#of all my recent art. I'd hope this one gets the most notes

[nosleepgummitato]

So I finally finished this piece, using entirely watercolor markers (and water) and a sharpie :>

It didn't turn out how I envisioned it in the beginning, but I think it ended up turning out better than I wanted it to be before, so that's good.

[fos-tis-zois]

Wow I really loved your latest work and I think most of us can relate to being led on by someone only to be abandoned later😭Sucks but hey I'd gladly go through it of I get to have such adorable guys fix me up smh. On that note, thank you for adding Nanami his one was so cute too! If you ever get the time could you also add the others? Like Megumi, Yuuta, Yuuji and Geto? All of them or the ones you prefer! I think it'll be really cute with them too

jjk smau - y/n having your heart broken after being led on and your bff!jjk partner console you

spoiler: they like you

part i (w/ gojo, choso, nanami)

♡ incl: shoko, megumi, yuuji, yuuta

♡ an: hiiii anon, thank you so much im glad u liked my work enough to want a part ii and i really hope u like it. on this note, i would like to bring up that your reblogs would be mad appreciated. for those who dont know the only thing which matters for a blog on tumble is reblogs (even i found this out very recently) and my part i to this post only has 8 reblogs :( i am very grateful for all the readers always and i know im doing this mostly so i can keep being creative but a writer posting stuff is thinking of how it will be perceived and accepted by their readers and your reblogs are very validating so if u like my (or anyone's) work here please reblogg!! and requests are open, like alwasy darlingsss 🫶🏼🫶🏼 i am open to writing one shots too! hope u like this one

comments, reblogs, and feedback always welcome ^.^

banner by @thecutestgrotto ; art by @equaly and @f4rm

[ddollfface]

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗦𝗶𝗰𝗸!𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘅 𝗙𝗲𝗺!𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

Trigger Warnings; bad writing, lovesick behavior, reader is called 'my girl' multiple times, reader is described as more 'curvy' (in LoveSick!Bimbo's specifically), fluffy, nothing too bad. If I missed anything, then please let me know ♡ Hey, I'm sorry I've been so absent recently, but that's just because of personal issues. And I'd also like to say that I'm not going to be the most active writer on the app, sooo um sorry 'bout that. I'm just not very motivated to really do anything, so yeah. I hope ya'll enjoy :)))

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𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙎𝙞𝙘𝙠!𝘼𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚

All of the Above. Any way he can show you affection, he will. Nothing is holding him back from hugging you, kissing you, or holding your hand. He has no fear. I mean, what are you going to do? Push him away? Yeah, right. And this is when his ego gets in the way. He can't comprehend why you wouldn't want to touch him, besides, he wants to touch you! He wants to love you, hold you, and protect you! Why wouldn't you want that?

He also enjoys buying you things. Whether it be a fancy dress, some makeup, paint, hell, it can even be a football or something! He doesn't judge (though he'd prefer you to be pliant, little you, someone he can protect). If you need something, whether it be for classes, a hobby, or anything of the sort, he'll pay for it! First date? Nope, don't even reach into your bag; he's got you! Want a coffee/tea/etc.? Babe, I better not see your card out right now. Who do you think I am? A bum? I take care of my girl.

He likes spending time with you, too. You're practically his best friend, after all! He likes to bring you to his practices, and games, wanting you to watch him. The majority of the time, whenever you're there, he'll purposefully show off, wanting you to know that he's husband material! He can protect you and your future children, don't worry! Just let him take care of you!

But he'll also come to any events you're a part of. Say you do theater, he's coming to every performance, the same if you do any performing art. If you do a sport (he'd be ecstatic btw), then he's coming to your practices, teaching different tips and tricks, and most importantly, he's giving you a "good luck kiss" (as he likes to call them). And if you're an artist or some sort, then he'll offer to be a model for you. He's not afraid to strip if it's for you. No matter how far you two are in the relationship, there's no hesitation in his voice when he looks at you, snarkily saying, C'mon sweets, paint me like I'm one of your French girls, yeah?

His affection doesn't stop there. I've dabbled in this concept before, but LoveSick!Athlete also loves to call you nicknames, and they're never-ending. He'll think of a new one for you every day! Honestly, it's interesting to see what he'll think of next. He has a wide variety and they span from how pretty you are, to your ass, and back to your sweet personality!

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙎𝙞𝙘𝙠!𝙋𝙤𝙚𝙩

Gift Giving. LoveSick!Poet is far too nervous to talk to you. He'd shit himself if he ever called you something sweet like 'baby' or 'sweetheart', he thinks that his heart would implode. That's far too much for him. You're too much for him, too good to him, so he resorts to giving, giving, giving. He'll sneak you little poems he made about you, all flustered when you compliment his writing, how good he is. He'll get you a bouquet of flowers, all purple lilacs. LoveSick!Poet will go down to the nearest bakery, your favorite bakery, and leave you a small box of conchas, a sticky note stuck to the top of the box. It read 'I love your dress today, it looks beautiful on you :)'. He's so sweet, isn't he?

Quality Time. Similar to gift giving, it's a way for him to be affectionate without facing you. LoveSick!Poet doesn't have the best image of himself, finding your relationship with him to be a miracle, something to be worshiped, and admired. You want to go to the mall? Okay, he's on his way. Want to go out to eat? Where? When? He'll be there, but bare with him. He's not the most well-off man in New York, money's tight, right? And don't get him wrong, he feels bad. He'll constantly tell you so, going on about how he really wants to take care of you. And I'm sorry that I can't take you to the East Side, and we're stuck at the small cafe... I want to treat you, you really deserve the best, d-darling...

He just enjoys your presence overall, so any time he spends with you is a good time for him. LoveSick!Poet doesn't mind just sitting in silence, watching you do what you love. If you work at a cafe, restaurant, or anything of the sort, he'll show up to your work and just watch you do your thing. Depending on how you take his constant staring, he'll ask you for your number or how you're doing. He'll order something and have some, albeit awkward, small talk with you, wanting to know that you're doing well.

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙎𝙞𝙘𝙠!𝘽𝙞𝙢𝙗𝙤

Physical Affection. LoveSick!Bimbo is very, very, very affectionate with most people, but it's doubled whenever she's around you. Honestly, she can't help herself. She has to be touching you at some point. She just finds you to be so adorable! She wants to show her appreciation for you and your body! Of course, she'll always let you cop a feel, if you want.

She wants to have a hand on your thigh, intertwine your fingers, and even hug you. She'll always have her chest pressed against your arm, not matter you height. And believe me, she's a tall girl, but she doesn't seem to mind the stares you get from men and some women.

Verbal Affection. Not only is she physically affectionate, but she's also very sweet with her words. No matter what time of day it is, or where she is, she'll always be calling you some sweet name. She likes to compliment you and your body, making sure you're never feeling insecure. After all, she can't have her darling feeling bad about themselves when they look like that! You're always beautiful and she'll make sure you know it. She can't help but let compliments slip out, saying how your body is just so perfect! You're literally like my missing puzzle piece, babes! Like what would I do without ya' curves!!

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙎𝙞𝙘𝙠!𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙

Verbal Affection. Now, she's not complimenting you constantly (like LoveSick!Athlete and LoveSick!Bimbo), but she does give you affirmations. If you did well on a test, then she'll tell you how you're so smart. I'm just so lucky I got stuck with a sweet girl like you. You make me so proud.

She'll never hold back saying 'I love you', nope, never. She's very caring in that sense, seeing as you've been friends for so long. She knows what you like, after watching you and your exes interact. LoveSick!Friend isn't afraid to pat your head and kiss you on the cheek, but it's not her go-to, y'know? So she always falls back on giving you assurance, that way you'll never doubt yourself. You're doing so great, babe. Just keep doing what you're doing, I'm here to help.

Acts of Service. LoveSick!Friend washes the dishes, does the laundry, and cooks the dinners. If you're ever feeling under the weather, then she'll become your little servant, always at your beck and call. She just wants you to be taken care of. She wants you to know that she's always going to be there for you, and you don't need some man to be here. All you need is her, so you should just delete that dating app, no?

𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙎𝙞𝙘𝙠!𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩

Verbal Affection. LoveSick!Artist is sweet with his words, knowing just what to say to get you all flustered and embarrassed. His voice is deep, soft, and comforting. He'll give you reassurance and soft words, speaking softly to you. He doesn't call you pet names too often, though he'll sometimes pull out 'sweets' or 'baby' if he's feeling extra nice that day. Most of the time, he prefers to use your name, finding it to be comforting. He likes your name, pleased by how the syllables roll off his tongue. It's the name for you, he prefers that you use his given name, instead of 'babe' or 'bubba'. It makes him feel closer to you and he'll tell you that. He'll go on about how, y'know, you're voice is real sweet, just prefer hearin' ya' say my name all the time. Makes a guy all giddy inside.

Gift giving. He likes to draw you, a lot. Whenever you pop into his mind, which is every waking second, he'll draw you, having to express his thoughts somehow. Sometimes, he'll have you right in front of him, modeling for him.

He likes to give you these drawings, well, only the PG ones. After all, he doesn't think you'd be able to handle it, getting too flustered and overwhelmed by how detailed he can get. But that's not the point, the point is that he likes to draw you, and for you. He draws the world around him and then gives it to you, wanting to share his talent with you. And you're always excited about it, enjoying your boy/friend's (depending on the timeline) talent.

Quality Time. Listen, LoveSick!Artist is very monotone, preferring to be calm, and by himself. He doesn't like parties, being in big groups, or loud music. He just wants to be with his close friends, you. It doesn't have to be a shared activity, where the two of you are talking. Actually, he prefers to do his own thing, and you do yours, just the both of you enjoying each other's presence. He'll be painting and you'll be doing homework, cleaning, reading, writing, whatever. He doesn't care too much.

It's like that one friend, the one where you can not talk for months and months, but when you two reunite, you're acting as if nothing changed. That's exactly how he treats your relationship. He doesn't need to be with you 24/7, if anything, he prefers to have some alone time.

Now, for this last part, I'm not too sure what category this would be under, but LoveSick!Artist is quite built, meaning he works out a lot. He's very strong. And he gives off scary dog privileges, much to your content. He enjoys protecting you, holding you close, and making sure no man is giving you any funny looks.

I think that may be described as physical affection, but it still doesn't feel right to me. LoveSick!Artist isn't necessarily the most touchy person, seeing as he likes to keep to himself, but that won't stop him from getting possessive. He's very, very, very aggressive towards other men, especially when you're involved. He already doesn't trust men, but when he sees the way they look at you, it causes him to spiral. Out of all my LoveSick!Characters, I think that LoveSick!Artist is the most likely to kill in your name. C'mon don't be like that, did ya' see how he was looking at you? Like a piece of meat, is what.

[ponett]

I spent a whole sunday reading through immortal hulk with the free trial, is there anything else good you would recommend to go through before the week's end? (I dont read many comics, the last one was I read was archie megaman)

Oh hell yeah, glad my tweets exposed at least one other person to Immortal Hulk. It's great

Admittedly I've only really started reading a variety of Marvel comics recently. I've liked characters like Spider-Man and the X-Men all my life, but I've only recently gotten over my aversion to just diving into random popular 616 stuff and not worrying about having the full context for everything. (I was finally like, oh yeah, I don't have to put up with the MCU and most of the cartoon adaptations being extremely mid, I can just go jump around and read the good stuff.) So I'm not the best person to ask. But here's stuff I've been enjoying recently:

Fantastic Four (2022) by Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics fame. Easily my highest recommendation here. Extremely fun and funny and heartfelt and creative science adventures. Immediately made me care about the Fantastic Four way more than I ever have. I subscribed to this one immediately upon catching up, and I hope North stays on for a good long while. (On a related note, I need to read North's Squirrel Girl run soon.)

Unbelievable Gwenpool (2018). As a series about a normal human girl transported into the comic world and getting by with her knowledge of comics, it's EXTREMELY meta, but instead of just going "haha isn't this all so dumb and tropey?" it ends up being a story about searching for meaning in superhero comic books where creative teams change all the time and the status quo reigns supreme. It's good stuff that goes some wild places. My only real gripe is the inconsistent art.

And they're only a few issues in and are still setting things up, but I'm enjoying the new Ultimates and Ultimate Spider-Man comics, which pick up following the Ultimate Invasion miniseries and the Ultimate Universe one-shot.

And uh... actually that's all the Marvel stuff I've been reading recently aside from Claremont X-Men - which is of course very good, but it's not as easy to recommend as these shorter, more standalone runs.

Some other relatively self-contained Marvel stuff I'd like to read soon:

Immortal Thor, the current series by Immortal Hulk writer Al Ewing that I hear is just as good

Ms. Marvel (2014)

Hawkeye (2012) by Matt Fraction

Spider-Man: Life Story

The Vision (2015)

And I hear Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2022) is pretty good and has Miles doing some crazy shounen anime shit while still being a street-level series, so I'm interested in checking that out

I'm also open to recommendations! I'm aware of many of the big hits, but, y'know, there's always gonna be good stuff that gets buried given the sheer volume of comics Marvel puts out every year

[sakurapika]

What are your all-time favorite outfits from Twisted Wonderland?

Hello @letterstoear, thank you for ask! I've had a lot of fun making this post, and I'm so sorry that it took forever to answer!

Every time I was certain I had my list narrowed down, I remembered another outfit I really liked. (Also, I'm a little bit biased, as you will see...haha). This time, I focused on event outfits to make it easier for myself. Maybe in the future I'll post my "reviews" on dorm uniforms or Halloween costumes.

I am always blown away by the the little details that Yana Toboso and the rest of the design team have added to each of characters' outfits, because they give some interesting insight to their personalities and backgrounds.

Without further ado, let's discuss some outfits! (Please note that there are spoilers for upcoming events from the JP server, as well as some groovy arts!)

My Favorite Twisted Wonderland Outfits

10. Floyd's Outdoor Wear (Vargas Camp)

Most of the outfits on my list are on the extravagant side. I recently bought a volume of Black Butler, where there was a note about how Yana Toboso loves to draw clothing, and it truly shows.

But in contrast to seeing our beloved characters in over-the-top costumes, it's refreshing to see them wearing casual outfits once in a while as well and see their individual, everyday styles.

I'll admit that I haven't played any of the Vargas Camp events, and have a grand total of zero (0) cards from this series. I'm not sure why; I always miss the event's runtime for some reason.

Still, I've always loved Floyd's little sling bag with the eel keychain, as well as the teal visor. The bright colors stand out and are appealing.

The whole outfit looks like something you could get from a store like Uniqlo, and sometimes it is nice to have that sort of realism in a magical game. He looks like an ordinary teenager I could find on the street. Except...if I did find Floyd on the street, I'd be running in the other direction. But that's not the main idea here.

9. Azul's Glorious Masquerade Outfit

At first, I sort of forgot that this SSR existed. When the PV for Glorious Masquerade came out, I was more focused on Malleus.

However, eventually, many people began to cosplay as GloMas Azul, and they all looked so amazing. I began to appreciate the outfit more after seeing people pose and dance in it. Azul also tends to have some of the best fanart, and fans have spared no expense when drawing him wearing this.

My favorite part of the outfit is his coat. I like the silhouette it creates with a high-waist belt, and the long coattails that resemble tentacles. The ruffles on his trousers are cute, too. I would buy a pair if I could. Unfortunately, it's hard to see these details on his in-game sprite.

As for his accessories, the pearls are so dramatic (and so very Azul). His round glasses are also cute, I hope he wears them again!

8. Idia's Suitor Suit

One look at Idia's Ghost Marriage outfit, and you can really tell that it was designed by Yana Toboso. His gloves, coat, and cravat make him look like he's in the Victorian Era. Also, doesn't he look sort of like Grelle from Black Butler?

