#seriously not only are their designs super cool but also fun to draw??

[fence-time]

Obsessed with @12davs21 ZITS Highschool AU ( super awesome designs by them!!)

[cryptids-and-muses]

Post canon homestuck crew play Dungeons and Dragons

Karkat and terezi

Co dms

Unstoppable when actually working together

Terezi will get sidetracked messing with karkat

Karkat trying to write a deep and well fleshed out campaign that’s thematically resonant vs terezi’s desire for chaos and traps and trying to “trick” her players FIGHT

Terezi believes in karma and will make the world bend to this

Karkat is trying to set up romance arcs and argues about how it adds to the theming

Dave draws them fanart of their characters. Terezi loves it while karkat argues about accuracy before admitting yes he also appreciates it

Calliope also does fanart and karkat praises her skill and accuracy unlike some people

John

Arcane trickster rogue

Forest gnome

Just a goofy little guy!

Mostly just playing to have fun, starts off with a fun but simple character who develops over time

Ends up SUPER invested and taking this so so seriously

Karkat worked a dramatic reveal into the, in his words, “bare ass bones two paragraphs that a fucking wiggler could have written backstory” and John did not see it coming and loved it

Goes head to head with terezi a lot on her various traps she designs for them. She is getting more and more absurd with it. Karkat had to talk to her about breaking the world building with things she’s introducing. He is the only rogue. Send help.

Rose

Drow warlock

Tries to justify picking drow as anything other than she just thought it was cool

Nearly went old ones for patron but settled on archfey for story reasons

Has a 10 page lore document detailing her tragic past and her toxic relationship with her patron

It became 15 pages after going back and forth with karkat for a bit and adding even more

Only her and one other person are taking the romance arcs seriously and they become karkat’s favorite players

Tries playing morally ambiguous but terezi can be annoying about that and claims it’s just “the consequences of her actions”

Her and karkat both get very very into the scenes between her and her patron, the drama! The acting! Dave is uncomfortable and karkat brushes it off, it’s not like him role playing as his sister’s abusive girlfriend is weird. It’s in fact very important to the plot Dave

Has written fanfic of the campaign

Jade

Dragonborn barbarian

Path of the beast

Don’t ask me I just know

Her GLEE when she says “I’m gonna rage :D”

ANIMAL COMPANION! She nearly went ranger just for that but knew she wouldn’t have as much fun. Found a way to get one anyway.

It was harder naming her animal companion than her character

Having fun and likes the problem solving side of things, but likes breaking things with her massive strength just as much

Terezi likes to throw stuff at her, both traps and encounters, and finds it funny if she can just wreck her way through

“See John that’s how you deal with a pressure plate trap”

Takes the rp side of things very seriously

Once argued with Karkat over if her favorite npc would do that and cursed him out

Has read roses fanfic of the campaign

Dave

Plays a teifling with grey skin and orange horns

“What are you talking about karkat this is just my dude, don’t you like him?”

Hellus Jeffus

He’s a valor bard, eventually multiclasses paladin

Starts out just trying to mess with people but like John starts getting into it, though he tries to down play it

Have hellus more of himself than he realized and it’s making him face things about himself

Eventually hellus self sacrifices to save the party in this deeply intense moment. There were tears, Dave was wrecked, they went on a whole quest to revive him. It was touching and karkat is smug

Dave might have worked through some things

Jane

Halfling cleric

Her and John are small buddies!!!

Started out life but wasn’t having a lot of fun with it so with terezi’s permission switched to war or tempest with later s few levels in fighter

Her John and Jade are the biggest front liners, John’s character ends up really close with both of them as it’s easier for the rogue to bond with the person giving them sneak attack

Jade and jane’s character have an in game arm wrestling match

Took a bit to get into the rp side of things but eventually got the hang of it

Roxy

Tabaxi, easily, it’s so obvious

After much deliberation settles on glamour bard (though wizard and rogue were tempting for the joke, she wanted to branch out)

So many horny bard jokes but very little actual follow through, karkat gets frustrated by this as she’s all this talk but isn’t pursuing any of the romance options he’s giving her

She has SECRETS! She is HIDING THINGS!! Her cheery persona is a FASADE!!!

Cue complaining to karkat about how hard it is to wait to tell the others about her secrets and him threatening violence if she tells anyone before the in game reveal

She tells jake

Lots of egging on Dave and helping him with his fucking around

The BOND between her and Dave!!! They are the duo to end all duos. Team rocket type shit. There is nothing stronger than the bond between the bards of the party. My theory is it has to do with trading bardic inspiration.

Dirk

Half elf Druid circle of spores

Wildfire seemed fun to him but wasn’t as good

Wasn’t originally planning on being a Druid but after going over all the classes he liked all the customization and decisions that go into Druid like prepared spells and such

Didn’t really think about his backstory much, just improved something. He keeps improving new additions and it’s getting more and more elaborate and complicated. He has multiple hidden and long lost siblings by this point. Still doesn’t write any of this down. If he messes a detail up he justified it with more improv.

Yes his character has spiked up red hair and sunglasses. Don’t question how the Druid got sunglasses karkat.

Really likes the tactics side of things, he’s even pitched a few things to terezi she updated and later worked in

Sometimes works on plans and strategies out of game or making a million back up characters that play off the others in interesting mechanical ways

Is considering becoming a dm some time

Jake

Needed some help making his character, he just didn’t know where to start

Eventually after much discussion settles on a teifling bladesong wizard

Wanting to get away from his usual adventurer style Roxy helped with the backstory and they came up with this evil scientist raised in a cult who’s good hearted but was never taught right and wrong

He gets very into playing him and his moral struggle but can lean a little too good for his backstory, karkat points this out and Jake swears to get better at it

Dave pitched a lot of names for them and it was eventually settled on “Bernard Gunn” even though he has a sword. Jake just likes how it sounds

“Why is he blue jake?” “…..uhhh” “why is he blue?”

Calliope

SHE LOVES THIS SO MUCH

Teifling Druid with a focus on healing

Circle of shepards

Not a troll color pallet like Dave though, honestly it might get a bit trickster

Beautiful backstory that she coordinated with one of the others to make joint. The most obvious choice is Roxy but I think it was actually jade, Jane or John.

She gets so into it you guys, like so into it

Gives at least one dramatic speech completely on the fly

The other character who takes karkat’s romance arcs seriously and his other favorite player

Has also argued with terezi about world building and consistency. This may put her above rose in karkat’s eyes

Was also allowed to read rose’s fanfiction and offered full on reviews

Also considering going into doing but for the opposite reasons to Dirk

Vriska

Fairy artillerist artificer with a dip in war magic wizard

Min maxxed to hell and back

(Technically there was a better race, but fairy has its own advantages and she couldn’t resist)

An elaborate backstory too with some secrets of her own, I’m thinking full on lost princess

Yes she is That Player, you know the one

Has nearly been kicked multiple times and now won’t leave on principle

Not the best at sticking with the party and not just doing whatever she wants, but suprisingly Dirk has been able to talk her into it with his talk of tactics and playing smart

Second most effective is John who just looks at her like “vriska you’re not making this very fun :(“

Kanaya

Fire genasi ranger

Really tried to get into it but this just isn’t her thing so eventually decided to leave the group

Karkat came up with a fun story reason for her to leave and eventually brought her character back as an Npc

Did help rose make a cosplay of her character, after which John, Calliope, and Roxy wanted to make ones too

Vriska eventually tried to “manipulate” into helping her make one for her character

[cryptid-moose]

tattoo hcs for psych characters

Shawn: - Has a shitty, partially faded stick n poke tattoo of a pineapple on his ankle he did when he was 18 or 19 and couldn't afford to get a professional one done - He also has his mom's birthday tattooed on his wrist (professionally done this time), first line in roman numerals, the second in regular english numbers. Having that little reminder of his mom helps him during times when his mental health gets really bad. - Sometime after Henry gets shot Shawn considers getting his dads bday on his other wrist, idk if he went through with it or not tho.

Gus: - Gus doesn't have tattoos cause if his mother were to ever find out it would break her christian heart....and also she'd probably murder him lol /nsrs - He almost got a tattoo when he was drunk, but he bailed out at the last second. This actually happens quite often. - If he did end up getting a tattoo I'd like to imagine it'd be something space themed :)

Juliet: - Has this really cool floral design with lots of big flowers on the back of her shoulder - She wants to get DOZENS of other tattoos but currently hasn't found the time to schedule an appointment, especially cause most of the tattoos she wants to get done would take multiple, hours long sessions

Carlton: - He, unfortunately, committed the cardinal sin of getting your partner's name tattooed. He's got his ex-wife Victoria's name in a fancy font across his collarbone, probably another attempt to save his marriage -He's going to tattoo removal sessions tho thank god -His pain tolerance is usually higher than most people (he literally drank scalding hot coffee without screaming out in pain lmao), but getting a tattoo makes him so physically uncomfortable that i dont think he'd every get one again, despite how fun getting a tattoo of his favorite gun sounds lol.

