#need to have more variety in what i draw lmao

[wonderful-magician]

More of a style test than anything tbh.

[meanbossart]

i just need to take a second to gush about how much i love durge drow and astarion, they feel so fleshed out and perfectly written together in their fucked up wretched ways. They really inspire me to write more for my own tavs, hopefully one day ill be able to say im as happy with my own work as i get when seeing yours. I have to ask though, do you have any tips on drawing head shapes and faces? or maybe about wrinkles? i find i really struggle with that stuff when drawing and i adore how expressive and grungey all your art looks!

First of all thank you so much, I love hearing what people think of the two of them together 😭

Honestly you've hit on something that's quite near and dear to my heart, I love developing and figuring how to draw and stylize different faces to get the most unique, interesting looking results - everything about the details is highly rewarding to me. What does x type of nose look like from this angle? In this style? How can this eyeshape best translate to my art? How different does a face look when its making this expression? What does that MOUTH DO? etc etc.

In fact you kind of inspired me to put a little tutorial/guide together the last hour lmao and what a blessing it is that the two current subjects of this blog serve as great models here, being that their faces are basically polar opposites!

When it comes to heads, you've probably heard it a dozen times before that you want to think of them in terms of geometry and facets; my process to drawing them is pretty conventional so I won't spend too much time on it, but it goes something like this:

Obviously I don't do every single one of these steps most of the time, which is just something that comes from practice/developing muscle memory, but it is helpful to start off this way for two main reasons:

By making these guide lines and splitting a head into pieces like this, you'll have an easier time seeing and understanding it as a multidimensional object, and in turn, facilitate It for you when you venture out into doing wacky angles and lighting.

Making different headshapes starts HERE. notice how Astarion's "face" slate is narrower and longer, how my durge's jaw pieces sit lower on the head, how all of the same pieces came together in the same way but we ended up with one real pointy elf and a real brick of a drow - making characters look different successfully begins very early in the sketching process.

The next thing you want to do branches out into every day life: start noticing yours and other people's facial features. How does an upturned nose look from a high angle? How does the size of someone's cheekbones affect what they look like when they smile? How about when the light hits them a certain way? Does someone's lip shape changes when they pout? When they laugh? How does a person's hairline change the shape of their face? You do NOT need to creepily sketch every stranger you see on the bus, but get into the habit of actually noticing what people look like when you talk to them - when you look at pictures, when you watch movies - make a mental list of interesting ways mouths, noses, and eyes can come together in a variety of different proportions to make completely distinct looking mugs, and how they change depending on how you are looking at them.

Light and shadow play a HUGE role in how faces look, too, basically as crucial as actual bone structure does. As you see up there I tried to rough out how natural, head on, and underhead light would look on these two very different looking guys, and while we can see definite patterns, there are small differences that come to be because of the sizes and shapes of their features.

Here is a very, very basic look at how some of these features come to look the way they do, how they interact with one another, and how they compare between a blocky, rather conventionally "masculine" head and one that's much softer and slimmer.

Note please that it is not one or two characteristics that give a chaarcter their "look"; you can reduce a face to eyes, mouth, and nose through stylization and still have them be recognizable, but if you want to do more than that, you have to consider the whole package! Chin, cheeks, brows, direction of the jaw, slope and size of the forehead, depth of eyes, ridge of the nose, etc - I know this is probably far more than you bargained for, but if you start making note of a FEW of these things now and slowly add on, this will eventually become second nature to you.

Similarly, understanding how these characteristics come together will help you with rendering light and shadow in a realistic way, and predicting what their facial expressions may look like - if no two people are alike, neither are their smiles. :)

Lastly, remember that I'm no expert - I have developed my own methods and semiotics and yours may look slightly (or vastly) different, and that's fine! I hope only that by sharing this it has given you a base to work off of.

Anyways, I HOPE this has been helpful and not just the unsolicited ramblings of a face pervert.

[genericpuff]

...You wouldn't happen to have any more sketches of that yellow nymph from episode 20, would you? Because I LOVE their design kldfgjjk-

Haha I'm gonna be honest, she's one of my "design on the fly" characters so she doesn't have any preliminary concept sketches, sorry! I don't tend to do those much for background characters, I only do sketches for 'extras' like that if I'm specifically doing a study for future reference (ex. like when I sketched out Artemis' house layout because her house is going to be a recurring environment and I needed to make sense of it before I could continue drawing it LMAO). It just keeps me from getting bogged down on nitpicky pre-production stuff that keeps me from actually completing episodes, y'know? That Artemis house post is basically what happens when I get way too hyper-fixated and that's why I generally try to avoid it unless absolutely necessary LMAO I like keeping things simple enough to leave things up to people's imaginations (and not make things too unnecessarily detailed) but not too simple that it lacks foundation. In the case of the nymphs, I've been basing them off different plant life found in Greece. Definitely trying to give them more variety than what they have in LO!

That said, I'm currently winding down from a long day at a convention and I need to do something that isn't 'work' so here are some I drew up real quick! All I really planned around her while drawing her on the fly was her look, which is based off daffodils (her hair tie is meant to resemble the daffodil's stamen) and the brief look at her personality as the more experienced staff member. She's very much the "tired of this shit" employee who doesn't put up with a whole lot, not even from the Kings. NGL I can totally picture her being that waitress who double fists energy drinks and cigarettes for breakfast before her shift LOL

Enjoy! <3

[libbee]

About air lovers

Air men (moon in gemini/libra/aquarius//moon in 3rd/7th/11th house)

1. Racing thoughts, if I think it I will speak it, I need to speak, no I cannot think internally I need to speak, tell, blurt it out to someone.

2. See, unless you stimulate me, please dont try to befriend me. I am volatile and versatile. If you are not a quick thinker, chatty, conversationalist, how will we connect and bond? How will we stay friends? What do we talk about-you ask? We talk about history, universe, biology, business, science, news, cinema, TV shows, your pet, my pet? No, we dont talk about how I feel, we dont talk magic, we talk concepts and ideas. Emotions are magical, you see. How those witch babes manipulate energy for spells, I am a "how to make friends and influence people/rich dad poor dad" kind of person. Please dont tell me about your healing powers, I am a metacognition/neuroscience kind of person.

3. You are either fun or boring. Sorry, I cannot see anything else that makes a person worthy of my friendship or relationship. My partner is my best friend, we talk, share our thoughts with each other, laugh out loud, we are constantly texting. I only date people who are mentally stimulating. Though I am not too romantic and I dont offer emotional intimacy, but I can offer you a fun time and belly full of laughter. Sorry sir, we dont do inner work here, we dont do self reflection here, we are not that deep. We are all about ideas, thoughts and reasoning. Emotions make things messy and complicated. Y'know I dont have that stability to sit down and get in touch with my feelings. I can be meeting new people in that time, that's just who I am. So if you are someone who's looking for emotional vulnerability, emotional sharing of insecurities and complexes or trying to make me spiritual then I cannot do that, please find someone who is compatible with you. I am not spiritual, I am logical. Sorry, I dont understand what you mean when you say that you are feeling shame/fear/anger, I just dont let feelings trap me, I just move on to the next thing. I dont understand what healing means, I am just not meant for these things. I dont understand what you mean when you say soul or spirit or divine or energy, are these not just words? Where is the proof they exist? You're intuitive? Hmmm, I am more of a thinker type. You're into astrology and tarot? Oh, I am an economics nerd, there is so much to learn and understand in the real world, why are you lost in virtual, spiritual, magical world?

