#really smooth and cartoony

[publicdomainbooksdevotee]

Finished my first decent test knit tie.

Lessons learned:

Linen stitch > seed stitch.

Keeping tension high didn't particularly make it denser, it just made it twist funny. Switching to a regular amount of tension made it come out straight and not noticeably less dense.

The decrease from that one pattern works fine.

Yes I can switch it up and do linen stitch the other way around for the last few rows to make a little stripe.

Sucker stretches out like anything -- apparently the ribbon along the neck is not optional if you want the knot to actually sit right.

Lessons still to be learned:

Practice adding a ribbon around the neck area.

How to bind off linen stitch so that it doesn't look gross.

[punkitt-is-here]

I love that all the ponies you draw have like, visible fat on them. Like stomachs and hips and etc. Its healing!

haha, no problem. as I've gotten older it feels weird to NOT include visible fat on characters tbh. i like drawing characters that aren't perfectly smooth and thin, that realism even when i do cartoonier stuff is really satisfying to me.

[sanctus-ingenium]

another one of these posts lol... sketches vs final. not much changed for these ones, i kind of went into them with a very solid mental image already in my head. all of these were done start to finish in procreate

thoughts below the cut

horse fight .... this is based off a really really beautiful sky i saw while driving home one evening. i'm really proud of getting the colours i saw exactly right, this kind of greenish yellow fading to dark blue and with grey clouds low over it that looked very dark against the yellow by the horizon, but very pale against the dark blue.

i thought it would be a cool backdrop to draw a scene i've been thinking about for a while. The little cartoony horses are there to provide some tonal whiplash but also because these are two immortal shapeshifters who can fight violently without it being a huge deal. the little horses represent the actual gravity of the fight (that is, kind of a slap fight between two drama queens) which contrasts with the visuals of two animals brutally tearing at eachother. also i got the two horses at the bottom mixed up, Pascal is the one with the skinny plumed tail and Macha has a more traditional horse tail and i put them on the wrong sides.

i had a LOT of trouble shading this. i didn't want the horses to be too shiny but that meant a much lower contrast in shading and even with my screen brightness turned up i could barely see what i was doing. but i wanted it to read as realistic. mixed results i think. if i did it again i might try a different shading style because this one didn't really do it for me

--

spooky van!!! the post i deleted by accident (rip. i will repost it soon). this is a picture of the barrow (the field) taking a different shape - in this case a cool van. the van contains every single thing the field does (including the human victims that get lost in there...) but compressed down into a manageable shape. the void is Pascal because the field is inside him. he did this for his human bf to provide novel way to travel through the Otherworld. don't ask how this works like, spatially, because the answer is: i don't do hard magic systems in this setting

i loooove shading things with pencil hatching and i really like contrasting it with smooth colours/shading so that's mainly what i did here. it was simple enough. the van is of course heavily referenced and i wish i had been able to stylise it a little more.. maybe next time. i want to draw a kind of cutaway illustration of the van showing exterior and interior (like an old blueprint schematic), which i might use as a cover for the book/comic/whatever but that will require a very intimidating level of precision so i think i'll work up to that.

--

RUA magazine. this is my third time doing a rua magazine cover (first time posting tho). this is an in-universe magazine distributed throughout the Otherworld to an audience of fairies. in the sketch, the illustation was originally the King of Pentacles tarot card (the pentacle being the disco ball). but i decided to make a different King of Pentacles card for him instead, since I try hard to move away from symmetrical composition for the tarot cards (it's boring). so i repurposed this one into another magazine cover. like i said Pascal is a self-absorbed attention whore and has a habit of giving bullshit interviews just so that he can be on the cover as much as possible. he dresses like this all the time (the year is 2017)

the disco ball took 15 years off my life and it's not even the first disco ball i've drawn! i finished my actual king of pentacles card before i finished the rua cover sketch, so i can show u this

which is much better even if i did reference so heavily that it isn't exactly stylised. but this card needs some serious revision before i even think about posting it. i'm just not happy with his face.

original intent was for it be mysterious with emphasis on the neon lights but it ended up far more suggestive than i expected. that's life!

[tare-anime]

I've watched Spy x Family Code White!!!!

And and ........!!!!

OmG!!!!

It's so totally awesome!!!

Tbh, I've never watched anime movie that good before!

I might be biased, but truly, it WAS so AWESOME that I'm planning to rewatch it (if I've ever managed to find extra free time)

My full with spoiler review under the cut

So first of all, the animation quality WAS top notch!

They way they draw scenery, background, lighting, camera movements. OmG!! I really love how WIT studio pay so much attention to details. And the smoothness of it.

The scenery of snowy mountains, sun light reflections through crystalize ice, the water...... wow!

And then there were the difference in way of drawing scenes. Like Anya's imagination was drawn so cartoony, meanwhile Yor's fiery 🔥🔥🔥 fight with type F was drawn with so much intensity, and Loid's stealthy fight was drawn with different color as if Loid was in different dimentions than the rest of the enemies because he was the only one in disguises.

This different way of drawing scenes kind of like Spiderman into the spiderverse, but not to that extent. Nevertheless, it's super awesome.

The foods!!! OmG! Those were detailed and awesome food drawings that make me drools 🤤🤤🤤 desserts, main courses, even snacks!! Wooooaaaa

The action!!! I bow down to the animators. WIT studio once again showing off their skills in drawing super awesome fight action scenes. They draw the character movements very well. Even Fiona get her short glimpse of action scene and that's awesome!

Loid's different action tones animation is super awesome, but I have to bow down and thank the animation team in making Yor (my queeeennn 🛐🛐) being super badass!!! The way she ended the fight with type F??? Guh..... I need all my will power not to screamed "That's my queen!!" in the middle of theatre 🤣

Of course like all anime movies out there, we have to lower our expectation regarding plots. (Plot? What plot? We're here to see the family awesomeness 🤣)

We can easily spot the re-use of plot from canon material but was shown in different font, such as:

Yor's jealousy towards Fiona, that leads her thinking she's inadequate mom and wife, that was a result from her overthink her 3 gossipers cowokers

Fiona's obsesiveness in trying to impress Twilight and becoming the Forger mother

Drunk Yor vs Twilight which ended with Yor sleeping

The super direct advance of Twilight that sucessfully making Yor super embarrases that her body instinc injured Loid

Super long and hiperbolic poop joke from Anya

(These managed to make us the audiences LOLed though 🤣🤣🤣)

Not to say, plot holes (?) Or plot that make you go "huh?", such as:

The super unnecessary idea of replacing Loid with other incompetent agent for a mission as important as Op.Strix

The possible stella from a cooking contest that end up all for nothing because of technicallity malfunction

Putting a very valuable microchip inside a common trunk, and all of a sudden was transported in a common train, leniently lying around in a place where a kid can meddle with it. Secured with only 1 very common key.

A secret recipe of dessert that is a secret but the restaurant owner can give the ingridients to stranger because the owner felt guilty that Anya's share was taken by a foodie adult with military power.

An old plane memento that somehow still in prime condition that can be used by Twilight to pursue Anya's kidnappers.

I can't be helped. The animators may not create something that might disturb canon stories afterall. So these plots were just there to drive the story forward, and forward the story goes!!

(Despite all the things I mentioned above, I still enjoyed the story well.)

And then, last but the most important things, the movie managed to deliver the family awesomeness so well!! The animators clearly know the character and character dinamics so very well. And I, again, bow down to them. 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

There are so many moments that will make you go "awwwwwww" and give you so much fluff and sweetness you'd have diabetes right away.