Buzz: - Buzz canonically has had a Baha Men tattoo (removed), although this was according to Shawn so you can take that information with a grain of salt lol - Probably has a silly little lineart doodle of an alien somewhere - He and Francine have little matching tattoos of baby ducks <3, Buzz's has a cowboy hat and Francine's has a Wild Rag (the bandana thingies), the artstyle is very similar to the soft fluffy artstyle you see in older children's books, kinda like peter rabbit (but not quite peter rabbit) - Little banana wearing a cowboy hat 💪, Buzz likes cowboys and their hats - A couple doodles of his pets - He's like Kurtis Conner except not edgy (i dont actually think Kurtis is edgy thats just the only way i can describe the difference between them and their tattoos lmao)

Karen: - Has an Iris flower tattoo on her upper arm dedicated to her daughter - Probably has a book/movie quote somewhere - Other than that i don't really see her as being much of a tattoo person, she only ever gets tattoos if its something super meaningful to her

Woody: - Woody has a y2k style hello kitty tramp stamp, why? cause i think it would be funny as hell HSUADFVHUFE - He got it completely seriously too, was a gift from a "tattoo artist friend" (random guy he barely knows who bought a tattoo gun on amazon) - The linework is awful, Woody has never actually fully seen the tattoo, he just took the guy's word for it when he told woody it looked sick as hell. - Has shown it off to everyone at the sbpd, no one has the heart or guts to tell him how bad it looks, Lassiter almost did but Chief Vick stopped him - Has genuinely never occurred to him to ask someone to take a photo of it for him so he can properly see it

Henry: - You'd think he'd have a tattoo but surprisingly he doesn't yet - He would've gotten one already if not for the fact hes very indecisive about that stuff, the whole "drawing that will stay on your body for the rest of your life thing" is a lot of pressure for him - He just worries about getting something that he'll end up hating a few years down the line - Has considered getting a tattoo dedicated to Shawn on multiple occasions, but then Shawn pisses him off once more and he drops the idea again for another couple months lmao

[the-himawari]

A3! Troupe Event Translation - Journey to the Colours (3/11)

*Please read disclaimer on blog; default name set as Izumi

---

Kazunari: “Going on a journey with someone you don’t get along with is hell…”

Kumon: “Ehh? You think so? Travelling is fun no matter who you’re with!” “Ah, it says they’re holding a festival right now. I wanna go!”

Kazunari: “Listen, Goku. This is an ascetic journey to Tenjiku in order to study sutras. It is not a sightseeing trip.”

Yuki: “Since I’ve come all the way here, I’d like to stop by a town a little further south.” “I heard there’s a popular sweets shop. They have fluffy pao cakes.”

Misumi: “No festivals and no sweets shops. There will be too many women. It’s dangerous. I’d much rather pass through the mountain range over there where we’re bound not to meet anyone.”

Yuki: “If a regular human like our master climbed such a steep mountain, he would freeze to death.”

Kazunari: “…That’s enough. I will head to the temple lodging where we are staying today by myself.”

Izumi: (Everyone has already captured the image of their roles at the read-through stage. Once again, the casting was perfect.)

-pause-

Banri: All of their images are close, so it doesn’t feel off.

Izumi: It looks like everyone’s handling it well. If we keep progressing like this, then I don’t think we’ll have any problems.

-pause-

Izumi: Okay, today’s rehearsal will go up to here…

*walks in*

Manager: Heave-ho, heave-ho…

Testuro: …

Manager: Alright, just put them over there.

Kumon: ?

Izumi: Ah, Manager. Could that be—.

Manager: Director, Tetsuro-san brought what you requested over~!

Kumon: Ah, it’s the magic staff! Awesome!

Kazunari: The khakkhara looks totes legit too~.

Yuki: They’re exactly as I imagined. As expected.

Muku: Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s weapons look cool, don’t they!

Tenma: They’re authentic as ever…

Izumi: I intent to have Yuzo-san use these props to gradually add some action, so let's do our best!

Kumon: Yeah! Let’s get hyped up~!

Izumi: Thank you very much, Tetsuro-san!

Tetsuro: …

Manager: I think he’s saying you’re welcome!

Misumi: I wanna try holding the magic staff~.

Kumon: Be my guest! Let me borrow yours too~.

Tenma: Don’t break them as soon as you get them.

Misumi: Kinkaku and Ginkaku’s are cool too~!

Muku: They came out really well even down to the fine details.

Banri: …Man, as usual, the vibe’s is totally different from Autumn troupe’s rehearsals.

Izumi: True. This is Summer troupe’s—.

Kazunari: Colour. Am I right!

Banri: Well put.

Kazunari: I guess Settzer’s not only gonna help us with our acting, but also the action for this show. We’re counting on you, bud.

Banri: All of us of Autumn troupe are supportin’ you. Since we’re doin’ this, we’re gonna do it seriously.

Izumi: How dependable.

-pause-

Kumon: The Chinese congee and fried bread this morning were yummy~.

Yuki: Ma’s been making a lot of Chinese food these days, maybe since he’s aware of Summer troupe’s play. That’s Ma for you.

Kumon: By the way, were you drawing the designs for our upcoming costumes earlier?

Yuki: Yeah. I’m still simply sketching my ideas out though.

Kumon: I see~. I can’t wait to see how the costumes turn out this time!

Yuki: Yeah, expect it.

Cat: Meow!

Kumon: !?

Yuki: A cat?

Misumi: Kitty, this is the way if you wanna go outside~! I’ll open the window for you~.

Cat: Meow~.

Misumi: Bye byeee.

Kumon: Is he your friend, Sumi-san?

Misumi: Mhm. He said he’s going to take a walk now since the weather’s so nice out. Maybe I’ll go searching for triangles too~.

Kumon: Ah! In that case, why don’t we do a street act while you’re at it!? I wanna act! I feel super motivated right now!

Misumi: ‘Kay, cool with me~.

Kumon: Come with us, Yuki!

Yuki: Sure… I’d like to buy some materials if I’m going, so help me carry the bags.

Kumon: Leave it to me!

Misumi: We’ll do our best~!

Kazunari: …

Kumon: Ah, Kazu-san. Perfect timing! All of us are going to do a street act right now. Won’t you come with?

Kazunari: Sorry, guys. A prof called me so I gotta head over to uni.

Kumon: I see~. That’s too bad.

Kazunari: Invite me another time!

Kumon: Yeah, you got it!

Misumi: Kazu, we’re off~.

-pause-

Kumon: “There’s no more escape, Galucion, black knight of darkness!”

Misumi: “Good grief… how annoying. I shall end your life here and now.”

Yuki: “We’ve had it up to here with your attitude!”

Kumon: “Come forth, holy word excalibur!

Misumi: “What…!? Why, that sword—.”

Kumon: “Take this!”

Misumi: “GWAHHH!”

-pause-

*applause*

Kumon: Thank you so much~.

Misumi: Thanks for watching~!

Yuki: Thanks.

Spectator A: That was great~.

Spectator B: Good luck on your next show~.

Kumon: *Sigh*. That was fun!

Yuki: Your hobbies were fully exposed, Kumon.

Misumi: Stuff like that’s fun though~.

???: …

Yuki: ? Hey. Do you know that person?

Kumon: Huh?

???: …I knew it. You’re Hyodo Kumon, aren’t you?

Kumon: Yeah, that’s me…

???: Do you remember me? We played a lot of practice matches together back during little league…

Kumon: Eh… wait, are you Itoi from Dreams?

Itoi: Yeah, you got it. You haven’t changed at all from back then. Well, I haven’t either.

Kumon: You’re not wrong! What a throwback~.

Itoi: We’re in the same year, right? Are you going to university on a referral? I assume you’re still playing baseball?

Kumon: Ah… about that… Actually, a lot of stuff happened and I quit baseball.

Itoi: Huh? Seriously?

Kumon: Right now I’m an actor at a theatre called MANKAI Company.

Itoi: Wow, I see. That’s a shame. You were real good even during little league. I definitely thought you would make it to nationals. I was confused when I didn’t see your name there.

Kumon: Nah… you’re exaggerating.

Itoi: I thought I’d be able to watch you play again in university, so that’s a little disappointing. I was sure you were aiming to go pro. Do you not regret quitting?

Kumon: …

Itoi: Err, I suppose that’s none of my business. Sorry about that.

Kumon: Ah, no. Rather, thanks for remembering me.

Itoi: Anyways, good luck with your theatre company.

*walks away*

Kumon: …

Yuki: You were that well-known, huh?

Misumi: You’re amazing, Kumon!

Kumon: …That’s a story from the past.

---

previous | next

[redd-byrd]

AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVED IT SO MUCH

MY DAD WENT WITH ME AND HE ALSO LIKED IT

I’m so glad the theatre was almost empty, I was so excited that I was doing full-on hand-flapping, which I almost never do, and squeaking and giggling like a crazy person, I was stimming like crazy cuz I was so happy to be there

MASSIVE FNAF MOVIE SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

And friendly reminder that this is my ✨OPINION✨

This will be long and very ramble-y so bear with me

OK SO FIRST OFF THE ANIMATRONICS

- I loved how they acted like kids??? Like you tend to forget the ghosts are actual children when looking at the games since they’re constantly all “murder monster-y” so I love that they got to act so childlike

- Kids’ drawings being a massive plot point was so cute, I actually didn’t mind how sudden Afton’s defeat was since like,,, they were only on his side in the first place bc the drawing showed that he was their friend, so it suddenly switching around made a little more sense. Probably could’ve been executed better but for what it was I think it was fine

- And of course THE DESIGNS!!!! Holy shit I loved how they looked!!! The prop team did an AMAZING job with both the animatronics and the background props!!!

- The interactions with Abby were adorable, I loved the fort scene because of how goofy it was to watch giant machines dressed like animals put that together

- Also I know we were all skeptical when the red glowing eyes were shown, but honestly the scenes where they DID glow would probably have looked good even if they didn’t change it, though I will say that the final look is really nice by itself

NEXT IS THE MAIN CAST

- Matthew Lillard did an INCREDIBLE JOB as William Afton, when my dad and I came out of the theatre he said that he had a feeling that Lillard would be the antagonist (mind you my dad knew nothing about the games or the movie), which really shows how well he does at playing horror villains and playing up that gut instinct

- I loved how creepy he was in the final fight scene, just creeping out of the shadows with those two glowing pinpricks was SO cool

- Also Afton being retconned to not be British anymore is so funny to me askdjhsjjdhdj

- Abby didn’t annoy me at all, I actually thought she was super cute!! Which is surprising bc I usually find kids annoying but I’d die for Abby

- When I say that I got WHIPLASH from the animatronics being nice to her and later Mike after she introduced them, I MEAN IT (in a good way)

- Mike taking Abby seriously and believing her when she said her “imaginary friends” are actually ghosts was a nice change of pace

- The group that broke in honestly didn’t need that much characterization since the main thing the plot needed was Max, so that was fine

- I am confused about why people aren’t more concerned about the murders that took place throughout the movie??? Like a missing poster in the background would’ve been fine, or maybe Mike reacting to Max being missing?? They don’t give much context on their relationship, I have no idea if they’re friends or if she’s just someone he hired and doesn’t have much emotional investment in, so maybe that wouldn’t work

- VANESSA MY BELOVED

- Vanessa was great, I love her character so much, but idk if I love her by herself or it it’s cuz she didn’t get much characterization in the game,,,, doesn’t really matter ig

ABOUT THE STORY

- Story was really fun, I love the unexpectedness of some of the scenes (dance scene, fort building, Freddy blade mask, etc) I thought it was so funky

- Afton using a separate identity to lure people to Freddy’s was cool, though I have no idea why he’d do that to other people. I can understand Mike, he likely knew about his brother through the last name, but why other people???

