaround you are requesting, you will be charged a rush fee of 35 - 50% of the original cost of the commission.

Otherwise the commission will be done in the order received and you may be given a rough estimate of when the work should be started. The completion of the project will take between 1 week and 2 months, give or take, once you have been notified that the work has started.

ART SCHEDULE & SOCIAL MEDIA

Please be aware that I hold a job outside of social media. I sadly do not have a set schedule for my job. I find my creative drive spontaneous throughout the day, therefore I do not have a predictable drawing schedule. If you wish to watch me draw, then you can find the link in my bio to follow me.

Sadly, because of Tumblr's algorithms of hiding/shadow banning posts, I cannot add a link to it here for your convenience. All I can say is if you have the ITCH to watch me draw, you know where to find me, if ya' catch my drift? 'Eh? 'Eh?

ADDITIONAL FEES

If you, the client, are requesting thorough concept art of your character, which include reference sheets alongside of an illustration, I will ask for an additional fee for the service I will provide when spending extra time making sure that your new character is just right and providing a character reference sheet.

As a rule, I always add my watermark to a small portion of every commission that will not hinder your view of the work. If you wish to have a file without my watermark, please expect an additional fee added to your commission price. Personal use only.

If you wish for a high-quality illustration for printing, please expect an additional 50% minimum fee added to your commission. Personal use only.

The print-and-frame bundle will incur additional costs and time. Please contact me for more details.

CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS

Every client has the right to cancel their commission any time before I START work on their commission. Other refunds may be issued based on client relation, otherwise all payments are non-refundable once I have started work on your commission.

I also reserve the right to cancel your commission for any reason, for which you will see a refund if you have paid.

HOWEVER: If I terminate your commission due to the harassment of myself or my followers on social media, racially charged behavior or hate speech, threats of violence, obsessive or otherwise disturbing behavior... YOU WILL NOT GET A REFUND REGARDLESS OF THE STATUS OF YOUR COMMISSION.

I reserve the right to refuse your inquiry and/or commission for any reason I feel necessary. If I refuse your commission inquiry, please do not inquire about said commission again in the future.

— TERMS OF SERVICE —

MY RIGHTS — My right as an artist grants ownership of the copyright of my artwork. I do not however claim ownership of a client’s character or ownership of characters from television shows, movies, games, books, etc. In addition, I control the display and exhibition of my work, and the distribution of the work. Clients and/or followers cannot:

Re-post my work without my written consent.

Use my work for their Wattpad novel colors.

Upload my work on other social media platforms without my written consent.

Claim my work as their own, even if it's a commissioned piece.

Use my work with the intention to redistribute, promote themselves, generate revenue off of my work, or take away from my bottom line. I am a business owner and my artwork is my brand.

PERSONAL USE TERMS — As default, all commissions will be assumed that they are for the client’s personal use and enjoyment. Any intention to use my work in any way that may promote you, generate revenue, or that will redistribute my work will require a commercial user license.

COMMERCIAL USE TERMS — If you would like to commission artwork from me in a way that will promote you, generate revenue, or that will redistribute my work, (such as, and not limited to: promotional material, merchandise, raffles, giveaways, indie games) will require you to sign an official agreement. Commercial based commissions have different fees. Once signed, my illustrations will not include any watermarks and will come to you with a high-quality resolution. This will not allow you to change, edit, or repurpose my illustrations and I will ask you to credit me for my work in some form. You are required to clearly state if your commission will be used commercially.

Extended License — This license is an agreement that will grant the client full ownership of your commissioned artwork. You will receive my work with no watermarks, at a high-quality resolution, and you will be able to edit, change, repurpose, redistribute the product at your leisure with no credit to me as the artist is so desired.

Licenses are not eligible for discounts. Non-negotiable.

Again, responsibility of following copyright notices and laws will fall solely on the client. Please do your own research and due diligence when commissioning licensed characters that do not belong to you.

— DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION —

I acknowledge that I sometimes collect sensitive information from my clients. You have a right to privacy. I do not collect, sell, or otherwise give out your personal information. Your inquiries and orders are confidential unless I feel a reasonable threat is being made and/or must report such information to the authorities.

If the client requests that I do not display their commission in my online portfolio, I will respect that request to the best of my abilities. However please understand that I reserve the right to print and display my artwork for my physical portfolio and that your request will not extend to my physical gallery unless other arrangements have been made.

#commissions #commission info #commission sheet #commission tos #tos #terms of service

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ravenforce · 4 years

Text

Ithaca Pt. 2

Word Count: 2031

Warning/s: None

A/N: Hey loves, a deal is a deal. You got part one to over a hundred notes, so here’s part two. Natasha’s playing a huge part on this arc. So, I thought it’ll be good for you to get to know her in this alternate universe. Let me know what you think of it in my inbox or the comment section. Xx

PS. If there are any grammatical mistakes I’ve still overlooked, I apologize.

Parts: 1 | 3 | 4 | 5

***

5:30 AM

The alarm clock on Natasha’s bedside table reads. She blinked twice at it before sighing. She woke up earlier than her alarm again, not that she’s actually excited to go to school. Today, she’s actually supposed to tour the new transfer student, which is, by the way, is not her job as the Student Council President but Clint is out of commission for the week for some Intercollegiate archery competition in Washington DC. So, as President, she had to step in and do it.

‘At least, this is gonna be different from yesterday’, she thought to herself as she rolls out of bed.

Living in Ithaca since she’s a child meant Natasha knew the city like the back of her hand, knew almost every single family in town and went to school with the same kids since the beginning of her existence. It also meant being friends with founding family kids like the Odinsons, Tony Stark, Clint Barton, and Steve Rogers since forever ago. She was the only girl in their group until Carol Danvers moved in when they were eight. Maria transferred to their school and was easily adapted to their crew when they were thirteen. The last addition to their gang was Valkyrie and Wanda, who migrated somewhere from Europe when they’re fifteen.

Six years after, a new person arrives in Ithaca. The school didn’t give her a lot of information regarding the new student, only that it is a woman and Stark level intelligent. She tried to dig up info on her own, and thankfully she didn’t have to go far for a source since apparently the new girl is close friends with Tony and best friends with Maria. Maria is one busy nerd to track down though, and they don’t share a lot of classes together. So, Natasha wasn’t able to get too many details from her aside from a departing comment.

“Relax, Nat. She’s amazing; smart but not obnoxious like Tony,” Maria said before practically running towards her next class. She considers herself pretty intrigued.

‘How can someone be as smart as Tony and not be obnoxious? That sounds like an oxymoron,’ Natasha thought to herself.

***

6:00 AM

Natasha is the only founding family kid who liked being awake at the wee hours of the morning. She likes getting ahead of everybody, and she thinks better when the world is still asleep. So, being in school at the crack of dawn isn’t new too for anyone. Even the groundskeepers let her nowadays.

“Good Morning, Miss Romanoff,” the old security lady at the studio greeted her.

“Good Morning, Mrs. Miller,” Natasha smiled before logging in her credentials.

“Early start today?” Mrs. Miller asked politely and jovially.

“Yes, Clint is away for a tournament. So I have to give the grounds tour to the transfer student later,” Nat explained with a smile. Mrs. Miller didn’t respond and just waved Natasha inside.

Natasha’s been doing ballet ever since she can remember. At first, she was doing it because her family wanted her to and all of the founding family children are doing one extracurricular activity every after school. Thor has been sailing since he learned how to walk, Loki, on the other hand, preferred fencing. Clint tried equestrian for awhile but his heart and talents were really in archery. Steve got so good in lacrosse that he ended up with a sports scholarship playing one. Tony chose chess because he deemed contact sports barbaric; he believes the battle of the wits is better than a physical brawl, which Steve always take as an offense.

Being the only girl in their group, Natasha decided that ballet is her yoga. The boys know not to come within a hundred yards of the studio whenever Natasha’s practicing. Ballet has become Natasha’s sanctuary away from the noise and the usual ruckus of the boys. She shed everything inside the studio but today, Natasha finds it nearly impossible to focus on the movements and the music. Her thoughts keep drifting to the conversation she had with Tony the day prior about the new student.