The way Loid always tried his best to give the best for the family, but he forget that the family IS the important one. And Yor was there to softly remind him of it. (This scene was so soft I really teared up 🥲🥲🥲🥲)

The way Anya tried her best to help her papa in acquiring the ingridients because that's the mission was, but eventually she got into trouble. And yet at the end Loid was still very proud of her.

The way Yor took care of Anya and play with her during the trip, the way she protected Anya during their initial fight and at the end of the fight (so many mother daughter moments!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰)

The difference way of fighting between Twilight and Thorn Princess. Like Twilight will go all stealth and disguises until he can't. Meanwhile Thorn Princess was just strorm right through the front door (or rear wall in this movie), demolishing everything while at the same time politely asking for her daughter and husband 🤣🤣🤣

The way all of family working together so that the plane didn't crash at the town, and the way they laugh (Yor and Anya were laughing out loud, meanwhile Loid was chuckling) when all of them managed to "safely" landed.

Good boy Bond always tried his best to support Anya and even galantly tried to defend her but alas, he was no match to human enemy. 🥲🥲

I was just 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

And really, Endo should take notes.

Because all of these are what make we love Forger family. And that it IS possible to make the family do a mission together without revealing their secrets. Like Loid's lousy excuses that make Yor went wooooww, Yor's even more lousy half lies that Loid believes just like that 🤣🤣🤣🤣 (these two omG!)

I also love how Anya as the captain of TwiYor ship actively pushing her parents. Yes Anya 🥰🥰🥰

I also love how the main villain able to recognize Twilight in disguises via the unusual scent. Like. Woa!! That is so possible!! I mean, latex should have a very distinctive smell afterall.

All in all, truly an amazing first movie!!! I do hope one day the anime team will continue to make amazing movies in the future. 🥰🥰🥰

[finalhaunts]

I think it’s really interesting how Jax’s design is actually quite fitting for his character.

Jax is very reminiscent of an old cartoon rabbit: Roger Rabbit specifically, with the red overalls and big yellow gloves. Not to mention he has the three lines on the backs of his gloves commonly associated with rubberhose-era cartoons. He also seems to function a bit more on cartoon physics, being much more… Liquidy? Smooth? Compared to the others. He literally does the “runs away and leaves a cloud of dust in their shape” trope. There are probably more examples I could give that I can’t think of at the moment.

And his cartoony look is kind of perfect for his character, honestly: he’s a huge trickster and a complete asshole. Do you have any idea how most iconic cartoon characters from that era are like? Do you know how Daffy Duck was like in his older shorts? Better example, I’m sure you’re all well aware of the type of shenanigans Bugs Bunny gets up to. Jax is literally just that but 10x worse to the point where it’s a genuine detriment to everyone around him and nobody likes him. He has no regard for human life and should be confined to federal prison.

With all this in mind I am genuinely really excited to see if/how everyone else’s digital forms play into their characters.

[parrythisucasual]

What About Me? Ch. 2

Pairing: Jax x Reader (Romantic)

Sub-pairing: Gangle x Reader (Platonic) / Ragatha x Reader (Platonic)

TW: Bullying / Implied depression

Content: You get settled into your room and make a new friend.

Your bedroom was rather plain. A desk, a bed with white sheets, and a tacky poster of a kitten hanging from a tree. “Is this… supposed to mock me?” you ask with a raised brow. “Erm… not sure, exactly? Everyone’s room starts like this. You could always ask Caine to personalize it, or get the paint and do it yourself. Gangle is wonderful at drawing- she could make a poster or two if you asked,” Ragatha explained. 

You step into your room, running your fingers over the smooth wood of the desk, thinking, “I have a few ideas… for one, the blankets should be (F/C), not this boring white. I’ll need some desk ornaments, and a few posters too.” You envisioned the perfect room as you listed it. Ragatha smiled, “Well, I can run and tell Caine, if you’d like, you just get settled in,” she waved as she headed back up the hall, “if you need me, holler!”

You turn, settling onto the bed and taking a deep breath. This was crazy, impossible, even, but you were going to get through it. You could take it. You’ve been through worse. At least it’s better than a trip to the emergency room for a broken bone, right? No pain. And it isn’t as if your life before was something spectacular, in fact, it was the opposite. Weren't you now living about a million people’s dream right now? A new, fantastical place with new, interesting people?

“How’s it feelin’, whiney?” your head shot up. Jax was leaning against the doorway, his already typical smug grin plastered across his face. You roll your eyes, “Pretty good, actually, this is gonna be better than my life back home.” Your statement seemed to surprise him, his smile faltering a moment, before he retook the jerk persona, “Oh, yeah? If you’re sooo sure about that,” he shrugged and invited himself into your room, glazing around with disinterest, “I’m betting you won’t last a month. The tough ones crack first.”

Your lips twitch as you resist snapping at him, “Mm, well if you say so,” and lay back against your bed. You were determined to ignore his rather desperate cries for attention. You ran your fingers over the soft white quilt and sighed, relaxing yourself. 

Jax, on the other hand, was staring at you, eyebrow raised and a rather irked expression painted on his face. He narrowed his eyes, huffed, and left the room. This made you snort, he was acting like a toddler who was told “no.” Once he was out of earshot, you began to giggle out loud. His reaction was priceless. You were definitely going to ignore him like that permanently.

“Um… Ragatha told me you wanted a few p-posters?” a shy voice peeped. You glanced up, surprised that someone else appeared so quickly. You glanced up, seeing the ribbon-and-mask girl, then smiled a bit, “Oh, yeah. Gangle, right?” She nods and steps closer hesitantly, sniffing. Her ribbons were wrapped around a small stack of papers and ink liners.

“Oh, do you draw manga?” you ask without thinking. The ink liners were the kind you saw anime artists using all over the internet. Gangle nods, setting the stack of papers on your desk, “I don’t anymore, not really… Jax just makes fun of me for it. You frown, that familiar annoyance tingling in your gut, “Hey, just ignore him okay? He’s just a @#$%*,” your rather unpleasant name being censored by a cartoony boink. 

She nodded a bit, then lifted a sketching pencil, “Um… what did you want me to draw?” You think a moment, then smile, feeling a twinge of sibling-like love for the sorrowful girl, “How about you just draw? I’d like your art on my walls either way.” Gangle perked up a bit, “Anything?” “Anything.” She nodded and shyly began to sketch. You watched her doodle for a moment, then realized something.

“Weren’t you a comedy mask when I got here?” you inquire, wondering if it changed depending on her mood. “Oh… yeah, I was but… Jax took in in the hall…” she blinked and her tears fell, but new ones immediately formed, “I don’t know where he went with it…” So her mood depended on her mask, not the other way around.

You made a small growl, “I’ll go get it back,” you gently pat where her shoulder would have been, “just stay here, enjoy yourself, okay? Don’t worry.” She nods, and you walk out the door, “And Gangle?” you add on your way out, “if he tries to mess with you, just tell him you don’t care, okay? He wants a rise out of you.” And off you went, in search of the annoying purple rabbit. Oh boy, was he about to get an earful.

TAGGING TIME: @lostsoullover (my bestieeee) @dai-tsukki-desu

[redslug]

Denoiser wisdom

Since a lot of people showed interest in my workflow of using SD like a renderer for existing sketches, I'll be sharing the little tricks I find while exploring the capabilities of SD with Neuroslug. Read the inpainting post to understand this one. When inpainting, the model takes into consideration what is already in the area it regenerates and in the areas around it. How exactly it'll follow these guidelines is determined by denoising strength. At low values it'll stick closely to the areas of color it sees and won't create anything radically different from the base. At high denoising strength it'll gladly insert colors, shapes and silhouettes that weren't there originally. Basically the more you trust your sketch the smaller your denoising strength should be. It doesn't mean you won't need the high denoising at some point. Let me explain it using yesterday's artwork. It all starts with a rough sketch.