Speaking of Grelle, Idia's outfit is meant to look more like funeral attire, between the long, black coat and the lilies pinned to his shoulder. There are also skulls hidden throughout his outfit, such as on his jacket chain and cufflinks. I was still new to TWST at the time, so I just thought that Idia liked gothic clothing. I didn't realize he was (at least in his mind) attending his own funeral!

Let's not forget his new hairstyle! This is one of Idia's first SSRs if I remember correctly, so it was exciting to see him with a ponytail.

My love for this outfit also comes from my love for the story associated with it. Fans have pointed out that Idia's "arranged marriage" with Eliza parallels the myth of Hades and Persephone. The design team and Yana were so clever for this.

I don't have this card, either, but I hope to pick him up one day!

7. Ortho's Fairy Gear

The Shroud brothers are luckyーthey are probably two of the characters with the most SSRs in the game.

That being said, we all have to agree that Ortho's fairy gear is one of the most unique and avant-garde cards in the game.

I really enjoy the white and gold color scheme in this event. His color-changing wings are stunning, and the piece covering his eyes makes him look very mysterious.

I thought this card was cool when I first saw it, but then I learned that Ortho's outfit and hair can turn pink, which is even better.

Every time I see his "pointe shoes," it makes me imagine Ortho and Idia trying to learn how to dance together in Idia's room, and Idia obsessively studying ballet costumes for his younger brother.

Yet again, I don't have this card, but my best friend does! At least I can admire him from her phone...

6. Silver's Rabbit Wear

There is no way that this outfit is just an R card! When this card was first advertised in one of the JR rail train stations, the pictures showed this card with Deuce's hometown in the background instead of the standard Diasomnia R background, so I thought that this card would at least be an SR. (Although I can't complain so much, because that means it's free!)

Silver is so princely. I am convinced that he can look good in anything. I am fond of pastel colors, and the pink/blue color scheme suits him, as the TWST version of Aurora. The bows may be silly, but I find them adorable.

Compared to the other boys in this event, Silver's outfit looks a little more like a soldier's (albeit a toy soldier's or a nutcracker's), which is a cool touch.

5. Deuce's Rabbit Wear

Deuce's hometown event was truly one of my favorite events that came out in the JP sever last year. Not only were some of my most favorite characters there, but they were dressed up in the most whimsical outfits possible. (And we got to meet Deuce's motherーshe's the coolest!)

Since Deuce is the main character of this event, his outfit bears the most resemblance to the white rabbit's in most classic illustrations, complete with a bow tie, top hat, and, of course, his pocket watch. His outfit has a blue color scheme. Like Azul in GloMas, Deuce also wears round glasses in his groovy art. Overall, it looks like the sweet ouji style, although I'm not very familiar with this sub-fashion. If anyone who is reading this has studied/worn this style of fashion, please let me know!

I used to play Love Nikki and Shining Nikki (two fashion-themed gacha games), which also featured lolita dresses inspired by Alice in Wonderland characters. For this reason, Deuce's outfit in particular feels very nostalgic to me.

4. Lilia's Right General Armor

Here's another departure from the cute pastel outfits...

Sleeping Beauty was one of my favorite Disney movies as a child. I always remembered Maleficent's "goons" as short, silly little creatures wearing simple green tunics.

So how on earth did we get to Right General Lilia Vanrouge?!

Seriously, I'm just stunned by how the artists looked at the source material and created something so radically, yet wonderfully, different.

I'm curious about the green stones (jades?) on his outfit--around his waist, there are several pieces attached to tassels, and he has two strapped to his right leg. The material matches the stone used for his weapon. Maybe it represents his status in Briar Valley. If you check his (unposed) sprite, you can also see that he is wearing something around his waist that looks like folded bat wings.

Like everyone else, I'm obsessed with his long hairーit makes him look so formidable, especially with that hood. My friends and I like to joke that his ponytail makes him look like a character in a Chinese martial arts drama.

Again, the story associated with this card made me love it even more. Few books have made me cry as much as Book 7 of TWST.

3. Malleus' Glorious Masquerade Outfit

While Sleeping Beauty was my favorite movie as a young child, when I got older, I began to love The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was only natural for this outfit to be among my favorites for this reason.

There are so many details here. The feathered hat. The sheer sleeves. The golden embroidery. The split cape. It's honestly overwhelming to take in at once.

I can say that my favorite detail is his green earrings. They really bring out his eye color, and the PV made them so sparkly.

In addition, everyone I've ever seen who has cosplayed as GloMas Malleus or has drawn fanart of him has increased my appreciation of this outfit.

[Now for some very spoiler-y stuff] The fact that this event came just before the release of Chapter 7 is worth noting. Doesn't it feel a bit tragic that just before Malleus' overblot, we have a chance to see him wearing an outfit that makes him look especially like his mother, having fun and being the star at the masquerade? And what about the feathers on his shouldersーdo they hint at another side of his family? There's so much foreshadowing and mystery going on, and nothing is more suitable for the occasion than masquerade attire.

2. Kalim's New Year Attire

I've already rambled about how sentimental this outfit is to me in a previous post, but in summary: New Year is my favorite holiday, and the New Year's Sale event was the first event I "seriously" participated in. Kalim looks excessively cute and festive in his kimono, and every time I see this card, I feel nostalgic and in the holiday mood.

1. (Tied) Epel's Applepom Outfit and Riddle's Beach Outfit

I'm really sorry, Epel and Riddle are my favorite characters, and in the end, I refuse to chose between them. They're like my younger brothers! I try to collect all of their cards, so I pay attention to their outfits the most, and picking only one outfit for each character was a challenge in itself.

My favorite part of Epel's Applepom outfit is his cloak. It looks so fluffy and warm. When you set him as your home screen character, you also have the option to "swap looks" and see his outfit without the cloak--the apple embroidery on the rest of his outfit is very detailed. Many fans have mentioned that the outfits people wear in Harveston resemble traditional Scandinavian clothing, which is really cool!

The little apple slices on his cap are everything.

And I'm always happy to see characters in different hairstyles, such as Epel's little ponytail.

One of my headcanons is that you're allowed to call Epel cute, but only when he wears this specific outfit, because he takes it as a complement to his culture.

As for Riddle, we're all so used to seeing him wearing formal suits. It's so nice to see him loosening up for once. He looks so happy, now that he has the chance to see the ocean for the first time!

I also happened to be on vacation at the beach around the time this event came out, so it felt like a gift.

I have to laugh a little, because there are so many flowers on his outfit. Even Jack pointed it out in the story. But he looks so cute!

I suppose we have to discuss the elephant in the room. My friend saw it before me, so she spammed me with messages along the lines of "RIDDLE IS WEARING A CROP TOP!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!" and I naturally thought she was pranking me. But lo and behold, it's the truth. I like to headcanon that among the rest of the cast in this event, everyone has made an unspoken mutual agreement not to mention it. This Victorian child has already been through enough, and not a word must reach Mrs. Rosehearts.

Thank you once again for the ask! For anyone who read all of this, what do you think about these outfits, and which ones in the game are your favorite?

[affocream-nation-lives]

Hello there! I do ship Affogato with more than one cookie, and while my main ship for him currently isn't AffoCream, I'd like to find other people with Affo on their minds because I'm in the middle of writing a big fic for my current ship!

I'm 1eColdJuice, or 🧊🧃 anon! Nice to meet you!

Oh! Well Affocream is my number one ofc, I can tell my opinion on other Affo ships.

Thoughts on Some Affo Ships (besides Affocream)

(also theres gonna be one or two suggestive jokes here and there so yea)

Affocara: Not my cup of tea. I get the “enimies to lovers” vibes but personally, I think Cara was 17-20 while Affo was 30-34 in the Cacao Kingdom, and Affogato personally is gay, while Caramel is a lesbian in my hcs. The art is good, I like the tension in it, but they hate eachother too much to ever be lovers in my opinion.