“Nat, what are you fuzzing about? It’s just a school tour,” Tony complained. He was tinkering around his home lab when Natasha arrived and being a regular visitor, she was allowed to roam and look for Tony herself.

“I just wanna know what she looks like. So I know who to look for in the morning crowd,” she whined.

Tony put his stuff down, pull the safety goggles off his face and looked at his friend. If Nat has been any other girl, she would have melted in the way Tony was looking at her.

“Oh, trust me, you won’t miss her,” Tony said simply before smiling and walking out of his lab. “She’s breathtaking, in more ways than just physical.”

Natasha groaned and scrambled to follow her friend and bug him for more information.

***

7:00 AM

Natasha cut her practice short since she couldn’t focus. She showered and got ready in record time. She was leaning against the handrail of the front steps of the school, scrolling through her Instagram feed when she looked up and saw a face she didn’t know. Her fingers hovered over her phone mid-swipe, thankfully she had enough grace at that moment not to have her mouth hanging open as she gaped at the transfer student. She’s wearing a very preppy outfit, which wasn’t really Natasha’s style or the style girls she usually goes after but something about this girl that makes her stomach flutter with nervous butterflies.

“Y/N Y/L/N?” she asked, all trace of her nervousness gone when the girl came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.

“Who’s asking?” the girl asked.

Natasha watched the girl take her in. She reined in the urge to squirm under the Y/N’s eyes. For God’s sake, she’s Natasha Romanoff. Various girls all over town wants her, she’s by no means gonna squirm under a stranger’s beautiful eyes.

“Natasha Romanoff. Student Council President,” she introduced herself confidently to take back control. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Natasha smirked as the new girl blushed profusely before smiling up at her. “Pleasure is all mine,” she said.

‘Breathtaking is an understatement’ she thought to herself when she saw Y/N’ smile. Natasha’s not a sap, she doesn’t plan on being one but at that moment, she thought she’d do anything to make you smile at her every day.

“I’m here to give you the grounds tour,” Natasha explained before pulling the door open and prompting you to walk with her.

Usually, when she had to cover grounds tour for Clint, Natasha almost always wraps it up under forty-five minutes. She just points which buildings houses which classes, where the important areas are such as the library and the mess hall. Today, with you by her side, Natasha found herself giving her first, in-depth school tour. Literally giving out facts and even stupid trivia when she remembers it.

Natasha walked as leisurely as possible to prolong her time with you but she knew you have a 9 AM class. And she might not be as nerdy as Tony but she’s not gonna skip class, let alone make you on your first day of school.

***

8:30 AM

Natasha’s one of the quiet ones in her crew that’s why she get along spectacularly with Maria. Both of you filled the walk towards the art building with polite small talk about which classes you two take, how you finished a degree at eighteen and in one of the toughest schools in the country at that, and how you’re friends with Maria and Tony. God, Natasha didn’t want the tour to end. She didn’t want you to stop talking, which is new because Natasha finds it annoying when people don’t know when to shut up. She wants to get to know you more.

Her heart sunk a little when she caught you discreetly glancing at your watch but by the number of kids watching the two of you in the hallway, she knew that class is fast approaching. She decided to be a little playful.

“Oh,” Natasha gasped and frowned. “Am I boring you?” she asked quietly.

“What?!” you exclaimed, earning a few curious looks from students in the hallway.

Natasha watched the emotions play out across your face, and she thought you’re even more fascinating. She’s been friends all her life with Tony, another Mensa student, another genius. She thought you’d be obnoxiously cool and a little indifferent like him but in the past hour and a half, Natasha found you brilliant but not condescending, warm, and empathetic.

“No, no, you’re not boring. I was just wondering if I’m allowed to skip the first period on my first day of school because this is by far the coolest school tour I’ve ever done,” you rambled on.

Natasha couldn’t help but grin. If she paid attention to anyone else other than you, she would have noticed several students openly gawking at the toothy smile on her face. Natasha’s reputation was not built on being chummy with just anyone, especially new kids. But she wasn’t looking, she could only look at you. She will be caught dead before she admits to having a school girl crush at first meet but at that moment, in that crowded hallway, she decided she definitely likes you. She just has to find out if she has a fighting chance.

“You’re cute when you ramble,” she said matter-of-factly. “And no, you’re not allowed to skip the first period because you’re here.”

“Oh,” you said before glancing at the classroom door.

Natasha took a step towards you and tucked a stray hair behind your ear. “See you later, Y/L/N,” she said slowly, watching the blush crept up from your neck before dusting your cheeks.

‘Beautiful, so beautiful,’ she thought before turning on her heels and gracefully walking away.

“Blushing doesn’t mean she’s gay. Maybe she’s just the shy type, I can work with that,” she murmured to herself while walking to her classroom. She looked up when she heard soft muttering in front of her.

“Danvers!” she growled. Carol’s pressing a girl between her toned body and the wall.

Carol didn’t even have to look to know who it is that interrupted her. She knows that voice anywhere. “Tasha,” she said sweetly.

Natasha didn’t smile, she only continued to glare until the girl pushed Carol away and scrambled to get to her classroom. Carol swipe a hand through her hair before turning towards her friend. Natasha glanced at her watch.

“You’re ten minutes late already,” Nat started. “And your class is on the other side of the campus.”

Carol ignored the fact that Natasha still knows her schedule. She walked towards the redhead until she’s toe to toe with Natasha. Natasha didn’t step back, she’s used to Carol always invading her personal space.

“I got that class in the bag, Tasha. Relax,” Carol whispered before leaning in, kissing Natasha close to her mouth, and running away.

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jq37 · 5 years

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The Report Card -- Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 1

Sophomores and Spring Break

Note: Hey guys! I decided to try something a little bit different and slightly more structured than my usual recaps for FH: Sophomore Year. I’m hoping this will be a little easier for me and a more useful tool for keeping up to date since there will be a lot more eps to keep track of and they’ll be easier to miss. Lemme know what you think and if you want raw, unfiltered opinions on anything specific, feel free to send me an ask. I’m always down to go off about literally whatever.

We’re back, baby! It is Sophomore Year at Aguefort and the gang is on Spring Break. A lot is going down so lemme break it down. The Bad Kids, having defeated Kalvaxus last year, are all entitled to a share of his hoard and all the red tape is finally cleared so they all get 20k gold each (which is an insane amount of money converted to USD if you use the WOTC conversion rate of a gold coin being around $145 (circa 2006 when they answered the question)--which would be close to $330 with inflation). Jawbone and Sandra-Lynn are moving in after less than a year into a profoundly haunted house and it’s kind of a Full House situation because Adaine, Fig, Kristen, and Tracker all officially live there (plus it seems that Zayn has also anchored himself to Adaine’s tower--btw, Adaine took the tower that the haunted house obviously has) and you know all the other Bad Kids are gonna be there on the regular.

More importantly, Aguefort gives the gang their big project for the year--finding the crown of the Nightmare King which was stolen at the end of last season--which is worth 60% of their grade (Adaine does a full Hermione at this information). Each of the gang has info about the NK but the trail has mostly gone cold. Luckily, Fabian just got a hot tip about where Falinel is keeping Aelwyn and she seems like a pretty good lead to start with since she was super tied up in the bad side of all the messiness of last year. Adaine is displeased to say the least.

Going off to find the crown is super exciting story-wise for two reasons. First of all, it means the gang gets to hire, well, hirelings to help them and temporarily join the party! They ping basically every cool NPC they can think of (except for Tracker for some reason which is BONKERS because (1) she probably would have done it for free and cutting her in would still be keeping the money in the family, (2) she’s dope as hell, (3) she’s a cleric and the party can always use more healers, (4) she’s a werewolf so presumably she has skills that would help in the woods, and (5) they’re t r a c k i n g down a crown and the girl’s name is literally T R A C K E R, but I will not backseat D&D) and eventually end up with Ragh (who has been without an adventuring party all year, poor guy), Sandra-Lynn (swayed by a nat 20 rolled by Fig), Cathilda (!?) ,and, for some reason, Gilear (which Fabian is happy about, mainly for the opportunity to maybe bump him off on the way). Second of all, if you recall, Elmville is a pretty modern town but the rest of the continent is less fantasy high, more high fantasy. Horses and lanterns and all that pseudo-medieval goodness. They are gonna stick out like a sore thumb. I am very here for it.