Since I have a particular composition in mind and want it to be maintained, I'll be using a low denoising strength to fully regenerate this image.

It means that the algorithm won't have enough freedom to fix my large-scale mistakes, it's simply not allowed to change the areas of color too dramatically. So if you want to do this yourself make sure to set the image to black and white first and check that your values are working and contrast is good.

To make sure the result isn't too cartoony and flat I used brushes with strong color jitter and threw a rather aggressive noise texture over the whole thing. This'll give the denoiser a little wiggle room to sprout details out of thin air.

It kept the composition, the suggested lighting and the majority of flowers kept their intended colors too. This was denoising strength 0f 0.4. To contrast that, same base image with denoising at 0.7:

It's pretty, but it's neither the style nor composition I wanted. Let's refine the newly redrawn base to include the details that were lost in transition. These were intended to be roses.

It's here where I learned a little trick. You can mix and match different models to achieve the look you desire. Neuroslug is good at detailed moths and painterly environments. It's not good at spitting out really detailed flowers, they end up looking very impressionist which is not what I want in foreground. So, I switched to an anime focused model and let it run wild on this bush with high (0.7) denoising strength.

Nice definition, but it looks too smooth and isn't in line with what I want. Switching back to Neuroslug with denoising at 0.5 and letting it work over these roses.

This way, I get both the silhouette and contrast of the anime model (counterfeitV30) and the matching style of Neuroslug. It's also useful in cases where the model doesn't know a particular flower. You can generate an abstract flower cluster with the anime model and use the base model to remind the AI that what you want is in fact a phlox specifically. So I did this to basically every flower cluster on the image to arrive at this:

It's still a bit of a mess but it has taken me about 80% of the way there, the rest I'll be fixing up myself.

My "Lazy Foliage" brush set was really helpful for this. I'll release that one once it accumulates enough brushes to be really versatile. Now we block in the character.

Yes, I left the hands wonky since I intend to be drawing them manually later, same about the foot. There's so much opportunity for the AI to mess them up that I'd rather have all the control on these details.

When it renders the face it can really mess up everything, so I do it with low (0.45) denoising strength to discourage new eyes popping up in inappropriate places. Take note that I kept the antennae out of the mask. AI is easily confused when one subject overlaps the other.

Good, good. Wait. Why are your eyes hairy? Now, mask out the eyes, remove all mention of fur from the prompt and

That's about right. Since the eyes are all one color block I can afford to raise the denoising strength for more wild results. Same for areas of just fluff on the entire body, it's all one texture and having the denoiser at 0.6-0.75 is beneficial because it's going to add locks, stray hairs and other fluffy goodness. Just make sure to not make the mask too tight to the silhouette, it needs some space to add hairs sticking out.

With the skirt it was back to really low denoising. The folds I blocked in make sense with the position oh her legs under it, so I didn't want it to be lost.

Lastly, I drew in a flower that she's planting and ran over it with moderately high denoising to make it match the surrounding style. Ignore the biblically accurate roots there, I'll fix them by hand.

One last pass over the whole thing in Procreate. I draw the hands and add details such as the round pseudopupils, face ridges and wing markings to keep the character consistent with the previous image of her. And a bit of focal blur for a feeling of depth. Phew, even with generous use of AI this whole thing took an entire day of work. In the end what determines quality isn't the tool you use but the attention you choose to pay to finding inconsistencies and fixing them.

[alastor-simp-page]

Bill Cipher x Charlie Morningstar: You’re Acutie Though a Bit Obtuse, Right?

Why did I do this? Because I can. I'm cringe. I don't care.

Charlie Morningstar had started to lose hope due to the recent ordeal with Heaven until a rather geometric obsessed sinner appears on her doorstep, more specifically an unsolicited guest interested in redemption! While Charlie takes a liking to the new guest, some of the others welcome him while others regard him with suspicion especially Alastor, Charlie's trusted business partner. AKA Bill Cipher has taken an interest in the Hazbin Hotel and as we all know, wherever Bill goes...chaos follows.

There was a twink at the door. Well, Angel didn’t know exactly what to call this dude’s cartoony ass. The second Angel’s mismatched eyes saw that smirk, cane, and eyesore of a golden suit, he spun around and called, “Eh! Alastor, your long lost half-brother or whatever’s at the door.”

The sinner smiled and tipped his top hat, “Actually, I want to be redeemed. I’m here for that.” He laughed, leaning on his golden cane.

“There’s a patient for you, Charlie!” Angel Dust nodded, cupping his hand next to his mouth as he hollered up the grand staircase. 

Charlie blinked awake, rubbing her eyes and sat straight in bed. Patient. There’s a patient?! PATIENT! Her heart leaped and her body did as well as she scrambled out of bed. She was halfway out of her bedroom door still tugging on her slippers. Then she frantically popped her head back in the door, staring at the alarm clock: 1pm. One o’clock. How long did she sleep in for? Shit. 

Charlie shook her head and called down, “I’ll be there in a minute!” At a record pace, she dashed down the hall, practically tripping over herself, desperately running a hand through her wild, unkempt hair. It was futile. 

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” she whispered under her breath, taking the grand stairs two at a time which was probably very unwise. In a heap, she finally reached the door, heaving, huffing and puffing. Her hands were on her knees, and she bent over. Wow, she was out of shape. Then she snapped up and waved, “Hi, hi, my name’s Charlie.” 

The sinner was, well, he looked a lot like Alastor. He was wearing a clean-cut golden coat with an odd pattern of bricks on the torso and long black dress pants. A black bowtie, a black top hat that seemed to hover slightly above his blonde dyed black hair. His eye was dark, and the right side of his face had a triangular eyepatch. His black gloved hands clutched a golden cane. Damn, he did look a lot like Alastor if he looked more human and favored gold over red.

“Yeah, hi, Charlie. The name’s Bill.” The sinner named Bill said leaning against his cane and extending a gloved hand. “I’m sure you haven’t heard of me!”

Charlie stared down at Bill’s outstretched hand. A small blue flame flickered in between his fingers and then died just as quickly. She blinked and beamed a smile at Bill, clasping hands with him. Well, a patient was a patient. “Hi, Bill! So, you’re interested in redeeming yourself?” With one firm shake, it ended.

“Hello?” Angel Dust narrowed his pink eyes at Bill who in turn glanced over at the Spider Demon. “You know I exist right?”

“Yeah, you’re Angel Dust. The porn star, right?” Bill’s eye slid over, rather unimpressed. Is that all what everyone saw when they looked at Angel?

A smirk spread across the Spider Demon’s face, and he smoothed back his fluffy hair, “So you’ve seen my vids?” Well, he didn’t seem to mind. 

“Hah!” Bill laughed and Angel’s face turned sour, “Nah, just saw the billboards. You can’t really miss them in Hell, can you?”

“Likely story, one eyed,” Angel Dust narrowed his mismatched eyes at the one-eyed demon. He used his four hands to jab his pointer finger and long finger at him. 

Bill grins, “Well, in life I worked at this mangy shack for who knows how long. Not really one for porn. I just really love kids.” Then he pauses and looks at Charlie’s horrified expression. “No, I’m not in for that . Had these two twins that kept ruining my life and giving me heck.” That grin thins, “I’ll get back at them…one of these days.”

