#so far im having a good time! i made my oc dave as my first muse

[bmpmp3]

Just started fashion dreamer. I know it's not style savvy and I'm not expecting it to be but I am glad the NPCs are still insane <3

[fullmusicbardsquared]

Hey Dave we never really talk, how are you doing ? Can you tell me about one of your ocs when you have the time.. Whoever you're having the most fun with right now. I like their designs alot and I haven't checked up on Vinyl Hell in a while, but the concept is looking so cool and well-done I'm really enjoying it

hi Atlas! i'm doing alright- and i'm sorry we haven't talked in a while.

i'm glad you like their designs! that's very flattering ^_^! i have not made much progress on the story bits of vinyl hell- i have a tentative ending, at least. most of the ahhh things i've worked on with it have been more about the '''''''psychology''''''' and personality of the characters for it.. idk how much you know about them so i don't want to sound incomprehensible >_< anyways

wordlbuilding post for reference . i think ill just ramble about the main 2 ahm. so there's jes- the jester, the main character..that old freak. he has amnesia and Hates the new wave world because it's loud there and he is a song character from a different genre so being there is deeply unnatural and uncomfortable for him. in my first ''drafts'' he was more of a bitchy hater (there is no good way to put this) about being in the planet (it doesnt have a name so i just call it that), and he still hates it there but now he's also. jealous, of everyone, both because he thinks that having something to do would be far more preferable to just wandering around, and because. it's not like 'instinct' but he has the feeling that that's good. side character problems. yes he is that guy from the court of the crimson king (he forgot his adjective). is the prog world going on without him? hahaha...who knows...

i think you've asked about gittens before, but about his design? well he's the personification of born under punches, so yeah his life kind of sucks and he's exhausted from being a government man all the time.. and well the narrator never gets the 'space' they want, so he doesn't either L(. his personality has not changed much since i first came up with it- he's a bit less outwardly emotional maybe? unless he's singing he just kind of acts like he's fine. can you tell im rambling . AGH. i hope this was kind of interesting..and that your day is / was good!

[isa-ah]

if its not too personal, may i ask what are all the alters names and roles in the system? (including host of course)

so like im not very booksmart about system roles but i consider myself a protector and also the host (me, isaiah, 24 :) <3). im usually the only one interested in drawing or blogging so 99% of anything on here is just lil ol me. i also front by far the most bc none of these assholes want to work so i have to take care of commissions myself lol

my first rl serious i think something's wrong w me alter realization was a Dave fictive when i was like 16-21 who would just black me out and autopilot when shit was really bad. I lost a LOT of time between when my grandma died, when my grandfather died, when i moved in w my aunt, ran away, moved in w my mom, and then left for arizona, and im pretty sure almost all of that was him. he hasn't fronted or had any kind of presence in the headspace in years tho besides like 10-15 minutes at a time once or twice when I got rlly triggered by a conversation. I simply do not remember anything that happens when he fronts which used to scare the shit out of me haha. lo said he thinks it's specifically 13 which. fair lol

bentley is definitely my most active alter these days. he's around 30 and tends to take over whenever i get upset abt some shit. he took the very very most brunt of my grandparental caretaking and medical trauma so like i don't rlly have those nightmares or intrusive flashbacks anymore which is nice. I tend to take on a lot of social obligations and I don't know how to say no but he Can and Will watch a man burn without pissing on him which is rlly refreshing tbh. he's the no obligations I'm hanging out alter. we're rlly close but I don't think he's friendly enough for lo :( he likes old trucks and 70s bops.

shys my youngest alter that i know of, he's like 14 and is like young isaiah (the oc) but nonverbal hence, shysaiah or just shy :) he's a sweet kid who just likes to be around and goofy. if he has to be verbal he does cry tho and his triggers are rlly different than mine which throws me whenever he gets set off. he's definitely got the most palpable and distressing fictitious memories, like he heard a line in a song and had flashbacks that made ME wig out. his is very.. idk bad dad parental abuse csa vibes, as far as the trauma pill he swallowed, but mostly when he's fronting he's in rlly high spirits! he likes neopets and yesterday was his birthday haha.

bulldog is rlly the only other guy of note & he's like? idk 19? i very much experienced the like adults arent taking care of me and so my tiny body is full of RAGE thing as a kid and like all thru my teens I had a FOUL hateful kinda temper. I'm cool as fuck as an adult tho cause that's his problem now. whenever my mom gets on her shit or I start thinking about my aunt he like zaps straight to the cofront to try to start some shit w my family which. fair! but no! he's a lot more mad about my aunt than my grandparents which hes probably the only one but fight the good fight i guess. he's just a real asshole, if uve ever seen me writing long vent posts on here bc im all worked up that's that anger boy cofront babey <3 he's DEFINITELY not nice enough for lo tho.

there's like other guys im aware of knocking around but they don't front or rlly make any effort to interact w me or our peers so shruggg I mostly just let them be. my biggest brain teaser re: all of this is the chicken and egg situation between ocs and alters. which came first, shy or isaiah? bentley definitely came before his oc counterpart but i low-key get a vibe about reggie and barnaby that makes me go ok but?? idk mostly I'm just endlessly fascinated by the intersection of being a lifelong artist with a deep love of characters and having alters who present so... character-y. which came first??

[leomitchellart]

So… about this latest Inktober controversy….

Time to begrudgingly chuck in my two penneth… (Remeber you can always press “J” to skip this post altogether)

As most of you may or may not know, Alphonso Dunn released a Youtube video wherein he publicly accused Jake Parker, and creator of the Inktober challenge, of plagiarising his book. Both of these men are public figures, artists specialising in pen & ink. In the video Dunn looks at the preview pages and flip through footage of Parker’s “Inktober All Year Round” and says they draw many similarities in the illustrations, language and layout that he used in his own book, “Pen & Ink Drawing”. Parker’s book was set to this month. Hense why Dunn only used footage and not a physical copy.