- I am a bit sad about Henry n Charlie Emily being left out, considering how big of a part they both play in the game lore, but idk if it’s explicitly said whether they exist within the movie universe or not, so we’ll see in the next movie ig

- THE SPRINGLOCK SCENE!!!!!!!! I loved it <3 idk how they didn’t go off after Afton was bouncing around in it earlier but when they did go off it was SO COOL!!!

- “I always come back” YES HE DOES!!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOO

- End scene of him bleeding out in the storage room hinting towards the full Springtrap character??? Loved it

- Also HELLO FREDBEAR??? GOLDEN FREDDY?? YELLOW BEAR???? WHAT

Extra info:

- No Markiplier was not in it, he was too busy with his own movie

- WAITER MATPAT?????

- Corey was awesome, I thought he was so funny for his short time on screen, esp the post credits scene

- THE FNAF 1 SONG MADE IT IN OH MY GOOOOOOOOD CONGRATS TO THELIVINGTOMBSTONE

Random plot holes or inconsistencies I found:

- Foxy had a scene where they forgot to switch the red eyes to the new glowing ones

- Despite the animatronics killing the group that broke in, spilling plenty of blood, they’re perfectly clean afterwards

- My dad found it weird that they didn’t show any part of the kids’ bodies in the suits, since it’s apparently known that they were stuffed inside (or maybe only Vanessa knew??). He thought an arm or a leg poking out would’ve worked. I said I think it’s either cuz the bodies were removed, are kinda mangled and pretzel-twisted to only be in the torso, or it’s just bc they didn’t think to do that lmao

- He was also confused on how Afton was able to jump around and move so easily in the springlock suit when the suit in the back snapped off the broom handle after a single jab. I said I think it’s bc it’s meant to be used to move around in and not harshly screwed with, or maybe it’s another plot reason

All in all, 8.5/10 movie. There were a few times when I was confused on why something happened or why someone behaved a certain way, but none of it was outright bad or boring. There also could’ve been more to the gore, definitely could’ve pushed the boundaries of the PG-13 rating, but it was good for what it was. It was fun, cute, and knew when to be serious :P

[microstmnt]

Some minor (for now) characters that appear during the Batte Nexus arc, they all share something in common, props if you know what.

I made a lot of changes to some of them

Usagi: I took most inspiration from his 2003 version, he’s a teen, and he’s way more serious than he should have a right to be, like seriously dude have you ever laughed in your life? He befriends Leo quickly and has an amicable relationship with the other turtles, but he doesn’t go out of his way to talk to them like he does with Leo

Traximus: Definetly the one that went through the most changes, and he’ll keep going through them because I’m not super happy with his design... Any changes he goes through? Puberty, don’t ask. He’s still an alien, but for the moment we won’t learn much of his race

Leatherhead: Another one that went through some changes, he’s not a mutant in my version but rather a Yokai from the dimension of the Battle Nexus. Even though he looks scary, he’s actually very friendly and shy. He sometimes gets angry, but he’s aware he can get dangerous so he has found ways to calm himself from it, helps Raph a lot with his own rage issues. Mikey at first is a little afraid of him because of a past issue with a certain sewer crocodile, but quickly realizes Leatherhead is actually pretty cool.

Renet: RIP to you, but I love pathetic woman (affectionate), I find them hilarious, so I also took most inspiration from 2003, she’s typical teenage girl who’s rebellious because she wants to have fun. Doesn’t take most things seriously because she’s on a vacation! Barely interacts with any of the turtles, only with Mikey during a party celebrating him winning the Battle Nexus. Manages to steal his kneepad and swears one day she’ll have his signature too. Sidenote nobody cares about: I was drawing Renet during the last match of the World Cup, so I owe her my life...

[dashawns-world]

Advance Guardian Heroes

Ah, here it is. Advance Guardian Heroes. Despite its numerous faults, this is in my top 3 GBA games, alongside Sonic Advance 2 and Pokemon Emerald. Seriously, this game had a massive impact on me. I’m talking about staying up all night trying to draw like this. To this day, I struggle to capture the magical essence of Tetsuhiko Kikuchi’s (aka HAN’s) art style, but a LOT of his design philosophies bled into my own growing up. And while I believe we’re in a beat-em-up game renaissance now, I remember this being the only “modern” one I f*cked with for a while. Thanks primarily in part to being made by the legendary game developers Treasure. Seriously, when it comes to making fun games, they don’t miss. I’m basically gonna spend my time gushing about it. I will also point out its very glaring flaws, haha. I started this blog to dive deep into why I like the things I like, after all. I’m hoping to have a better understanding by the end of this!

PRESENTATION

I’m really particular when it comes to art style. I’m not elitist about what others should like or dislike, but I have written things off because I dislike how they look. Everyone has their tastes; that’s not groundbreaking info. AGH is absolutely in the realm of what I love, though. The art direction has this late 80s/90s anime look that I really adore. I don’t draw like that at all, but when I look at it, it reminds me of when anime was an extremely new thing to me. Some faces skew toward that How-to-Draw-Manga territory, but I love it. It has… an identity.

The game itself translates this very well with the sprites. I think part of Treasure’s game’s strength wasn’t just in their mechanics but their animation and design sense. It’s one thing to have a heavy punch attack, but when the sprites accurately convey that, you really feel it, even through your little game boy.

The anticipation, line of action, OOF. It feels so good when you pull this off, and your enemy goes flying. 

This game had neat ideas, too. My favorite, FAVORITE one they have is the stage where debris is falling, and you get to fight while trying not to fall out of bounds. It could be a hassle, but the game has a mechanic where you air dash to get onto the nearest platform. You can get back to one, even if you’ve exhausted all your animations from attacking. It takes all the frustration/difficulty away from you and leaves you with a unique stage hazard.

I love a LOT of the stages in this game, and they all have such cool gimmicks for a beat-em-up. One stage starts with you riding a damn missile (you’re in control btw. You have to hop from missile to missile.) to get to the enemy airship you’re about to destroy. Another stage has you surfing on your ship down a river, where you fend off goblin riders and then an actual ninja. I’m telling you, if there’s a rule of cool, Treasure defined it. 

Only an ancient hero can make an entrance like that. Honestly, the game’s a treat for the eyes. In my opinion, it’s one of the best-looking games for the GBA. And you can trust me, I’ve played less than a quarter of the GBA library. 

GAMEPLAY

Here’s where we run into some of the game’s faults. I’ll start by saying the game isn’t broken. It’s functional where it counts. The problem is the immense slow-down when you’re playing. :( I’ll always be a little sad that this got stuck on a Gameboy and not, like, the Gamecube. The original Guardian Heroes was on the Sega Saturn, ran smooth, AND looked good. The little GBA struggled so hard with this gem. But otherwise, I really enjoy the mechanics. I still play the game to this day, and I believe it’s because they nailed the fighting. I’m not going to talk specifics about the gameplay because I’m not a game critic, but I will talk a little bit about how it feels.

This game scratched an itch I had at the time for a good DBZ beat-em-up. Your character can shoot out all types of magic attacks, has a hyper mode that flashes golden (super saiyan), and can even parry attacks if you’re good at timing your blocks. This helped the combat feel a lot more in-depth. They used a currency to level up your character’s stats in the single-player mode. Leftover points could be used for unlocking characters. And that’s another thing; From the nameless soldiers to the little goblins with clubs, to the giant robots with city-ending lasers, to every damn boss except the final one, They ALL can be selected. And not just in VS mode. (Yes, it had a vs mode. No, I never played it. Nobody but me owned this game.) But in STORY MODE as well (except for the city-ending robot, I think they said no to that one for obvious reasons.) That leads to a ridiculous amount of replayability for a kid with 3 GBA games. I love games that let you do this. My favorite character to play was Dylan, because he had the coolest moveset. 

This is the face of a guy that knows he’s the best character in the game.

There was also a mechanic I thought was interesting, even if it was kind of useless lol. If your character ever died, the devil (that’s what I called it, but it’s just the big bad) would ask you if you wanted to come back to life and fight. You’d only get six minutes of immunity before they’d take your soul, and you’d get an instant game over. It’s a neat idea but really impractical, haha. I wonder if it could be used better today with roguelike games…? If I were given this deal and thought I could complete a run in 6 minutes, that’d be cool. It would be even more cool if I got a different ending this way. I think in AGH, even if you did make it to the end within six minutes, the Big Bad would kill you on the spot. Fact-check me on that, tho.

STORY

Man… this is where the game really falls short. The biggest issue was the poor translation. The story continued where the original left off; was it the bad ending? 

Here’s what Wikipedia says (lol I'm sorry, It’s easier to paste than rewrite it.)

“The story follows the events of Guardian Heroes. After the Undead Hero was returned to his rest, the heroes were given the option of becoming the Sky Spirit's perfect warriors. The group was divided, with Nicole, Serena, and Valgar joining the Sky Spirit, and Han and Genjiro refusing. Randy escaped back to earth on his own, leaving Han and Genjiro to fight a losing battle against their former comrades.