“Ooookay! Ready to check in?” Charlie pumped a fist. Jeez, this guy seemed to be a bit of a wreck. Beefing with kids? Well! It was Hell after all! Everyone was a wreck. 

“Yeah, speaking of which, don’t you have a check in counter?” Bill glanced around the spacious lobby wreathed in crimson. Even with one eye, he seemed to be combing through every detail. 

“Budget’s a bit tight,” Charlie beamed a strained smile at him.

“Yeah…I can see that.” Bill said quickly and strolled ahead, his golden cane thumping on the ground with each step. Did he need it? He looked rather spry. A sinner that died in his prime. Charlie didn’t pry. She didn’t want to scare him off too early.

Angel Dust waved at the pair, “See you two later.” He sauntered back to the gilded golden doors leading out of this little pure bubble of hell. Charlie briefly glanced, seeing him go, go back to his own personal hell, back to Valentino. A frown was slowly crawling across his bright face, but she shoved it down. 

The all too cheery sinner walked side by side with her and elbowed her in the side with a sharp elbow. “Hey, kid, why the glum face?” 

Kid? Her mouth opened and then she snapped it close again. She was sure as hell a lot damn older than him. Again, she reminded herself…don’t scare him off. Whatever little sparks of fire sprouted from in between her clenched fingers extinguished. 

“Nothing,” Charlie said shortly but thankfully Bill didn’t question it. He seemed preoccupied with the sights even if there wasn’t much to see. Paintings glowering down at them on the walls, long sweeping curtains curling around the window’s light, and what seemed to be eternally empty rooms lining the hall.

Her hand gripped the doorknob to her office and the bell hung to the doorknob jingled. She had almost expected Alastor to come rushing ahead of her to hold the door but of course, he wasn’t there. He was locked up in his radio tower doing who knows what.

She almost hurled at the sight. A new guest and this is what her office or well, her and Alastor’s office looked like? A large stained-glass window filtered in crimson sunlight into what she could barely call an office. Dusty bookshelves lined the walls where her parents’ paintings had once hung. Her and Alastor’s eyesore of a desk sat proudly at the center of the room, littered with scattered papers, a monitor with far too many files on the home screen, an obscene array of stress toys and silly colored gel pens strewn across the hard desk wood. At the midpoint of the half circular desk was a chair for a guest and across the desk were the chairs for her and Alastor.

“Sorry for the mess,” Charlie crossed to the desk, desperately swiping at the papers and plunking them onto the table in a semi-coherent pile. “You can sit–” Her eyes drifted back to the door’s threshold where he was. Then she motioned towards the seat across from her. But he wasn't there. She blinked. He disappeared. No. He didn’t disappear. He wouldn’t just–

“Nah, it's fine. Comfy chair by the way,” His voice said beside her, and she turned. There he was leaning back in his office chair, grinning at the princess and appearing way too comfortable in Alastor’s chair. 

Oh. Well, maybe it's better that Alastor isn’t here. 

Sitting in her business partner’s chair? Bold, cocky, definitely arrogant. Now who did that sound like: Alastor, Angel Dust, a bit of Vaggie, and her own father. Well, surely one more cocky arrogant bastard wasn’t going to burn down the Hotel, right? 

Continue reading this abomination under here:

[farolero-posting]

Spring Cleaning

Hey! Happy 7th anniversary to OneShot!

I wanted to make something special for this day, and I would say this is... a little messy, but I think it is fitting for this day. OneShot is a really cool game, and most importantly, a unique experience, and I wanted to capture a little of that.

Without further delay, enjoy!

Summary: Niko does some chores and gets distracted.

Words: 1,674

(Click below to see the full fic)

Today was seasonal cleaning day, and Niko… was getting a little exhausted by now.

The teenager picked up the folder with yellowed paper sticking out of it, located at the bottom of the messy pile in the room’s top shelf, huffing from the effort to get it out of the shelf. The folder was a bright orange color, and had a sticker of an owl on the cover, their favorite animal. The art had smooth round shapes, giving the animal a cartoony look. There was a messier version of the same drawing, made with black pencil, where some of the lines were drawn several times to ensure the graphite would stick, making small dents on the plastic.

Recognition flashed on the teen’s eyes. They had not looked at this folder for… quite some time, actually. There was a period where they had looked at its contents as many times as they could, using the contents to evoke the memories of that journey.

They opened the folder, and giggled at the first doodle that greeted them.

Why was a ram with “baa” in scary letters the one they put on top? Heheh, maybe their past self wanted to play a prank on them. The drawing had a date on it, like most others.

Exactly seven years ago, to be precise.

Niko’s eyes were wide open, and they had to resist the urge to jump out of their position, standing on their desk’s chair. They closed the folder, pressing it against their body, and crouched down at a slow but shaky pace, before sitting on the chair, with one leg pressed against their body, and the other stretched, reaching for the floor.

“I didn’t know this was all the way up there… It’s been so long!” was all they could mutter.

It felt like a lifetime ago… though, while that is true, they still have a long life ahead, don’t they? Seven years was indeed almost half of their life, but seven years is nothing compared to what they have ahead of them.

It was weird to think of it that way now.  Many things change over the years.

The first month, they had taken days to make a drawing for everything that was in their mind, scared of losing the memory. 

When they turned nine, they started telling their dreams to their mama, so they could both remember.

When they were ten they even wrote a little about their journey for a school project… trying not to mention the fact it was all based on a real story.

They were around twelve when they first felt… an empty dread, looking at these drawings. 

There was one page, at the bottom of the pile, that caught their attention. It was a drawing of the top room of the tower; it wasn’t lit up yet, however. They had gone out of their way to paint the borders in purple pencil, the page curling around the corners. 

At the time, they hadn’t known what to do. They were at the peak of the world, and yet they felt they were at the bottom, holding it all together.

And you were… well.

When they were young, you were everything. You were Niko’s one company through it all. They barely knew you, but they trusted you fully. 

The last time Niko looked at this particular drawing, a few years ago, their thoughts had been bitter. 

Maybe that’s why it had been so long since they looked at the folder.

You… They knew you were their guide, but you also made choices that felt unfair. 

Why did you present the choice? 

Why did you wait so long for that? 

What secrets did you keep from them? 

And why go through all of it, only to discover that you could undo it, later on?

Niko was grateful to be home, but… they didn’t understand you.

And you couldn’t answer them, either.

Because you’re not a god. 

And you’re not there anymore.

Back then, both you and Niko were told you had one chance on your mission. And so Niko had taken care of the lightbulb that represented the sun of this world, following your words. It was a long journey, but you listened to them, and kept them safe. However… even with their best efforts, there was no choice at the end that would save both Niko, and that decaying land.. 

So Niko placed that choice on you. If Niko had been older, maybe they would have questioned this more. They would have more ways to look at the situation, to weigh down their options, and maybe take longer to finally make a decision. Instead, in both more and less time than they expected, but certainly a wrong amount of time, you told them what path they had to take. And Niko, respecting the wishes of the world’s god, had done it.

Except you weren’t god. You were someone looking at them through a window, generating the world that had imprisoned them, but not belonging to it. When Niko was twelve, they had realized that whatever the first choice was, the impact on you would not have been as big as it was for them. 

They were angry back then… But now… 

Now they couldn’t hold it against you. They knew better… and funnily enough, they remember their youngest self knowing better, too.

Niko placed the drawing aside, and as they did that, another one slipped out of the folder. This one was a drawing of pancakes with syrup. They weren’t the hazelnut ones their mama made (and now Niko makes them for her, too!), but they remember they were delicious, with a hint of a flavor they couldn’t quite name. The teen wondered if it was a product of that world that only existed there. Now, their older self with a hobby for baking, wished they could know what it was.