Since the video’s release, the art community has been very spilt down the middle. The book’s publisher has halted the launch of Parker’s book until the matter can be investigated. Even DeviantArt cancelled their own Inktober event thing (I’ll admit I don’t keep up with these things DA keeps doing). Parker has since released a statement in the matter. Now it’s up to the courts to decide what’s happening next. The video itself is an hour long, but it’s crucial to see it yourself. 

People are, understandably, outraged after seeing it. This seems like a shitty thing to rip-off Dunn - not to mention stupid. Since Dunn is the more popular pen & ink artist with more social media followers and name recognition. Many have called to boycott inktober and condemn Parker. I’ll admit, I was right alongside them at first, at least for feeling outraged. The similarities are there. But if YMS’s Kimba video has taught me anything, it’s that, even if an accusation of plagiarism may be obvious at a cursory glance, sometimes it’s important to take a more critical eye and do more research to learn that things aren’t as cut and dry as they first seem. If there’s a lesson I can take away from the internet as a whole, it’s that no one thinks about the consequences of mob mentality.

The most common defence of Parker is that because they’re both books about pen and ink drawing, then they’re inevitably going to be similar. I’ll admit that, when you pick-up so many art books, a lot of them will cover the same basic grounds of materials, tutorials, strokes, techniques etc. The parts about rendering textures on spheres and cubes isnt new. Look up “texture study” and you’ll see so many examples of artists rendering these kinds of things digitally. I’ve also noticed a common theme of people more formally educated in art pointing out how none of these are original. Everything down to the steps and illustrations are things they’ve learned from years ago. Since I'm a pen & ink artist, inspired by my love of comics, I have quite a few books about inking: Dunn’s included. I own both his books and still highly recommend them. I didn't even preorder Parker’s book. Ironically because I didn't think it could offer anything new that my other books hadn’t already.

While Ethan Becker took the time to cross-examine Dunn and Parker’s books with several others, there weren’t many of the ones I actually owned. So I looked to my shelves to see what I could find. Books like:

“The Art of Comic Book Inking” by Gary Martin & Steve Rude

“How Comics Work” by Dave Gibbons & Tim Pilcher

“The DC Comics guide to Inking Comics” by Klaus Janson

“Making Comics” by Scott McCloud

“Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics”

I’m sure there’s plenty more examples out there. I was planning to go through all of these and take pictures. But ultimately that’s not the core point of these post. Plus it would’ve taken WAY too long and this post itself, is long enough.

Of course, none of the them are 100% close to Dunn’s in the way they’re displayed. Not as close as Parker’s could be considered. That being said, I know Dunn is trying to claim that he invented these techniques. The nucleus of the issue is how similar they are in terms of order and how these pages are displayed. Some I can chock-up to standard practice, while others seem more coincidental.

If there’s one thing I’m adamant about, it’s that I think that Dunn should’ve messaged Parker first before making the accusation public. Some try to dispute that this would've made it easier for Dunn to be “silenced”, whatever that means; but that sounds a bit conspiratorial to me. Ideally, you confront him about it in private, if he makes any threats or blows you off, get your lawyer on the phone and then make the video. Not only is it the more civil thing to do - but it’s the smarter thing to do. This is a serious legal matter, not just internet drama. While I’m sure Dunn had no intention of tearing Parker down or getting a mob onto him, that’s unfortunately what’s happened. A backlash both from the general artisan community and several companies. Wherein it was left to Parker himself to make this an official legal matter. If Parker’s found not guilty, then this could easily leave the gate open for him to sue Dunn for damages, loss of revenue, defamation of character or whatever else, should he see fit. As could the publishers, given how this affected their sales. Companies responded to the accusation of the video alone, before an investigation could be launched. Sure, it wouldn't be “acting the bigger man” but he’d be well within his right to do it. Dunn showed that Jake has mentioned him before, shown admiration for his career and referenced him in other posts. If it comes to light in court, that Dunn is even cited as an inspiration or source in the book itself, then it’s case closed. 

Then there’s the other possibility that Parker might not have done this on his own, but that he has a team behind the book. If that’s the case, the most I can accuse Parker of is being a hack. I worry Dunn has kneecapped himself for just how badly he’s handled this situation. Made worse by him not having an actual physical copy to assess and just had footage of preview pages to go on. So far, the circumstances don’t seem on his favour. 

I don’t think ill of Dunn. I do think he believes he’s been wronged and no malice in his intentions. I just think he’s made some critical errors on how to handled this. As for Parker himself, I couldn't give a donkey’s doo-dah about him. I’m sure you could accuse me of playing devil’s advocate earlier, but to me, he was the guy who released the annual prompt list. If it really does turn out that he’s a plagiarist and had malicious intent, then fuck ‘im. I never regarded him as an inspiration of mine or paid much attention to him outside of that. It was the community that made Inktober what it is. I’ve never met Parker. Maybe he’s a cool guy? Maybe he’s a bellend? I don’t know.

Granted this isn't the first time Parker has proved himself to be a controversial figure: - Last year people were upset about him trademarking (not copywriting, as many have erroneously claimed) the word “Inktober” and some artists were stopped from selling their related work or zines. Parker would issue a statement: claiming the takedowns were a mistake of “overzealous lawyers” and it’s just a matter of the logo being trademarked. People can sell their Inktober works and even mention they are Inktober-related. Just not use the official logo. On the one hand, from a business standpoint, I get it. It’s the bare minimum you need to do to protect your IP, especially when you have a store. BUT, like most people, I don’t like how, what’s intended as a community challenge, has slowly become more of a brand associated with one man. Hardly a surprise it left a bad taste in so many people’s mouths. But, since it doesn't actually effect anyone’s ability to take part in the challenge, outside of personal principle, I went ahead with it the previous year. 