4. I need variety. You can be the most mentally stimulating person in the world but I still need variety. I just need variety. It is not about you, it is about me. Conversations, connections and chatting give me validation, they are fuel to my engine. When I am with you, I wonder what am I missing out on? Please dont feel sad about it, see that's why I dont like feelings. Life is supposed to be fun not serious. I need to try out new things and meet new people. More I try, more I learn. I like mental and emotional freedom. I like playfulness and joy of living. Let's hangout for lunch tomorrow? That's how I like to bond and connect with you. I am not shallow, the right people will understand that I am a very fun and smart friend. You have emotional needs, I have mental needs. We are different. "Let's hangout for lunch tomorrow":

5. LMAO, that's my new joke. My mom was like... and my dad was like.... lmao, seriously that was so funny. You dont like jokes? You're offended, triggered, taking it personally? What even.. How can someone not like jokes? Laughter is the best medicine, my friend. I self actualize with jokes, I roast myself, I twist events to make them funny. I want people to have a fun time with me. I dont know how people can sit in silence and paint or draw or meditate for hours or enjoy their own company. I would rather play video games, watch TV, write some essay or shoot some video for YouTube or tiktok or Instagram-I need motion, movement, to do something. Next task ✅ Next task ✅ Next task ✅ I get bored if I stay at one place for too long.

Air men (sun in gemini/libra/aquarius//sun in 3rd/7th/11th house)

1. If you want to torture me, keep me isolated in a room. Social groups are where I thrive. I cannot stand solitude, simply because being solitary means to sit with my emotions, thoughts, insecurities, complexes and face them. I cannot do that, I just cannot.

2. Fortunately, my life theme attracts many opportunities to make friends/socialize/meet a lot of people on daily basis. Astrology not only tells personality traits but also life event patterns. 3rd, 7th, 11th houses deal with other people, networking, public interactions, connections and relationships, you see the association? Some are born lone wolf, we are not. I can never be a monk, I dont have the emotional discipline for that, though I can be your travel partner to Thailand when you visit a monastery, I love to explore new places.

3. I need you to like me, I am really good at studying others. I like to keep a lot of connections, I like to network with people, people are assets, friends for life, there is nothing much in life. Hanging out with friends, being around people, socializing makes me feel alive, rejuvenated and meaningful. I am a bit of chameleon, yeah so what, you are too. People are not one dimensional, what is this obsession with authenticity? Do you even know who you really are, duh!!

4. When I meet someone, I notice their desirable qualities, what makes them attractive, what is their best quality and I internalize that, make it my own, morph myself into a desirable person. More similar we are, stronger our bond will be. I know I am not authentic but it is simply not my nature to be so. Please appreciate me for what I am capable of offering you. I can be a really nice actor though, I have the charisma and versatility for it.

5. They call me charming. Because my personality shines. I am the person people approach when they are at the cashier. I am the person people approach when I am just minding my own business. I appear desirable, friendly and safe to people. You wouldn't approach an intimidating, stiff, serious person, will you? Let's see it this way, water man and I enter a bar. Bartender greets both of us. Water man emits vibes that provoke uncomfortable emotions, insecurities and traumatic memories in the bartender. But I emit vibes that are comfortable, friendly and safe to feel. I am more approachable. This is because I dont spend my time exploring my depths, complexes, psyche. I am the person who runs the community, I run the entertainment business, I run the economy. If everyone sat down to do self introspection and inner work then who will take care of the material world? See-leave it to me, I can handle that. 

6. Though I make a loyal partner when I am mature. I am loyal because cheating is too much of mess for me for too little return. I am not really obsessed with power, I am the sigma not the alpha, we are equals, I dont want to be superior to you-I dont want power over you. I want to be your friend. I make love with my friend. You are my friend and you are my lover. I dont like power games. Though if I have fire/water placements too then I can be power centric otherwise I am just the equal dynamic type. I am a very balanced type of person.

[geonppangi]

now that we know that zb1 is getting a show, here are some variety content i want to see

one thing that i don’t really love about variety shows is sometimes they designate one member as the mc/judge because they have an odd number. which is fair! but also i like seeing everyone be able to participate, so i thought it’d be fun if they compete individually or in groups of 3 and then have an expert come in to moderate. so everyone can do it and it would be more educational for everyone too lmfao

also mnet if you’re reading this, feel free to steal these ideas. i want to see these happen so badly

art episode

yes this is because i want to see ricky kill it like????

but i’m also really curious to know how good the other members are at art

maybe like a the members draw each other?? and they can pair up the members who don’t know each other that well

or they can choose what medium they want to use and do like something that represents their upcoming debut like a collage or smth like that

i love mixed media can one of them pls do it

or!!!!! they can do a design contest for the fanclub mascot and we can all vote lmao

so like bts with bt21

would also be a really cute way to introduce the name like maybe the members find out at the beginning of the episode and then based on what they drew we can try to guess what our name is

the potential is endless i’m telling you

i could see them either inviting an actual artist in to help or just straight up letting them go wild

but ricky is their expert

so i just found out after writing this whole thing that jiwoong is also good at art?? ^^his art

so if he and ricky are the new experts now

i think it’d be cool to see them collaborate on a piece and it would be very chill

while in the bg you just hear the members losing it

cooking/baking episode

similar to the cake decorating they did during the finale

i’m also thinking like seventeen’s cooking segments?

we can do teams of 3

can be same format as when they were preparing for their performances on boys planet but instead of killing part, main vocalist, etc, it can be appetizer, entree, and dessert or something like that

to make it even more interesting, they can play a game to find out what ingredients they get or the secret ingredient that they have to work with

so either like the camping cooking segment or like the show mom vs chef where they get an unpopular ingredient and have to make it appetizing

OR no teams and everyone creates their own thing

and they invite a celebrity chef to come be their judge/mc

pls i need a gordon ramsay crossover

i want to see him and gyuvin interact like i cannot tell you why but yeah (also yes, gyuvin can speak english but idk how well)

halloween cosplay episode

i might be biased because i am a cosplayer

but imagine a halloween themed episode where they have to make their own costumes

maybe they’re given like different fabrics or random clothes to work with

and they can figure out their own hair, makeup, and props too

i want at least one member to try sewing like i need to see it

they could invite special guests to come and teach them how to work with stuff like worbla or a sewing machine

and then at the end they have to model all of the costumes and film a dance practice in them because ofc they do

AND THEY ALSO GO TRICK OR TREATING

dorm content

obviously we need some dorm vlogs!!

like if we could get an episode of the members balancing being idols and school for some of them

also a dorm moving in + bedroom decor episode

i’d love to see the members do challenges to win like a budget for their common space furniture

and then an ikea vlog of them trying to get furniture in a certain amount of time maybe??