They remembered going there, right before the tower. Niko had asked you if it was okay to make a stop for some food, and you had taken them to the cafe, where they had gotten those pancakes. They knew you listened to them, and not only that, that you wanted to comfort them too, in any limited way you could. 

The next drawing they got from the pile showed a view from the top of the Refuge, taken from one of the tallest buildings. Niko’s town was close to a river too, but it wasn’t as close as the ones flowing around the Refuge. It wasn’t glowing pink, either. Niko had been to a big city now too, but it wasn’t anything like the one in that world. The Refuge was a unique city, among thousands of them. 

They remember you said you lived in a city, and they could only imagine it was like the Refuge, for years. Now they recognized there were many more options for what a city or a town could look like.

The next drawings were of the friends Niko met. Though they wish their artistic skills did them more justice, they couldn’t help but look at them fondly for what they represented. What would be of those people now? Do Calamus and Alula still live in the ruins? Is the robot lady —the drawing says her name is Silver— still in the Barrens? Did the Mr. Lamplighter get to sleep more with the Sun back? They smiled, thinking of the possibilities. 

Niko stumbled upon a drawing of the computers that made up the World Machine, and took it out to hold it closer, the glow in their eyes slightly reflecting on the paper. They remember drawing the screens with a ruler, to make sure it looked as good as a blueprint (but they know now that blueprints are more complicated than that). They also drew the Author’s children and themself on that page, holding the sun. It was them who reminded Niko what all the effort not to forget was for. 

And Niko would not have known of them without your help. Because you…, though you weren’t a god, you wanted to do something to save both Niko and everyone else. You cared enough to try to be more than just a guide, but someone who believed in a second chance as well. Someone convinced they were all worth it.

The last drawing on the pile was a journal with a yellow clover on the cover, along with the amber necklace, a glowing feather, and a six sided die. Niko never met the creator of that world in person. They simply had his letters, words of others and objects to remember him by. 

They understood why their mama gave them a hat passed down by her parents. They understood why she kept all their silly drawings.

And why hazelnut pancakes would be their favorite food forever, over any other kind of pancake.

They breathed in when they felt themself run out of air, and the shivering of their body almost made them burst into tears. You were a guide, a ghost and… a friend. And all they had of you was the memories of your voice.

Niko wondered if you missed them, if you would be happy to see them today. Niko didn’t narrate their thoughts aloud anymore, their life was also more hectic and complicated. They sometimes thought their younger self was a little silly. They were far from the child you knew.

But it was good to be there. To look at those old drawings, and get that same joy out of them. To enjoy the chances that were given to them, and know that, in some distant place, you are still with them, getting your own chances. 

Niko took a blank page from a stack on their desk and a pencil from their first drawer, and put something on it that reminded them of you, placing it on the top of the ram doodle. 

They hoped it would be the first thing they saw the next time they opened the folder. 

[wordsandgears]

Midnight burger posting at midnight

In an Au where the EX “rescued” Ted (A.K.A hostage/ forced vacation as Casper puts it) along with Casper:

Casper’s whole thing with Ted is to get him out of his shell (he sees himself in Ted and hates that he can relate to the helplessness of determinism and its shackles, for he too once felt the burden of mundanity)

Ted’s adamant that someone is coming to get him and almost ejects them out into space in whatever vessel the EX was driving

(the EX is very good at holding people in place)

Every time they stop somewhere they have to wrangle him in, I picture Casper making a joke about needing to get one of those child leashes for him

That usually makes him so offended that he forgets about escaping and they can carry on with their journey

Wherever they are Ted has something to say about the state and the use of whatever planet/space object they’re on (Ted propaganda, always some sort of false)

Very unwelcome in red’s rectangle (should’ve stayed behind but is very untrustworthy)

Ted’s wild west persona would be a priest with a past more sullied than an oil spill in the ocean.

Escalating tensions with his tries of descalations of repeating laws and penal codes, not really playing along but also not not playing along.

Not as smooth as Casper and not as gung ho as Ex,

Like Casper in the before Throwing-Ava-into-deep-space times Ted would be adamantly against any “meaningless” detours that extend their time together.

Helping with the jailbreak cements the fact that Ted is a traitor, and a bittersweet (at lest in Ted standards) reunion makes him finally look back in his actions, though outwardly he acts the same to most

(except to Casper and Ex due to the fact that being that powerful and that old you could probably read anyone)

At the battle of time’s melody Ted is solemn yet abrasively uncooperative

There’s three ending for Ted in this Au. (1.like Canon he wonders the universe, by his own valuation) ((2.he gose with BurtBurt to simply see what’ll happen, maybe to gain some semblance of routine he once had)) (((3.and most outlandishly, he stays and raised plant babies with a sentient bush and inter dimensional robot)))

Character design

BurtBurt - I imagine she always wears a fur coat, like most people of her race she has three sets of arms, one set is always crossed and another always has a pen and paper in hand. Her hair has cartoony swirls at the ends and her skin is a very pale pink

Verge - basically double trouble from she-Ra but blue, wears the space equivalent of any weather survivalist gear. Color blind

Minski - a more human humanoid spider, looks human except for the six arms protruding out the back and eight pitch black eyes. Waits finely tailored suits.

Shell - looks like a bush, has holly berries growing on them sorta like a birthmark or defining characteristic

Ava - how I imagine manuela dominguez form the magnus archives, white lab coat, long straight thick black hair, brown skinned.

Gloria - a Mexican Justina Machado, long dark brown curly hair that reaches her back that’s always tied in a bun or ponytail, her outfits are always pristine and bright as if she just got them that day.

Casper - Jake Johnson, grey hairs

Leif - just Leif

Random thoughts

PolyBurger should be a thing - let the employees and the boss and the regular kiss while HR looks on in jovial disapproval.

[britt-kageryuu]

Leo in another bout(bought?) of boredom, is streaming from the clinic again. His model dressed in galaxy print scrubs, blue crocs, lab coat with some random pins on the pocket, and his Bandana with the tails tied up to not get in the way.

The camera is following him as he moves about the reception area. Rambling off about different topics, every now and then answering a question sent in by the audience and chat.

A graphic of a cartoony Aligator Snapping Turtle swims past dragging a banner that Thanks 'Chompy' for $5 with a message 'You changed how you did things awhile ago, while it was subtle I still want to know why did you change?'

Leo pauses to stare right into the camera, like his brain stopped working, or was overworking itself to word the answer.

"Okay, so I didn't really think anyone had truly noticed. Not to say you guys are oblivious, just I didn't think I would have to explain this." He shifts while looking around the room, "So to those who might've not been here then, or watched the VODs... I originally went into this VTuber stuff as a BFE type. And for those who don't know what that means, Boy Friend Experience."

Leo takes a deep breath before continuing, "See, I didn't know what I was going to do for this, so I kinda copied the BFE type that I saw clips of, so flirting with the audience, pretending to be in love with the audience... that kind of thing. Then I got an actual crush, who became my boyfriend and it just felt awkward to keep that up." He walks over to his desk while talking, and sat down, "So I shifted my way of talking to you guys, and from there just left the flirty tone to when I'm around Thumper. Much to my siblings annoyance."

He lets out a laugh while shaking his head. "Though my usual way of talking is crafted to make you feel relaxed, less tense, and get people to listen to what I want to tell them." Leo gives the camera a smirk, "I used to call myself the 'Face Man' of the group, so I always tried to be a smooth talker, right up until I put my foot in my mouth, and told my Boyfriend I thought he dyed his hair... his hair is naturally white. I didn't believe him. I still don't get how I convinced him to date me!"