 - The year before, when asked if one can do Inktober digitally, Parker said the following:

I know some are still bitter about that, but speaking as someone who inks traditionally and digitally, this came across as needless whinging and blowing things out of proportion. Claiming that Jake had derided digital artists and said they were invalid etc etc. Take it from me, challenging yourself to try out different methods to ink traditionally can greatly improve the work you do digitally. It’s like how learning traditional fundamentals of art can still be applied to digital. Plus he never said “No.” he just gave valid reasons about how it makes it a different experience. That said, if you’re someone who can’t afford any kind of inking equipment or pens and only have a selected application to draw on - then none of this applies to you. Just the aforementioned few who took it upon themselves to get angry over nothing. Recently I’ve heard from subscribers of his newsletter that he’s now embraced the idea of people doing inktober digitally, to the point of selling digital brushes for inktober. I’m sure some will call this “backsliding” or “money grubbing” because people aren’t allowed to change their minds or update their statements.

For weeks I’ve been torn on what to do, not being able to solidify one stance over another. One minute I thought #JusticeForAlphonsoDunn then I wonder “Wait maybe I should look again?” to “But wait, those are way too similar!” Having splinters in my arse from sitting on the fence for so long. The longer this went on, however, I began to realise that I can’t take one stance over another. This case is far too muddy and complicated. I don’t have enough sufficient knowledge or evidence. Nor do any of you. We literally only have Dunn’s video to go on. While it’s a good start, it’s not enough to be taken 100% as gospel when it’s the only thing to hand. 

As previously mentioned, a lot of artists have decided to not take part in Inktober at all, or follow different prompt lists. That’s completely fine. A lot of them are based around a specific theme: halloween, kinky stuff, bears, transformers, OCs, Disney or whatever. That has massive appeal. I just can’d do it myself. I prefer the focus on random words, rather than all centred on a single subject; allowing me to be creative with my ideas and execution. I actually did try to make a list of my own random words. Problem is, I worried that because I was choosing my own, I might be subconsciously bias towards certain prompts and not truly challenging myself. Even narrowing down my options was taking too long. In the end…. I’ve decided to just do the official prompts again this year.

For me, that’s what it ultimately came down to. TIME. It’s the middle of September. I can’t afford to wait for the court case to be settled. No other prominent artists I respect have released their own prompt lists. I know there’s been some shitty people who are condemning this choice. Attacking others, accusing them of supporting plagiarism, looking to block anyone who does the official prompts. Even trying to make this a racial issue. Just…. no. 

If someone doesn’t want to take part in Inktober, that’s fine. If someone wants to do the official prompts, that’s fine. If someone wants to do their own prompts, that’s fine.

Don’t go around aggressively making snap judgements or accusing people of taking a side. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. This has been a shit year, let people enjoy something.

If you look at this situation and it makes you feel angry, and you don’t feel comfortable in taking part in a challenge because of it’s creator. I get that, I literally get that. It’s why I haven't done Mermay. And please don’t mention Pinktober, I’m aware of it, but given his insta video on the subject and the things he said, I quickly came to the conclusion that I can’t take this person seriously. I’m sure this might make me seem hypocritical, but how this differs, if only for me, is the sheer amount Inktober means to me. It’s more than a simple challenge. Inktober's the one thing I’ve been most excited about all year. As it was ruined for me in 2019, when I lost my home and I didn't get to complete every prompt. (Long story, I’m okay now). As we all know, 2020, has been an AWFUL year. We’ve got to take whatever joy we can. As I’ve looked longer at the official prompts, I found ideas I’m really excited for. 

Once I started to really dedicate myself to it, it became a massive event. I hype myself up as I prepare for the busy month. Buy in supplies, clean the house and workspace, cook and freeze meals in bulk to save time, printing off a sheet that allows me to jot down ideas as I plan ahead.  Then once it’s done, after so much work, it makes the reward all the sweeter: Ordering a takeaway, celebrating a great halloween night and still rocking those vibes throughout November. Feeling proud of myself for doing it and seeing myself improve my technique, discipline and earning a few lie-ins to make up for the sleep I lost working. I’m like a kid waiting for Christmas. That said, don’t think that there’s something wrong with you when you understandably can’t dedicate that amount time for a simple art challenge. If anything that’s plenty of reason to why you’re smarter than me. You have a life and don’t push yourself too much.

Now, I need to crack on with the preparations. If you want to boycott Jake Parker, just not buying any of his products should be enough. Doing the inktober challenge doesn't bring attention to him, as I doubt most people even know him as the creator, nor does it even line his pockets. I just hate how cancel culture can do such serious damage like this and then try and put pressure on others to act accordingly without even doing any research themselves. 

As long as you’re not harassing anybody. Just do what YOU want to do. That’s fine. 

[elizabethwatson1895]

Do You Know the Way to Santa Fe?

This was originally posted as part of the newsies fic contest run by @suddenly-im-respecsable, and placed second. (Thank you to those who voted for it!)

Word Count: 3381

Summary: Jack convinces Davey to join him and a bunch of the boys on a road trip to Santa Fe over spring break. Chaos ensues.

Warnings: None. Maybe lack of seatbelt wearing?

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

“Davey, pack your bags!” Jack announced, bursting through the Jacobs’ door. “We’re going to Santa Fe!”

“Do what now?” Davey asked, poking his head out of his bedroom door.

“Pack your bags! We’re going on a road trip!” Jack exclaimed, plopping down on the couch. 

Davey closed his eyes briefly, shaking his head. 

“Jack,” he started, walking out of his room toward his best friend. “We can’t just… go to Santa Fe.”

“And why not?” Jack asked, bouncing on the couch.

“Because...because of a lot of reasons,” Davey said, crossing his arms.

“Oh yeah?” Jack asked, leaning forward. “Like what?”

“Like...school,” Davey said. 

Jack laughed. “Davey. It’s spring break. We don’t have school.” 

Davey frowned. “Okay, but how would we get there?”

“We’ll drive!” Jack said, standing. “Me and you, we’ll trade off.” He clapped Davey on the shoulder. “Come on, Davey! It’ll be fun!”

“Jack,” Davey said, “we don’t have enough time to drive there and back.”