or it’s a scavenger hunt for money inside of ikea while they’re simultaneously looking for furniture

also cooking vlogs or maybe the members try to host a housewarming party

i’d literally cry if they plan a housewarming and then invite their friends from boys planet to come

please i just need to see dog union and junrae reunite

and imagine if we can get wumuti, seo won, woongki, and hwan hee

this is purely wish fulfillment but i want it so badly

and i want to see their skincare + morning routines

closet tour?? the boys shared their clothes so often on the show that it was hard to tell who wears what normally

pc decorating episode

could be an album unboxing episode

and if the album itself has any sort of interactive element like how seventeen’s semicolon had the weaving kit then they could assemble that

they can also get toploaders to decorate

it can be based on the pcs they pull because i have a strange desire to know what their pc luck is like

also i know this is sort of blasphemy but it is their album so ig they get a pass

but imagine journaling but with the photobook and maybe stickers if they include any

in case you can’t tell, i want to see how artistic the boys are lmfao

amusement park episode

we all knew this was coming

why are we surprised

hear me out, it’s a combo of an escape room and an amusement park

so like to escape the amusement park they need to collect clues which are scattered all around the park

some of the clues require them to go on the ride first

they can also be split up into teams of 3 maybe?? to see who can get out first

and the team that gets out last has to go on a ride that the other two teams pick

school episode

i want yujin to be the teacher

and the rest of them are the students

and they all play some sort of character but like switched

watch sung hanbin and zhang hao switch

jiwoong and gyuvin

matthew and gunwook

this is purely because i need to see gunwook cringe while doing aegyo

gunwook our canadian oppa

tbh i think matthew can pull off the student president character

ooohhhh and he should debate too

and i saved the best for last

taerae and ricky switch, outfits and all

THINK ABOUT IT

LIKE RICH EXCHANGE STUDENT TAERAE

AND LOSER (AFFECTIONATE) FASHION TERRORIST RICKY

---

show and tell?? mini series

like i want each member to teach the other members a specialty of theirs

ig ricky’s was the art episode already so pretend that’s here

cafe episode

yes this was inspired by my idea of hanbin teaching all of the members how to tut and waack

but i feel like that’s too easy, so how about having hanbin bring the group to his family’s cafe and they run it for a day LMAO

or maybe help run it…

and hanbin’s mom can teach them (not hanbin bc cold injeolmi toast…)

i want gyuvin waiter like i cannot tell you why but

and taerae too bc the more i can see him smile the lighter my soul feels

and matthew waiter for the same reason ofc!!!

jiwoong making coffee, pls he has such barista vibes

hanbin on making hot desserts because i want him to redeem himself

and gunwook and yujin on decorating desserts because i also need them to redeem themselves for their cake

ricky on sodas and smoothies because his mocktail video was just too smooth like that’s what won me over

zhang hao on tea and tea lattes

idrk why but i feel like he’d be good on whisking matcha

like the violinist wrist yknow

strings ensemble episode

also zhang hao teaching them how to play violin

he can also play piano and gunwook said that one of his goals was to learn how to play

so what if they make their own little strings ensemble with gunwook piano solo

you cannot tell me that gyuvin doesn’t give off double bass and taerae doesn’t give off cello energy

as a cellist, i’m claiming taerae

ricky would probably play violin, like it has very expensive vibes

and hanbin too because haobin violin lessons…can you see the vision

i think yujin and matthew would play viola. i don’t have any reasoning but ik some violists and they all have that energy

jiwoong gives me saxophone vibes 💀 but since we can’t have that, i’ll also give him the cello

it has a really warm and deep sound?? idk i feel like it suits him but maybe i’m going insane

wouldn’t it be so cute if they played an arrangement of their debut title track

also not alone would be soooooo cute

learning english episode

with our canadian oppa matthew

i think it’d be so funny if ricky and gyuvin pretended like they didn’t know any english

ik vancouverites don’t really have a “canadian accent” but i want matthew to mess with them by doing like a newfoundland accent so badly

or he just starts speaking french but with like an english accent and we see how long it takes the other members to figure it out

i feel like ricky would know but not say anything

debate episode

so as we know, gunwook is a debate kid (i say that both lovingly and maliciously)

so essentially going seventeen’s debate night LMAO

i want the members to vote on something that they fundamentally believe to be true

like what way should toilet paper go

and then put them on the opposite team

BUT we follow actual debate rules so they have to do research and cite their sources

prepare objections, etc etc

all within like 15 minutes lmfao

---

musical episode pt 2

but i specifically want them to write the whole thing

one team can write the script, another can write the music and choreograph and another can build the sets and plan costumes

as the resident actor, i nominate jiwoong to write the script and help direct

maybe gunwook for writing too? he’s a nerd and a debate kid so i feel like his writing must be good

MUSIC TEACHER HAO WITJ DANCE TEACHER BIN AND SINGER SONGWRITER TAERAE

literally the dream team i’m sobbing

ricky on set design and costumes because he’s an art kid so i trust him

and matthew too because his cake in the final episode was actually really cute??

not sure where i’d put gyuvin and yujin? maybe gyuvin on script writing so he can be with gunwook because i will never get sick of watching them interact

and yujin on set design?? but also yujin and jiwoong (T ^ T) and i want to see the sheer chaos that is gyuvin trying to build a set

maybe they can play rock paper scissors to figure it out

actually just a whole school performance episode or mini series??

so each episode could be a different performance that they put on as a school recital

to perform for their parents LMAO (yes this is just the artist battle special star creator stage)

i need them to do a spoken word poem and or interpretive dance because i had to do that in elementary school and i need somebody else to share in my suffering

some ideas include: a poem about the importance of colours?? and a series of tableaus depicting the creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway

they could also do church plays but instead of stories from the bible they can be like korean folktales or disney ripoffs

and ofc they have to do the awkward singing and then doing hand movements that correlate to the lyrics of the song

could also be done with their debut track btw

i want fancams of all of this

sports day

you know i had to do it

isac also works!! but idk if they're doing that so um

so with the summer olympics coming up in 2024, i think it’d be so funny if they do some summer olympics sports

volleyball segment for gunwook our resident haikyuu nerd please

and they can wear the uniforms from the anime too

please please please wakeone think about it

also imagine a skateboarding episode?? idk why maybe it’s the north american but i feel like matthew would be surprisingly good at it?

also surfing?????

idk if the surfing scene in korea is good but if not they can always take a trip to hawaii or smth i certainly will not be complaining

esports + pc building episode

listen we have 3 whole gamers in the group, this is kind of perfect

the gamers can be the captains of each team

i want the lame ass esports poses and intros

and the stats too like imagine

ALSO if you guys have seen the trash taste pc building special but think about the potential

so it’s partly based on skill and also how well they can build a pc

so they build the pcs and then play using the pcs

there should be a separate prize or bonus for building it the fastest (but not necessarily the best)

also i want the editing thing where they have an expert build the pc properly and then every time that the boys fuck up, the clip of them messing up is played right after the expert does it the correct way

think about the chaos

mock trial episode

same sort of thing as the debate night but they have to represent their clients

i feel like sung hanbin would be the defendant like i have no evidence for this but i want someone to indict him

he just seems like he would be really good at pretending to have not committed a crime

and then 2 attorneys and 2 witnesses on each side

prosecutors: gunwook and zhang hao (imagine the haobin tension guys) (also gunwook just has major prosecution vibes idk what to tell you)

defence attorneys: matthew and gyuvin

prosecution’s witnesses: yujin and taerae

defence’s witnesses: jiwoong and ricky

i feel like gunwook and zhang hao would be really good and logical

but like how can you not want to trust matthew and gyuvin like they’re so sweet

also i need them for comedy

gyuvin would 100% object to random shit and i need that

i’m sorry but i can’t imagine yujin and taerae being very good witnesses so ig it balanced out gunwook and zhang hao?

and jiwoong and ricky would be AMAZING witnesses

like it took skill to not be evil edited so ricky would be able to keep his calm so well and jiwoong too like i would trust whatever they say

and the judge could be an actual lawyer they brought on as the expert for the episode

and the jury can be the staff lmfao

now what is hanbin’s crime you might be asking?

being too handsome tbh i have no idea maybe the fans can vote on it the week before or smth LMFAO

---

volunteering mini series!

it really warms my heart to see people give back to the community, especially idols because it inspires a lot of fans to do so too!

it’d be really nice if maybe as a holiday special? they went around to different places and volunteered to spread awareness for the causes

maybe it’d be better if they split up?