Years later, Zur returns. He resurrects Kanon and uses the power of the Guardian Heroes to take over the world. The few remaining resistance forces call upon the power of the Undead Hero once again, with one young soldier giving up his body to serve as its vessel.

Throughout the game, the character fights the previous heroes and earns their power. Ultimately, it is revealed this is another attempt by the heavens to create the ultimate warrior. In the final battle against the ruler of the heavens, all heroes gather to defeat it and subsequently leave for the Other World.”

I don’t hate this!! But it’s told very poorly. We’re not given cutscenes to flesh out anything or anyone. Some characters are only portraits. For example, the player is the young soldier, but once their body gets taken by the hero, they don’t talk again. I didn’t know anything about them. We also don’t really see the resistance fighting Zur and Kanon. It’s basically just us, with some casual assists via dialogue boxes. Honestly, it’s not really worth talking about much more, haha. I always thought it had potential if it was fleshed out. That’s why I would make up my own story as I played. I would fill in the blanks and re-imagine the scenarios.

For example, the game starts with the young soldier getting into a fight before receiving the power of the undead hero. They show how weak you are, having you die in one hit by random goons before the princess pulls the undead hero’s soul into your lifeless body. (Like, wow, this soldier sucked. RIP tho.) If you choose Enn as your starting character, he gets recolored, and you’re strong enough to fight. Yipee! 

My made-up story was that something went wrong with the princess’ spell, and instead of being a fabulous, powered-up man, you turned into a goblin. (Because remember, you can play as almost every damn character in the game.) I imagined the princess’s bewilderment as a little chubby goblin said, “Hey! Undead hero, here! Let’s do this.” before single-handedly destroying the entire evil empire. It was funny to me!

And I think that’s ultimately what I got from reminiscing about this game’s poor plot. Games used to be a lot simpler. And translation wasn’t always top-notch like it is now. When I was younger, maybe out of necessity, I used my imagination to fill in the blanks. When I played Pokemon, I’d pretend I was truly on a journey with my little guys. And when I fought Red in Gold and Silver, I imagined how epic that was. I drew moments from Sonic games. Playing outside, I’d pretend I was Link on an adventure. My sister and I would play Super Bomberman 1P mode together, and since she was new to it, I’d call her rookie. That dynamic ultimately bled into my Brothers Boom comic. (This is a revelation I had pretty recently, and I’m surprised I buried it so deep into my mind.) Now, as an adult, where my imagination is a bit harder to conjure up because my head isn’t as empty, I reminisce about the times when everything inspired me. I’m not miserable, though, lol. Instead, I think fondly about those times. I really gotta hand it to Treasure because they live up to their namesake. Playing Advance Guardian Heroes was a significant source of inspiration for me, and I’m glad I found it.

Thanks for reading!

[uselessmicrowave]

hihello could I possibly have a match up please? Continuity: MTMTE (Lost Light crew?) and/or TFP (Decepticons)

Appearance: very long curly hair! very soft, very bouncy, very thick, like a sheep!, skinny as a stick and physically weak, have a baby face and I hate it so much because I feel like no one takes me seriously-..don't know if any of this matters or helps-?

Personality: I’m generally a very quiet and reserved person, especially during first impressions! I’m kind of a shy and anxious lurking shadow who assumes the worst until I get a good enough feel of a person, you know? Then I'm comfortable popping in!

I tend to gravitate towards being "Designated Parent Friend" or "Big Sibling Friend?" I love being able to make others feel better about themselves or to help them out. Maybe it’s because of some rough stuff in my past, but I never want anyone to feel similar to the ways I have. If you hurt someone I care about, I am never going like you. I’m kind of..soft? I cry very easily, be it happy or sad, and it frustrates me! I’m not a soft and squishy person! ..okay yes I am but I’m also trying super hard to be the shoulder people can lean on if they need me! Growing a backbone is a work in progress, and sometimes I come off too harsh or mean when I actually use it.. A friend once described me like glass; it’s fragile, but a broken piece can still really mess you up, you know? Glass-ness aside, my sense of humor is honestly very dry and sarcastic and you probably wouldn’t expect it out of me! I can get kind of angry over petty things and sort of clingy, but I’ll be fine after some time to let it all pass.

I like playing videogames, drawing and writing, and reading tarot! I like doing things alone, really, but I love the company of others when they want me to join in. Because it does indeed get lonely being alone sometimes!

I have some really gross depression bouts and lots of anxiety disorders that I do my best to juggle, but, sometimes I just have to shut down for a bit and..sleep.

Values: Someone who can make me smile when I’m really having a hard time! I guess that sounds a little silly, but even something small to distract me from my thoughts is huge. Loyalty also? Admittedly I get kind of jealous and clingy when people I like hang around others too much..especially if I don’t like those others. I also really like um..acts of service I guess it is? Little things matter to me most!

NOPES: People who takes themselves too seriously. Disinterest/poking fun at in my hobbies..or insecurities. Being completely babied/not letting me try to grow. Making assumptions based on appearance or first impressions alone. Is this enough to work with? I just realized how much I wrote I'm so sorry- but um thanks again, you stay hydrated too! ♥

This is definitely enough to work with, thank you anon! I’ll be pairing you with MTMTE Swerve and TFP Breakdown!

Swerve

Your quietness in the very beginning of your relationship is probably a good thing because it gives him space to ramble.

He relates to you about the baby face appearance and your glass-ness, having some of the same experiences as you do seem to warm you up to him.

He loves your hair, he face-plants into love if you ask him to help you style or take care of it.

He thinks it’s so cool with the tarot card thing? He doesn’t know how it works but is totally supportive!

Swerve loves playing Earth video games with you, he prefers multiplayer games like animal crossing (new horizons) or even smash bros, but nothing too competitive.

You two will, without a doubt, eventually go on a double date with Tailgate and Cyclonus.

Swerve has his fair share of anxiety and he’ll take naps with you when you shut down.

If you drink alcohol, he will find a way to get some liquors that are safe to consume for you.

He has a snack supply under the bar for you but he doesn’t want you to think he’s babying you. He only reveals this to you when you admit you’re hungry.

Breakdown

This hunk is also very quiet towards the beginning of your relationship, which makes for a couple awkward moments

He’s also the ‘parent friend,’ so he’ll make jokes about having vehicon kids.

Your dry sarcastic sense of humor reminds him of Knockout, so you and the lead medic will interact a lot.

He, much like you, doesn’t like it when someone makes fun of appearance, hobbies, ect.. Not afraid to yell at a random vehicon that poked at your insecurities.

He tries his best not to baby you, but you’re just so very cute. He tries not to mention it but the baby fat on your face practically makes him have heart optics.

You’ll sit on his shoulder while he’s restocking medical kits or shelfs, that way he won’t get lonely. Breakdown loves it if you ask questions about the medical tools.

Your drawing and writing fascinates him. What kind of things are important enough for you to make art or write about it?

He’s definitely all for a stress nap with you, especially if you want to lay on his chassis.

Breakdown also values loyalty, but he won’t be spark broken if you decide to spend your time with Knockout instead of him. As long as you’re having fun.

This ^ hc above? Total lie. He’ll just say that to you, the poor bot won’t really have anyone to spend time with if you and KO are busy.

[iamscarychuckecheese]

People who don't draw ozone with a long lizard tail must explain why

I have never drawn Ozone in his entirety but that doesn't mean I'm not the Absolute God-King Authority That Is Always Correct And Super Cool Forever And Ever on all things Moonrockers

Allow me to present my case for no-tail failguy Ozone Lastname:

1. The bot doesn't have one You heard me. That unfortunate son of a gun is tailess in reality. There's nothing back there. Just ass and crushed dreams. If there's one thing all Dook Mechs have in common it's a big base with nothing at the back. I apologize for every word I've ever spoken I think. Also well accustomed to the fact you cannot flummox reality, no matter how much you want to - and baby THIS is whats real

2. Swamp thing inspiration While Ozone is and will always be an alien, there's no denying his appearance evokes 'goth punk creature from the black lagoon', which in my opinion is awesome. And if you'll inspect this reference image of dear lagooner, you will find that they too are indeed tailess. Why make him a generic sea creature when you could make him a tribute to the original sea creature...man...thing....

3. Turtle theory One of the things I've noticed while gazing into my folder of moonrocker images for several hours at a time is that Ozone's face sculpt is turtle-y. He's got the beak he's got the wrinkles, toe to a tip that turt-inspired. Though that's the only place it's present in his design… unless. Unless his lack of tail wasn't a lack of tail at all! Instead a small little nothing tail, just a turtles would be! Huzzah! Balance is restored!

In all seriousness, draw Ozone however you want. Just cause I'm predisposed to him having a bad case of human-tailbone-itis doesn't mean you have to be. Moonrockers are about having fun and putting people in headlocks. And I should add…any art of them is good art. goodness knows they're hurting for fanart.

[pixies-and-poets]

39?

39. youtuber you’ve been obsessed with and why?

Ok so!! I don't watch that many Youtubers but there are a few I like to have on or listen to when I'm drawing, and sometimes their videos are so good I have to give them my full focus too. Here are some recommendations:

Nitro Rad - Top-tier gaming youtuber. He's introduced me to a lot of obscure 3D platformers, indie games, and horror games (this last category I would never play on my own because I get scared too easily lol). I really admire his approach to analyzing games, wanting to see the positives in them, and trying to see where the devs were coming from even with ideas that don't work out in the end, rather than being exaggeratedly negative or dismissive for "entertainment". When he can't enjoy something at all, you know it must be really horrible, lol (see: Frogger- the Great Quest). He's really an inspiration for my own approach to how I interact with and describe games.

Defunctland - I know a lot of people know about Defunctland but I just have to echo the sentiment that Kevin manages to make everything interesting. So many times I've started the most recent video thinking "I can't possibly care about a Wiggles ride" or whatever, but I managed to be invested and eager to hear about the attraction's fate by the end. He turned an investigation into the four-note Disney Channel theme into a full length documentary that literally made me cry. I'm not a theme park expert but I do love them and find them fascinating and I've learned a lot about theme parks and related topics from these videos.