“Sure we do!” Jack exclaimed. “We got a whole week! And ‘sides, I looked on Google and it’ll only take like a little over a day to drive there.”

“Yeah, if we don’t stop, which is super dangerous, Jack!” Davey shot back, shaking his head. 

“Ah, come on, Dave!” Jack said, pouting a little. “All the guys wanna.”

“Oh, all the guys?” Davey asked, crossing his arms. “How many people are going on this trip?”

“Not that many,” Jack said, clearly sensing danger. “So far just me and Crutchie for sure. But Race wants to, and if Race goes, Albert will. Hopefully you. Maybe a few more.”

“Jack…” Davey said, narrowing his eyes. “My van has seven spots. No more than seven.”

“Does that mean you’ll go?” Jack asked, his eyes lighting up.

“If-” Davey said, interrupting him. “If we plan everything, and we’ll take turns driving, and no more than seven people.”

“Right,” Jack said, fidgeting. “Me and you and no more than seven.”

“No more than seven, including me and you,” Davey clarified, glaring at Jack.

“Yeah, ain’t that what I said?” Jack replied innocently.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Davey said, giving up. “When are we leaving?”

-------

A few hours later, Davey pulled up outside Jack’s house.

Jack came running out, carrying a backpack. Crutchie followed behind him more slowly, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

“Hiya, Davey!” Jack said, throwing his backpack in the trunk.

“Hey, Jack,” Davey said, smiling at him. “Where are we headed first?”

 “How about I drive while we’se picking everyone up?” Jack suggested, leaning on Davey’s door. “Seeing how I’m the one that organized everything.”

“Alright,” Davey said, climbing out of the driver’s seat. Jack playfully punched him on the shoulder.

“You’re the best, you know that, Davey?” Jack said.

“Yeah, yeah, okay,” Davey said.

“I call shotgun!” Crutchie cried, already opening the passenger door.

“S’only fair,” Jack agreed, and Davey nodded, climbing into the seat behind Jack’s.

“Who all are we picking up?” Davey asked, buckling his seatbelt.

“We’re picking Race and Albert up first,” Jack said, not meeting Davey’s eyes.

“And then?” Davey asked.

“And….then we’ll pick up the rest of the guys,” Jack said, shrugging.

“Uh-huh,” Davey said.

“This is gonna be so much fun!” Crutchie said, buckling his seatbelt as well.

Jack started the car, backing out of their driveway. Davey glanced at Jack’s unused seatbelt.

“Jack…” Davey started.

“What?” Jack asked, twisting around to look at him. Davey looked from Jack, to where his seatbelt hung uselessly, and back to Jack again. “Oh, right,” Jack said, quickly buckling it without argument.

Before long, Race and Albert appeared in the distance. Upon spotting the van, both boys started jumping up and down and waving at them. Jack pulled over next to them.

“Road trip!” Race yelled, catapulting into the backseat.

Albert swung open Davey’s door. “Road trip!” he repeated, climbing over top of Davey into the backseat.

Davey grimaced. “Al, there’s an open seat literally on the other side,” he pointed out. Albert just shrugged.

“It’s faster,” he said.

“Do you guys have everything you need?” Davey asked, turning to look at them. 

“Aw yeah, all the essentials right here,” Race said, patting his backpack. “Hot Cheetos, Mountain Dew, toothbrush, and all my money.”

“Don’t you need a change of clothes or something?” Davey asked, frowning.

“Nah,” Race replied. “Who needs that?”

Davey closed his eyes for a moment, before turning to Albert. “What about you? Where’s your stuff?”

Albert started emptying his pockets. “I got my wallet, my phone, a pair of underwear, and….” he dug around a little, before triumphantly holding up a slightly smashed pack of gum. “Gum!”

“You can’t just-” Davey started, before stopping himself. “I give up.”

“So, are we good to go?” Jack asked. 

“LET’S GO!” Race yelled back.

“Road trip!” Albert yelled too.

“That’s gonna get old really fast,” Davey said.

“Where to now?” Jack asked. Crutchie consulted a list.

“We’re picking up a bunch of the guys at Specs’s place,” he replied.

“On it,” Jack said. 

“Ninety-nine bottles of Mountain Dew on the wall!” Race and Albert started. Crutchie bobbed his head along to their song.

As they pulled up to the curb next to Specs’s place, Davey narrowed his eyes at the number of boys standing around waiting. Specs, Romeo, Finch, Elmer. Four people. He counted again, before glancing around the minivan to make sure he wasn’t wrong. Two seats open.

“Jack…” Davey said slowly. 

“Yeah, Davey?” Jack said lightly, as Elmer opened the door, crawling into the backseat.

“We don’t have room for all of them,” Davey said warningly. Specs opened the trunk, carefully placing his duffel bag inside.

“Aw, sure we does!” Race piped up. Davey shot him a look over his shoulder, while Specs settled into the seat next to Davey.

“No, we don’t,” he said. “Jack, please tell me you’re not…”

Jack purposely did not meet Davey’s eyes.

“What up!” Romeo crowed, climbing over Specs into the backseat.

“Jack, look at me,” Davey said firmly. Jack whined, and looked into the rearview mirror. “We cannot fit anyone more.”

“Come on, Davey,” Jack protested. “How do ya expect me to choose who gets to come? ‘Sides, they’re all already in here.”

Davey looked over, and sure enough, Finch had perched himself on top of the box of food in the aisle. Elmer and Romeo waved from the backseat.

“Why stop at this?” Davey asked. “There’s still plenty of room, isn’t there? I’m sure we could fit someone in the trunk.”

“Davey, don’t be ridiculous,” Jack said, unbuckling his seatbelt and spinning to make direct eye contact with Davey.

Davey leveled his most disapproving glare at him. Jack flinched, but kept his puppy-eyes fixed on Davey.

“Davey,” Jack pleaded. “It’ll be fun.”

“Jack, it isn’t safe.”

“Technically, you can’t stop me….” Jack pointed out. “I am driving.”

“Is THAT why you wanted to drive first?” Davey said, rubbing his forehead.