the members can choose what they’re passionate about too

my personal suggestions/ideas would be:

a retirement home (they can perform music for the elderly people there. i’m thinking zhang hao and taerae would be a good combo)

a hospital

a soup kitchen

a community centre (i’d love to see hanbin and gunwook teach after school dance lessons to children)

and the proceeds for the episode could go towards different charities or programs for these places (ie if they need more funding or renovations) as well as a link for fans to donate more to these places

---

[bitchapalooza]

Still thinking about nurse!Romano and it somehow led to thinking about what if nations actually have other jobs outside do the nation duties because either their government jobs don’t pay well or they just want more variety in their life. Or they have more free time like the Italies because they kind of split their work in half based on their strengths— like Veneziano taking on the heavy political work and Romano tackling the economics. So Romano takes to becoming a nurse, which he’s been in for several years, and it’s more because he needs the money but he does genuinely enjoy it enough to where it doesn’t even feel like work in the slightest. And maybe Veneziano just doesn’t do shit besides draw and occasionally manages to sell one of his paintings? I can’t see him willingly getting job, even if he needed the money lmao

I don’t see Germany, Japan, or America having enough free to get a second job. But I think Canada could manage it because I think he’s just really good at time management. But really he’s a landlord so there isn’t much effort to put in in the first place :x

[wizard-laundry]

I absolutely ADORE the way your draw gaster he is so fun!! Do you have any personal gaster headcanons?

he likes fried rice

fr though, my thoughts on his character are kinda scattered (much like his own lmao GOTTEM)

The thing I love about Gaster as a character is—given that we know next to nothing about him via canon—the variety of fan interpretations made available in place of said canon material is absolutely incredible.

Generally I interpret his character as more of a jokester with social anxiety that is too smart for his own good. I don’t really see him as some conniving super-genius devoid of empathy, though I do think that he would conduct ethically gray experiments... but in the kindest way possible (i.e., he won’t be cruel when doing shady shit, but he will absolutely do shady shit to benefit the underground). I’d like to believe that he would work himself into the dirt if it meant that he could help make life more bearable for everyone in the Underground, especially if what he was doing would directly benefit his family.

Speaking of which, I think that he has a familial bond with Sans and Papyrus. My favorite interpretation places Gaster as a third brother (whether he or Sans is older depends on the vibes you want to portray I guess), however I do love a good father/grandfather Gaster narrative as well… really I just enjoy the idea of the three of them being a family.

My other thoughts regarding life in the underground, and his, Sans, and Papyrus’ place in it aren’t fully fleshed out yet. I’m still playing around with the idea of them all working together on the CORE/other projects (as was vaguely suggested in this pic I did of them)... generally speaking though, they are a family of talented individuals whose intellects—when combined—are capable of incredible things.

here are some little selfish hcs tho for (brother) gaster specifically:

loves having competitions between the three of them for the most ridiculous shit

he can only cook eggs well, anything else is a no-go

definitely a romantic guy, but perhaps demisexual/asexual? Loves the theater of romance.

he's very shy around strangers, and a bit of a hermit... though he can fake confidence when absolutely necessary (e.g., giving a presentation on some project he wants funding for, he will need a week to recuperate afterwards).

around the people he's comfortable with however he is an absolute goof. He loves to be dramatic, has a tendency for mischief, but he is ultimately a sweetheart.

he has an enormous collection of mugs. not because he enjoys mugs, but because he will finish his drink and forget to take the mug with him when going to get a new one. instead of trying to be better about remembering to take the thing with him for refills, he buys more mugs. the current record for mugs forgotten and left on his desk is 27. There is an entire hutch dedicated to his mugs.

neurotypical status set to False (prone to bouts of depression/mania when experiencing long-term stress)

this is all i've got rn cause my mind is absolute mush, I haven't slept well for two days lmao (please pardon any typos)

also thank you and i'm glad you like how I draw gaster, I enjoy drawing him in a way that lets his goof shine

[izzy-b-hands]

hiiiiii holden ily. 🍓 🥑🦴🧩

Ella, thank u!!!

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

Already answered, but! I provide another Early Fanfic Fact abt myself: my friends and I in middle school and into early high school had a shared notebook (s) for MCR fanfiction. Just those cheap crappy thin ones from like, Wal-Mart, but we could have a bunch on hand as we filled each one up lol. We passed those around, everyone either adding onto in progress fics (with original author's permission), or just adding nice comments or little drawings (we were a bunch of goth/emo kids in the aughts, so. Not so skilled anime style portraits of various band members/anime characters, that one weird S that I think everyone learned how to do.)

🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help?

Tbh, probably all of you guys, yourself very much included Ella lol. Depending on exactly how badly I've fucked up, we might need a variety of skills, variety of access to a variety of things. Some people coordinating hiding the body, others helping me figure out a disguise, some working on plane, train, etc tickets and finding places for me to hide. In return, I'll only mildly jeopardize my hiding places by sending u guys cool stuff that I think you'll like from wherever I am at the time jfadlskjadjal. This is the one situation where I'm aware actually having a lot of ppl involved would be a bad idea, but it's funnier for the bit to imagine this like some Ocean's/Kingsman level of silly shit after I accidentally kill someone (at least one person is dedicated to just keeping me from panicking abt that tbh lmao.)

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

There's a lot of them!

Only Lovers Left Alive (movie), Last Night at the Lobster (book), The Man Who Fell to Earth (book and the movie), are the first ones that come to mind (the second one partially bc I'm due for a reread of it, and since moving have no idea where my copy is.) There's a much larger full list tho of course, that includes music too which immediately adds several miles to said list lol.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Honestly? if it's touted as the 'most perfect' or 'only correct characterisation' or other similar 'this fic is the Only Fic Ever don't read anything else from this fandom' vibes.

I've found that fics like that aren't necessarily bad, some are lovely! But they don't tend to live up to all the hype every time, and I feel. Weird. Abt having that high of expectations vs being able to go in more neutral, or like, a fic that I've had one or two ppl recommend to me.

I always worry talking abt this, bc really, less popular vs more popular fics aren't a 'one is better than the other' situation, at least not to me. I've read some amazing, very popular fics, and I've read some that had barely twenty kudos that still live rent free in my head just as much as the former. It just kinda depends, but, that said, I still have a harder time going into the 'BNF' (hate that term) fics than others.

I have other things that'll make me back out of a fic, but this is one that's come up the most in the last couple of years in particular for me when fic-reading/searching for fic to read lol.

[bongo-clash]

Ectobiology: Ectoplasmic Anatomy of Ghosts & Halfas!!!

Okay, I mentioned in my post about ghost taxonomy a couple things about ectoplasm that helped with the different category sections, and I thought it’d be nice to go over that stuff plus some other ideas in more detail!!! Please don’t mind too much if the science is a little wonky, because I love this kind of thing but I am not a STEM guy, and my only resource is questionable websites and my own brain!!! Anyway, let’s get into some of it!!!!

(Everything under cut!!! :D) 

Before I start, I want to make a point of saying that I’m only talking about Ghost Ectoplasm™ specifically and not ectoplasm as a whole (i.e., atmospheric/ambient ectoplasm), and while I might mention it in a section or two in terms of how it interacts with Ghost Ectoplasm™, I won’t go into too many details on the stuff itself (Might do a smaller thing for that though too, if I ever get in the mood for ectochemistry I guess!!!)!! (I also mentioned mediums in my taxonomy post, but we’re ignoring them for now because this stuff doesn’t really apply to them!!! This is exclusively ghost and halfa stuff!!!)

But, now that that’s out of the way, here we go!!!!