Everyone goes home to rest up but, after some ominous dreams, only four of them wake up. Riz and Fig are left asleep and then Brennan mic drops and ends the episode which is a power move and I am extremely upset about it but also, respect. Right for the jugular immediately. I heard Murph and Emily are on tour in the UK next week which probably has something to do with this but, in the moment, I did not know that and I really felt the hammer drop in my heart. It was wild. Cannot wait to see where we go from here. Plus, who doesn’t love watching characters freak out because their friends are in danger?

Random Thoughts

I have no idea what the title of this episode is or if it’ll even have one and not a number but I gave it a placeholder one for now. I also don’t have access to the stream yet so I didn’t get to include some info I wanted to (like a record of nat 20s, and nat 1s so I can track their stats for the school year) and I probably missed some stuff because my brain can only hold so much info guys. I’m not Brennan.

I mentioned this yesterday during the stream, but there will never be anything better than the pure D&D joy of everyone, in character, talking over each other to clown on each other. They get the friend-group banter that’s a hair breadth’s away from bullying so true to life and it’s so fun to watch. On the flip side, the opening scene with everyone introducing themselves and affirmatively claiming each other as their best friends was also peak D&D. Found family= best trope.

Fig and Adaine burn spell-slots at basically the same time to try and beat each other to the best room in the (Scooby-Doo ass) house--which is exactly the kind of thing that would happen in this world. It’s such an intuitive setting. I love it so much. (BTW, Fig ends up staying in the false space under the revolving grand piano because, of course).

Fabian and Gorgug went to recruit Ragh, who assumed they were propositioning him for a three-way. In his defense, they did do it in a super proposition-y way and they were in the middle of the LGBTQ student union.

Also, Gorgug gives Ragh an inspiring speech about thinking you’re your own dad which makes him burst into tears.

Speaking of, Jawbone offhandedly says he’s poly but, like, based on some of the stuff he’s said, I feel like that’s not really a reveal. He also gets along well with Gorthalax and would be down w/ a three-way if Sandra-Lynn wanted to which, again, totally checks out.

Arthur Aguefort uses Chronomancy to rewind time and catch a snide comment Adaine made under her breath, which is exactly the kind of frivolous use of God-like power I’d expect from him.

I really love Adaine’s energy coming into this season. She’s in therapy. She’s in a good home environment. She’s comfortable enough with her friend group to do stuff like prank Fig (love that they’re gonna be living together now). And she’s good friends with Zayn now which I want to see more of based on their one interaction in this ep which was very cute. I am already on record as saying I would be down with her getting a ghost boyfriend--I mean, for the aesthetic alone--but I’d be happy with just more friendship.

Fabian is also hilarious this season because you can tell he’s gone a bit soft from having friends and leaning into that (the friendship necklace with Riz) but also he’s fully aware that it’s happening so he’s, like, ping-ponging back and forth like, “These are my friends,” and, “What am I saying? I used to be cool,” and it’s very funny. Very happy the Aelwyn storyline is happening right out of the gate, both because I think Aelwyn is a very interesting character with a lot of potential for nuance but also because Fabian reacting to her and Adaine reacting to Fabian reacting to her is always gold.

Prompted by an offhand conversation from Fig about rock and roll, Brennan--earning another feather for his Cap of God Tier DMing--goes on an impromptu five minute long improved diatribe about a bard who played such a good concert that it instantly impregnated everyone in attendance (dudes too) who gave birth to kids with sick rocker hair and denim jackets and ascended to Rock Heaven on their 18th Birthday. You truly have to watch it to believe it. At a certain point I thought he was gonna drop it but that was the moment he doubled down and kept going. Amazing.

Watching Murph, in real time, make up a girl/boy/whateverfriend in Fantasy Canada was a gift.��

I don’t have access to the stream yet but best quote of the night that I can remember is Kristen choosing her room: This is triggering and I’ll take it. (Her line about her lesbian starter kit and the one about wanting a horse were also bangers).

The group talks about what they’re going to do for transportation outside of Elmsville since they don’t really use cars out there and they somehow get from “disguise Fig’s tour bus” to “commission Aguefort to create a brand new animal that can hold six people plus hirelings, one of which is Fabian who is also riding his motorbike”.

I love that Sandra-Lynn’s Mom Powers work on Tracker.

Basrar doesn’t accept the invitation to come with on the quest, but he does give Kristen a bag of infinite ice cream sandwiches, which is basically just as good, IMO.

Oh Gilear. The man is sleeping in the Seacaster garage, being bullied by skater kids, and now he’s stuck on this quest with his ex and Fabian who actively wants him dead.

Speaking of, I’m psyched to see more of Sandra-Lynn. She was kind of a sleeper badass at the end of last season.

Ragh is keeping secrets which I hope the cast doesn’t forget because it could be nothing serious (like the high school drama happening with Skrank and the 7 maidens--maybe he’s just crushing on Gorgug who did full kiss him during Promocalypse) or it could be Serious Business that will blow up if the don’t stay on top of it. We’ll see.

Oh, almost forgot. Adaine wants an emotional support frog. Every time I think I can’t love her more.

Detention

Fig for Not Respecting Personal Boundaries

Fig goes full Emily right out the gate and, after finding out that Skrank (nerdy bird dude who apparently can get it) was not only dating Ostentasia (rich, popular dwarf) but also dumped her in pursuit of Danielle Barkstock (one of Ostentasia’s party members, the scandal), disguises herself as him with Danielle to figure out what’s going on. And, wouldn't you know it, when she gives herself away, Danielle immediately is shocked and appalled, as you would be, obviously. We also learn that she’s still catfishing Dr. Asha which is, how you say, for sure a crime. Fig, please, I’m begging you. Cease.

Honor Roll

Fig, Riz, and Adaine for Researching the Nightmare King

Fig made both lists, look at that. Wasn’t my plan for this to be a three-way tie (also didn’t expect to use the word “three-way” this many times in this writeup) but I think their contributions were pretty much equally valuable. Rainsolo on the Discord wrote up this summary of the lore dump Brennan gave them.

#fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #the report card #report card

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fromwinnipeg2everywhere · 4 years

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Winnipeg is Good: Support Local Businesses!

My husband and I love to dine out and all of our favourite places are small, locally owned restaurants. I also enjoy posting pictures of food on Instagram, and though it may seem a tacky habit in the eyes of some people, for me it is my way of showing appreciation and support for the restaurant. Whenever I post something, I am hoping that it encourages other people to try that place or make them aware that it even exists in the first place!

The local restaurant industry is one of the hardest hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. Restaurants, with their razor-thin margins, depend on customers to stay afloat, and with everyone stuck at home, the sad reality is that there is a lot of laid-off restaurant staff, and local restaurant owners are having to find creative ways to keep their doors open. Instead of closing their doors, some restaurants have pivoted to delivery/pickup only services, some are selling pre-prepared meals to heat at home, and some like King’s Head Pub and Bodegoes have re-opened as a grocery-delivery service. My husband and I are making an effort to support the local restaurants by still ordering delivery/pickup with the hope that whatever little support we can give help them make it to other side of these crazy times. How else can you support restaurants during the pandemic? Follow them on Instagram, buy gift cards, order directly from them and do pickup if you can (food delivery services such as Skip and Doordash pretty much eats what little profit restaurants make in commissions), and tip generously!