Jack pushed a hand through his hair guiltily.

“Fine,” Davey said, sitting back in his seat. “I give up. You win. It’s not like I can stop you.”

“Did I hear a…..ROAD TRIP!” Race shouted from the backseat, setting off a chorus of “Road trip!” from the rest of the backseat.

Jack put the car back in drive and started down the road. He glanced in the rearview mirror, trying to catch Davey’s eyes, but Davey refused to look up at him. Jack sighed and turned back to the road. 

They had barely made it three blocks before Davey looked up.

“Hey Jack?” he said.

“Yeah?” Jack said, glancing back at him.

“Put your seatbelt on.”

Jack grinned at Davey, and buckled it in one smooth motion.

Davey smiled in spite of himself.

-----

Two hours passed before they hit the first snag. They’d made it out of New York and were somewhere in Pennsylvania. Davey was studying the map Race had dug out of Jack’s backpack. 

“Hey, Jack?” Race said hesitantly from the backseat. Davey turned to look at him.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Jack asked. Race sheepishly held up an empty bottle of pop.

“I gotta pee.”

“Can’t you hold it or somethin’?” Jack asked. “We don’t need gas for a few more hours, and the less we have to stop the better.”

“No, I REALLY needs to go,” Race insisted. 

Jack sighed. “Let me find an exit. Dave, help me look?”

“Yeah, I’m looking,” Davey said, squinting at the map. “There should be one in a few miles.”

Meanwhile, Race was bouncing up and down in the backseat.

“Hey, Race,” Albert said, an evil twinkle in his eye. “Think about waterfalls. Lakes. Rain.”

“La la la la la I can’t hear you!” Race said, sticking his fingers in his ears.

“Dripping faucets, rivers, oc-” Romeo slapped his hand over Albert’s mouth.

“Dude. We’re all crammed in the backseat here. Race is practically on both of our laps. If he pees himself, it’s gonna be so gross.” Romeo shuddered at the thought.

Albert just glared at Romeo.

“Ahh!” Romeo said, jerking his hand away from Albert. “He licked me!” 

Albert laughed. “Serves you right.” 

“Take this exit, Jack,” Davey said, leaning forward.

Jack veered suddenly into the exit lane. Davey gripped the door handle to anchor himself.

“Why do you do that?” Elmer asked curiously.

“Do what?” Davey asked, peering out the window for a gas station.

“Grab the door like that.”

“Oh, that,” Jack said, shaking his head. “He does that every time I turn. It ain’t like it’ll do you any good if we crash. Drives me nuts, ‘specially when he’s shotgun. It’s like you don’t trust my driving or somethin’.” Jack shook his head. “Hurts my feelings, Dave.”

Davey playfully punched Jack in the shoulder. “It’s not that. It’s just instinct. You turn too tight.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jack said. “Oh, hey, gas station!” He turned suddenly into the driveway, and Davey grabbed at the door.

“I swear to god, Dave,” Jack said.

“You can’t even see me!” Davey protested as Jack shut off the minivan.

“But I can feel it. In my heart.” 

Davey rolled his eyes and opened his door. Race climbed overtop of him, scrambling out of the van and running straight inside.

“Who’s all getting out?” Crutchie asked. 

“Everyone,” Jack said. “We are not stopping again until we need gas again.”

The other boys in the back grumbled, but crawled out of the backseat.

Davey stretched as he walked inside. Race had claimed the single person bathroom, so the other boys all stood in line waiting. 

“Race, hurry up!” Albert called, pounding on the door. “Get a move on, ya little-”

Race opened the door, a bright smile on his face. “Much better,” he announced, before darting off towards the candy aisle.

Before long, most of the boys had recongregated around the van.

“Want me to drive, Jack?” Davey asked. Jack shook his head.

“Nah, I can drive until the next gas stop.”

“You sure?” 

Jack nodded.

“Hey, can I drive?” Albert piped up.

“You are not driving my car,” Davey said.

“Absolutely not,” Jack said at the same moment, whacking Albert.

“Come on! I’ve only crashed like three times, and they’s all been Race’s fault,” Albert complained.

Jack raised one eyebrow, and Albert sighed.

“You guys is no fun.”

Jack climbed in the front seat, starting the car. Davey stood outside, waiting for Race who was last. Finally, he appeared, carrying a pile of candy and a six-pack of Mountain Dew bottles.

Davey just looked at him. Race stared right back at Davey. “I regret nothing,” he said, as if he was challenging Davey to say something.

Davey just shook his head. “Get in the van, Race.”

-----

“Wait, was that our exit?” Crutchie said, watching it disappear into the distance

Davey whipped his head around, staring at the offending sign. “Yeah, yeah it was,” he sighed. 

“Oh, shoot, you’re right,” Specs agreed, staring at the map. 

“Now what are we going to do? That exit was the only one that won’t take us miles out of our way,” Davey said, frowning.

“Don’t worry!” Jack piped up. “That’s just plan A.”

“Oh yeah?” Davey said. “Then, what exactly is plan B?”

“This!” Jack said, taking a sudden left turn. “Lefting!”

“LEFTAROO!” Race chimed in from the backseat. Davey buried his head in his hands.

“What do you got for me, Specs?” Jack asked.

Specs adjusted his glasses. “That actually wasn’t the worst turn. We’ll just take this route, take a few back roads, and get back onto our road. It’ll only add like twenty minutes.”

“Perfect!” Jack said. They drove in relative silence for a few minutes.

“Uh, guys?” Jack said suddenly.

“What now?” Davey asked.

“We’re low on gas.”

“Onto plan C?” Crutchie offered.

-----

Davey was almost relieved when it was his turn to drive. That relief didn’t last long, though, before he remembered how terrible of a backseat driver Jack was. 

“Davey, Davey, if you turn here it’s a shortcut.”

“Jack, that is a gravel road. That’s not a shortcut, it’s a ticket to getting lost. We don’t have time to get lost.”

“Your turn is in like ten miles,” Specs said, studying the map.