Affocacao: Okay… and heres where I sound like a hypocrite for saying this after talking about how I don’t like Affocara. I like this ship as exes. I would be lying if I said when I first played eps 13 and saw how Affo interacted with Cacao, my first thought wasnt “okay they definatley explored eachothers bodies.” Affo seems like the type to seduce Cacao as a way to get ahead and earn his trust. There was never any love there (atleast not on Affo’s side, I could see Cacao maybe falling for him) and its obviously very toxic. It’s fun ironically and makes for good drama/agnst but it would never work out in the long run

Affoclair: Never understood this. I don’t hate it, just never knew why people liked it so much.

Affopeach: Yin and Yang. Peach Blossom is to Affo as Mystic Flour is to Cacao (in the yin-yang way, I personally don’t like Mysticacao) I like the idea of two gnc men with oposite vibes and personalities just chilling together, maybe doing eachothers makeup.

Affovelvet: Underrated gem. They’re both mixed cookies who were outcast in some way, and their interactions in Last Cookie Standing were pretty nice.

Affouni: Okay, I get this ship. Its like the Affopeach before Affopeach and their friendship in Last Cookie Standing was cute. But also I’m kinda jealous and petty that this rarepair just got shot into popularity out of nowhere while all I saw in the recent Affocream tagged posts before I started posting was Affocream hate and maybe one or two actual things. (were Affocream shippers really that bad back in the day?) Also it kind pisses me of when someone says “I love Affocream!” and they they show Affouni. But thats petty reasoning. I just see Cream Uni as aroace and not interested in romance or sex in any way. Any way I don’t hate Affouni, im just kinda jealous. Affouni is cute. Ship what you want. I get it 100%

Affospresso: I saw like one or two people ship this and for such a random ship, they make it intersesting. They are both sassy, smart men from the coffee tribe, so its not made from absolutley nothing. These shippers are smart, one of them shares an Affo hc of mine ( @dintheanxious ), its cool.

Affolico: I like Affoagto, I like Licorice. This ship is like haveing two cupcakes next to eacother kissing. I like the drop-dead gorgeous man x pathetic skeleton man trope too. I just ship Lico with two other men (Choco and Red Velvet)

Those are most if not, all the Affo ships I know other than Affocream. I hope this was interesting or atleast helpful!

(note: sorry if I came off as a toxic Affocream shipper in the Affouni part. I like the ship though, I actually drew stuff of it a while ago)

(Just realized anon didn’t really ask for that and was just saying hi, but here ig)

[cacodaemonia]

You seem to know a lot about AO3, do you know how to engage more of your readers? I’ve been trying to get comments on my fics but all I get is kudos. I just want to know if people are enjoying my writing

Hi there! I definitely wouldn't say I'm an expert when it comes to AO3, but I find the fandom culture around AO3 to be really interesting, so I do talk about it a lot, haha. I've only been posting works there since 2019, though, and I'm sure folks who have been doing so for longer or have volunteered as tag wranglers or on the policy & abuse committee, for example, would know a lot more than I do. <3

But I'm really sorry to hear that you only get kudos and no comments on your fics! That really sucks. :( Like you said, you have no idea what those people actually think about what you made—just that they consumed it.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'm a good person to ask about getting readers to interact because I post both fanart and fanfics, which isn't super common, at least among people I know. I'm pretty sure that most of the folks who comment on my works followed me from Tumblr to AO3 back when I used to post art here. If I wanted to share nsfw images, I could only post cropped versions of them on Tumblr, so I would sometimes do that and link to the full image over on AO3. I suspect that's a big reason why I even have subscribers on AO3, haha. My writing certainly isn't better than that of plenty of people who also write for very niche ships and don't get as many kind comments as I do.

I also started out in my current fandom making art and writing about more popular characters until I quickly shifted focus when I found some that I like much more 😂 But I'm sure that quite a few people found my stuff because of those old works, and some of them probably stuck around.

Speaking of popular... This isn't something I do because I'm only motivated to make things that I like, but of course, there's always the 'write stuff for popular ships/characters' option. :/ Even now, when I happen to include fan favorites in my fics or art, all kinds of people come out of the woodwork to comment on them. And because I'm a contrary ass, that then makes me not want to create works featuring those ships or characters XD;;; But anyway, that is one option, haha.

A friend recently told me that they started asking little questions in the notes of each chapter of their fics, and that seemed to encourage readers to respond in the comments, so maybe that would be a good thing to try? I haven't tested it, so I can't say.

One thing I have tried that I think has made a difference is adding a blurb in the end notes of my works that I got from @longlivefeedback! They have a great template that you can customize and try out if you like (just make sure to read the bug fix part about curly/smart quotes versus straight quotes, since the curly quotes will kill your html).

One tried and true method to get more people commenting on your fics, of course, is to get to know people who also like the fandom/characters/ships you write about. Read some of their stuff or comment on their art or just chat about headcanons etc. And maybe they'll check out what you wrote.

(My caveat to this would be: do not do this with the sole purpose of getting someone to comment on your fics. I've had plenty of people do this to me, and it was so transparent that they had no interest in me as a person, but just wanted me to draw their OCs or scenes from their fic, or reblog their art, etc. Trying to manipulate someone like that just for your own gain is such gross behavior, and of course, I'm not saying you would do it, but it's common enough that I wanted to mention it 😓)

Okay, unsurprisingly, this got very long and rambling, haha. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but I hope you get more folks interested in your writing!

I'd be curious to know if other people have advice for @sonofhighrock! :)

[v3nusxsky]

Rest my darling| fluff

——————————————————————————

*Authors note~ I do love fluffy Weems. I'd die for a hug right now to be held while I sleep sounds so amazing till the next time*

Prompt~ reader is not sleeping at all or if she does it's poor quality sleep. Being a very touch starved and reserved person she gets by hoping no one notices how dead on her feet she is. Larissa noticed and wants to help. Flufffy sleepy vibes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Squinting slightly at the big red block numbers that seeming taunted you, you sighed once more.  Two o'clock in the morning. God. This wasn't the first night or hell even the first week you were facing sleepless nights. No, this had been going on for months now. Either you got a few hours of poor quality sleep or you just didn't sleep. All you could do is lay in bed and stare into the black shadows that haunted your room.

Makeup was doing a marvellous job at hiding the dark circles underneath your eyes, the same very pair that were stinging and blood shot. In fact you had taken recently to wearing your long chocolate locks down allowing them to frame your face hoping to redirect the attention from your eyes to else where. Glasses were the next change. Your tired eyes needed the extra support these days so you often found yourself with the black rimmed pieces of glass on your face as your marked or planned lessons.  Only ever adorning them when you were alone. The headaches were excruciating. Your body desperately wanting to force you into sleep.

Your skin seemed to be paler these recent days. You blinked more and your concentration decreased massively. All things that a keen eye would pick up if they knew you well. However to your knowledge no one was watching you that closely. After all you prefer your own company more often than not so worrying over friends was something you didn't do. The students were too preoccupied with the usual teenage dramas and exams which is what you believe has allowed you to get away undetected with this for this long.

The shrill of the alarm broke you from another night of sleepless thoughts. You let a sigh and a roll of your eyes take over your body. It was so damn Frustrating. And if your honest did you really have the energy to get up and teach your drama lessons today? No you didn't. But laying in the bed unable to sleep wasn't appealing either. So with a grunt you dragged yourself out of bed and got ready for the day.

Now Larissa likes to pride herself on her observation skills. Of course she did. As years of being a misunderstood version of an outcast, she spent years in the shadows just watching. Now recently y/n had peaked the women's interest. Her behaviour was a little off these last few weeks which had caused her to observe you. However, Larissa couldn't crack what was causing the strange behaviour from y/n. Just waiting for someone to come to here so she could have a reason to check in.

You're lessons today seemed to drag on forever. Drama was the one passion you had for life. The ability to be anyone you wanted to be. To put the real Y/n aside and transform into someone else. A great way to deal with emotions and express yourself. It's one reason why you wished you had the ability of the principle. To be able to change, transform and create a new person. To escape. Instead you got stuck with the ability to feel emotions. Feeling everyone's emotions and reading their auras. The ability definitely aided your teaching.