Leo has slumped in his chair with embarrassment, he looked about ready to fall out of his chair when the sound of a door opening could be heard. He sits up and faces the door. He mutes the camera mic, but not his.

"Hello, what can I do for ya today?" Pause to listen to who ever entered, "Okay, let me check." He grabs the work tablet and checks for something, "Well you're in luck. There's no one scheduled for the next few hours. So let's get you checked in. Oh give me a minute." Leo pulls out his phone to see if there's anyone to take over the stream, or if not what he should put on for the stream to watch.

"Hmm? Oh yeah... the schedule is very empty, and no one else was scheduled to work today, so I was live streaming... nothing really." The notification on his phone goes off. "And the stream will be watching a few meme compilations. So to the veiwers, enjoy the memes, and I'll be back in a bit!"

The stream cuts to a meme compilation of clips from different VTurtles! VODs and some from the Discord and Social Media. With a BRB sign propped up by River.

-----------------

Masterpost

Not much to say other than, no patient trying to sneak into the stream this time.

[artsandstoriesandstuff]

Okay, so, since you asked, here's some stuff. Keep in mind this is more things you can try if you want rather than criticism since at the end of the day you do what you want with your art and it looks awesome anyway.

Maybe try some smoother/connected lines? Your style can be sketch-like, which is of equal merit, but smooth lines can make colouring easier (bless the fill tool on reference layer my beloved).

In addition to point one, I've noticed your colouring is pretty freeform. Again, equal in merit, I just wonder if you've experimented with cleaner colouring before.

This is only my personal method for doing lineless, so take it with a big grain of salt. When I do it, though, I tend to keep separate colours and things 'closer'/'farther' from the viewer on separate layers. This makes shading a lot easier, as the clipped shading layers won't go over onto a different object in a different place relative to the light source.

As for anatomy stuff, I don't really have much to say since your style is so cartoony it really doesn't matter as much. The most I can say is maybe go looking at different figures online for pose/fat/muscle practice as just a routine thing. I say this as someone who has to do that myself.

I...Really don't have much actual criticism. I genuinely love your art so much, it's so cool to look at. I also love how you have these different variations of the same sorta style (lineless, lined, the textured brush for colouring version), it's really cool to see how versatile your stuff can get!

I actually have done some smoother coloring in the past! The most recent time I remember was probably May-June? I've also done smoother linework before, but not really connected lines. I haven't found a style I like with that, anyway. (So maybe ill try to practice that?)

And I understand what you mean with the lineless work too... I generally do my work on the same layer to save time but I need to try out that method, too.

With the last one, i for sure need to get back to doing those. I have a couple of times but I haven't committed to doing it. I think I'll prioritize that. (I also don't think I've done any fat/muscle studies at all)

THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING!!! To be honest i started getting the feeling no one cared about the post lol. And I'm really happy you love my art too!! :)

[tabbytums]

☠️🖍️

☠️ - Your opinion on... Fatal vore.

I looooooove fatal vore. I mentioned this in the post about reformation, but it's really the finality and lasting consequences of it that I like a lot. There's usually no coming back from eating/being eaten, no do-overs, no nothing. The only thing the prey will ever be now is nutrient mush and fat on the pred's gut and body.

There's a lot of different scenarios that I just love, love because fatal vore is so versatile. If you want some cruelty, you can have an uncaring pred who churns away and ends their prey without a care. If you want some angst, you can have a pred who accidentally digests their prey and is devastated by this (although a pred who is like "oh well" to accidentally churning their prey is definitely super hot as well).

There's also a huge potential for intimacy, even unwilling intimacy, because the pred is basically making the prey part of themself now. The pred and their prey will never be apart again, albeit the prey is now just jiggly fat.

🖍 - Do you prefer… Realistic or unrealistic/cartoony vore?

Vore is definitely very unrealistic from the get-go unless you're a snake/pelican/etc. or are swallowing something VERY small, but I generally prefer more realistic vore, or at least, as realistic as you can get with same-size vore, with a few exceptions here and there. I do also like mass/multi-prey vore a lot which pushes the boundaries into the more "cartoonish" area of vore.

Anyway, I usually like preds who take a long time to swallow their prey because it probably would be extremely difficult to swallow someone/something that large, especially if they're struggling the entire time! And then after they've finished swallowing their prey and can breathe again, they're panting and moaning from the exertion (and fullness). Tight and defined bulges are super hot as the stomach struggles to fit the entire prey inside. Even on fatter preds, there would still be a lot of definition in the figure of the prey. I'm not the biggest fan of smooth, globe-like bellies in vore, unless it's showing that the prey has been digested.

Now, I usually like digestion that takes half a day to a day in length which miiiiiight make sense if you've eaten a really big, but still manageable, meal, but I feel like a whole person might take way longer. At least a week, maybe even two or three, for most of the prey to be mush.

I could probably go on and on about this topic in vore, but I'll stop here before I end up writing a whole 14-page essay about it LMAO.

Vore Ask Meme

[theboywithburninghands]

Hello yes hi I’m not dead. Sorry, I got tangled up in playing Kingdom Hearts III and my birthday along with the usual mental struggles… But I got a new story. It’s longer than the others, and it also dabbles in another ship that I’m quite fond of along with Funnybunny. I enjoy Buttonblossom as well, I’ve always been of the opinion Pomni is bisexual. Not me projecting… anyway, this one is a little bit more dramatic. But I like it, even if it’s got a ton of ellipses, but it’s also got a big snake in it. Big snakes are cool. Enjoy, hopefully.

Jealousy, Thy Name is Rabbit

Today was a game of capture the flag set in a virtual jungle, girls against boys (boys and Zooble, just so it was 3 on 3). On the girl’s side, Ragatha was elected flag guard on account of being the tallest and widest, not that she had much in the way of competition from either of her teammates. Pomni and Gangle were the scouts sent to find the boys’ (And Zooble’s) flag. Pomni had spent the last half hour on all fours, clambering through some cartoony underbrush. The various brambles may have been gaudy shades of orange and purple, but their thorns still hurt to climb through. Caine really needed to focus less on hazards and more on… well, fun.

Pomni: OW! F@&$! *Pomni covers her right eye as a stick jabs into it* Urgh… Gangle? Where are you?

Pomni poked her head cautiously out of the canopy of plants. Her teammate was nowhere to be found. Had they already gotten separated?

Pomni: Peachy…

Pomni ducked back down into the underbrush and continued to crawl forward as best she could. Her coxcomb hat kept getting tangled in the briars, and leaves and bits of twig stuck to her hair. Caine had even gone to the effort of including irritating little bugs the size of pinpricks that crawled on her face and buzzed in her ear, which she routinely had to stop and swat. Thank god she had no nose or one of them definitely would have crawled up it by now. She peeked out from the underbrush again, spotting a small clearing up ahead. It looked like it could be the entrance to the enemy base. If she crawled, she could get there in about 10 minutes. Then it was a matter of getting past whoever they had guarding it, then getting back to her base and ending the game so they could go home. Apparently there was some sort of reward for whatever team won the round… Knowing Caine it would probably suck hard.

Pomni took a deep breath and dove back into the brush. If Jax was the flag guard, maybe she could convince him to give up the flag peacefully in exchange for some extra “alone time” that night. It was surreal to think that she had gone from hating the rabbit’s guts to him being one of her closest friends… just friends. Just friends that kissed and hugged and cuddled. Friends could do that. It had been Jax’s idea to not use any words like “relationship” or “romance” or “love” to describe what… whatever they had going on, in case of disaster. And they were both free to have “alone time” with other performers… at least that’s what she assumed. Not like Jax was close with anyone else.