Even before the pandemic, we made a conscious effort to support locally owned businesses and restaurants. Of course, not everything (or everyone) local is good (ahem, Nygard and Fun Mountain) so do your research, but I can say with certainty that everything good is local! There are many reasons to support local businesses. Many of our local businesses pay living wages. What does that mean? It means, yes, you will have to pay a little bit more for your coffee or your donut or your book, but that also means you are supporting a business that ensure their staff are paid fairly. Many of our local businesses and restaurants focus on sustainability – for example, they use environmentally friendly containers and they support local growers, farmers and suppliers (which means the ingredients and raw materials don’t have to travel far!). Supporting local means more of your dollars stay within the community – to the owners, the suppliers, the staff – local people who are very passionate about their craft and their business, and their profits are then reinvested to our community. Aside from the economic reasons, our local businesses are also very active in giving back to the community, for example, the first week when all the restaurants were forced to close their dining rooms to customers, many of them came together to donate their extra inventory to Chef Ben Kramer who then cooked all the food donations for local soup kitchens. Last, but not the least, these local businesses are what makes Winnipeg unique. Think of the last time you travelled somewhere? Where did you go to eat? Somewhere local, that you can only find in that place, I hope! Well, why wouldn’t you do the same at home?

So how do you know which businesses and restaurants to support? A lot of them have social media presence, so follow them on Instagram. They usually have stories that gives you a glimpse on how they run their business, for example, I saw a story where the owners visited a farm and showed us how it practiced ethical farming practices. I mean, I wish we could all be vegan or vegetarian, but the reality is the majority will not be, but that does not mean we have to support inhumane, factory farming methods. Instagram stories and posts will also have specials that you won’t normally find on the menu, so it’s a great way to try new things! I know that it is sometimes hard not to let the prices dictate where we decide to buy something, but if you can, think of the reasons why something is a little bit more expensive (fair wages, economies of scale – small businesses can’t compete with Bezos! -- quality of ingredients, keeping local dollars local) and make your decisions on value, not cost.

I have put together a list of our favourite local businesses and restaurants with the hope that it encourages you to support them. Not sure which ones are open now, but check out their Instagram pages for latest info.

Restaurants and their specialities (in no particular order)

1. Merchant Kitchen – Asian Fusion. This is our go-to. You can’t go wrong with the Thai Fried Rice and Korean Fried Chicken.

2. Yujiro/Saburo – ramen, premium sushi, donburi bowls

3. Gaijin Izakayya - reasonably priced, good sushi

4. Blufish – premium sushi

5. Sushi Cushi – reasonably priced, good sushi

6. Cho Ichi Ramen – I like their noodles, closest to Ichiran (Japanese ramen place) that I’ve tried

7. Dwarf No Cachette – Japanese food that is not sushi – okonomiyaki, takoyaki, donburi bowls, Japanese curry

8. Sabai Thai – Thai food

9. Pho Hoang – Vietnamese food

10. Kum Koon – lunch dimsum service is the best!

11. Maque – Asian fusion, for a super fancy anniversary dinner (or for a regular Tuesday night dinner, whatever!)

12. Myrna’s – Filipino breakfast, cash only!

13. Kyu – ramen, rice bowls, heroshima sandwiches

14. Mitzi’s – chicken fingers

15. Passero – Italian. Another fancy anniversary dinner place. Make sure you make a reservation!

16. Harth – Italian. The prosciutto di parma plate!

17. Kevin’s Bistro – If you are a fancy mac & cheese fan

18. Red Ember – Our favourite pizza place in Winnipeg

19. Pizzeria Gusto/Gusto North – A close second

20. Burrito del Rio – Hands down THE best burritos/tacos in town

21. Hermano’s – South American Food

22. La Fiesta – Salvadoran food.

23. The Good Fight Taco – Good taco

24. King and Bann – Fancy sandwiches. Best BLT.

25. Clementine – Brunch. They don’t accept reservations so go early and/or prepare to line up

26. Miss Browns – Brunch. The menu on William is more extensive compared to Hargrave Street Market.

27. Pineridge Hollow – come for brunch, stay for the petting zoo!

28. Forth Cafe – cocktails, coffee, light lunch – avocado toast is delish!

29. Langside Grocery – breakeven scotch bottles every Sunday! Check insta for more details!

30. Amsterdam Tea Room – cocktails, snacks

31. Thom Bargen – coffee and pastries

32. Fools and Horses – coffee, breakfast sandwiches, banana brulee french toast (Broadway location only), the Forks and Hargrave Street Market locations only sells coffee and pastries

33. Deer & Almond – small plates, fancy dinner place

34. Little Goat – mussel specials!

35. One Great City – beer and yummy food

36. Yellow Dog Tavern – beer and cheap eats!

37. Nonsuch – beer and THE best burger in town

38. Yard Burger – second best burger in town

39. Punjab Sweet House – best samosas in town, and they’re like $8 for a dozen giant size samosas – best value in town!

40. Famena’s - best roti and stand up routine by the owners

41. Tehran Cafe – Iranian food

42. Jenna Rae Cakes – macarons and cupcakes

43. Chaeban Ice Cream – best ice cream (also available at Sobey’s)

44. Oh Doughnuts – go early, they sell out! Or order online the night before for a discount.

45. Camille Bakery – closest to Dominique Ansel cronuts I’ve tasted

46. The Common – Food hall

47. Hargrave Street Market – Food hall

Other non-restaurant businesses

1. Morden’s Chocolates – Russian mints!!!

2. Fromagerie Bothwell – award winning cheese made in Manitoba!

3. Banville and Jones – for all your wine needs

4. DeLuca’s Wine – more wine!

5. Torque Brewing – beer!

6. Stone Angel Brewing – more beer!

7. Little Brown Jug – and more beer!

8. Kite and Kaboodle – Toys

9. Toad Hall – Toys

10. McNally Robinsons – books!

11. Browluxe – eye brow pencil and cruelty free

12. Coal and Canary – candles

13. DeLuca’s – Grocery

14. Piazza di Nardi – Grocery and bakery

15. Hilary Druxman – jewelry

16. EMK Clothing – clothing

17. U.n.luggage – luggage store

18. D’arcy’s ARC – pet shelter and pet supplies store

19. Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter – pet shelter and pet supplies store

20. Lavilash – eyelashes

21. Brows by G – eyebrows

22. We Heart Winnipeg - hoodies!!

#winnipeg #manitoba #canada #supportlocal #smallbiz

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barzum-and-baizli · 6 years

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Good news, everyone! Its halloween so its now legal for me to draw and talk about scary, morbid things! speaking of spooky things lets talk about everyone’s favorite type of parasitic fungus!

Cordyceps!

do y’all know how cool cordyceps are? I do! and GOSH! They’re cool!!!

You know what’s really interesting tho? the fact that, since trolls are insects, there’s an actual reason for troll cordyceps zombies :^)))))))

So here’s my take on troll cordyceps!(putting it under the tag cause its LONGGGGGG. Warnings for death, zombies, cannibalism, and body horror! If I’m forgetting anything please lmk! Its nothing darker than regular Alternia tbfh.)

◈Commission Info◈

Fun thing about cordyceps is that there are like, HUNDREDS of different species of them. The species that are parasitic mostly use insects and arthropods as hosts(some use other species of fungus but those aren’t as fun) and most species of cordyceps are specialized to only one specific species of insect or arthropod! So you don’t have to worry about a real life cordyceps zombie apocalypse affecting humans. In fact some species of cordyceps are supposedly really good for you and are eaten or made into tea for health benefits! Sorry, TLOU lol.

But trolls, since they’re insects, probably wouldn’t be out of the question...

So I figured, since there are so many different species of cordyceps, why not have different species affect different blood colors? I know they’re still the same species but BEAR WITH ME. Its far more fun to have diversity in ur types of zombies...

So here we go!

Most low blood rust/bronze/gold species of cordyceps would probably be similar to how it works in ants. Since they’re more common, live close together, and not particularly important to the empire, it would probably be far more common the lower the caste. After a few weeks of illness, they’d be compelled to find a place out in the open, where they’d come into contact with the most other trolls, and then die. After death, there the fungus would bloom, and begin to spread spores, just like it does in ants! Not particularly zombie-like but hey! Its accurate.

Midbloods can be a mixed bag. Its fairly rare, but not unheard of to see midbloods higher than jade in the final stages of cordyceps infection. However, certain types of fungus from the olive caste are treasured as a super food by particularly nasty high bloods, so the fact they’re infected could be far more dangerous for them than the infection itself. lets face it, trolls have zero qualms about cannibalism. gross assholes. These function fairly similarly to low bloods except the fruiting bodies from these species can start before the troll has died, though there’s little chance of them surviving after they start to bloom.