"And this guys is why creative arts are so important. It's important to remember you are who you are and that's okay. You should be free to express yourself in any ways you deem fit." You finished declaring to your 5th years. Most of the students met you with smiles and of course Wednesday with her usual blank stare.

Claps sounded the drama hall catching your attention. "Ah! Principal Weems what a lovely surprise" you exclaimed plastering a small smile on your face and trying to use your normal tone not the one that had exhaustion dripping through it.

The bell screeched out causing all the 5th years to file out the hall. Their own private conversations filling the hall until you were left in a silence between you and your boss.  "I uh what can I do for you?" You murmured pacing around tidying mindlessly to look busy.

"Y/n, can we take this to my office? It would feel more" she trailed off searching for the right word, " appropriate" she finished off with a timid smile in your direction.

A small nod was all you could manage as you wordlessly followed behind the taller women as she lead the way. Panic rising in you, what would Larissa need? Did you do something wrong? Oh god were you getting fired? No you knew you were good at your job. The students loved your lessons. You knew that. So why this spontaneous meeting?  Your thoughts being cut off as you entered the office.

"Take a seat darling" she murmured and gestured to the sofa in her office in front of the fire. You did so wordlessly, fiddling with your fingers in your lap.  You gaze stayed cast downward as you waited for her to join you and start the conversation.  She did so taking in your reactions. You looked so small like this. And no that wasn't just because you were a measly five foot 4 inches whereas Larissa stood at a stunning six foot three inches.

"Darling?" She almost whispered not wanting to startle you. The term of endearment confusing you yet adding a small amount of comfort to your worries.

"Mmm?"

"Are you quite alright darling? You seem to be off recently." She queried concern dripping in her soft voice.

"I um um alright principle Weems, just a little tired" you murmured refusing to look up and meet her caring gaze.

"You can call me Larissa darling, would you like to share why you're tried?" She reached over to place a comforting hand on your thigh. Only you flinched away as if you had been burned. Not the reaction the blonde women wanted to cause. She quickly snatched her hand back and apologised immediately. "Oh y/n... I'm so sorry I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable darling."

A little sigh escaped you. The exhaustion weakening your resolve. Clearly Larissa knew something was up all continuing to hide it would achieve is more exhaustion. "I forgot what human contact felt like. I apologise Larissa, I uh can you just um never mind" you cut yourself off from your own sentence.

Luckily for you, Larissa seemed to follow your train of thought and willingly gathered you in her arms as if you were the most fragile diamond. Only then did the sobs wreck your exhausted frame. Tears silently streaming as you gasped for breaths. How embarrassing all because you were being held.

"Oh my darling, it's okay let it all out. It's okay you're safe with me." Larissa reassured bringing her hand up to stroke through your curls in a soothing manner. Just holding and soothing you until you were calmer. Only then did you whimper out a response to the older women. "I don't sleep well recently. It's because of the date. I uh I remember everything vividly. Even his emotions. It haunts me. It never goes away." You whimpered out moving to hide your face into her neck. "I'm tired l-Rissa so tired."

"Oh, I know my darling I know you are. Thank you for sharing this with me. It may not seem like much but it's a start. How can we try to help you sleep?"

"I don't feel safe sleep scared" you mumbled out incoherently. Your words tickling her neck.

"Because you're alone?" Her tone was soft as she tried to piece together the bits of information she could.  You nodded into her neck once more mumbling "he could come back ris I can't I no not again" despite how exhausted you were the panic is evident in your words.

A comfortable silence wrapped around you both, just sitting and processing every bit of information given. Larissa was the first one to break the silence "darling do you feel safe here?" A timid question that almost sounded unlike the principle herself. You nodded again not trusting yourself to speak.

Larissa adjusted your small frame so you were now sitting on her lap, hugging her like a koala bear. Instantly your head found its place in the crook of her neck. A hand gently rubbing your back and legs gently swaying side to side in a comforting rhythm. "Then my darling, you sleep. I'll watch over you and keep you safe. No one will hurt you darling. Just rest" she murmured into your hair.

You didn't know what it was that heightened your exhaustion. Maybe it was the scent of her or was it the soothing touches and rocking ? It didn't matter, just glad you were pulled into a slumber resting against the blonde women. Finally a safe place to rest. You trust Larissa and if she says no one will hurt you then no one will.

Larissa PoV

Her breathing slowed into a rhythmic pattern, soft little breaths tickling your neck as she rested. It must have been months since you had properly rested. Feeling a shiver run through your body I quickly wrapped my throw over your shoulders. Not wanting to disturb the slumber you so desperately needed I kicked off my heels and leant back against the arm of the sofa.

Callie my assistant, let her self in to the office only to be shot a sharp glare. "Principle Weems your -" her words died on her lips. The glare was a clear warning. Leave. Nothing would be disturbing you while you rested in my arms. No one was worth that.  Meetings could be rescheduled but you were a valued member of staff and your well-being is of upmost importance. A quick glance down to the sleeping form you were filled with relief that the younger women seemed to be in a relaxed slumber.  Confusingly, you felt an unexplainable protectiveness of y/n. Little did you know that would bloom into something beautiful in the upcoming months.

Word count ~ 1791

*Authors note ~ I do love fluffy Weems. I'd die for a hug right now to be held while I sleep sounds so amazing till the next time"

[shima-draws]

Hi Shima I haven't been on Tumblr in like 4000 years but I miss it so I'm just sending a good old ask bc why not lmao how are you, your trip to Nashville looked awesome, the vids were so pretty! you still watching OP? How's ur PMD game going, are u using old OC's, or potentially new ones? Feel free to message me in Discord too if u want I just haven't sent an ask in like 2 years hhhhhhh we can yell about OC's or Gravity Falls conspiracies or something!

OMG HI SID <33333

I'm doing okay!! That trip actually ended up getting me sick lmao so I'm currently in bed after downing some Dayquil 🤧 Dang kids and their very contagious illnesses that they carry around smh

I am still watching OP (even tho it's been a few months since I've watched any further I'm. Still watching LOL)

Idk if you meant my most recent playthrough of Red Rescue Team or smth else? But yeah that's going good!! I've officially recruited all the legendaries (including the elusive Mew and the very difficult to get Jirachi + Celebi) so now I'm just slowly working on 100 percenting my Friend Areas ;) Which will take me ages so I'm just doing it at my own pace haha

I'm using old OCs! Idk if you remember Kody at all but he's my Mudkip partner. Whenever I replay RB Rescue Team I usually pick Mudkip as my partner and then either play as a Torchic (Mia) or an Eevee (don't have a gijinka for her but she's my original hero! She evolves into an Espeon and her name is Star). For this playthrough I went with Eevee which I immediately regretted bc her movepool SUCKS lmao. Note to self never pick Eevee in the original games ever again only pick Eevee if you play the DX remake

I hope you're doing good!! Whenever I see your art in the server I go 🥰 it's always so wonderful! And oh man I'd LOVE to chat OCs come on you know me ;) I'm always down hehe

[smilestrawbunny]

Hey! Just a heads up, I'm sending this to multiple people, since I wanna get as many different viewpoints on this as I can. I hope this doesn't bother you. Also, this is pretty long.

So, I have a question about gamedev, but more on the marketing/presence side.

Most gamedevs I know, even hobbyist ones, keep their accounts relatively professional. Sure, they may shitpost here and there, but it's mostly in relation to their games, the gamedev sphere in general, or very general inoffensive stuff. And, most importantly, I've seldom seen my favorite gamedevs (or any of my favorite internet personalities, for that matter) comment on random videos unrelated to what type of content they usually post.

All of my social media accounts are quite unprofessional. I've also had them for a long time, so there are a few things on my digital footprint that I'd rather people not see. I also, for lack of a better way of explaining, watch and read random shit and like to leave comments on it sometimes.