Matt McMuscles - the What Happened series is always fun and has taught me about the dev histories for a lot of notorious games (and even some good ones!) and how rough and messy the game industry is behind the scenes. Like Nitro Rad, he tries to give credit where it's due; he investigates when "bad" games are the result of crunch, low budget and bad management to help banish myths about devs being simply inept or lazy. But I also really love his "The Worst Fighting Game" series! I don't know much about fighting games myself but it's just cool to see someone analyze something they're so passionate about!

Designing For - ok I'm biased because one of the writers and the person who does the voice-over is my friend, and I've done some art for the channel and even a vocal cameo, but seriously they do amazing work and I'm always super pleased to see their work spread around. They put out a decent-length Donkey Kong video for EVERY DAY this past December and all of them were varied and interesting!! Their analysis is great, and their editing is frenetic and hilarious- so I never just listen to these, I always give them my full attention.

These aren't the ONLY youtubers I watch or anything but they're my favs that come to mind right now.

[upvotem]

hiii what are your thoughts on the sinners also have u played lobcorp or ruina?

hii maddie i did finally beat lobcorp a few days ago after MONTHS and i'm planning on playing ruina too! idk if you wanted my opinion on all of the sinners but *smirks*

i'll skip donqi and heath since i already talked about them but as for the other guys

yi sang! i like your funny words magic man. he is a fun autism guy i'll admit i don't have a lot to say about him and he's probably the sinner i'm the least interested in BUT i still like him a lot and he gets really cool fanart on twitter

faust! my friend faustie waustie. i love her to bits i initially thought she would be my favorite because i tend to like the main girls even if this is an ensemble cast and she's still in my top 5 definitely. i think her being super arrogant is cutieful and the "faust only knows what faust knows" line was really funny. i'm definitely looking forward to seeing how much she actually is aware of she is so mysterious and pretty

DON QUIXOTE!!! already said it but the loml

ryoshu! I LOVE HER she's really really awesome i love her sangria thing and she was really funny in hell's chicken. love crazy insane sadistic characters love her design love her fixation with gore she is the best ever

meursalt! i actually didn't care for him much at first, i thought his personality was too similar to yi sang and i didn't really like his design (i like twinks mb) but i've warmed up to him a lot mostly because of the fanart with him and don quixote i think they are a funny duo. and i think he's neat too he's just got that autistic swag

hong lu! well first of all she's a trans woman to me so jot that down. i honestly don't have a ton of thoughts on hong lu yet but she is very cutieful sweetieful and has a sick design and i'm looking forward to learning more about her

HEATHCLIFF!!! also the loml

ishmael! she is so funky i love her hair and her cute little bows and i adore her personality, how she seems down to earth and reasonable but is willing to fight with heathcliff to the death over nothing it's awesome. looking forward to her chapter i love ocean symbolism and imagery GRAHHHH also she has the best egos

rodya! YAY RODYA she is so pretty and such an intriguing character. i really love the dynamics she has with the others especially gregor and sinclair and i love her personality being someone who wants to be something important and i wish she got more focus in canto ii but hopefully she will get more development down the line in future chapters focusing on her

sinclair! she is also a woman to me. like literally her icon is an egg cracking LIKE... one of my faves tbh i forgot to mention her i really love characters who are meek but have berserk buttons where they go crazy violet insane ballistic like it's one of my favorite character tropes and she was awesome in canto iii go queen

outis! she's seriously awesome a queen... i don't have too much to say about her so far unfortunately but she's really pretty and i love that people draw her kind of milfy like so true. i think her being a suck up to dante is really funny and idk i jsut think she's neat

gregor! REALLY awesome guy i love his laidback personality compared to the others and i love his quips and his story so far is really good he's a really interesting and well written character za za za zamuza

idk if you wanted me to talk about dante, vergil and charon but i'm tired so i won't BUT I LOVE THOSE THREE TWO THEYRE AWESOME

[thickest-antivirus-programs]

all of my Polka redesigns! (polka is a character i made) from around 2014 to today

her name is polka but it was at various points pola, apollene, apollo. a couple characters also merge into her, i will tell you when.

i didnt date my drawings so every date will be an estimate but they will definetaly be in order bc i know how my style evolved. this is all the art i kept, i threw alot out.

i wrote more and then tumblr deleted it hh but tldr all my old characters are super personal self inserts and this one is my adhd before i was diagnosed

each description will be under the drawing its describing.

heres the first pola! that was in 1 or 2 year of middleschool. she was loosely based on my friend pola from summer camp and spiced up with the fun bubbly character archetype (example pinkiepie from my little pony) she cant stop herself from being energetic and over the top, she will either cheer you up or annoy you. she is kind of lighthearted at this stage and lacks the later bitchiness, all the problems she causes are not on purpouse. in this drawing (if you cant tell.. i dont blame you) she is hanging from the ceilling and thats why everyone else is upside down

i used to glue all my good drawings into a sketchbook. these are all from middleschool still. bottom left is marceline, based on a goth girl by the same name whom i met at the hospital. one thing about my irl friend is she would cling to the popular older kids bc more freedom and privilleges

now heres a whole page of temmie, a travelling salesman i really didnt want to admit was based on temmie undertale. thats late middleschool. what is she doing here? by the time we reach highschool there will be no temmie because i thought it was too unoriginal, but all the character traits and some design elements (notably utility vest) will be merged into polka and become half of her.

this is a highschool drawing where polka splits into 2 again. the one who keeps the name polka is the short one in front and her character is the same, however from her old design only a bandana and blouse remain. the other polka-esque character on the left is fairly unimportant and merges back in about 2 years.

more highschool polka with a vintage headband instead of the bandana she used to wear. on the right pretty girl version.. The one on the left is a bit more sassy and in character.

here is where i take stuff seriously bc i finally want to use my characters in a comic. its the end of the 3rd year of highschool. the design is more stable after this point.

i try to tie the old in with the new

ultra small era

last redesigns for the comic and highschool sketches

this one is from today! she will keep evolving tho. right now shes a wolf(?) instead of a cat(?) short hair seems to suit her more because she wouldnt care for her long hair and keep it healthy but she still wants to be pretty and cool. how cartoony she is and what nose she has depends on what shes in, if i decided to make a super serious comic i would give her a human nose. one thing im not sure about is the colors, i think green is a realistic color for a vest like that if she got it used or found it in her dads closet (she did for sure) but green is not a very energetic color so i also liked when the vest was yellow and the sleeves red. Red is the color of her personality. when i stopped wearing pins i stopped giving her pins, and i stopped bc they make noise and annoy me so they would annoy her too and reduce her cat/wolf stealth (but im concidering giving her patches for that pop of colour. probably 4-5 on the back and 1-2 on the front above the pockets). Polka is a thrill seeker, energetic, an anarchist, and a bit of a hedonist. she will always cheat if she can, and she doesnt always recognise other peoples needs, but she tries to keep the people around her in a good mood and is always a social butterfly until bad rumours inevitably spread about her (i dont see her as a bad person though, shes just like that and theres little to do about it besides damage control)

[dreamatia-stories]

The Peggle Academy Gang

Way, way back on Bjorn's blog, tucked in a post he made about sequel ideas, he told us about an organization known as the Peggle Academy. As the years have gone by, the only member of the Academy that has ever come up is Fnord.

Considering the Academy is pretty important to the plot of OoD (and how EA doesn't give a damn about the franchise), I would almost definitely have to design my own evil counterparts.

Bjorn gives the description that "they look just like us, only with eyepatches, goatees, and hue-shifted color palettes", but I'll be real with you, if everybody looked like that it'd be boring design-wise and hard to take seriously. (Plus Fnord breaks two of those rules anyway when he shows up again in Blast.)

My design philosophy here is basically to pick a similar species to the Original 10, give them traits that clash with their counterparts, and do something with their eyes. (The eyepatch is Fnord's thing now.)

The Control "Group"

Fnord Unicorn: Bjorn's brother. The oldest of four, Fnord was once the heir to a noble and highly respected clan of unicorns, until a tragic Thunderball accident destroyed one of his eyes and cost him everything. Using appearance-altering magic to cast away his former self, he's since dedicated his life to destroying everything the culprit holds dear.

As you can see, Fnord's stake in this is just a tad more personal in OoD. I'll be the first to admit I never actually finished Blast (and probably never will with how broken it is now), so if Fnord DOES give a backstory in that game I'd be glad to hear it.

Fnord used to have a white coat and green mane (which makes it a LOT more believable that they could be related), which was altered into an orange coat and red mane by the time of Blast. In addition, if I do get the chance to draw him, I'd probably give him electricity scars behind his eyepatch.

The Most Complete

Lilah Nightshade: The first one I designed way back when, Lilah is all about fun, the nightlife, and most of all herself. Her sole interest is in her own pleasure, and she doesn't care who or what might be hurt by it; after all, who cares about the future if you're living in the present? Lilah joined the Academy's ranks to stick it to that uppity little Sunflower who works for the Institute, who won't stop whining about "consequences" and "keeping the planet healthy".

Since she's Tula's counterpart, I wanted to go with a plant that invoked the night. I went with the Nightshade, which is purple to contrast Tula's greens and yellows, star-shaped to invoke how she thinks she's the star, and famously poisonous to mirror her toxic personality. She wears sunglasses, both as a sort-of rejection of the sun and their association with being cool.

I don't remember which specific kind of nightshade she's based on, but since she's a super old concept I probably didn't actually bother distinguishing that. There's at least one drawing in my archive of her true form.

Ivan Roseberry: A mysterious plant who lives in the basement of the Academy building, and whose vines are embedded into its foundation. Unlike the others, Ivan has no particular ill will towards the Institute, merely doing what Fnord says because he's one of the few people who will actually talk to him. He cares for a rose garden on the Academy grounds, which he is fiercely protective of.