As you get higher up the hemospectrum it gets less and less likely that an infection will make it all the way to the final stages. Its usually caught early on and is fairly easy to treat seeing as how high bloods have significantly more access to medical aid. Because of their rarity, and how durable high bloods tend to be, the fungi will bloom and begin spreading spores far before the troll dies, and will drive them to seek out more trolls. The troll will usually die once the fungi has finished releasing spores. However, although rare, it is entirely possible for them to survive and recover. Sea dwellers becoming infected is practically unheard of, since they live in the sea and are practically royalty.

So yeah! That’s my take on troll cordyceps. I told myself I was just going to write like, a paragraph, but I kept getting ideas.

#homestuck #hiveswap #cordyceps #zombies #my art #body horror #gore #i mean its not really gore but i'm tagging anyways #just to be safe #cannibalism #death #ask to tag #i'm just really passionate about parasites #and zombies #that too

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mysticsparklewings · 5 years

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Arteza Expert Colored Pencils Review

Hu-boy, have I got a story for you guys! So I've been seeing Arteza's Expert colored pencils floating around in both ads and as freebies to Art Youtubers for a while now, and finally, it was too much and I threw up my hands and said to myself OKAY LET'S TRY THEM. (even though I very sincerely don't need any more colored pencils...) Previously, I've tried their Woodless Watercolor Pencils and liked them, and I've specifically heard good things about these pencils. So I went in with measured, but positive expectations. The full 72 set goes for about $30 either on Amazon or Arteza's own website, which is the same price point as the Schpirerr Farben colored pencils currently on Amazon. So they aren't the super-duper cheapest, but the price is pretty fair compared to companies like Derwent, Faber Castell, or Caran D'ache. So, some tea first, and then I'll talk about how the pencils handle (tea in small text in case you don't care): My set came in the mail and I immediately opened them and went to swatching, as I do. It was when I was writing out the color names (I write the names out first, then go back and put the color down) that I noticed I had two "Charcoal A120" pencils, and likewise discovered I was missing "Peacock Blue A008." And suddenly I was filled with dread; oh no something's wrong I'm going to have to contact customer service ohnononoohno. So I contacted their customer service through the Guarantee address ([email protected]) on the back of the tin, hoping to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible and wanting/expecting nothing more than the one pencil I didn't have. About two hours later, they got back to me and through a bit of back-and-forth, I provided pictures (which I expected them to ask for), then a screenshot of the Amazon Order Details and my shipping address (also expected). It was just after 4:00, last I heard from them on a Friday, so I figured either that was that and I should be on the lookout in the mail, or they had closed up shop for the weekend and I'd heard from them again on Monday. I woke up Saturday morning with an order confirmation email that confused me, and another reply informing me they couldn't just send the one pencil, so they'd be sending me a whole new set, and I didn't have to return the original set; I was welcome to keep or donate it. This made the confirmation email make sense, as it was for the shipment of the new set. This naturally was a nice surprise. (And I must also add the reply email had a timestamp of 4 in the morning so I have to applaud the magical soul that was coherently responding to customer service emails at such an hour as I would be loathed to do the same.) With that issue at least temporarily dealt with (as I wanted to wait and see the new set before "officially" closing my mental books on it), I moved on to producing the test image you see above and otherwise evaluating the pencil. However, I decided to wait and not fill out a Colored Pencil Testing Workshop for these until after the new set arrived, just in case. And I'm glad I did. The replacement set came in on Wednesday, and I was practically bursting at the seams to get it open and see what was what. All 72 different colors were present and accounted for. However, the "Emerald A094" pencil's tip was broken/missing. I did sharpen it back up, and it appears completely fine. Probably what happened is it was broken during sharpening or something at the factory. Not a big deal, but noteworthy when combined with my previous experience and considering that there are other signs of minor quality control issues. For example, the company/color names and information printed on the pencils are not aligned consistently, and if you go on Amazon and start looking at the negative reviews you'll find a lot more than just these relatively small things. My point in including all this: As I'll talk about in a second, the pencils themselves work just fine and I don't think Artexa is maliciously producing defective sets of colored pencils and just trying to make a quick buck. Quite the contrary. I think they are dedicated to making the best products they can while still keeping them affordable compared to their competition. It's just that they have some issues here and there like every company in existence does, and part of that, in my theory, is likely because they have less in the budget for certain quality control measures when compared to the more expensive brands. This isn't a dealbreaker by any means, but I do think it's important to keep in mind. So all of that out of the way, how do these pencils actually work in the field? They're not as soft as Prismacolor, but I went in expecting that from what I'd already heard. They're not as hard/rigid as the Faber Castell Polychromos, so they land somewhere in the middle. They layer pretty well; they don't seem to build up wax quite as quickly as Prismacolor, but they aren't nearly limitless with layers like the Polychromos. Blending was better than I expected and overall pretty good. The white surprised me a little. The Prismacolor white is still the best I've used, but this one did better than I expected. It also worked well with blending other colors. Speaking of; Color selection is interesting. In the plastic trays, they seem to be arranged from in color order...but in three separate "sets," rather than in typical "all the yellows are together, and the pinks are together," etc. color order. This bothers me a little since I'm used to the other way, but that's just me. The colors themselves though seem to sit somewhere between typical color choices and also trying to be different, which is. (Also a lot of them have really fun color names, which I really appreciate personally.) (And while we're here, I will say the tin and trays are nice/pretty standard, but the trays are pretty snug in there so I have a little trouble moving things around, but it's not so much of a deal-breaker that I feel I need a separate case for them.) They seem to generate a lot of dust/crumbs, but the weird thing was that when I went to wipe it away, it didn't smear specks of color on the paper. Good, but odd. Honestly, they measure up about the same as the Schpirerr Farben pencils in terms of falling somewhere between Prismacolor and Polychromos in terms of performance, and that makes a lot of sense considering both sets are at the same price point. (Though the Schpirerr Farben pencils do still behave and feel different, most likely because they're oil-based to the Arteza's wax-base.) They aren't my new favorite, but they are pretty decent and if Prismacolor is just too expensive for you, I'd say they're not a bad second choice. I did notice something exceedingly peculiar during my testing though: These pencils have basically no water resistance. They melt down almost like watercolor pencils, or at least like the Derwent Inktense (which dissolve pretty well but compared to typical watercolor pencils they do take a little more water and working to melt down entirely). Typically, regular colored pencils do move when hit with a lot of water, but not to this extent, and it usually takes a lot to really pull a noticeable amount of pigment out. The thing about this is that Arteza sells a set of regular watercolor pencils, and as best I can tell from the pictures (as I have yet to procure a set for myself) the only differences between that set and this one are the colors on the front of the tins, and the Expert pencils are round/circular, while the watercolor pencils are hexagon shaped. Other than that, there aren't any visible differences between the two. Granted, this isn't really fair, as the main differences would normally be in how they perform on paper and you can't really tell that from stock photos. And yet, and I can't help but wonder if there's something fishy going on there. Could they be the exact same cores, just packaged differently...? I am very tempted to order a set of their watercolor pencils just to compare...But until then, I am planning on trying a watercolor piece with these just to see what happens. Maybe I'll try and they won't turn out that well and my theory will be busted, or maybe I'll have to order the other set and find out for sure that way... ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

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corcoranmidtgaard3-blog · 5 years

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cosmicsynthetics · 6 years

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Heyo to all my followers or anybody else who’s here! It’s still kinda crazy to think that I’ve been freelancing for about 9 months now. I wasn’t sure how jumping right into self-employment would go, but for all the financial difficulty, it’s proven to be very rewarding and is something I’ve wanted to do since I was very, very young. I know that awhile ago, I already advertised my Patreon, but I’d like to say some things and pass it around again. I’m going to add a READ MORE, but I’d appreciate it if you took a look - it’s very important to me. It’s relevant to whether or not I’ll be able to keep producing content.

This year’s been (and likely will continue to be for some time) a crazy one in terms of money, health, and immigration matters. Here’s a list of things that have already happened or will happen that @altamaranempire (Jess) and I are dealing with that have kept our backs against the wall this year:

My old laptop totally died, which required me to buy a new one.