“Specs, give me that map,” Jack said, making a grab for it. “See, Davey?”

“Jack, sit down!” Davey put out an arm blocking Jack as he glanced back in the rearview mirror.

“Hey, give that back!” Race shouted. A quick glance told Davey that Albert had stolen Race’s hat. Again. 

Romeo was asleep against Elmer. Another glance, and Davey was pretty sure Romeo was drooling.

Finch was still perched on top of the food bin, a bag of chips in his hand. He was completely calm amid the chaos. Crutchie was also curiously calm, having not looked away from the window in probably two hours.

“Come on, Davey,” Jack said, starting to stand again.

“I swear to god, Jack, I will stop this car if you don’t put your seatbelt on.”

Jack settled back in his seat with a huff. “How come I’s the only one you ever yell at about seatbelts? Race and Albert aren’t wearing theirs, and Finch don’t even have one.”

“God forbid I care if you live or die,” Davey said, shaking his head, before reevaluating what Jack said. “Wait, Race and Albert aren’t wearing seatbelts?” He took another look in the rearview mirror. Albert, now wearing Race’s hat, shrugged at him. Race took advantage of Albert’s distraction to reclaim his hat. “Oh, my god, I’m driving a car full of idiots.”

“Hey, now!” Crutchie objected, looking over from his constant gazing out the window.

Davey sighed. “Fine. I’m driving a car made MOSTLY of idiots.”

“Imma take that as a compliment,” Race said, settling back into his seat. “Oh, by the way, I have to pee.”

Davey groaned.

-----

Around two in the morning, Davey pulled over to let Jack drive.

“Get some sleep, Dave,” Jack said, clapping him on the shoulder. Davey nodded tiredly.

He settled back into his seat, closing his eyes. However, as soon as he felt himself start to slip off to sleep, a loud voice startled him awake.

“Albert give it back!” Race cried. 

Davey shifted in his seat, moving his sweatshirt hood to cover his ears. Still, he could hear Race and Albert bickering in the backseat.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you sharing is caring?” Albert shot back.

“I DON’T CARE!” Race yelled, and Davey could hear the sounds of a struggle behind him. 

He raised his arms to cover his ears, when something landed in his lap. He opened his eyes slowly.  A bag of Twizzlers sat on his legs.

“Them’s mine,” Race said, leaning over and grabbing it.

“Let me have it!” Albert yelled, also grabbing it. Davey flinched, blinking at them sleepily.

“Let. Go. Of. The. Twizzlers,” Davey said slowly. Both boys released the bag and retreated. Davey took one look at the bag on his lap, and passed it up to Crutchie.

“Thanks, Davey!” Crutchie said, immediately grabbing a piece of licorice and taking a bite.

“Those is-” Race started, but Jack cut him off.

“Race. Albert. Shut up and let Davey sleep,” he said, reaching a hand back and patting Davey’s knee.

Davey looked up at him. “Jack,” he said slowly. “I love you, but don’t touch me.”

Jack’s hand went back to the steering wheel, and finally, Davey could drift off to sleep.

-----

When Davey finally woke up, the van was stopped at a gas station. He looked around, slightly disoriented. None of the other boys were in the van, but Jack was filling the tank outside.

He sat up and rubbed at his eyes. Jack noticed him, and waved.

Davey opened his door and climbed out.

“Morning, Davey,” Jack said, smiling. “You sleep good?”

“Yeah, actually,” Davey said, stretching. “I can drive now. Just give me a minute to wake up.”

“Alright. The other guys are inside, so if you want anything to eat, go get it.”

Davey nodded, and headed into the store.

Once everyone had something, they piled back into the minivan, with Davey behind the wheel. 

“Everyone ready?” Davey asked. A variety of “yeah” and “yes” echoed back at him.

Davey started down the road, eating his breakfast sandwich. They couldn’t have been driving for more than ten minutes before Davey glanced back, and saw Jack’s “breakfast.”

“Jack, are you eating fruit snacks for breakfast?” Davey asked.

“What’s wrong with that?” Jack asked, opening another pouch.

“They’re literally candy,” Davey said.

“But they has fruit in ‘em,” Jack said lightly, popping another in his mouth.

“What? Jack, no, that’s not...that’s not how that works.”

“Then why is they in the breakfast aisle?” Jack complained.

“But they’re not?” Davey replied, setting his sandwich down.

“They’re by the pop-tarts,” Jack corrected him. “They’s breakfast.”

“Wait, fruit snacks ain’t breakfast?” Race asked, perking up from the backseat.

“What? No!” Davey replied.

“Next you’se gonna tell me Gushers ain’t, either!” Race said, shaking his head.

“They’re not, though?” Davey said incredulously.

“You’se not my mom,” Race said, glowering.

“Don’t upset Mom,” Albert whispered, poking Race. “He don’t like when you say that.”

“Albert, what-” Davey cut himself off, shaking his head. “Nevermind, I don’t even want to know. Race, please tell me you don’t have Gushers right now.”

Finch silently handed Davey a potato chip, who took it.

“And seriously, Jack,” he continued, without missing a beat. “Fruit snacks are not a good breakfast. You’re gonna feel really sick later, and it won’t be my fault if you are.” He gestured wildly with the potato chip, and Jack followed it with his eyes. “Please, eat some crackers or something at least.”

“Are you gonna eat that?” Jack interrupted.

“Huh?” Davey asked, then looked at the potato chip in his hand. “Why am I holding this?”

Finch dissolved into laughter. Jack grabbed it out of his hand and popped it in his mouth.

“Jack!” Davey complained.

-----

As they drove past a sign that said, “Santa Fe, 20 miles,” Jack could barely control his excitement. “Davey, Davey, it’s really happening!” he said, hitting Davey’s shoulders repeatedly. “Crutchie. Crutchie. We’re almost in Santa Fe.”

“We’re almost in Santa Fe,” Crutchie replied.

Jack pretended to faint.