-

Section 1: Ectoplasm’s Prokaryoticism

I’ll start with one of the things that came up in my taxonomy post- specifically to do with why ghosts that were alive at some point are classified as post-eukarya, which definitely raises questions to what they’re like now. Let’s talk about that!!

Post-eukaryotic kind of implies they’re now prokaryotic, meaning they lack a nucleus/membrane bound organelles. In the Domain category of taxonomy (the normal not-ghost one lmao!!), there are two other sections other than eukarya, which are bacteria and archaea. I bring these up because they kind of serve as a base to understand ectoplasm with!!! Post-eukarya ghosts’ ectoplasmic structure more closely resembles organisms labelled bacteria, whereas natural ghosts’ more closely resembles archaea. I wanted to make this distinction because it makes sense given their different niches:

(From the three-domain system wikipedia page)

‘Bacteria tend to be the most prolific reproducers, at least in moderate environments. Archaeans tend to adapt quickly to extreme environments, such as high temperatures, high acids, high sulfur, etc. This includes adapting to use a wide variety of food sources. Eukaryotes are the most flexible with regard to forming cooperative colonies, such as in multi-cellular organisms, including humans.’

An archaean-like structure makes a lot of sense for natural ghosts because of its ability to thrive in extreme conditions, since the Ghost Zone definitely counts as an extreme environment (for non-ectoplasmic entities at least). Bacteria-like qualities, on the other hand, make more sense for post-eukarya ghosts due to them being more likely go into the human world, and thus needing to be much more prolific cell-reproducers and restorers, having to be more ‘self-sufficient’ in that sense as a result of there being a lesser supply of ectoplasm to draw from. 

So I feel like I should mention now that I’m not thinking of ghosts as single-celled organisms here, even though that’s how prokaryotic organisms usually are because!!! They’re not always!!! It’s been a least a little bit evidenced that certain bacterial species can aggregate together, which is what multicellular organisms do, and even though there’s a big debate about whether or not we can really call them multicellular, I’ve made the elective decision that we can for ectoplasm!!!! Because they have at least some adhesion even if they’re pretty easily and harmlessly separated (which we can see in most ghost fights), and because the cells can clearly communicate seeing as they all move as part of a body!!!!

Anyway, back to more structure stuff, I’m gonna focus on post-eukarya ghosts just because (though a lot of this could be applied vaguely to natural ghosts too) we’re gonna look into a more specific part of it now to do with the subsistence category- which if you didn’t read the taxonomy post, is basically how ghosts ‘get’ their energy- either by naturally absorbing the ambient ectoplasm in the atmosphere or by having to actively consume energy through any one of various methods. 

I mentioned before that post-eukaryotic ghosts are more ‘bacteria-like’. But there’s also a further distinction in the ectoplasmic structure of ambient and active ghosts!!!! There’s a type of bacteria called cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae) which can perform photosynthesis thanks to them containing internal membranes unlike heterotrophic prokaryotes (that can’t produce their own ‘food’), as well as photosynthetic pigments. Ambient ghosts function in a similar way to this, able to absorb the energy from atmospheric ectoplasm rather than having to actively consume anything- also why most post-eukaryotic ghosts are ambient!!! It’s advantageous when taking into consideration the lesser ectoplasm supply in the human world; if they’re constantly, automatically ‘recharging’, then it’s easier to quickly recover from damage (though we’ll get onto the specifics of that later)!!!

However!!! Active post-eukaryotic ghosts also exist (like Spectra!!), so their structure is a little different!!! Their structure can vary more wildly than an ambient’s can, but the more common structural resemblance is to the bacteria Actinomycetota, which can have a kind of symbiotic relationship with their surroundings. 

I think it’d be good to have an example for this, so Spectra’s ability is probably an easier way to look at it!!! Some kinds of Actinomycetota help out in ecosystems by converting nitrogen in the air into ammonia for plants, and in ‘return’ gain access to some of those plants’ saccharides. Spectra’s ability works in a similar way, even though the symbiotic nature isn’t mutually beneficial. She induces mood alteration (of the negative kind), and uses that to kind of ‘gain access’ to a target’s energy!!!! But not all active ghosts function this way- some can be beneficial like the kind of Actinomycetota mentioned before, and some are less symbiotic and just stay in the zone to ‘feed’ off its natural supply!!!!

Okay I’m gonna be honest my eyes are blurring looking at all this stuff about prokaryoticism so we’re gonna move on to a new section now for the sake of my brain staying not-melted!!!!!

-

Section 2: Anaerobic Classifications

Just to make sure I’ve got a definition down before we get into it, aerobic and anaerobic respiration basically refers to whether or not an organism respires with oxygen/uses oxygen for growth or not- aerobic is when it uses oxygen, anaerobic is when it doesn’t!!!

Ghosts are anaerobic!!!! The GZ doesn’t naturally contain breathable/sufficient levels of oxygen (although it can be found in higher contents in areas with a higher population of post-eukaryotic ghosts and portals!!), so it makes sense that they don’t actually have a need for it, however!! There are actually different classifications of anaerobe, and a ghost can fall into almost any one of those categories!!!! There is a little bit of debate about the accuracy of these categories as classifications, but rn we’re just going to ignore that because they work well enough for ghosts!!! 

Anyway- there are three categories of anaerobes!!! They’re pretty easy to understand, so I’m just gonna put down what the Wikipedia page says!!! :

Obligate anaerobes, which are harmed by the presence of oxygen. Two examples of obligate anaerobes are Clostridium botulinum and the bacteria which live near hydrothermal vents on the deep-sea ocean floor.

Aerotolerant organisms, which cannot use oxygen for growth, but tolerate its presence.

Facultative anaerobes, which can grow without oxygen but use oxygen if it is present.

So, which ghosts fit what definition?? Well, no ghosts are actually facultative except halfas in their human form!!! Or, well, on the whole they’re kind of a weird mix of a microaerophile (which is fully aerobic but higher concentrations of oxygen are poisonous) but also maybe slightly facultative, which I know sounds weird but halfas are just super weird either way [and we’ll get into some of that weirdness more in the fourth section lmao]!! Mediums are full microaerophiles but I haven’t talked about them properly yet so we’ll leave them for another day!!!!

Moving on, the majority of natural ghosts are actually fully obligate with a couple of noteworthy exceptions like Clockwork, Undergrowth, Nocturn, and some others!!!! I know you might be thinking if you read the taxonomy post- ‘why is this not a section in the taxonomic classification system??’ And my answer to this is!!! Because if a ghost isn’t fully obligate, it can get pretty complicated. I say fully obligate because, in reality, all ghosts are obligate in a weird way, but some- namely, post-eukaryotic ghosts- have adaptations to help with this!!!!

I’m going to say the adaptation is kind of like. A protective layer of sorts??? They have a kind of ‘outermost layer’ of aerotolerant ectoplasm to protect everything underneath from coming into contact with oxygen, and it also works as a filter system for ambient ghosts so that the ectoplasm absorbed from the atmosphere is pure and any oxygen it might have reacted with is separated and left behind!!! It’s pretty quick to cover over again when a ghost is hit unless the damage is serious- I guess you could compare it to potassium metal!!! If you’ve ever seen a video of someone messing around with potassium metal, it’s got this kind of dirty-looking layer over it, and if you cut it the inside’ll go bright at first but it tarnishes super quickly, and it’ll soon look the same as the other uncut parts of the outer layer!!! 