Pomni came to a large, fallen tree, black and flecked with neon colors. There was no way around it without adding several minutes to her already onerous trek, so she rolled her eyes, stretched, and began to clamber over the tree. The trunk was oddly squishy, it must have gotten soft from the moisture of the jungle floor. That was a pretty impressive detail for Caine to add… As she slid over to the opposite side, her bare legs touched the trunk. The texture was odd as well, smooth and oddly bumpy… no… scaly?

hhhhhhhhssssssssssccchhhhh…

Pomni: Oh sweet f$&@.

The “tree” slid forward on its own, a good twenty feet of shiny, technicolor-on-obsidian mass emerging from the underbrush, a stone’s throw from where Pomni was just crawling. The snake turned its refrigerator-sized head to look at Pomni. Its fishbowl eyes were different colors, each appearing to slowly change hues, its left eye yellow shifting green and its right eye purple shifting brown. It flicked out its tongue, pink with electric blue stripes and thick as Bubble Tape.

Pomni: Nonononononono-

Pomni took off running towards the clearing, but found herself hopelessly slowed down by the overgrown floor of the jungle, brambles snagging her legs and tripping her to her knees every few steps. The giant snake slithered up beside her before lazily, yet gracefully gliding in front of her and cutting her off, forming a loop around her with its body.

Pomni: -nonononononoNONONO! NO! NO! NONONONO!

Pomni tried to climb over the snake as it began to pull right around her, but only succeeded in sticking one arm out before the rest of her puny body was squeezed into immobility by the black rainbow serpent. She was so small that the snake barely needed to wrap around her once before she was trapped.

Pomni: NOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!!!

Pomni screamed blue murder. The panic of being cornered by a large predator and her phobia of being touched formed a cocktail of primal terror she hadn’t experienced since first arriving at the circus. She shrieked and pounded on the snake’s body with her one free hand, even trying to bite into its flesh, anything to get it to stop squeezing and let go. The snake’s scales were far too hard to bite through, even chipping one of her teeth, and the reptile continued to squeeze tighter and tighter and tighter. Pomni felt her body begin to flare with pain as it was constricted to its limit… if she still had bones they probably would have been crushed into splinters by now. She didn’t even have enough room left to scream, only managing a choked rasp…

And then there was a reverberating crack.

Voice: Let her go! I said let her go!

Another smack against the snake, and it hissed irritatedly this time. Pomni saw a faint purple and red outline out of the corner of her watery eyes, coming into clearer view as it strafed around the serpent.

Ragatha: Y-You want to lose an eye, Jafar?! Let her go, I said!

Ragatha had a sturdy tree branch in her hands, twigs sticking out of her hair and her dress stained with dirt. She took on the stance of a major league player and swung her makeshift bat with all her strength, cracking the snake on the chin. The reptile hissed, revealing fangs of all colors, and struck at Ragatha, who managed to stumble out of the way with a hair’s breadth between her arms and the snake’s teeth. Ragatha put one hand at the top of her branch and the other in the middle and wound back.

Ragatha: I’m sorry-!

Ragatha drove the branch into the snake’s right eye, and it snarled, thrashing about in pain. Its coils loosened enough for Pomni to squirm free, landing on the jungle floor with a dry plop and scrambling backwards. The snake threw its head about a few more times before hastily slithering away into the jungle, frustrated but trounced.

Ragatha: Yeah! Get out of here! I’m sorry, but get out of here! *much quieter* I’m sorry… *she stiffens* Pomni! *She looks about before finding Pomni seated on the ground, and she hurries over to her* Pomni, hun- are you okay?!

Ragatha crouched down to Pomni’s level and looked her over. The jester was breathing rapid, shallow breaths, her usual red and blue roulette eyes replaced with black squiggles.

Ragatha: Pomni…! *she puts her hand on Pomni’s shoulder, but the jester reacts like she’s been shocked and slaps her hand away*

Pomni: NO!

Ragatha: Woah heyheyhey! Pomni, it’s me, it’s Ragatha! It’s gone, the snake is gone! You’re safe..!

Pomni: Do-Do-Dooo-Don’t touch me, don’t… don’t touch me…

Ragatha: Okay sweetie, I won’t touch you, but are you hurt? Did it bite you?

Pomni: N…..No….

Pomni’s eyes, though now back to their usual colors, soon swam with tears and she buried her face in her gloves, beginning to sob. Ragatha, resisting the urge to hug the poor girl, took a moment to check on herself.

Ragatha: *examining her arm* Ohhh, I must’ve popped half my stitches… I hope I don’t lose any stuffing… *she turns back to Pomni* I can’t imagine how scary that must have been for you… are you afraid of snakes?

Pomni: *in between sobs N-N-No… I… I uh… I… I don’t… I-I-I-I-I-

Ragatha: Hey… hey… match my breathing. Are you ready? In. *Ragatha takes a long, deep breath in* Out, like you’re blowing on a dandelion. *she lets her breath out.* Not too hard, right? Try it with me.

Pomni managed to slow down her sobs long enough to match Ragatha’s breathing exercise. It didn’t make her feel any better, but it at least helped her get her words out

Pomni: Thank you… *sniffle* You-You… I’m sorry I didn’t… save you…

Ragatha: Save me?

Pomni: On my first day… w-when Kaufmo…

Ragatha: *smiles* Oh, hun. It’s okay. It was your first day. I would have done the exact same thing in your shoes.

Pomni’s eyes welled up with new tears.

Pomni: I-I’m sorry… I was so… I didn’t… I didn’t deserve to get… saved…

Ragatha: Nooo, no, Pomni, don’t say that! We’re all we’ve got… I wouldn’t let you or anyone else get eaten, okay..?

Ragatha placed a hand on Pomni’s shoulder unconsciously, and the jester girl flinched.

Ragatha: Oh shoot, I’m sorry! *she takes her hand away* I forgot-!

Pomni: …N-No… if it’s just… I-I calmed down… I can… handle it… I-I just I wasn’t… I wasn’t expecting it, I… I… I’m sorry…

Ragatha: …Can you handle a hug? It’s okay if you can’t, but- OOF!l

Pomni threw herself into Ragatha, wrapping her arms around the ragdoll woman and hiding her face in her chest. Ragatha smiled and hugged the newcomer back, rubbing the back of her head.

Ragatha: Don’t worry now…

They remained like that for a while. Pomni had never actually touched Ragatha before, and it was… odd, but pleasant. She felt much the same as a cloth doll, dense and tightly-knit fabric wrapped around a soft filling like cotton or polyester. But she was unmistakably warm, the same way Jax was. Although Pomni still felt sick with fear, the sensation of a friend holding her helped ease the churning in her belly.

Pomni: …Thank you, Ragatha.

Ragatha: What are friends for, right…?

The two performers locked eyes. Both of them became acutely aware of a not-unpleasant heat glowing on their cheeks. Ragatha broke the pregnant silence by chuckling nervously.

Ragatha: Hahaha… soooo…

Caine: CON-GRATULATIONS TO TEAM ZOOBLE!

Out of nowhere, Caine exploded onto the scene, a neon-marquee sign emerging above him that wanted to spell out “congratulations” but appeared to malfunction and sputter, spelling out “crodulates” instead.

Ragatha: Oh no, the flag… I completely forgot!