I'll be real, Ivan came to me in a dream, so he doesn't actually have any real-life inspiration; his name (both in- and out-of-universe; nobody at the Academy knows what he is either) is mostly just from the fact that he's a berry who tends to roses. Googling "roseberry fruit" brings up several different kinds of fruit, but none of them are light pink like Ivan. He's mainly a Magic Realm-exclusive species, like unicorns and dragons; which coincidentally gives him a contrast with Renfield, who is heavily implied by PvZ to have sprouted in "our" world. His powers also contrast Renfield's, with Ivan's being associated with life rather than death.

Ivan has blue rings around his eyes, which also were just there in the dream. So far, he's the only Academy member to actually have both of his eyes visible.

Less Concrete Characters

Doc Thunder: A smug guinea pig scientist who believes only the worthy should be allowed in STEM. He has no qualms with experimenting on others in the name of advancing scientific knowledge. Believes that Jimmy's own scientific pursuits are an insult to the field.

Doc Thunder is the first character I don't actually have a design for yet, despite him being kind of important. That said, he'd probably look pretty similar to the Fake Jimmy from Peggle 2, for plot-related reasons. I picked guinea pig both for the science ties and for the fact that I thought Jimmy was one for years. (That, and it's a similar size to Jimmy's ACTUAL species, the gopher.)

The Doc will probably wear opaque goggles, "because SOMEONE has to wear PPE around here and it CLEARLY isn't that pathetic excuse for a so-called 'biologist'-"

Count Ashheart: A former member of the Order of the Flame who disagreed with its rules and attempted to form a splinter faction: rather than controlling the Flame to ensure it lasts, Ashheart believed the Flame should consume all and burn as hot and bright as possible. As such, he decided he would become one with the Flame, immolating his body to serve what he believed was his higher power. Now undead, he continues to attempt to influence the Academy's students to follow his example, to Cinderbottom's anger and Fnord's annoyed chagrin.

Ashheart technically DOES have a design: a charred dragon skeleton, who occasionally wreathes himself in blue flame. But I neither know how to extrapolate a skeleton from Cindy nor how that's supposed to work with the Humanoid Filter, so I'm kind of at a loss for how to portray the guy. As a skeleton, he pretty obviously doesn't have eyes at all.

Jack Rabbit: Okay I'll be real I basically just have a name for this guy. My idea is that he's a con artist and a thief who grew up on hard times, who doesn't see any real difference between himself and the magician and treasure hunter Warren. But obviously, Warren is held in fairly high regard and Jack isn't.

"Jack Rabbit" most likely isn't actually his real name, and he's probably actually either a hare or a jackalope. (Or a hare pretending to be a jackalope.)

I don't have much for Kat Tut, Splork, Claude, or Hu. I can imagine KT's rival being an actual Ancient Egyptian mummified cat, and I did briefly float around the idea of Claude's rival being the old friend he winds up fighting in Nights, but that's about it on that end.

[the-himawari]

A3! Sakisaka Muku - Translation [SR] Festival of Blooming (1/2)

*Please read disclaimer on blog

---

Kazunari: Mukkun, we’re gonna swap the clothes we usual wear, right?

Muku: Yes. What about it?

Kazunari: I assume the size’ll probably be fine. But just in case, why don’t you try on some of my clothes right now?

Muku: Sure, I’ll try them if that’s okay with you.

Kazunari: ‘Kay, cool beans! Mm, here’s the top and here’s the bottom! Plus my hat and accessories… Alright, put them all on!

Muku: Thanks! I’ll go change.

Kazunari: Sure!

Muku: It’s really exciting that I get to wear Kazu-kun’s simple but fasionable outfit. First, the pants… hm? …Huh!? W-what do I do, Kazu-kun! It doesn’t look like your pants fit me…!

Kazunari: Seriously!?

Muku: Yeah. I can’t pull them up past my knees no matter how many times I try. Even though I’m shorter than you, I suppose I have thicker legs… Ah, or maybe I gained weight!? I’ve been careful to run off all the sweets I eat though…!

Kazunari: Calm down! You used to do track and field, so I’m sure you just have more muscles on your legs than me! Right? You’re going on morning runs with Tax, aren’tcha?

Muku: Ah, I see. Muscles… that might be it. But what should I do? I can’t wear your pants like this.

Kazunari: Hmmm… ah, I know! Hey, Mukkun. Can you leave this matter to me? I got a great idea!

Muku: Really? Alright, I’ll wait for you then!

-pause-

Muku: (I left the pants issue to Kazu-kun, so that’s taken care of…) I have to think about the main part, my skit. How should I act as Kazu-kun?

Kazunari: …

Muku: (Ah, speak of the devil. It looks like he’s drawing something…)

Kazunari: Oh, Mukkun.

Muku: I’m sorry. Did I interrupt you?

Kazunari: Not at all! I’m just sketching the view from here as a breather.

Muku: Oh, really? Can I watch you as you draw for a bit?

Kazunari: Knock yourself out!

Muku: Thanks!

Kazunari: …

Muku: (Kazu-kun is drawing with a serious look on his face. Yet he looks like he’s really enjoying himself.) (It might be nice to play Kazu-kun when he’s drawing…)

Kazunari: Ah! By the way, Mukkun!

Muku: What’s the matter?

Kazunari: I secretly took a pic of Frooch-san the other day and I got a super sweet shot. ‘Cept he got mad when I showed him~ and he told me, “don’t take pictures without permission. Erase it!”

Muku: Ehh, that happened? Did you delete the picture already? If it was that nice, I would’ve loved to see it too.

Kazunari: I thought you’d say that… So I just pretended to erase it, but I actually still have it! I’ll let you feast your eyes. Lookie here!

Muku: Wow, it’s amazing! This doesn’t look like the usual Sakyo-san!

Kazunari: I know, right!? I knew you’d get what I mean~!

Muku: This is such a lovely photo though. I wonder why Sakyo-san was upset ?

Kazunari: Mm… I doubt he was actually mad. I bet he was hiding his embarrassment!

Muku: He was hiding his embarrassment by putting up an angry front?

Kazunari: Exactly! Taicchan was with me and he thought Frooch-san was pissed for real though!

Muku: I’m the same way, but Taichi-kun’s the type to just accept it as it is when Sakyo-san is angry.

Kazunari: But, y’know, there’s something cute about Frooch-san getting embarrassed over a photo that came out better than usual.

Muku: I think only you and Azu nee-san can call Sakyo-san cute…

Kazunari: Ehh, you think? Anyways, after that Taicchan…

Muku: (I like Kazu-kun when he’s having fun chatting with others like this.) (But I also love the side of him when he contemplates and works seriously on his flyer designs by himself…) Hah. This won’t do. I like too many things about him…!

Kazunari: Woah! What’s up all of a sudden, Mukkun?

Muku: Ah! No, it’s nothing! Don’t mind me!

Kazunari: ?

Muku: (Come to think of it, the goal of this project is to deepen our understanding of each other as roommates, right?) (In that case, the Kazu-kun that only I as his roommate knows and can play would be…)

---

| next

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

hi I’m here to review the Clementine comic. it’s not good.

Does this even need an introduction? You know why I’ve gathered you all here today. You know the comic exists, and you probably know that it’s not great and we’re all upset about it. 

Myself included. I am not okay. At all. 

Skybound could’ve literally spit in my face and I’d come out feeling better than I did reading this comic, because this comic is an insult to the original Telltale games and Clementine as a character. 

This comic is a fancy fanfic. Glorified fanfiction. It’s not canon, and Skybound and Tillie can pretend that it is, but it’s not. Bold of them to assume we’d just accept this from people who didn’t work on the original games and never wrote for Clementine before, and based on this comic alone, any chance of us taking it seriously is gone. 

I’m gonna go through every single page, every panel, of this comic and give you my review. So I guess if you’re worried about spoilers [though at this point why would you?] then be warned, spoilers for the entire comic ahead. 

I also wanna add that I have nothing against Tillie Walden. I know a lot of dingdongs are harassing her on insta over this comic and that’s not okay. You telling her how much you hate her isn’t going to change anything. If anything, you keep being assholes to her and she’s just gonna block everything out, even things simply critiquing her work in hopes that it helps her improve. 

You’re allowed to be upset about the comic and share your feelings about it, but don’t take it out on the actual human being like that. Besides, like I’ve said before, if Tillie wasn’t gonna make the comic, Skybound would’ve found someone else to do. This was coming no matter what because Skybound wants that coin. 

That being said, I’m not going to hold back my opinions on this comic. Skybound and Tillie made this comic, they put it out there and asked for money for it, therefore I’m allowed to explain why it’s garbage as well as ponder over the questionable intent and whether or not Tillie actually has played these games. Y’know, it’s like how I have nothing against Kent, but sometimes he says things I disagree with and well, y’know how it goes. 

Alright, this is gonna be long, so let’s go--

The first few shots we get are of the school, two people sleeping, and Clementine’s empty bed. Nothing super note-worthy, we have no idea who is sleeping in the beds, it’s just there to establish that it’s early and everyone’s still asleep. 

The drawing of the school looks fine? Not super accurate, but I can give it a pass since it’s a few years later, I assume. What I can’t give a pass is how you managed to already mess up on the first page of your comic. 

Because..... why are you implying that Clementine’s room is upstairs? First of all, seems kinda dumb to put Clem, who has only one leg and has to walk with crutches, upstairs. Also, if you’ve played TFS and paid any attention to where her room is actually located [the dorms] then you’d know there isn’t any stairs leading to their floor. It’s the side building next to the admin building, you walk through the door, go down the hall, take a left and their dorm is right there sooo..... 

Oh right, it’s probably done this way so that we can have such a suspenseful moment where Clementine is sneaking out while the others are asleep and her foot makes a creeeeeeakk that could wake everyone up, thwarting her plans of abandoning everyone quietly so she doesn’t have to deal with any consequences. 