“You good back there, Jack?” Davey asked. Jack sat back up with a spring. 

“I’ve never been this excited in my entire life,” he exclaimed. “Are we there yet?”

“Jack. Look out the window. You’ll know when we’re in Santa Fe.”

“There are MOUNTAINS!” Jack said, eyes wide.

“Whoa,” Elmer added.

“Jack, you’ve been painting these mountains since you were six years old,” Crutchie pointed out.

“And they’re BEAUTIFUL…” Jack sighed.

The next twenty minutes passed in silence until….

“Santa Fe!” Crutchie cried as they passed the town sign. Jack was startlingly quiet.

“Jack?” Davey asked, looking in the rearview mirror.

“I’m actually in Santa Fe,” Jack whispered, his voice caught in his throat.

“Hey, Jack, are you crying?” Race asked.

Davey checked his blind spot, and pulled over to the side of the road. He put the car in park and turned around to look at Jack.

“Jack, are you okay?” he asked.

Jack nodded, his eyes all watery. “It’s just...beautiful.”

“Welcome to Santa Fe, Jack,” Davey said, smiling at him.

[artcanary]

1-50

oh my god dude 

im gonna put this under a cut bc this is a lot. this is a ride, have fun i guess

1. Your first OC ever?god. its got to be Super Kitty. when i was like … an incredibly small child I used to draw comic strips about this feline caped crusader, who was friends with everyone in the city, and the comics always involved him stopping an evil banana man from stealing money from the local bank. He was paid with donuts for his service to the city. i still remember how to draw him. 

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?i’d get arrested if I didn’t answer this with Bronze, probably… but really, they’re very important to me

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?man, i cant remember! i really dont think i have… P:

4. A character you rarely talk about?there’s loads of characters ive never even posted a single picture of on tumblr, i wouldnt even know where to start asdf

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? bronze is the easy answer, but… i guess that could also go to Servant or Westrin. Servant has a comic project in the works that basically stars him, sort of a series of one-shots about the things he’s experienced, i feel like that would be a good thing to take off and run with. Westrin’s just fun as hell, i love the guy.

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?real talk now… there’s at least five different characters that i refer to as a whole as “bronze-tangential”, who started out as, “what would bronze be like if they were in this world?” and then becoming their own thing within said world because i just get stupid attached 

its an epidemic

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?nearly all of them, actually. that’s the main reason i make characters, after all! too many to really go into specifics here, again P: 

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!not often, but i think Bronze and Westrin are the most common ones. unless playing a character in dnd, or running an npc in dnd counts… then a whole lot more hahaha

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?it depends on the circumstances. i don’t really like the idea, though. 

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? Westrin’s old getup is a pain to draw, and there was one other design i did that I cant find anywhere… whichever way, i dont often tend to draw super complicated things often 

a couple fakemon ive designed though… heheh those can get pretty finicky

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? hmmmmmmmm my immediate thought was Eric Silverdale from a comic i was working on a few years ago. hes a darling, i want him to be my friend irl

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lothow could you do this to me i love each and every one of all my friends ocs GOD the first one who comes to mind is @d20-official‘s Smith, whos Bronze’s friend… everyone in that DND party actually

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs? Rated on a scale from “harmless” to “honestly somewhat frightening”: -Baromet (charming and quite friendly but definitely a kleptomaniac),-Westrin (demigod of bards and travelers), -XEN09 (a nonsense hacker), -Conny (needlessly contrarian and dumb as HELL), -Enza Colie (long fucking story but hes a good-for-nothing), -Hemlocke (mad scientist, chaotic evil), -Iris (AI and hacker, VERY bad), -The Terminus (glitch-in-the-matrix demon, chaotic evil), -and Sydd (the Queen of the Faeries, hopefully the danger there needs no explaining :’D)

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory Mmm… there’s a few of them, most obviously Lent (whose background I did a short comic about). Basically his entire town got eaten by ghosts and turned into zombies, he only barely survived with a sliver of his soul left. 

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?yes, i often discuss storylines and such with friends

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? Probably Bronze’s dad! I don’t talk about him much, but his name’s Devon Reed, and he was a biotech developer specialising in android design. 

I often describe him as being something of a reverse Arthur Weasley - a very fatherly scientist fascinated to the moon and back with the concept of magic. 

17. Any OC OTPs? having trouble thinking of a lot of them right now, but there’s Eric + Lent & Naiadine + Tailias from Emerald Sigil, Avken + Baromet from my space campaign world, Sydd + Wyvv from my unnamed campaign world, and I’ve been considering Westrin + Servant as an interesting dynamic in Servant’s story

18. Any OC crackships? My character Bismuth and @autistictimeknight​‘s oc Eros. Theyre so fucking in love, I love it. Its been awhile but I do still think about them sometimes.

As I recall, Eros is an empath, she can read other people’s emotions. But Bismuth is a robot, and Eros can’t read her. Because of this Eros can let go of her fear of unintentionally manipulating the emotions of her date, which would hold her back from most other relationships. 

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)Hey, meet Bronze! I definitely do not talk about them every five minutes, why would you say that. 

Bronze was with me through two of the hardest years of my life so far, and being a DND character they grew with me, both as a fighter and as a person. They were non-binary before I started using those pronouns, they were the first character or person or anything who I fought someone about using the right pronouns for, they make a great icebreaker for if I want to see how someone reacts to non-binary pronouns … 

One funny anecdote about Bronze is that when I first made them, their “gimmick” was that they would sometimes glitch out and mess up their speech, mostly because I wanted an excuse not to engage in the roleplaying (which I was very bad at). The interesting thing is that as I got better at interacting with the group, we both grew out of needing it very quickly. 

I’m very proud of Bronze. 

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?Westrin is a bard! His singing voice sounds like Bill Wurtz and these are his theme songs.

21. Your most artistic OCProbably Westrin again, he writes a lot of songs… and Hallux is a game designer?

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? I honestly dont know… no-one talks to me about them, haha! 

people use all manner of pronouns for bronze, though. 