Pomni: *automatically* Who gives a s#%@…

Caine: THAT’S RIGHT, RAGATHA! WHILE YOU WERE OUT HERE, JAX ESCAPED WITH THE FLAG YOU WEREN’T GUARDING! AND POMNI! *he points his cane at her, causing the jester to flinch* CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU FOR FINDING ALGER, THE RAINBOA CONSTRICTOR! I was wondering where he went…

Pomni: It has a name…?!

Ragatha: Uh yeah, Caine, about that snake-

Caine snapped his fingers, and all of a sudden, the six performers were back in the tent. Zooble, Jax and Kinger looked about the same despite some odd leaves and sticks stuck to their clothes. Gangle landed with a wet slap beside Pomni and Ragatha, groaning and dripping wet.

Ragatha: Gangle, there you are… where’ve you been?

Gangle: I-I fell in the river and got washed downstream…

Caine: SO, FOR WINNING THE GAME, TEAM ZOOBLE WINS…!

There was a drumroll that went on for far too long. Pomni made eye contact with Jax, but neither of them smiled. She was still getting over the encounter with the Rainboa Constrictor… but what was wrong with him?

Caine: ……………AN ALL DAY PASS TO THE DIGITAL AMUSEMENT PARK!

Zooble: Yippee-skippee. Not like we haven’t gotten that prize at least three times before. Can I go now?

Ragatha: Yeah, Caine, I ripped some stitches, can I go back to my room…?

Pomni: *to Ragatha* Are you okay?

Jax: Oh yeah, I’m sure she’s fine. You got a pretty close look back in the jungle, didn’t you?

Jax’s usual brand of sarcasm came out as oddly venomous, not even sporting his typical snarky grin.

Pomni: What are you talking about..?

Jax: I don’t know. You tell me. Anyway, f@&$ you all. I’m going back to my room.

Jax walked away from the group, stunning even Caine into silence. Jax almost never swore.

Caine: Boy, you give a guy a pass to an amusement park and he thanks you like that.

Bubble emerged from Caine’s hat with a toilet brush

Bubble: We should wash his mouth out, Caine!

Zooble: Whatever, dinner without Jax sounds good to me.

Gangle: Uh… h-has anyone seen Pomni..?

—————————

Pomni marched down the hallway to Jax’s room, pounding on his door.

Pomni: Jax! Open up!

Silence.

Pomni: …Oh for… *deep breath, gentler tone of voice* Jax, it’s Pomni. Can we talk?

Silence.

Pomni: …You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you? Fine. “Oh great Jax, may I please enter your…” *cringes* “…your humble abode.” Eugh… *she glances around to make sure nobody heard that*

Still more silence.

Pomni: Okay, he must be somewhere else if he’s not responding to that…

A voice came from behind the door

Jax: It’s unlocked.

Pomni: Oh. Then why the h@&$ am I knocking? *she opens the door* Jax! What was… that…

Pomni’s anger trailed off as she saw Jax laying in bed, covers pulled all the way up to his chin. He faced away from Pomni, looking at nothing in particular.

Jax: Come on in.

Pomni: …What… Why did you blow up like that back there?

Jax: You really don’t know?

Pomni: No..?

Jax: …That’s fine. I guess I’m being the irrational one.

Pomni: Yeah, you are. I was attacked by a snake… A huge f@&$-off snake that almost squeezed me to death!

Jax: What?

Pomni: Oh, did you miss that part?! Lemme say it again. *shouting* A! BIG! SNAKE! NEARLY!-

Jax: *shouting right back* ALRIGHT! I DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THAT, BUT- I saw you with Ragatha.

Pomni: *genuine confusion* What?!

Jax: In the jungle, stupid! I saw you and Ragatha!

Pomni: …She saved me from the snake. You heard Caine talking about it… she saved me!

Jax: …You were blushing.

Pomni: Who cares?! I- wait you were watching us for that long?

Jax: You were right outside our base.

Pomni: …Oh my god. You’re jealous.

Jax: What..?

Pomni: You’re jealous! You thought me and Ragatha were- OH MY GOD.

Pomni laughed incredulously, which made Jax shoot up in bed like a snapped wire.

Jax: Don’t you laugh at me!!!

Pomni: I’m not-! I never thought you’d take it seriously!

Jax: What, my first relationship?! Yeah, I can see how that would be HARD to take seriously?!

Pomni: What are you- wait. I’m your first?

Jax: …

There was a long period of silence before Pomni swallowed.

Pomni: Well… look, you said you didn’t want a relationship, so… I mean… I didn’t mean to make you mad, but I was attacked. So I’m not going to apologize for hugging Ragatha… she helped me.

Jax: Okay.

Pomni: …Um. But… it’s… it’s okay. To be mad… I guess? I don’t know. I guess you thought I was cheating…? Right?

Jax: I guess.

Pomni: Well, I wasn’t.

Jax: You were blushing, though.

Pomni: Yeah, so what? She’s… *swallows and turns slightly pink despite herself* She’s pretty. For a ragdoll. It doesn’t mean you’re any less… nice to be around. Or look at. For a rabbit.

Jax: …What are you, gay?

Pomni’s words caught in her throat as she looked at Jax, who had finally managed his usual toothy smirk.

Pomni: *small snort* God, shut up…

Jax: …I’m sorry though. I didn’t know about the snake.

Pomni: You didn’t hear me scream?

Jax: You scream a lot.

Pomni: …Yeah. I guess so. So… this is more than just a… “friends who kiss” thing, now? It’s a…

Jax: Nah. We’re still just “friends that kiss.” But if you want to go be “friends that kiss” with Ragatha… at least tell me before you do, okay?

Pomni: I will. I’m sorry.

Jax: Relax. You didn’t do anything. Apart from almost being snake food. …Do… you want a hug? Or something?

Pomni: …Uh… honestly, not really? I-I’m kinda iffy on being touched anyway and the snake squeezing me like that… it really screwed with me. But uh…

Pomni closed the distance between them and planted a kiss on Jax’s lips, having to lean on his knees and stand on her tiptoes to reach the lankier rabbit’s face.

Pomni: *blushing* It’s really sweet to know you take this seriously. I’ll see you later, okay..?

Pomni headed back to her room, shutting Jax’s door behind her. The rabbit licked his lips. He then laid back down on the bed, staring at the door.

Jax: You hugged Ragatha.

—————————————

[quanblovk]

WHAT BRUSHES DO YOU NORMALLY USE!?!?!

Pardon my laziness for switching to english for ibis paint btw..

Lets start off with the classic turnip pen or any pen with this rough texture! This is mainly for my lazy doodles and to do crosshatching. It just feels right when the texture isn't smooth like the dip pen....

The dip pen is up next! i always use this for serious, long strip comics. True to the classic cartoony style!

And recently, i started to use this outline brush more for extra effects. It really made my simple drawings look busier and its just rlly convenient in general.

Then the acrylic pen for when i want to blend and paint. I used this a lot for Night Terrors! The shading just looks smoother when i'm mixing it instead of doing it in another layer.

And i like to use the dip pen again with a few extra settings to smoothen out the lines 👍

[vriskaserketdaily]

you tend to use a rougher pen/sort of crayon style coloring so id love to see you try and do like a super smooooooth type of drawing. you also go more realistic w your proportions! so something super cartoony and exaggerated would be really cool also...

so what youre saying is . . . the antithesis of my style is cartoony, yet smooth, so . . . . all illumination studios films and nearly every pixar film.

i really indulged my dark passenger here (went ham on the blur tool which i havent done in years) but uh. i think i failed by virtue of taking exactly one hour to draw this before deciding i'd had enough. here is the evil art style challenge