Speaking of which, this is a pretty good way to bring in how ecto-weapons work and why they hurt ghosts beyond just the force of the shot!!! Like I mentioned before (and Might get into more sometime in another post), atmospheric ectoplasm will react with oxygen!!!! This is important because that’s the stuff that ecto-weapons use; it’s not pure ectoplasm because you can’t find that naturally outside the GZ!!!

So, if the stuff is shot at a ghost through something like an ecto-gun, because it’s obviously forceful and makes contact at a high-speed, it can damage and even break through that aerotolerant layer and get oxygen into their system, which really isn’t good!!!! If the damage is just surface-layer/superficial, it can be recovered from pretty quickly (thinking back to the potassium analogy!!), but if the damage is more serious and that oxygen- even reacted with ectoplasm- manages to really get into a ghost’s anatomy, preventative measures need to be taken in order to ensure that it doesn’t reach the ghost’s core/the rest of their body, and this is where the next section comes into play!!!!

-

(TW: There's some pretty bad injury/medical talk in these next sections (Section 4 especially), so please be mindful!!!!)

-

Section 3: Programmed Cell Death

Okay when I said I was done talking about prokaryoticism I actually meant I was done talking about cyanobacteria and actinomycetota similarities. Prokaryotic organisms like bacteria don’t really have ‘immune systems’ in the same way most eukaryotic organisms do, so they sometimes can’t fight off things like infection if the infection isn’t manageable from the get-go. Instead, they initiate a form of ‘programmed cell death’ in order to prevent the pathogen from reproducing!!! And now here’s how that’s relevant to ghost injury!!!!

So!!! Long story short, if a ghost gets oxygen into their ‘inner system’ thanks to something like an ecto-gun, the area the injury originates at literally just dies off, and separates from the body before it can spread to other parts. For example, if a ghost was hit in the arm badly, that arm can literally just fall off and grow back like a lizard tail!!! This can be done with pretty much any part of a ghost’s body- the only aspect of a ghost that’s actually genuinely problematic to injure is the core, because most ghosts- provided they’re not already low-energy- can just regrow everything else, though they may need to head back to the GZ for the higher ectoplasm quantity if the loss is severe enough!!!!

Really short section, I know, however!!! There is a complication to this stuff, and this is where we get into the difficult bit!!!!

-

Section 4: Halfas

The problem with halfas is that they’re not totally ghosts or totally humans no matter which form they’re in, and this can cause a lot of complications when it comes to stuff like injuries- but first, we’re going to go into integration. 

Ghosts are prokaryotic. Humans are eukaryotic. Halfas are…???????? Kind of both kind of neither????? There’s this one thing called a Parakaryon that we can’t classify as either eukaryotic or prokaryotic because it’s so weird, and it’s kind of like that, in that their cells have aspects unique to both types. This is probably a result of all their ghost stuff and all their human stuff trying to combine/integrate into one thing, and ending up as something almost entirely different in the process. This also means that their structures in both ghost and human form are weird, because halfas at least somewhat need organs, which ghosts don’t (other than a core if you count that as an organ), and they also need ectoplasm, which humans don’t. 

Because of all this weirdness, there can be a lot of potential issues with a halfa getting injured, because humans can’t and don’t defend against harm in the same way ghosts do, and vice versa. While ghosts can just get rid of something and grow it back, that’s not a natural option at all for humans, and while humans can fight against infection in an injury thanks to their white blood cells, ghosts don’t have that in the same way. So what does that mean for a halfa?????

What I’m thinking is that, for most non-lethal but slightly beyond superficial injuries (slashes, broken bones, burns, etc.), they’re able to defend against them in a human way, since they still have a human-immune system. So, for injuries like that, especially if it’s caused by an ecto-weapon, it’s weirdly enough best to deal with those in human form, since they can be pretty easily recovered from and it’d really suck for your finger to just. Fall off because you hurt it pretty bad and stayed in ghost-form for too long so your ghost-recovery-system kicked in before your human one did. I’m almost completely sure it’d grow back, but that’d still cause a lot of problems, since you wouldn’t have a finger. 

However, major injuries are a bit more… difficult. Because at this point your ghost-recovery-system would be kicking in regardless of what form you’re in. It’d want to activate programmed cell death and separate from the body, but human bodies just don’t do it the way ghosts do, and it’d be fighting to keep all your everything attached because separating could make it a lot worse. So major injuries aren’t just problematic because they’re major, but also because they present a whole new issue: necrosis. 

Basically, the ghost stuff wants the whole injured section totally separate from the body, so when the human stuff doesn’t let that happen, it does what it thinks the next best thing is: having the cells sort of ‘spew their guts’ as like, a really weird and warped form of ‘separation’. The cell membrane ruptures and releases the contents of the cell, but because it’s such an uncontrolled release into a space outside the cells, it causes an inflammatory response in the surrounding tissue. This then gets the attention of the human white blood cells to get rid of the dead cells, which is all well and good, except that some kinds of white blood cells (leukocytes) release a microbial-damaging substance that ends up causing more damage in that inflamed surrounding tissue. That all ends up inhibiting the healing process, so the decomposing surrounding tissue and the dead cells can just build up around and cause even more issues (Like, gangrene in particularly nasty cases, which. Ah. Eugh.). 

If it doesn’t heal on its own and does just build up, the only real way of getting anything better is to surgically remove the necrotic tissue. Thankfully, despite all the horrific stuff I’ve just said about halfas’ injury-response systems, they do actually have an accelerated healing factor thanks to the extra energy source (ectoplasm), so it doesn’t tend to get to this point in the first place. This is just what happens if that rapid-response system decides that the only way to solve the problem is to try and totally get rid of the problem, which I guess is just one of the downfalls of being someone made up of a combination of things that shouldn’t really exist together. A double-edged sword of sorts!!!

-

Maybe not the lightest note to end on, but either way, that’s all I’ve really got the energy to give you right now!!! This ended up even longer than my taxonomy post, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask because I love talking to people!!! I might add onto this at some point with another post- mainly because there’s some very brief stuff about atmospheric/ambient ectoplasm that I kind of want to cover (which, like I said at the beginning is more ectochemistry anyway, and I might do a separate post for that too)- but for now, that’s it!!!!! Hope you’re all having a good day!!! :D

[cara-kira]

Hello again its your rwby exchange buddy. 😎

I have more questions. Like a lot. Sorry I hope I'm not annoying I just have a lot of thoughts.

Do you have a length preference for the fic or just whatever I'm feeling up to? I know some people don't enjoy long fics

Do you see Oz as the kind of fella that would be in a polycule 👀

I like your grim au so much it's changing the idea I had. How do you feel about letting me put my own twists on it? I know some people are protective of their AUs so I don't want to overstep.

Do you have an ao3 you'd like tagged? I tend to post stuff on there if that's alright

Also I'd love to hear some fun facts about yourself you seem very friendly and I'd like to get to know you lol. Sometimes it's fun to incorporate a bit of the giftee in the story. Like how do you like your pizza, if at all? Do you like frogs? Whats your favorite word? You know. Important things. Nothing scary or personaly revealing, just the important stuff.

If this is too much or you don't want to answer this whole thing I'm sure Zac can send me a message lol

I hope you're having a great day!

Hello again! No need to apologize for asking questions, you can ask me anything anytime!

As for my answers:

Nope! I don't really mind long fics, but it might take me a while to finish reading them since I unfortunately have the attention span of a goldfish

I kinda do actually. I haven't really made any fanart yet nor did I ever mention it, but I actually enjoy IronOzQrow quite a bit, or perhaps ozqrowbleck.

This kinda depends on what you plan to twist it into. I'm fine with some add-ons or small changes, but would like the overal base of the au to remain the same, if that makes sense.