Because yeah, Clementine is sneaking out with all of her supplies because apparently, she’s been planning an escape from this place for a while. 

And just look at how gosh darn happy she is about it. You can’t see or hear me, but know that I’m laughing. Don’t worry, I will talk about her abandoning everyone later.

But first, I have a gripe with Clementine's design in this comic. It doesn’t look like her. This art of her right here is the most accurate we get throughout all 12 pages, and it’s the best looking, too. 

Moving on, she slams the door shut while this walker changes faces and hair between panels, so that’s cool. I will say, I like the idea of the Ericson crew putting spikes on the door. That’s fun. 

Though Clementine slamming the door shut while trying to sneak out seems counter productive but it fits with the theme this comic has of inconsistency, so it works. 

Next we have Clementine going to what I believe is the fishing shack by the river, and she’s going through some things that she’s stashed away, telling us that she’s been planning this escape for a while. 

Oh good, she has a map. Well at least now she won’t get lost out there in the woods while she makes her escape... also that last panel with her profile.... why does it look so funny? Like this page of the comic doesn’t look too bad, but there is something off putting about her eye there and how she has zero expression. 

And it turns out that rustle was a walker, and Clementine is super inconvenienced by this and gives us our first piece of witty dialogue.

Yeah you dumb walker, can’t you see Clementine is busy running away from home and abandoning all of her loved ones without a single goodbye so she doesn’t have to witness the consequences of her selfish actions?? Gosh, so rude.

Just a heads up, the dialogue in this comic is stilted, emotionless, and bland. The words have no flow, no charm, and never feel like they should be coming out of Clementine’s mouth. Then again, the upcoming graphic novels this is tied to are for young adult/middle graders so I guess we have to dumb everything down so their baby brains can process it. 

.....Why does her face look like that? Also, interesting that she decided to move her ponytail to the other side of her head.... which is a thing that happens throughout this comic, her hair will randomly change sides. 

I believe it’s a metaphor for her changing and inconsistent personality. 

So yeah, Clementine is just making off with the supplies she gathered [I’m sure Ericson doesn’t need ‘em anyway] and she’s just so gosh darn annoyed at all these small inconveniences bothering her.... because it’s just too early for this. 

.....Again, why does her face look like that?

I’m sorry, like I get it, Tillie’s style is supposed to be purposely messy yet minimal but it doesn’t work. When you do a comic in a more messy style, usually it has charm and heart put into it. Effort goes into the messy look, and when things are minimal, that usually means more clean, yeah? So you put them together and just..... that is nothing resembling Clementine’s face. 

Can we just--

Look at canon Clementine’s face. Look at the way her eyebrows are shapes, how wide her eyes are with her eye lashes. The dirt on her skin, the lines-- there is so much personality in her features. It doesn’t matter if she’s wearing a neutral expression or she’s expressing anger or joy or sorrow or whatever. 

Now, is it fair to compare a model of Clem from the games to the Clem in this comic? Well, I assume that if Tillie is doing this comic, she would use references from the game to ensure that Clementine is recognizable, especially now that she’s no longer wearing her signature hat. 

So why does she look like this? Why do I look at these drawings of her face and see nothing but a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth? You might as well draw me a simple smiley face. And I get that it’s a comic, and it’s a lot of work to draw the same character over and over again and you gotta cut corners somewhere, but maybe put some effort into the close up shots of her face so that we can actually see it’s her? 

Other fan artists have made comics in their styles that shine bright with Clementine’s personality, so what happened here? 

Anyway, surprise..... it’s not a walker annoying Clementine. 

........Why does AJ look like that??? I’m sorry, I hate to do the same thing I just did but--

Just because you put Clementine’s hat on AJ that doesn’t automatically make it him. I just.... wow. This feels like there wasn’t a single reference involved, like if someone gave Tillie a basic description of AJ and she just did this. 

But appearances aside, what is AJ saying? He says that he knew it, that Clementine’s leaving and I cannot stand this dialogue. It’s unnatural. Again, I know you wanna dumb it down for all of us because I guess we dumb.... but this conversation does not feel natural. 

“I knew it. You’re leaving.” “AJ....” “I’m coming.”

Even if you changed it to, “I’m coming with you.” it would sound more natural. Hell, he doesn’t even question WHY she’s leaving, he just stands there like “I’m coming” like??? I’m sorry, have you ever heard a single word this murder baby has said? I assume you have because I assume you actually played TFS, right? Soooo.... what happened here?

.....whY DO THEIR FACES LOOK LIEK THAT KSAJDLKJAS:LKDJLKASJD:L--

So now we’re getting into it.... into the bullshit. 

Clementine tells AJ to go back to the school, and AJ says that she wasn’t even going to say goodbye..... and then more bad dialogue that sound unnatural when you try to fucking read it. 

First off.... AJ’s reaction to Clementine attempting to leave is barely anything. Again, I hate to keep questioning if you actually played TFS, but AJ would throw a fucking fit if he caught Clementine out here ALONE like this, attempting to leave. 

And then he says “Like last time? You were going to come back?” this sentence makes my brain hurt. I just.... “Like last time, right? You’re coming back?” UGH

Wow, I feel nothing. 

I’m sitting here watching these two imposters with fucked up faces who are supposed to be Clementine and AJ and I feel nothing. 

I’m not even going to comment on the faces anymore. You can see it. You know. 

So yeah... AJ tells her the #1 rule, and reminds her that she promised.

Y’know.... she promised that she would never leave him again? Remember? At the McCarroll ranch? That flashback that was in TFS? The one you would watch if you played the game? 

Why is she looking straight at me when she should be looking at AJ as she says this? Is this Clementine’s way of telling me she’s sorry for what a shitty direction this is taking? I wouldn’t know because her face isn’t doing anything. Just because you draw a couple of tears that doesn’t mean I’m feeling the emotional heartbreak you’re attempting to convey. 

I don’t have enough middle fingers for this.

Well, my hat’s off to you. Ya did it. Ya fucked up everything single part of Clementine’s character in the span of two pages, I’m almost impressed. 

First off, the baby thing is weird. Why is she calling him that? She’s never called him that, which you should know.

Second, she’s not happy and that’s why she’s leaving. Clementine isn’t happy, and AJ can’t make her happy. Ericson can’t make her happy. So she’s going to go out on the road to.... what, be unhappy by herself? 

I’m sorry, but apparently we need a few reminders here of who Clementine is, because this isn’t her. 

This is Clementine. 

Clementine fought for years to find a home, something she hasn’t had since she was an eight-year-old girl before the apocalypse. The motor-inn wasn’t a home, the cabin wasn’t home, the ski-lodge, Howe’s, Wellington, Richmond, Prescott, none of them were home. 

She struggled for years, dealing with trauma after trauma while out on the road. She went from group to group, watching people she cared about die and she was powerless to do anything about it. Whenever she let her guard down and become comfortable, it bit in her in the ass and left her heartbroken.

She was there when AJ was born. She grew close to Rebecca while she was pregnant, she let herself do that even after everything she went through with Christa. Clementine had a bond with AJ even before he was born, and after Rebecca died, she did what she could to keep him safe, despite play choice. 

She cried when she thought AJ died and when she found him in that car again. She swore to protect him, to raise him right and love him. All they had was each other. 

And when she joined the new frontier and AJ got sick, she risked everything to save him and she was devastated when they took him away from her. When she found out he was alive, she is willing to go as far as helping Lingard overdose [INJECTING HIM HERSELF IF SHE HAS TO] to figure out his location. She did shitty things to find him, she killed people at McCarroll Ranch to find him again. 

Clementine raised him and he is her family, do you understand that? She went to hell and back for him, she taught him how to protect himself, and even though she made mistakes she sacrificed everything for him. She promised him that they would have a home of their own one day, she talked about how much she wished for a world where she didn’t have to worry about fighting and killing and AJ could just be a happy kid. 

She fought for Ericson, she watched her friends die or become mutilated by someone from her past. She allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to pursue a romantic relationship with Louis or Violet because she felt safe with them, felt safe at Ericson because it’s their home now. 

And when Clementine was bit, she thought she was going to die but she still fought to make sure AJ would be safe and happy without her and it was heartbreaking. She’s dying and the only thing she cares about is AJ. Not herself, not what’s going to happen to her after she dies or turns... no, she tries to make AJ smile again, she makes sure he remembers the rules, and she tells him that she loves him. 

Then he cuts off her leg, and she survives. AJ saved her fucking life, and she got to wake up at home and live to see her family again. She got to push AJ on a tire swing, she got to eat a hot meal and laugh with her friends, she got to make plans with her lover/best friend for what’s next for Ericson, and she got to talk to AJ and tell him the truth... and she asked him if she did a good job, and he’s honest with her right back. 

Hell, she tells him to keep her hat. Her iconic hat. The one thing she has left of her father, possibly her more cherished item. She lets him keep it. 

The last time we see Clementine, she’s happy. She’s sitting on the steps by herself, staring at her family with such fondness in her eyes and a smile on her face because she finally did it. She finally found a home where she can breathe. She has a bed to sleep in, she has AJ with her, she has a boyfriend/girlfriend who loves her and who she loves back, she has friends she can rely on. 

Clementine smiles, and lets out a small laugh. 

She doesn’t have to run anymore. 

And now you have the balls to tell me that AJ and Ericson don’t make Clementine happy anymore. 

She abandons everything to go back out on the road again, and that’s proof enough for me that you don’t understand a damn thing about Clementine or her journey. 

“ I don't even know the person I'm talking about... It's like all we have in common is the same name.” 

....Anyway.

Wow, Clementine found a car and kept is stashed. How lazy and convenient for this bullshit plot. 

And this is the part where I have to tell this comic to fuck off. 