Jess’ old harddrive died, which required us to buy a new one and pay for installation (her laptop is a macbook). This same computer is currently having other technical issues that will need fixing. Right now, you literally have to open up the back, unplug the battery, reset the SMC, and unplug the powercord a couple of times every time you want to boot it.

I still need to pay for data recovery to get my old art back from the dead computer. There’s way too much on there for me to afford permanently loosing, so this is an eventuality.

The breaks on my old car finally went, which cost me both tow and a new (used) vehicle. This used vehicle now needs its own repairs done.

I needed to set up a new car insurance policy because my father no longer wanted me on his (I paid for my portion and always did so on time. He said I was too old to be on it, but I suspect he just didn’t like the confusion of me having to make a separate payment from him). This made insurance more expensive for me.

I took out a renter’s insurance policy for Jess and I to insure our computers and the basics, because this apartment is and has always been prone to problems with water damage, mold, and crappy insulation. It’s the cheapest place we can afford ($790 a month not including electricity/heating), and we do not have the savings for a house yet.

Jess had to get some medical tests done and also got very sick for a bit near the beginning of this year shortly after everything else above. She is not yet able to qualify for medicaid because of her immigration status, so this collectively cost us a bit.

Jess and I still need to go through the final steps to get her PERMANENT residency card (her current is a 2 year conditional). That will cost in the ballpark of $600 NOT counting biometrics if they want those again. This also doesn’t count the second “immigration interview”, which was horrendous last time and involved a lot of uncomfortable interrogation regarding our sexuality in relevance to the legitimacy of our marriage. I really hope they waive that this time, especially during this presidency, because I think it was much more cruel than warranted.

I’m trying to sort out some health things on my end. I’m getting tested for sleep apnea soon and I’ve lost a lot of weight which SHOULD be good but I’m keeping an eye on it considering how little I exercise and how I wasn’t all that overweight to begin with. I’ve been put on birth control pills as well to help stop my lifelong issues with near-debilitating dysmenorrhea, and even then I’m probably going to have to bounce between some different kinds. I think the current one I’m trying is literally causing hair loss and huge spikes in anxiety that I’ve never dealt with before. Think wanting to cry at least once on most days.

Simply put, since January, our savings took a huge hit and it’s been one hell of a job recovering that money, let alone staying on top of all our utility bills and rent while keeping ourselves in good shape. We already live off of 50 cent tinned veggies, powdered milk, big boxes of bulk ramen noodles for all sorts of cooking purposes, discount bread, etc. Everything we buy has to be less than a dollar or otherwise very, very worth the money. This has put me in a tough position. Though Jess will probably continue doing her commissions and art no matter what as the one with medically diagnosed anxiety and autistic spectrum disorder, if we have to buckle down too hard for art to handle, I’ll be the first one going back into a low wage, long hour job. I do not want to go back to that kind of environment unless there’s literally no other way. I didn’t realize how stressed, overtired, and generally miserable I was until getting out of that 3 year cycle of grinding retail work to pursue art. Honestly, I’ve found this more fulfilling than anything else I’ve done with myself, and I want to keep doing it. Please understand that if I need to return to “regular” work, you will be seeing very little of me. There will be very few or no slinks - there will be no other adopts - there will be no commissions - there will be very little or no “for fun” art involving my worldbuilds - and that is the last thing I want to happen. Both my art and my audience mean so, so much to me, so that’s why I’m making this post and putting all this info out there. If you want or need MORE information on all this, contact me or @altamaranempire and we’ll be happy to fill you in and provide details, receipts, etc. I promise this is not a trawl for $$$cashcashmoney$$$; I just wanna be able to do a job that makes me happy and makes YOU GUYS happy. SO, YOU WANT TO HELP? THEN YOU CAN:

Reblog this post and/or my commission info and Jess’ commission info! Reaching out to as many people as possible is essential to keeping a business alive - even tiny ones like ours.

Reblog art of mine and/or Jess’! I know you guys are out there faveing, but I see very few reblogs. They really do make a big difference, so if you really like something, sharing it would mean the world to me!

Commission art from us! As usual, our commissions are always open, but this is becoming make-or-break, especially for me. Feel free to poke us on tumblr or any of our other accounts.

Become a patron on my Patreon! Having a monthly assurance of some sort of income, however small, takes some of the stress off. You might get a little something for it too! I may expand my Patreon a bit with more interesting rewards/Patreon specific content updates if everything works out and I manage to make some more $$$.

Donate to my Ko-fi! Don’t worry if it’s tiny - any amount will help us. Remember, $3 is SIX CANS of veggies for us!! A few days of food if necessary.

✒ My COMMISSIONS are always OPEN! ✒ ▶ Check out my Tumblr commission page OR my DA exclusives commission page for more information! Message me anytime with your questions or requests. ▶ I’ve also got a Patreon! If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming a patron. Every dollar counts. ▶ Lastly, here’s my Ko-fi if you feel like making a donation. Thank you! <3

#Notice #Important #Patreon #very important #signal boost #commission info #commission #commissions #cscommission #cscommissions #signalboost #Any and all help of any kind is appreciated!#I love you guys and I want to have a chance to put out more art #more worldbuild #more story #and I'm not going to be able to do that without your support

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raendown · 5 years

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Here we have it folks, the very last chapter of what began as a simple Secret Santa gift for @sealkay. Thanks to everyone who left such wonderful comments all the way through!

Pairing: MadaraTobirama Chapter: 18/18 Word count: 2844 Summary: When Tobirama is exiled from the Senju clan without warning, without even the chance to plead his case, it feels like his life is over. What does he have to live for now without his older brother to believe in him? Captured by the Uchiha in his moment of weakness, Tobirama slowly learns to live again with the last people on earth he would have ever expected to care for - or to fall in love with.

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the blog header!

Chapter 18

“Wakey, wakey, sleepy head. You look stupid with your hair sticking up like that.”

Tobirama frowned through the lingering haze of sleep. He knew that voice. That was the beloved voice of an annoying asshole. Cracking one eye open, he tilted his head down to glare at the face grinning up at him from below. Madara snickered and Tobirama noted that he looked much too awake for – well, for whatever time of the morning it was. Odd for a man who usually stayed in bed until he was physically dragged out of it.

“How do you always have worse bedhead than me?” Madara asked. “You hardly have any hair to mess up.” He lay his head down to muffle a few quiet chuckles against the chest he’d been using as a pillow and the sound was so joyful that Tobirama found he just couldn’t stay mad when he got to wake up to such sweet things as a happy Madara. Not that he would ever say so while the man was still laughing in his face.

“Rude,” he grumbled with a pout. “At least I don’t have an entire rat’s nest on top of my head twenty-four-seven. Get off me so I can get up, you octopus.” Instead of contrition, Madara’s face took on a suggestive look.

“Why get up? I’m sure I can think of something that might entice you to stay in bed a little longer.” With a raunchy leer he shifted until he had one leg thrown over Tobirama’s hips to perch above his lap, eyebrows waggling in way that was probably meant to be sexy but really only made Tobirama bite his lip to hide a rush of amusement at such a ridiculous expression.

He did find himself interested in what the man was offering, though.

Running his hands up the outside of the thighs straddling his own, he hummed with rising interest and tilted his head like he was giving the matter deep thought. “You know what? Keep talking. You’ve caught my attention.”

Madara gave a low, dark chuckle and bent down to kiss him. Their lips had only just touched and Tobirama’s fingers ventured further inward to cup two handfuls of firm buttocks when the bedroom door slammed open without warning, Izuna strolling in unannounced.

“The hanky-panky can stop!” he cried. “I made breakfast so now you have to eat it!”

“Get out!” Madara snarled. The pillow he snatched up and threw was easily blocked and thrown back at him without mercy.

“Nope! Breakfast! No sexy times while I’m still home; that’s just gross to think about.” Izuna grinned, not even having the decency to wither under the combined weight of their annoyed glares. Tobirama cleared his throat to catch the other’s attention. After a year of living together he would be supremely unimpressed with himself if he didn’t have a perfect comeback for that.