I do have an ao3 account, but I don't use it all that much -and quite frankly know next to nothing on how it works either lmao. Feel free to post your work on ao3 and tag me, but I do suggest tagging me in a post here on tumblr as well so I won't accidentally miss it😅

And man, I suck at small talk lmao. Especially when it's about me XD

But anyways, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, I really like to draw. I've been drawing for as long as I remember, and I've been drawing fanart for rwby again since late 2019 I believe. (Yes again, the first time would've been around 2014/2015(?), of which some posts still exist on my instagram page haha). And like every media I've ever created for, I tend to latch onto the (often tragic) side characters with little screentime. Because of that, these characters usually don't have a lot known about them. So I usually tend to fill in the rest with headcannons. I actually have a few for Oz here as well, should you maybe want add some of those to your work👀

As for favorite foods, I love a good lasagna, or a nice pepperoni or shawarma pizza. Melted cheese is my kryptonite, and so is garlic bread lol.

My favorite color is purple. And my favorite animal changes from time to time, but usually goes from dogs to crows or ducks :>

I listen to a wide variety of music genres, but I think the majority of my playlist exists out of metal music.

I am also genderfluid, and go by she/he/they!

And I'll stop there or this post will go on forever lmao. I hope you're having a great day too!

Should you ever feel stuck on something or need more information, feel free to reach out! :>

[stackthedeck]

1, 4, 5, 11, 13, and 16

What led you to start writing fan fiction?

This is embarrassing i was publishing original fiction on wattpad in middle school and it just wasn't getting clicks so I started writing fanfic to get people onto my page in hopes of luring them to my original fic lmao it was all terrible but I'm glad I did it, it gave me the confidence and attention I need to pursue writing

4. What themes/concepts in the canon do you most enjoy exploring in your fan works?

I'm obsessed with the way that "great power/great responsibility" has been distorted by canon, how Peter himself has twisted it into a sword he falls on, how Peter uses responsibility to isolate himself but also to draw people in because he has to be responsible for them to the point that he turns people into heroic actions he must take rather than like human beings. His moral code is so strict but not in an edgy Batman way but in a "driving himself to self-harm to hold up these rules he's imposed on himself out of a twisted sense of guilt" way.

Also like... Peter Parker is canonically into bondage love writing fics about that

5. What aspect of writing have you most improved over time? How did you improve this? What are you trying to improve on now?

I think my style of writing has really improved idk really how to explain it but my older stuff has a monotony to it. Idk how i fixed it, maybe became aware of passive voice? spiced up my sentence structure? Frankly it's probably just reading more especially more variety of writing and just writing basically every day since middle school. I don't know if I'm conscious of anything I want to fix now? I honestly am so bad at self-reflection for things I create, I'm desperate for some peer review it is honestly the biggest actor of change

11. What attracted you to the fandom(s)/media you write in?

Is childhood nostalgia a cope out? I'm mostly writing in Spider-Man fandom because I think it has the most potential of the super hero fandoms to explore social systems (even if it doesn't). Everything about Peter is very human especially his ugly elements and the violence of the mask provides a fascinating way to explore it. Themes of duality you see the vision

13. What are some must-read fanfics in your fandoms? Why do you admire these, and how have they impacted your works?

Oh god I make fic recs all the time, what's something I haven't talked about recently? obviously everything by Traincat for the spideytorch side of the fandom. I really like softgrungeprophet's Peter/Flash fics especially since Flash is trans femme like oh my goodness you get it. I'm always thinking about spideywhiteys' series ultraviolent. waterme, a cry in the wilderness, and justgail are my anchors in the storm of spideypool fanon like thank god someone else is right about them. but like yeah most of my fic bookmarks on public i put myself on blast for yall

16. What's the worst writing advice anyone ever gave you? Why was this terrible advice?

I've often been told that writing fanfic is a waste of time especially if you ever want to be a series traditionally published author. and like i agree that it can create bad writing habits. but if you write with the intention of creating a unique style and voice and like you truly try to maintain canon characterization it's a fantastic way to improve and get a lot of feedback. only writing original fiction for the sole purpose of traditional publish is such a lonely way to write. every writer needs an audience even for early drafts

[aelaer]

About the fanfic writer emoji ask, hmmmm... What about 🤡, 🎶 and ✅? I'm curious lmao

From here.

🤡 What's a line, scene, or exchange you've written that made you laugh?

From Inhibited Lodgings:

Sentient cloak," he affirmed. "Officially called the Cloak of Levitation for the exact reasons you would suspect. It's difficult to describe the Cloak's form of sentience; in some ways you could describe it as a cat or dog, and in others ways like a young child, but at other times it would remind me more of an elder, a mentor, or even a caregiver. And I learned quickly that I did not need to speak with it for the Cloak to understand my desires." Tony raised both brows very high. "Desires?" he asked, drawing out the word in a suggestive manner. "I mean—" "Do not even start," Stephen interrupted, frowning. "That is—no. What is wrong with you?" "Nothing! I mean, so long as everything was consensual—" "For fuck's sake! I meant things like what direction to fly in and steadying a bookshelf while I propped up the other end. What the hell is wrong with you?" Despite only knowing him for four (conscious) days, Stephen was not fooled for one moment by Tony's wide-eyed, innocent act. "All I'm saying is that what happens between a man and his wardrobe is his own business—" "Do you want the rest of the story or are you going to continue being an asshole?"

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

I don't actually! I prefer quiet. I did listen to an old RTGame video during writing this week though as a change of pace but for writing, at least, it helps to have my concentration on the work. I find if I'm actively listening to something else I can't write as well.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

Hurt Stephen Strange *facepalm* I am trying for a bit more variety but yeah. It's just a lot of fun. What can I say.

[melodybottles]

hello and happy holidays everypony!

i have nothing to do at work at the moment. let's talk about art bc i've been thinking about it a lot lately and particularly have been struggling! which is a shame bc i've had the drive to draw lately, but haven't been able to put things down on paper the way i've wanted to.

first and foremost i have still not finished sorting all my CSP assets. lol. lmao even. (i've even returned to downloading MORE, thus making the problem continuously worse for myself). when i finally do that the palette tests WILL get done.... someday.................... but unfortunately that day is not today. certainly i could already start using it, but unfortunately i'm a very organised person to the point of perhaps neurotic overorganisation so i NEED things very meticulously sorted into folders. relatedly on the topic of brushes i've also been really dissatisfied with any of my SAI ones so that's been A Struggle

SECOND OF ALL. actually this is primarily wanted to make this post about bc i wanted to lay this out and discuss it so that my friends don't have to hear me whining in dms anymore -- i've mentioned over the past several months my style has been kind of experimental, right? well. i'm at the point where i'm deeply unsatisfied with my style as a whole atm </3 and it's not even like my art style is bad by any means! i enjoy a lot of what i've put out over the past several months. but i'm really dissatisfied with my work because there are a lot of elements i want to include that i can't quite get a grasp on!

it's like.... i want something stylised. but i don't want something too stylised. but i don't want something realistic. but i want something with more realistic proportions. but also i do like doing the stylised limbs. but also. i want variety to my work but still enough consistency where you can tell it's mine. i want to figure something out that's able to integrate drawing fat people easily into it. i want to learn how to draw older characters and make sure i settle on a style that grants me the ability to do that too. i want to do art like this and like that and i have soooo many things i want to do with it that i see from other artists it just makes me kind of shut down and struggle LMAO

basically i want a lot of things! and some of them contradict each other </3 art is hard folks

[howgalling]

Your art makes my bisexual ass just mentally go "WOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMENWOMEN"