I feel like, I were to become a gamedev, I wouldn't be able to do that anymore. I'd have to treat my internet presence as its own balancing act, rather than a place for me to express myself unabashedly. I know this is working under the assumption that I would get big and that people would give a damn about me, but there is always the off chance of that happening. Of a random game you make suddenly blowing up because it hit the algorithm just right. So it's better to be prepared. And even if I don't get that big boom in popularity, I still plan to at least make games consistently enough to build a community of their own. Nothing like, huge, but I really enjoy the idea of people enjoying my work and sharing that enjoyment with others. But I don't want that to cross over into my personal life!

I know that's not an impossible feat, but I feel like it kind of destroys the purpose of the internet for me. To me, it's always been a safe space where I could express myself and easily connect with people with similar viewpoints, but I am now coming to odds with this concept as I consider how I want to become a gamedev.

There's also the side note that I don't wanna rebrand. At least not completely. I don't mind cleaning up my accounts or deleting some old ones, but I've grown very attached to being "Quamai". I can't imagine myself having any other online identity, even if there are some cringy moments attached to it.

So, do you have any advice for my situation? How did you personally go about your own online image, and what do you think is the best course of action?

Thank you in advance!

Oh, I am such a funny person to come to about this- I never let being a game dev stop me from interacting with works I like, haha! Maybe that’s just because I’m a smaller creator, though. Just recently I posted death note fan art, I’m currently working up the courage to post about fandom related ocs, and I’m hosting a game jam encouraging fan works that might be considered “cringy.”

The people who like you and your work will still be there regardless. You can count on that as a fact! So why should you stop yourself from having fun?

Life is far too short to be worried about your public image to such a high degree. Like you said, these are already things that you actively do to express yourself and enjoy! So if it gives you any semblance of comfort, I’ll start doing even more “unprofessional” things to help you out there <3 /pos

[maeshelix]

HI HI... it's Leolithe here! FINALLY INTERACTING. I see you in the notes of my Lotus posts and i am DEATHLY curious to know your opinions on the Lotus system! Both as characters in general and also what you'd love and/or hate to see in their story. The idea of a Sentient AI mimic who is a system is so incredible to me, but I wonder if there's anything about Natah, Lotus or Margulis you would change?

Also, how many of you have played Warframe? Has everyone tried it or is it just not everyone's cup of tea? Should I direct my questions to specific people in the system? I'd love to hear more Lotus thoughts!! :3

Before we respond, here's a message from Rokoko:

LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOUR ART IS SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOD AND YOURE SO RIGHT ABOUT THE LOTUS OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG AAAAAAAAAAAAH 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃💃

Now, to answer your questions. I'll start with the last ones.

We've all played Warframe, and each have found something to enjoy in it.

We used to play it on the Switch, long before we found out we're we. Eventually stopped for reasons I can't remember. Probably because it was Warframe on the Switch. Lmao.

Recently ported our account to PC, which has been nice. Caught up on everything, so now we're just taking turns making frames and enjoying the loop. Learning how to mod. Deep in the grind. Ignoring rivens cause they scare us. The usual, I'm sure. Lmao.

Asking specific members for their opinions is fine. Just will take longer to get answered. Unless you're lucky. We can't really control who fronts, unfortunately. But you can still do it, if you're curious about one of us. They'll definitely appreciate the attention. Probably. Lmao.

On the Lotus, we absolutely love her. Love all three of them.

Zero loves Lotus and Natah the most. She's an AI, so she relates to their struggles, but we are all enamored with them.

Marguils' resolve, Natah's tenacity, Lotus' deducation. Their histories with Ballas. Their histories with the Orokin in general. Their histories with eachother. With Marguils' memory, her legacy, before she came back. Their love for the Tenno. Their children. Their dedication to protecting the origin system.

All three are amazing. Their plurality is very interesting, originally being a synthetic mimic with two different sets of memories in them. Eventually culminating in three different entities in one. It's unique and engaging.

Our favorite characters in Warframe, to be sure. They're amazing.

We'd love to seem their plurality be more noticable, in the future. We're all in on them being plural, but it is admittedly easy to miss. A line of dialogue unheard, a helmet left uninteracted, a line of text left unread, and you're probably not gonna know they're plural. We want them to start bickering during a mission. We want Lotus to be explaining something, ony the go silent for a time, then for Natah or Marguils to take over. We want some way to talk to them outside of missions, for character moments.

I don't know how likely any of these will be, personally. But we'd like to see them.

That's also what we'd change, honestly. The inability to change between the three was annoying, so we'd remove that from The New War. Or add a fourth option of "take turns". We want to see them interact. We want a blatenly in-your-face system.

We'd hate for Natah and Marguils to be forgotten, eventaully. For Lotus to be considered the default. For some convoluted story beat to fuse them all into one mind, as is annoyingly common in system stories. Since that's the only good end singlets can imagine for a system. Natah and Marguils getting forgotten would be disappointing and annoying, but if they all fused into one we'd probably drop Warframe immediately.

Hope these answers are good @leolithe. Don't know if I did a good job of expressing our love for this system but, we do truly love them. Thank you for the question.

[benkyoutobentou]

（再）自己紹介 | Langblr Reintroduction!

皆さん　こんにちは！I recently hit a follower milestone and figured that it was time to reintroduce myself, as it's been quite a while, and I don't really have much information about me easily accessible on my blog. Additionally, I'd like to actually write stuff down about how this blog is organized. じゃあ、始めましょう！

Hi, my name is Nobody (they/them), my native language is English, and I like studying languages! Languages have interested me ever since I was a child, but I feel like I never knew how to properly learn a language until I started studying Japanese in 2020. Now, I also study Mandarin Chinese and German! Japanese is my main target language, and I would some day like to make Japanese my primary language. Yes, that means I'm interested in moving to Japan long-term.

Immersion is my favorite way to study, but as of right now, most of my immersion has been done in Japanese. Please tell me what you're reading or watching, or ask me what I'm reading or watching! I especially love talking about books and manga and would be more than willing to share recommendations!

Outside of language learning, my hobbies include horseback riding, gardening, and reading (in English). I also have a degree in music performance, but I don't really consider that to be a hobby since it's something I'm actively pursuing as a career.

As for my blog, I keep it mostly Japanese focused, mainly because I made this blog when I was only studying Japanese, but my other languages do show up once in a while, and much of the content I post/reblog isn't tied to a single language. Here are the tags I frequently use to organize my blog and what they all mean:

#benkyou posting - these are my own posts! These are usually tagged with at least one of the other tags, as this tag just denotes that I was the one who made it, not necessarily the content that it contains.

#languages - these are posts that are typically tied to a specific language or the specific study of languages. Resources for learning languages will also show up here.

#tips - these posts are general studying tips and may not be specifically about language learning, but are applicable to the study of languages.

#study - these posts are aesthetic posts of peoples' notes and study spaces.

#inspo - these posts are inspirational posts, for when you might have a bit of trouble getting into the study mood.

#art - this is just for Japanese art! Usually, it'll be traditional arts and I must admit that I'm a sucker for woodblock prints. If I reblog any sort of Japanese fashion (think more kimonos), it'll also show up here.

#culture - these are posts about the cultural aspects of Japan, such as explanations of festivals and the such.

#aesthetic - these are just beautiful photos of Japan, mostly temples. Again, these are just photos I like, and I really like shrines and castles (once someone called me a "temple weeb" and I'm still laughing about it).

#memes - this tag is for anything fun! Memes aren't the only thing that go in here- things such as polls and silly text posts will also show up here.

Things that I don't post or reblog include vocabulary lists and grammar explanations. I have nothing against them, I just don't particularly use them on tumblr and therefore find no reason to put them on my own blog. I've made a few vocabulary lists in the past, but have found that it's just not for me! Remember that language learning is a deeply personal journey and what works for you might not work for me and vice verse. Just because these things aren't particularly what I look for out of langblr content doesn't mean that they're not important to other people, but I would like to be clear about what shows up (and doesn't!) on my blog.