“What makes you assume we haven’t already done those things while you were still home?” he asked innocently.

Izuna’s disgusted screeching was almost worth the interruption. Madara, at least, was laughing so hard he almost couldn’t stand to make it back to his own room so he could grab some clean clothes for the day. After Tobirama had wrestled Izuna out in to the hall as well and slammed the door shut for a bit of privacy, he started getting changed himself. It was little surprise to be interrupted yet again before he’d done more than pull on a clean pair of pants but at least this time it was only Madara letting himself back in to the room.

His partner was wearing a sheepish look that quickly turned to hunger at the sight of so much exposed skin. Tobirama smirked and simply let him look. Regular exercise had replaced all the muscle he’d once let melt away in his hour of weakness and it was always nice to have such accomplishments admired. He was still preening when Madara cleared his throat and came forward to tug the shirt he was holding out of his hands and set it aside, his ears pink and his expression oddly nervous.

“I have something for you,” he said. “You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to. I wanted to get them all done at the same time but I didn’t want to presume…”

“What is it?” Tobirama blinked in surprise when Madara revealed something from behind his back. It just looked like a lump of material until it was unfolded to become a short tunic in his favorite shade of blue. Then Madara turned it around to reveal the Uchiha crest carefully stitched on the back just like every piece of clothing a proper member of the clan wore every day. Tobirama’s fingers trembled as he reached out to accept the shirt being handed to him. Once his hands were free Madara rubbed his palms together awkwardly, not looking away from his unexpected offering.

“Don’t just wear it because you think you have to, okay? You know you can stay here even if you never decide to officially adopt in to the clan. O-or marry in or whatever. I just wanted you to know that the offer is there and I already have the approval of the rest of them – we had a clan meeting while you were away on a mission–”

“Madara,” Tobirama cut him off shakily. “I don’t want to misunderstand what you’re saying. Are you asking me to wear your colors or…?”

Shaking his head, Madara straightened his back and visibly braced himself to speak. “Whether you choose to take the Senju name again or not, there will always be a place for you here. As of this moment you bear no clan name and, maybe it’s selfish of me, maybe a little territorial, but I would like to gift you mine to carry. Whatever your answer, as clan Head I hereby grant you the right to wear our crest to show the world that we consider you one of our own – uh, if you want, that is.”

Finding it suddenly very difficult to breathe, Tobirama clenched his fingers tightly in the material of the shirt and blinked his eyes rapidly to clear away the strange mist in his vision. What Madara was offering him was more than just a home. He didn’t have the words to describe just what he was being offered but what touched him the most was being given the choice and being assured that Madara would not resent him for whatever path he decided to take.

It took a few tries to clear his throat before he realized it wouldn’t work, he was simply too overwhelmed at the moment. Shyly, embarrassed to show such blatant emotions even if this was by its very nature an emotional moment, Tobirama shifted closer and drew Madara in to his arms. The two of them stood in a silent embrace for a long time while they both waited for themselves to calm down. Tobirama clung to his partner with one hand and let the other rub the material of this most precious gift between his fingers, feeling the soft cotton like a gentle kiss against his sensitive skin. He wondered how long Madara had been planning this for.

“Are you two coming to eat this damn food or not!?” Izuna hollered from the kitchen. The indignation in his voice had Tobirama pulling away with a snort, smiling when he noticed Madara trying to wipe his eyes discreetly.

“We’re coming, don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he called back. Then he ignored Izuna’s retort in favor of dipping his head to press a messy kiss against Madara’s lips. “Hold this for me, will you?”

He handed the shirt back to Madara to hold so he could slip his arms in to it, humming pleasantly over how nicely it fit. It was obvious that this had been tailored specifically for him; if the cut of it and the lack of traditional high collar wasn’t enough of a clue, he didn’t know any Uchiha who wore such bright colors. Most of them preferred their clothing in black or deep shades of purple.

“Does that mean…?” Madara eyed him as he tied the shirt in place and Tobirama flushed, standing still so that could be admired in his new clothing.

“You mentioned you wanted to have my entire wardrobe updated. I would honored.”

“But are you just carrying the crest or…”

“Uchiha Tobirama does have a certain amount of appeal,” he murmured. “If you think it would suit me then I will do my best to uphold the honor of the Uchiha name.”

Madara pressed his lips together, nodded, and lunged forward to drag Tobirama in to him again.

From the kitchen they could hear Izuna yelling, “Fine! Watch me eat all these damn eggs myself! You guys don’t get any now! I slave and slave over a hot stove and what do I get? Ignored!”

“Should we go tell him the news?” Tobirama murmured, glad for something to focus on other than his thundering heart.

“Maybe he’ll change his mind about the eggs,” Madara said, holding in a hysterical giggle.

Tobirama bit his lip and distracted himself with making sure his shirt was settled perfectly, smoothing out a few imaginary wrinkles. He knew that as soon as he had an entire closet full of things with his new clan symbol on them he would feel comfortable being less careful with them but for now this shirt was his most prized possession.

As it turned out, Izuna did indeed lift his ban on eggs in celebration of a new member joining the Uchiha clan. The three of them ate their breakfast with smiles on their faces and then afterwards they headed out together towards the village center where the polls were to be held to vote for the very first Hokage of Konohagakure. Whoever led their village needed to be strong, intelligent, and a good leader, caring for his people yet willing to make the tough decisions. There were only two names on the ballots though and from what Tobirama heard from others the race was pretty much over before it had even begun. Most people seemed to be under the misguided impression that the village existed thanks to Hashirama alone. Considering that, it was no wonder most favored him and his big dreams to lead them all towards a new future.

That didn’t stop Madara from coming out and enjoying the excitement of the day anyway. He didn’t particularly want the job, although he did think he would have been good at it. If popular vote went to Hashirama as seemed likely then he would still have everything he had ever dreamed of having in his life. Tobirama was sort of proud of him for being so self-assured.

Walking through the village in daylight was interesting and more than just because it finally gave Tobirama a chance to properly see all the places outside their compound he hadn’t yet seen in daylight. Someone with an active gossip chain must have spotted him the night before because none of the people stopping to gape at him as he walked by looked truly surprised. All of them had the same look of someone confirming a rumor they hadn’t fully believed until the proof dared to stroll by with his head held proudly and a carefree lightness in his every step. By the time they reached the village square the crowds were all but parting before them as people stepped aside for Tobirama and broke out in to whispers in his wake.

Hashirama met them with a brilliant smile and dozens of curious Senju at his back. An uproar nearly broke out when the first of them spotted the Uchiha fan so prominently displayed between Tobirama’s shoulder blades but Hashirama only gave the crest a long, sober look, closing his eyes and nodding once.

“I understand,” he murmured.

“The decision was not made to reject what I once had,” Tobirama leaned in to assure him quietly, “but to celebrate and honor all that I have been freely given since.”

“No, I mean it. I understand. What I said last night, I meant that with all my heart. I’m just happy that you’re happy now.” Hashirama reached out to take hold of his hand for a brief squeeze and they shared a smile knowing that every eye in the village was watching them. Then they let go and Tobirama stepped back in to the circle of Madara’s arms. Just this once he would allow such an ostentatious display of public affection as cuddling, marking his territory without having to say a word.

He took note of Touka’s expression as she slipped up beside them, lips pinched tightly and dark eyes unhappy as she took in the way they were wrapped around each other, but Tobirama was pleased when she did little more than settle herself close enough to his side that their arms brushed together and caught his eye for a long wordless stare. In a clan of people who had very little problems expressing themselves, he and Touka had always been outliers. She was probably worse than him when it came emotions but they had always understood each other even when no one else did. By the time she took a deep breath and struck up a deliberately casual conversation about something random they had already held an entire silent conversation and Tobirama knew the two of them were going to fall back in to old habits just fine.

As soon as the crowds around them settled down in to gossiping amongst themselves Hashirama and the other clan heads announced the official opening of the polls. Several booths had been set up for each villager to go in and fill out their ballot anonymously without fear of being judged for their decision, Madara and Hashirama standing together to one side in abstention.