How do you do it I need to know your secrets 😭😭😭

Also, do you just plan on making the guys into cybergals or do you plan to also make the gals into cybergals? :0

HEHEHEHE thanku!!! I’ve drawn Arcee as a cyber gal already!! I’m not really interested in drawing men akdndjd

my secret…homo. LMAO but for real, when designing I love to bring out characteristics of what I admire/find beautiful in women!!! and I enjoy matching up the characters physiques to their purpose too. Actually I’ll rant.

a lot of the mech designs have good baseline ‘physiques’ under the bulk of armour I like to pick apart and match to the human design. Not always, a lot of them do look the same in overall silhouette- so variety is important, but that’s why a lot of my designs tend to tip towards Rectangular in silhouette. broad shoulders, solid middles, thick arms and hands and legs. Built to survive (and give excellent hugs)💖 PLUS it makes me :^) to draw. they are beautiful 🥰

also, when we are constantly presented with the beauty industry’s facade of ‘perfect’ bodies, people forget that most women just Do Not look like that, and I enjoy making characters that look more- u know… human!! Wrinkles and bellies and muscle and scars- all the good stuff! which i believe is a more interesting contrast with the cyberware I put into/onto their bodies :) metal and synthetic materials against ageing skin, seeing the contrast of sun damaged epidermis against pristine synthetic flesh, it’s fascinating 2 me!! (I’m hoping to explore this type of stuff in more detail soon, but I digress!!!)

Characters like mirage for example who’s presented image has been completely manufactured. before her (not entirely informed) modifications, she was considered by standards to be bland, unremarkable . Her hyper feminine, exaggerated physique is adjacent to commentary of unrealistic expectations. that being said I am also 😳😳😳😳 so hehehe it’s not all ‘insightful’, sometimes I am just gay and it’s fun pushing the limitations u see people boxing themselves into when designing female characters. And i love designing tanks like grimlock without making them derogatory meathead jokes. men get to look all exaggerated and over bulked but when women do it it’s gross? 👎🏼 BOOOO 👎🏼 basically people should go more ham when designing their female designs,, be not afraid

unlock ur mind….💖🫶🏻💖

[the-nimbasa-trio]

Hello! Mod Comet again!

For this blog, we're doing this thing where we will draw your sonas/self inserts/ocs etc to appear as in the blog! @tinyfieryghost has a self insert already since I know them, but if you want to submit an appearance (even for anons, you just have to tag the anon as a specific tag to let us know who you are), you can reblog this post or submit it in our submission box!

Here are the rules for appearances, self inserts, etc. There aren't many, to be fair, but it's just to make sure that nothing gets out of hand :)

No sultry/NSFW appearances (don't expose breasts no matter the gender, no lingerie, etc. If a character has a big chest, that doesn't matter as long as its covered)

NO OVER COMPLICATED DESIGNS! It'll be a pain to redraw constantly. Don't do a billion patterns, or if you do patterns, make sure they're rather basic/not too many. The template below the cut has patterns for every clothes option, but that's only to give more options. It would be better if you don't do patterns for every single option.

You CAN be a Pokemon! No furries/scalies/etc, not because we don't support them, but furries/scalies/etc are really hard to draw LMAO. Human designs are preferred, but if you have the urge to become your favorite Pokemon, feel free, just no legendaries/mythicals. You can also have patterns not normally found on the Pokemon of your choice, but make sure it's simple and easy to redraw.

No magic besides very basic ones like M!A and everything I listed in the intro post. Even if you're a Pokemon, you can't use Pokemon moves.

A drawing of the OC/insert/etc is preferred, but a description works just as well! (Template for descriptions will be below the cut). Do NOT fill out every little bit of information because we need it to be simple. There's only a lot of options to allow for variety, but designs WILL be simplified if there's too much going on.

If it's a drawing and isn't using the template (you can use the template if it's a drawing, especially if the drawing isn't colored so we don't have to guess), put your preferred name and pronouns! I would like to avoid assuming!

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, DON'T BULLY THE ARTIST! They're doing their best and I love and adore them. If they do a design choice that you are not a fan of, just send a POLITE ask and we can change it for the next art piece! Please don't be aggressive. It will NOT be tolerated and, as the creator of the blog and protective over those I love, I won't hesitate to block anyone who is being aggressive. Depending on the severity, you can get off as a warning and a slap on the wrist, but I won't tolerate anything severe. I doubt it'll come to that, but be warned!

Template:

Name:

Pronouns:

Gender Identity (IF COMFORTABLE):

Race (IF COMFORTABLE):

Age (No need to give a specific age, "minor" and "adult" work, or an age range):

Hair Length:

Hair Design (one eye covered, bangs, etc):

Hair Color:

Eye Color(s):

Clothes Section (Only fill in those that apply- be as descriptive as possible):

Shirt:

Shirt Base Color:

Shirt Pattern Type:

Shirt Pattern Color:

Jacket/Coat:

Jacket/Coat Base Color:

Jacket/Coat Pattern Type:

Jacket/Coat Pattern Color:

Pants/Shorts:

Pants/Shorts Base Color:

Pants/Shorts Pattern Type:

Pants/Shorts Pattern Color:

Personality (just to give drawings more life if the ask warrants art- not a requirement):

Jewelry Type (necklace, bracelet, etc):

Jewelry Design (Example: If a necklace has a gemstone, what kind is it and where is it located?)

Jewelry Colors:

For Pokemon Designs:

Pokemon Species:

Fur/Scales/etc Base Color:

Pattern Type:

Pattern Color:

[sergeantsporks]

Here’s several moths worth of having a service dog hyperfixation! Do keep in mind that everything I know is based on American laws and the ADA, so I don’t know how it’d go in the boiling isles cjsmckksox

Therapy animals are animals that provide some sort of support to people in specific spaces, such as schools or hospitals. There’s a huge range of animals that can be therapy animals, the most common being dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, and even birds (in the US, there’s some criteria that determines what kind of animal can become one). Organizations will usually require these animals to pass some sort of test before they can start serving. I was actually training my dog alongside a NGO so he could serve as a therapy animal in pediatric hospitals, but then the pandemic hit and we were forced to give up :P

Emotional support animals are usually prescribed by psychiatrists and are indeed owned by the people they provide emotional support to (they’re covered under the Fair Housing Act in the US), said people not necessarily being disabled. They can also range from a variety of animals and don’t have to be trained to do anything specific. “Emotional support animal” is more of a legal/medical definition, so there’s no way to know how or if anything I’ve said could be applied in the Boiling Isles. That being said, I still love the idea of an emotional support palisman for Hunter, regardless of human definitions being applicable or not lol

Unlike the other two, service dogs strictly have to be dogs (even tho mini horses are actually also valid if dogs aren’t a possibility). They have to task trained in order to aid their owners, who do have to be disabled. Any breed is a valid breed, so I like to picture Hunter with some wolf-like dog like a northern Inuit dog or a tamaskan (even tho both are high-energy dogs and might be hard to train). Service dogs can be taught tasks to aid people with a range of disabilities, be it physical or psychiatric. So like, Hunter could use one as a mobility aid or teach them things that could help with his PTSD (picture a dog telling him to lay down suddenly and just laying down on him for deep pressure therapy). They can follow their owners anywhere they go, as their access is required by law according to the ADA. Even tho the ADA wouldn’t valid in the boiling isles, witches seem to be allowed to take their palisman wherever, so I don’t think anyone would stop him if he just had a very polite dog lmao

Anyways I’m 100% drawing him with a service dog I need this in my life

Amazing, Thank You. Yep, for sure a service dog is the best fit for him, perfect!