So welcome to my blog! I hope you choose to stick around a while! And for those who don't know Japanese, my blog name means "studying and lunch boxes."

[that-wizard-oki]

How did you start doing jobs for kingsisle?? I'm trying to break into the industry as an artist, and I have no clue how to approach potential employers, even just for commissions 😭😭

Hey! So I actually work full time with KingsIsle as a character animator- my job year round is to make pets, mounts, mobs, npc's move :D

How I got started here is kind of a wild story. I had been wanting to reach out to KI about possibly interning with them post-graduation- I had a few people I semi knew at the company, and knew I'd have a good portfolio piece to show them from my senior thesis project. However, three days before graduation, a friend from KI msg'ed me that KI was doing summer internships, and asked if I was interested. I spent the next 3 days building my portfolio website/resume & sent it to my friend. A month and two interviews later, they accepted me! Once my internship was drawing to and end, they were able to offer me a full time position.

My #1 piece of advice for folks trying to break into the industry: MAKE CONNECTIONS. NETWORK. Obviously having dedication and building your artistic skills (whether that's character design, animation, story boarding, etc) is a huge part of it- like you can make as many connections as you want, but if you don't have a decent set of skills/a portfolio to back you up, then you might be out of luck there. But I cannot understate the importance of networking.

So, how do you make connections/network? My advice:

-I know everyone can't afford it, but going to an art school/college is a decent way to make connections- not just with teacher's who have worked in the industry themselves, but also with your future artists. Heck, I've been seeing younger artists like myself start their own studios. You can defo still make connections w/o college, but I just wanted to note that.

-Interact with artists/folks in the industry online. comment on their posts, ask them genuine questions. Most folks are happy to answer questions or give portfolio advice.

-Mentorships are a great thing- also something i see offered on twitter a lot. Some studio's like dreamworks have "internship" like programs where people who have recently graduation or are looking for a career change can apply to and learn from. I'd follow companies you're interested in via linkedin, or visit their websites to see if they offer things like this

-Also!! Participate in anijams, gamejams, art swaps, zines- these are all great ways to connect with fellow artists online. My college has an animation club that does anijams twice a year- which is a GREAT thing to put on your resume- it shows collaboration, dedication- things you need to be open to when working in the industry.

-I'd also say that trying to narrow down what you're really passionate about doing (for me, 3d animation just fit my heart the best) and learn more about it. Watch youtube videos, follow tutorials. Practice your anatomy, do gesture drawings from life, draw as many hands and feet as you can, lol. All things to help strengthen your skills! Consistency is key!!

I know that's a lot of info, so I just want to reiterate something: I've been at KI for about a year and a half now, and I am still just as passionate about this game as I was beforehand. That passion is one of my greatest assets. WANTING to do what I do for work makes working a lot easier, and produces a better product. If you have a passion, a drive to do something, you can do the damn thing. Making connections/being consistent as an artists can feel wildly overwhelming. But it doesn't have to be. You're worthy of sharing your art and ideas with the world, and people want to hear them. Baby steps! Start small. Heck talking to me already gets your started with networking :D

Hope that wasn't too rambly/answered some of your questions anon. Feel free to inbox or dm me if you wanna chat more- goes for anyone reading this :)

[windor-truffle]

hey look it's a graces update! :O

probably a long one too, if you can't tell by the recent long meta posts, I made a fair amount of progress in the game (or at least a lot happened in the two sessions i played 😅) wrapping up the Windor arc and kicking off fucked-up Richard time :) here's my usual breakdowns:

Asbel trying to come up with new fic ideas... except I, like Richard, can't actually imagine him ever doing this. Richard credits it to their friendship pact, but I'd credit it to the fact that Asbel actually has an iron-clad moral compass, even though he is completely oblivious to that fact. This isn't even the first time he's thought about this, he actually briefly speculated about it back when he and Richard were fleeing for Grayleside:

Asbel may be a knight wannabe but he's not Flynn, he wouldn't follow orders without question or harm a friend just because he was ordered to--- as evidenced by him standing up to Richard about the treatment of the war prisoners or postponing the invasion of Lhant in hopes of negotiation first. Even if someone he admired and respected like Malik were the one giving orders, I seriously doubt he'd arrest Richard, much less kill him or his father. But Asbel somehow doesn't realize this about himself, god bless his dumbass heart 😂

Moving on, I'm not gonna fill this space with all the screenshots since my Richard&Lambda post covered it pretty well but the fight against Cedric is fun, I like this shot in particular:

Cedric is kind of an odd antagonist though, in that we don't know very much about his motives or personality. Most of what we know about him comes from Richard who's obviously very biased against him, and a handful of NPCs. The guy himself has like 3 lines of dialogue 😅 In general he seems like your typical evil-uncle-usurper archetype a la Hamlet, he claims to be the rightful ruler of the land but I assume that's his power-hunger talking and not like he was legitimately cheated from inheriting the throne (except by the bullshit system that is the monarchy itself, wild that this 19 year old is considered the "correct" one to be in charge of a country instead of the man with decades of experience handling foreign affairs). I guess this boils down to me sympathizing with him just a little, since we don't know his whole story. also the murder was a little brutal ngl but tbf to Richard, Cedric started this 😅

Hooray, the NPCs are all traumatized! Including that little boy who is apparently wizened enough to have noted the vicious cycle of of the monarchy 😅

I did my best to transcribe the text behind the throne, I think it's "a land of wind spoke guidance of wind make the wind proudest king." Not quite sure what that means but neat!

I support this man and his gay ass lounging villain poses and his art deco throne 💜 the last name drop though OOF 😓 especially since Asbel follows it with this, no missing dialogue in between:

RIP to "Please, don't speak like that. We're old friends, you and I" ;_;

once again someone besides me is projecting their own thoughts onto Asbel (the first being when Hubert kicked him out of Lhant, telling him to "run away like [he] always [did]"). And Asbel responding with his paragon-ish virtue again, the trait that makes him a foil to Richard and Lambda alike and ultimately saves the day: he believes in people, and that things can get better. I love that about heroes like Asbel, hope really is a precious thing that's always worth protecting. Richard agrees with me, at least:

...He really is a manipulative bitch isn't he 😅 I guess he IS a master of coercion artes.

Honestly I could be here all day talking about this singular part of the plot but I'll wrap it up by noting that Duke Dalen is also a wee bit pompous, he's more of Richard's yes-man than Asbel and probably believes in the divine right of kings or smth 'cause he seems to think Richard can do no wrong.

As you can see by this collection, I had a bit of an NPC census 😅 I interviewed NPCs from all across Windor: Barona, Wallbridge, Grayleside, and various ports (Lhant's citizens were talking more about their troubles there w Strahta than on the state of the monarchy). A lot of the NPCs I questioned were split on recent events, some excited about seeing the young king ascend, others still reeling from the chaos, and a handful who seem a bit uneasy about his intentions. Pretty realistic I think and helpful for worldbuilding in my fic akssjhd

this one about Hubert is rather telling too ;_;

really? I did... 😅

Richard... ;_; why you gotta do asbel dirty like that 😭

getting pretty close to the end of my FIRST session but I'll finish things up by noting Hubert's baller line here, get rekt asbel 😂

[kyndaris]

Small Town Murders

After traversing the ins and outs of Valisthea for quite a few weeks, I thought it would be best to play something short and sweet. Especially something more experimental than traditional video games. And though I bought this last year on Steam (frankly, I have far too many games on Steam and not all of them are as recent as 2022), Pentiment has seen a recent release on PlayStation 5. A decision Microsoft made before it shut down several studios and then tried to Jedi mind-trick the audience by providing one of their most impressive game showcases at their presentation following Summer Game Fest.

There are two things I want to say following the smorgasbord of games on offer: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looks absolutely fascinating and I can't wait to get my hands on it. And two: thank goodness Obsidian Entertainment has not yet been shut down. Their work with Pillars of Eternity and The Outer Worlds have been some of my favourites and I keep hoping they'll upend Besthesda with their superior writing and lovable characters.