What, you think if you throw in an incredibly inaccurate flashback next to a current pair of hugging Clem and AJ that I’ll feel anything but anger? That flashback is a slap to the face. It’s snowing, but the only time we’ve seen snow is in S2 when AJ was a literal new born, so why is he that big? Is that supposed to be from ANF because that ALSO doesn’t look like that AJ, and that’s not the outfit Clementine had on... AND there was no snow. This is cheap and meaningless. 

Any fan of the series who has played through the games could tell you this. 

So.... AJ runs into the woods and then we get this garbage.

This comic is awful. It misses the point of everything TFS, and the rest of the series, stood for. There is no heart here. I feel no happiness in reading it, and I don’t detect any passion behind it. It’s a lifeless comic that retcons everything in order to throw AJ away and start fresh with a new adventure for Clementine that makes no sense because the cow isn’t profitable unless it’s milked. 

This isn’t canon, and it won’t ever be canon, and honestly? At this point, I have no faith in the graphic novel trilogy. It will take a lot to do a turn around from this, and I don’t even know if that’s possible. 

Again, to reiterate, I don’t have anything personal against Tillie Walden herself. She’s just doing her job, and from what I’ve seen of her as a person, she seems like a sweetheart. I don’t want anyone giving her shit because I think the comic isn’t good or that you agree with me. All of my anger is directed at the comic itself, her work, not specifically her.... and a little bit at Skybound, because they’re the reason this is even a thing in the first place. 

So yeah.... there ya have it. 

[writingquestionsanswered]

Tattoo Shop AU - a quick, practical guide for writers

Guest Post by lebanon-hangover

lebanon-hangover said: this is based on my personal experience with the industry only, so depending on the era and country you are portraying, it may not be 100% accurate for your setting.

Hygiene

It may not be obvious at first glance, but most tattooists are clean freaks. We work with human blood every day, and we get clients from all ages, ethnic and social economic backgrounds, with all sorts of medical conditions.

We usually mop frequently, bleach the sinks, wipe down everything, and use cling film or bags to wrap everything. I mean fucking everything. We also scrub in, and sanitise the area on the person we work on.

Needles are collected in a sharps bin, and handled very carefully. Medical waste goes in yellow bags, and both are collected by a professional service.

Used ink caps may look full, but the ink gets diluted by blood. Like you dip the inky needle into the person, but you also dip the person’s blood into your ink. These are medical waste too.

Cleaning up must be done promptly after the session. Bin everything disposable, put things through the ultrasonic and the autoclave, and sanitise the area. We may take machines apart, but more for maintenance than cleaning, sometimes we swap parts in them too.

We have two sinks, one for hand washing, one for cleaning.

All inks and needles have use by dates.

The internal dynamics of a studio

Depending on the country, some tattoo shops tend to have ties to biker gangs, and some of those internal dynamics and unwritten rules are often present.

There’s a pecking order and it’s dead serious. Basically the longer you’ve been in a shop, the higher ‘rank’ you are, you get the better positioned stations, first pick of walk-ins, etc (Unless the client is asking for someone by name). Regardless of your actual experience in the industry, like if you move into your old apprentice’s shop, they are still senior to you. If the owner or their partner is an artist, obviously they are on top of the chain by default.

We are self employed, but we have a boss. You are only making money if you are working, but you still have set work hours.

We get paid by the clients, and we pay the studio a cut. In return, there are some items provided by them, and some we buy for ourselves. Usually the chairs, tattoo beds, gloves, cleaning products, clip cord covers, masks, aprons, ink caps, vaseline, green soap, and some basic ink is provided by the shop. We buy our own machines, arm rests, stations, pedals, power supplies, clipcords, tips and grips, needles, special colours, stencil fluid…these are a personal preference, and often depend on the artists’ style.

We totally ask to try out each other’s equipment sometimes, or ask for a certain type of needle if we ran out.

The receptionist is usually just one of us, maybe a piercer, but it also can be a hired person in top studios.

The apprentice in the traditional system is often mistreated, and they have to pay for their education, have to be there multiple days a week and don’t make any money. It’s kind of like a tear them down, build them back up again thing to see if they are really serious about the job. Times are slowly changing, but 99% of them will always need a second job. Most of them are working as bar staff.

When you open a new studio, you must visit all the existing local ones and introduce yourself, otherwise you may get a brick through the window. Otherwise there’s not much beef among individual artists, they are often friends, go to conventions together and party after, etc.

The Artists

Tattooing is a fairly physical job, stretching skin is very important. We have to also keep our clients safely still, so we often use positions to pin them down a bit. Sometimes you hit a reflex point on the foot or under a knee, and you don’t want to get kicked. Sometimes you have to pull away super fast, cos they are sneezing, yawning or giggling.

Most tattooists drink a lot of coffee, tea or energy drinks.

Some people are all rounders, some have specific styles, but we recognise each other’s art styles. Sometimes we delegate work to each other, if we think our coworkers style fits the concept better. For example if there’s a person who does script well, we give them those projects.

We don’t like when people come in with designs from other artists. Art theft is frowned upon, and we work best with our own drawings.

Most apprentices practice on their own legs, and sometimes we tattoo each other when it’s quiet. Most people have cover ups, or bad pieces from their early days. The artists’ own tattoos sometimes are in a different style than what they do, but we like to collect ink from friends or colleagues we admire.

In the first 1-2 years one is an apprentice, then junior artist. At 5-8 years of tattooing, you have earned your stripes and are considered an experienced artist.

Conventions are really fun, but can be stressful. You can make good money working at one, and sometimes get awarded for it too. We can also spend a lot at a convention.

Sometimes we poke our fingers by accident, and it’s a scary thing. Good case scenario is just some random dots on your fingers. Let’s not go into the bad case scenario.

We do guest spots sometimes, just to meet new clients, and change it up a bit.

We spend a lot of time drawing up things, and designs are meant to fall on specific muscles, stretch with the skin a certain way, so they are tailored to the body proportions of the client. A good tattoo is also an optical illusion, complimenting the body shape.

Social media presence is like a second job, you need good photos, and you need to market yourself.

Tattoo ink does not wash out, so some stains are inevitable when pouring it out. Those ink bottles get stuck so easily, and we wrestle them a lot. We try to avoid it, but wearing all dark colours is a thing for a reason.

The Clients

Tattooists need to have a good ‘bedside manners’ too. We get nervous or self conscious people, and we are told personal things during long sessions. For example scar coverups and memorial pieces can be very emotional.

We have pretty good poker faces and first aid trainings. People can faint, get shaky, throw up, some have seizures, have b.o., get sweaty, etc the same way as at a blood donation event? It’s no big deal really. We sit them down, give them some water and some sugar, and re-book them if necessary. Most artists keep some wet wipes, mouth wash, deodorant, sweets, maybe even some clean clothes at work, just in case.

If someone comes in with a wild idea for a jobstopper, we would sit down and have a long talk. If they haven’t got many tattoos, we usually try to stir them towards more safe choices, offering them creative ideas. It’s like those jedi mind tricks sometimes.

If someone is undecided, we show them our own hand drawn flash sheets. Once its gone, its gone tho, we don’t use the designs twice.

Pinterest is full of photoshopped fake tattoos, some that won’t even work as real ink. Many people also touch up their work digitally on photos, so some clients have really unrealistic expectations.

We can totally tell if someone is intoxicated or hangover. It thins the blood, and they bleed out the ink, and it’s super annoying. if it’s bad, they will be sent home and rebooked.

Some folks are self conscious about body hair, their size, stretch marks and scars. Chances are, we have seen similar, and we aren’t bothered by it, because it’s work. Surgery scars, scars from accidents, self harm scars, burns, we see it all the time. We shave some really hairy dudes all the time girl, your legs are fine. Seriously. If something makes tattooing you dangerous we will tell you.

Fit, muscular people are harder to tattoo because they are really firm. Its a workout for us.

Everyone gets midnight messages about the aftercare from nervous clients, and drunken booty calls about getting inked right at this second. We have copy paste replies…

We get creeps sometimes. Stalking, weird conversations, tmi info dumps etc.

Other things to include (for fun, or for plot reasons)

We sometimes have those “oh fuck” moments. We all do, but mistakes can be fixed, and we play it cool.

Tattooing takes time. Usually 30 minutes to multiple sessions though years and years.

Healing tattoos takes about 2-4ish weeks, and your characters shouldn’t go roll around in dirt, sunbathe, swim, pick at the scabs. Nasty infections, and messed up tattoos would be the results.

If you have a strong immune system, and you get a lot of work done in one sitting, you may get a brief bit of a temperature. It’s normal, and will go away.

Its a lot easier to get seriously drunk after getting a tattoo. Be careful.

We sometimes draw on each other for practice with our marker pens.

Tattoos are inside the skin, not on top of it. Imagine a low opacity, skin toned layer over the ink, adding to the healed tattoos’ colour. Please stop making your characters skin fully transparent.

Heavy blackwork and palms are done in multiple sessions.

You can’t cover up moles, because if they develop skin cancer, the dermatologist can’t see the signs.

There’s a stereotype about piercers having blacked out sleeves.

Stencil fluid looks just like cum.

You get that annoying itch on your face when you scrubbed in, put on gloves and finally ready to go.

Some artists have a strong preference for coil or rotary machines, and they bicker about it a lot. Coils are louder, more punchy, and more traditional, perfect for lineart. They can be customised, and they last forever. They are also called glorified doorbells by people who prefer rotaries. Rotary machines are smoother, lighter, and often use needles that are pulled back into the cartridges for safety. They are better for shading and delicate line work. Older tattooists often say they are dildo or butt plug shaped, overly delicate and are for “soft millennials” only.

Every artist owns like 5 to 20 machines, and they have specific machine builders they are loyal to.

The “which cable is broken and cutting out” guessing game. Clip cords and pedal cables get worn out easily, and that results in your machine running really jerky.

Walk-in always show up 10 minutes before closing.

We often look quite silly at work. Sleeves rolled up, folks use all sorts of plastic ppe, headlamps, and we tie up our hair. Add couple of purple smears from carbon paper, and we aren’t scary at all.