Tobirama waited in line with Izuna and Touka, occasionally wrangling an enthusiastic Kagami when his protégé-slash-neighbor got a bit too enthusiastic for his mother to handle. It felt odd being allowed to cast a vote when he hadn’t even been an official member of the Konoha until this morning and it felt even stranger, when it was his turn in the booth, realizing he had to choose between his no-longer-estranged brother and his captor-turned-boyfriend. Knowing who was inside, he could hear several members of his new clan shooing people away outside when they murmured about him taking too long. In the end he slid his ballot in to the box without checking a name. Just the idea of making an impartial decision had always been difficult; in his current circumstances it seemed impossible.

When he told Hashirama what he had done he was surprised to receive a beaming smile in return.

“Excellent! Then you’re completely neutral and you can be the one that counts the ballots! It’s kind of poetic in a way, don’t you think?” His smile softened and Tobirama rolled his eyes but he could see where the man was coming from.

He wasn’t the only one counting ballots, of course. The polls were opened in the early morning but it took well in to evening for all the votes to be cast and tallied by a group of volunteers who had also abstained from voting. Each of them brought their numbers to Tobirama who added them all together and then stepped up on to the raised wooden dais where Hashirama and Madara were waiting, idly passing the time with friendly chatter.

Unsurprisingly, the crowds fell silent at seeing him step up between the two men with a small card folded between his hands and no discernable expression on his face. He felt as if the world was watching him as he looked from Madara to Hashirama and back again and then down at the card in his hands to allow himself the tiniest of smiles.

Then he lifted the red and white hat that had been prepared as a badge of office and laid it gently atop Madara’s head.

“Congratulations, Hokage-sama,” he announced in a clear voice.

As the village erupted and even Hashirama broke out in to wild cheering, Tobirama held his stunned partner’s eyes just long enough to appreciate how ridiculous he looked with such a shocked expression. Then he tossed his head back and laughed long and hard and joyful, free and happy.

When he had been asked to leave the Senju clan it had felt like his life was over, a dark emptiness that could never be filled. He had thought it was the end of his journey. Now he stood between his two most precious people with the future stretching out before them filled with so many possibilities for everyone, for the village, for everything he held dear. This wasn’t at all where he had thought his life would take him – but he was happy that he stuck around to enjoy the ride.

#rae writes #madatobi #madara #tobirama #izuna #hashirama #touka #fanfiction #can't believe it's over

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md3artjournal · 5 years

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I failed to get into Anime Expo artist alley this week, for the 1st time after 7 years. I don't know what to do, not preparing for it all year. It feels like this is the end of my artist alley days. Financials had me think about quitting recently & the universe reinforcing that, in a way, is sad and makes me feel lost. Not to mention reminding me that i was never good enough to compete in the first place. I know I can keep art as a hobby, but there were lots if fancrafts & products I still wanted to make for people in the fandoms.

And I've never been good multitasking, so I doubt I could have a day job and artist alley simultaneously. Or else I would have done artist alley before leaving my previous office job, and I would have double majored or also gotten a minor.

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The following are a semi-edited mess of my journal entries from 8/21/2019 after tables sold-out, noted here for my own records:

8/21/2019 Failed to get artist alley table for AX2020. Maybe the seconds wasted scrolling down to "Order" button cost me. Maybe if I had shrunk my browser viewing options, so that entire page's essential parts could be visible on one screen without paging-down, then maybe I could have been faster. ;_; I didn't feel sad. then felt crying start. Comisserated with others who also failed, in AX Artist Alley 2019 Facebook Group. Asked FB group admin for when public table sales happen. Akiko said to it would be in coming months and to sign up for general mailing list. I signed up for mailing list, through her link, even though I might already be signed up. Later I started browsing Twitter for "AX artist alley" and was making myself sad seeing everyone who got in and didn't. So I stopped that short.

1:20 PM 8/21/2019 Just now, I suddenly felt the tears well up. I wasn't like this a few minutes ago. I was taking it well. I had accepted the fact that if there was any year I couldn't get into Anime Expo artist alley, then it would be this one. Because I feel now more than ever that I don't have the right to be there. My art skills are terrible. I thought those things while refreshing/reloading the page. But i encouraged myself by saying that I NEED to get into AX artist alley because it's my only real income. Even if I'm not as good, there are still lots of things I wanted to sell and offer to people, and people DO like my stuff! So my skills may not warrant me being there, but I NEEDED to be there! ...Now all that's left is to give a final farewell to the facebook group. But then I was reminded that maybe they'll have public table sales. I was genuinely helped by that reminder and I said, "Oh, yeah! There are public table sales. ...But those might be harder to get into." But it's still something. I can try.

1:28 PM 8/21/2019 After 7 years of AX artist alley, I don't know what to do, not preparing for it every year. Well, if I don't make it into any public table sales, it's been nice working with everyone. You were always an encouraging bunch, especially around table sales times. Thank you. ;o;

1:41 PM 8/21/2019 First time in 7 years I haven't been able to get into Anime Expo artist alley. It's sold out now. I don't know what to do, not preparing for it all year. There might be public table sales later, but that'll probably be harder to get into. I told myself if I didn't get in, I'd focus on an online shop, but honestly, if I didn't have the guts for that in 8 years, then why could I expect myself to do it now? ;_______;

2:09 PM 8/21/2019 Now that I think about it, I eventually got bored with Anime Expo. I go for the nostalgia, my unbroken attendance record, and the great shopping at official booths and their exclusives, along with so many stores from disperate places all in one spot. But I remember now, before I did artist alley, I was using cosplay as a way to liven things up, after all the panels got too full to get into and all the special events turned into separate-priced tickets. Yeah...I was obsessed with videography and covering the cosplay gatherings. I remember that now. If I don't get into the artist alley table sales, maybe I'll focus on cosplay again. ...Maybe not as obsessed as before, but there's lots of stuff to do! Dont' be sad!

2:54 PM 8/21/2019 I couldn't get into AX2020 artist alley today. Going to try public table sales later. If I don't get in & anyone wants my #fancrafts, I'm going to look into an online shop this year. There are still lots of things I want to make for you guys. #joker #kirby #figurines

3:33 PM 8/21/2019 Ok. Time to get up and take care of myself. I've been stalking the AX AA 2019 FB for like 3+ hours now, commiserating with other people who couldn't get in. I've soothed myself with cat videos, PostmodernJukebox music, and browsing on TWitter. Time to eat, shower, and empty ye old bladder.

8:53 PM 8/21/2019 Finally closed all my AX tabs from today. Both the artist alley table sales "sold out" tab and Facebook group of othe rpeople who failed to get in and are consoling each other. Both the sting and the soothing commiseration. Time to put it all behind me for today. I have other things to do. And anyway, I already foudn out info about public table sales, signed up for the mailing list to make sure I hear about it, read the return policy for regular attendee badges, and found out the 12/2/2019 due date for the current $85 4-day attendee badge. It's done. I should move on. And there are things I'm free to do, if I don't do AX2020 artist alley. If I don't get the AX2020 public table sales either, I can look for a job, focus on an online shop, maybe figure out what I want to do more than art/crafting. Because I obviously don't race to do it in my every waking/spare moment. Do I really love it? Maybe I love something else? And should be doing something else with my life? But I don't know what it is. ~__________~! It's weird. I've been doing this thing lately, for a long while now, months or years, where I'm numb in situations that I know would usually make me (deeply) depressed. But I don't feel the overwhelming sadness, the dehabilitating pain. Instead, I go through the motions of self-destructiveness, time-wasting, and just listeless lack of focus on anything, as if I was depressed, but I don't feel the crushing, all-consuming pain. Am I actually depressed and in denial? Same thing for losing the AX2020 artist alley table today.

2:58 AM 8/22/2019 I was thinking earlier of opening commisions for pet sketches. "I'm opening commissions. Got a fuzzy fluffy pet? $5 sketches. Come and get 'em." I kept thinking over and over today how I can't get good at illustration or drawing humans because studying my Weaknesses, especially human anatomy, make me so frustrated that I lash out at people around me in real life. o_O So maybe I should jsut stick to what feels good to draw for me.

#quitting art

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