But, this post isn't about Obsidian Entertainment. Rather, it's about their game styled as a point-and-click 2D adventure called Pentiment. With its unique art style and historical setting of 16th century Upper Bavaria, the game immediately stood out to me as something special. Especially as it contained mystery components!

Placed in the shoes of one Andreas Maler, a journeyman artist, Pentiment follows the story of him and the town of Tassing over the course of 25 years. During each act, the player must help solve the murder that occurs. The first is Baron Lorenz Rothvogel, a longtime benefactor of Kiersau but who harbours divisive views that go against Christian beliefs of the abbey. The second is that of Otto, the leader of a brewing rebellion due to heavy taxation.

And while Claus is not immediately killed when he is attacked in the privacy of his home, there is a certain tension there where Magdalene (the protagonist for the third act following a huge fire at the end of Act 2) must contend with caring for her father, finishing off the mural for the council meeting hall and trying her best to keep the printing press in her home running. What I appreciated the most, though, was Magdalene's chat with Brigita during the first half of Act III.

As someone who has had to care for a loved one following something a terrifying health scare, I appreciate it when people not only ask if my family member is all right but also enquire as to my wellbeing. There were moments during that week where I felt very overwhelmed. Knowing people cared - not just about my grandmother but for me too - truly helped me get through a difficult time.

What stood out to me as I navigated the town of Tassing and interacted with its characters, were the themes the game wasn't afraid to explore. Be they religion and the authority bestowed on the church from local lords to the plight of the peasants struggling to put food on the table. The game was also quick to put me on the back foot by showing two sides of each story when it came to the possible suspects (though it never confirms which, if any, of the suspects was truly guilty).

More often than not, I was led mostly by my gut (and who I felt acted most like an arsehole). And while the internet deemed Lucky the most guilty when it came to the death of the Baron, I still find it hard to fathom the means by which Lucky would have been able to sneak in the abbey to do the deed and then sneak back out. True, he has the strength and the motivation but there was a storm!

And while the archdeacon condemned Prior Ferenc after I'd presented most of the evidence, it does still puzzle me that Ferenc scribbled a note in his book prior to the Baron's death - implying he would have buried his ritualistic tools beforehand (the supposed murder weapon following an inspection).

Of course, there is a possibility the actual murderer was none of the actual suspects. The inability to properly investigate and gather evidence meant players are forced to make decisions that they feel would most benefit the town and its people.

As for Otto, I discounted most of the suspects as the motives for Martin and Hannah were fairly dubious at best. Brother Guy appeared the most guilty, especially as he tried to insert himself into the investigation and point out how it was impossible for one of the monks to have murdered Otto.

But the reveal of the Thread-Puller right at the end was a surprise for me. Especially as there were other ways Father Thomas could have gone about hiding the town's history if he felt it was too scandalous. There was no need to leave such a trail of destruction, including inciting a revolt among the peasants, simply to keep the secret that the Saints worshipped by the town were actually depictions of Roman Gods.

Given my love for mythology, I've seen how the Gods of many different pantheons have been changed and adapted to reflect the culture or times they are needed. The Greek and Roman deities, after all, have almost a one-to-one equivalent. Stories, too, about the heroes of the past have been used by other religions and cultures to explain elements of their own mythology.

And while hindsight, along with agnostic and atheist beliefs, have allowed us to take a step back to study religion from a distance, I think it's important to realise this was not always the case. This was 16th century Bavaria, after all. Christianity was everything to most people in Europe.

Although, I must say, while Father Thomas was worried people would learn that the statue of Saint Moritz was actually Mars Pater and Saint Satia was actually Diana, I was more intrigued by the painting of Mithras. It was never fully touched upon but I just knew I had seen the God slaughtering a bull somewhere before.

Lo and behold: Mithraism.

Suppose it explains why the old Roman temple was named the Mithraeum. Too bad the cult of Mithraism wasn't fully explored in the game. It would have been more interesting if there was some additional exploration of these other more occult practices beyond what Prior Ferenc was up to, and the strange ritual Guy tried to enact.

Overall, I have to say Pentiment held my interest for a goodly while and made me ponder the choices I'd made. It also humanised many of the characters, giving me a glimpse into what life might have been like back in the 16th century - and given me a greater appreciation of how far humanity has come from those feudal times (although, let's be honest, we're still trapped in very tribal mindsets that's been fanned by the internet). Life might have been hard as a peasant, or for the normal tradesperson during this period, but somehow Tassing was able to make do.

Time to see how Ghost Trick plays out!

On a completely unrelated note: I AM SO EXCITED FOR ACE ATTORNEY INVESTIGATIONS COLLECTION! Finally, I can play the second game of Miles' spin-off games.

The Ace Attorney franchise is finally getting the revitalisation it deserves and I hope there will be more to come. Especially with Mr Backstory himself, Apollo Justice. Or, heck, with another starry-eyed defence attorney in the land of Japanifornia.

[lutethebodies]

hey just letting you know, I really enjoy your Cannor/Minthara ship posts. You're one of a handful of the regular shippers I know who thinks about, like, long term relationship stuff with your oc and Minthara, beyond the puppy love years and actually considering how they'd manage to live/work/survive together without it all breaking down.

keep it up, you're appreciated ^_^

I hope anon will forgive me if I jump off their very kind note to mention a few reasons why I think I might be good at what they noticed about my character pieces like the one they mentioned.

First, age. I was recently told in no uncertain terms (by people much younger) that it's both hilarious and pathetic for me, a 47-year-old person, to post on Tumblr about anything at all, let alone BG3 character ships. I think someone even said "you're as old as my parents, just stop." And, well, whatever. I made a dumb and needlessly negative mistake (which earned me a lot of other weirdly reductive and untrue assumptions, and because this is the internet, all of it will of course live forever somewhere) on a topic I'd already covered better in non-negative ways. But it ultimately doesn't matter, because life is cringe and self-flagellation is performatively silly and nobody who cares about me judges me for blogging on Tumblr anyway.

However, I think my age (at least in terms of life experience) helps me think about interpersonal behavior and relationships in ways that younger people might not. I don't wanna go full Joe-Biden-in-denial about this—because who the fuck am I, really?—but the fact that I'm still married to the same person after 18 years (with 8 more together before that) speaks to what I've been able to learn and know about how these things work. (Pro tip for a successful marriage: don't have kids; we don't and we're very happy about that.). So that's a bit of an obvious self-insert in what I write for Cannor.

Second, employment status. After decades in the professional design/marketing world, I'm very fortunate to (post-quarantine) be able to freelance part-time as a creative professional and stay home as a house-spouse. I can make art and record songs and write posts and bike for exercise pretty much when I want, as well as take care of housework. It's really inspiring and I like to spread inspiration whenever I can. I also think it's important to be a proud house-spouse as a cishet USAmerican man because even now (get your tiny violins ready) we are still mocked as unmanly and societally useless if we don't have the right job title or don't make more money than our wives or don't have 6 kids or whatever it is that a man's man's man is supposed to be like. Fuck that noise.

I have no problem being a man who is, in many ways, overshadowed by what my spouse does in her life and with her career. She works hard, she's really good at what she does, and is really patient with a flighty artist guy at home. That's how love works for us. (She would probably be annoyed at the mere fact of me getting hung up on all this shit, btw). Most of my "career" work has been ephemeral (that's marketing for you), and I value my decades of making art and music way more anyway, even and especially since it's a hobby and I'll never be celebrated for it. So that vibe goes into my Cannor-Minthara headcanon as well (remember folks, self-insert is not a sin).

Finally (and I say this as a reminder to myself as much as anyone else): think before posting. Don't put needlessly negative things out there, because the world will oblige you in return a hundredfold. Perhaps obvious, but always a lesson worth re-learning. Believe it or not, some old people do realize when they need to re-learn shit.

Now, if you don't mind I'd like to go back to being laughably cringe on main.