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?I’m gonna go with Enza for this one. Enza Colie was originally written entirely because I wanted an antagonist for a short starring his sister, Jane Colie. But the more I fleshed out his reasonings for acting how he did and explored his character, the more I realised he’d make an even more interesting character if allowed to have a redemption arc, too. 

I just want to state for the record that I was very reluctant to the idea, and he basically dragged his way out of the villain pit entirely of his own accord. I am dubiously proud of him, and also a bit scared. 

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?Probably either Eric (Big Man, Best Friend), Crocus (Mother figure), Reed (Father Figure), Westrin (hed just make a good friend u kno??), or Bismuth (she makes good conversation!)

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)probably the homestuck fan-troll Hallux, but that’s mostly because they were based on a troll-sona I made awhile ago. They’re a hope/prospit game designer who is small and full of rage and love

oh, and there’s dave! dave’s a superhero speedster, existing in a modern-day superhero version of seattle. theyre idiot, just like me,

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? this is an interesting one… i don’t think ive ever had something Bad in a design ive done called to my attention by someone, but I did create my character Servant at around the same time I was first really expanding the diversity of my casts. (since i don’t talk about him often, a little context: he’s a magic spirit creature bound to human form to serve the royal family of the land and follow their orders.) 

somehow, younger-and-more-stupid me managed to have the revelation that making this “eternal slave” character literally anything other than a white man, especially as a white author, would be Pretty Not Good. im … thats really, really not something i should pat myself on the back for, but i do consider it one of the biggest bullets dodged in my artistic career so far that i realised that not all representation is good representation so quickly, before i could make that incredibly, incurably stupid mistake. 

after that, trying to make sure my characters and their presentations don’t harm anyone pretty much has become a paranoia. i don’t seem to have stepped on any toes yet, but when it inevitably happens, please let me know - i didnt know, and i want to fix it! 

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? None that I can think of, actually! I don’t really do that often. 

28. Your most dangerous OC? god damn it i have no idea!!! is it the terminus? glitch in the matrix god of chaos motherfucker?is it sarle? terrifying calculating scientist with the power of the soul at her fingertips ??? is it ares??? is it athena????? is it petra?????? the gatekeeper???? 

… actually, the gatekeeper might be it, if “dangerous” just refers to “the amount of raw power it can wield”. the Gatekeeper is a titanic entity that exists in interdimensional multiverse space, and its implied to have the ability to create and destroy entire universe bubbles at will. for what cosmic purpose, no-one knows. 

at a more personal scale, though, literally all of the aforementioned characters are pretty bad to run into too. 

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?god. Mina or Tawn. Tawn is the Indiana Jonesy type and probably dumb enough, but also competent enough not to get into too much trouble there. Mina would probably drag her friends along. 

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? XEN09. No-one knows, because no-one knows xir personal identity. Xe absolutely does, though. It’s less of a secret if you know xir in person, but good luck finding out about it otherwise. 

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)dave just reblogs memes all the time tbh. they like to keep tabs on the ridiculous superhero news going on, and they show human jokes and cat videos to their alien gf. they dont really post or add to posts, but they talk in tags a lot. 

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? i want to say tawn because i literally just realised ive been imagining their voice as sounding like luigi this entire fucking time and i never realised until this exact instant

33. Your shyest OC?probably baromet. they prefer to keep to themself in their hideout, with their collection of shiny things. they don’t really enjoy trying to communicate much, mostly because they expect to get yelled at. 

34. Do you have any twin characters?Yes! At least two sets; 

- Crocus and Sarle. (x) (x) They don’t exactly have a very well-developed relationship, but they are both quite important to the plot of my campaign world, and they are both very interesting. Crocus is a motherly figure who just exudes friendliness, while Sarle is .. very much not that, a researcher studying very gruesome things and pushing the boundaries of reality. 

- Jane and Enza Colie. I haven’t talked a whole lot about either of them here, but I’d rather leave their story to do the talking whenever I get around to it. Essentially, the both of them were intended to do the dirty work for their crime boss family, but Jane ditched to study medicine. Most of the conflict between the two of them comes out of Enza not understanding why she made the choice she did, and coming to understand how he’s been manipulated. 

35. Any sibling characters? I can’t really think of any off the top of my head, I should … I should really work on that. 

I can talk about Westrin, though. Westrin (a demigod of many things, but namely bards, travel, travelers, and people who are lost) often becomes close friends with mortals, sometimes practically adopting them. These people who consider him family, and people who have received his blessing, are able to use his surname, Brilanta, as their own if they choose. So I guess all of the Brilantas are siblings, at least in spirit. 

Oh, and XEN09 has like, seven siblings. Xe is the second-oldest, and least remarkable. 

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)? I already talked about Eros and Bismuth up there a ways in question 18, but I’ll talk about another relationship here. @autistictimeknight​‘s character, Nova the Alchemist, is mentor and adopted parental figure to my character Munna. Munna … Munna isn’t a very good apprentice. She tries very hard. 

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human That’s most of them, I’m not quite sure what to say here. Bronze is an android? Bronze again? Westrin? All the aliens ?? 

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer? man. uh. westrin or jean. or perhaps valencia. 

39. Introduce any character you want ??? uhhhHHHhhHHH Lord Brillium is the reigning deity of the Cloud Kingdoms in the other campaign setting I’m working on. They represent light and the quest for knowledge, and spend most of their days in the Cathedral Observatory watching the stars. 

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!one time bronze flew a hover-bike through the stained glass window in a cathedral blaring all star by smash mouth on their iguana

also one time bronze rickrolled a rakshasa demon and then pulled updog on it like, two minutes later

another time bronze scared off an entire army by pretending to be an automated security system 

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)ive got a whole little folder on here from all you blessed people !!!! right now ive got a drawing quinn did of one o fmy characters as my lockscreen

but i think the one i’ll really never ever get over is this piece of Jane, by @rabendraws​ / @owoltron​: 

(i bet you thought i forgot about this, dude. dude. think again.) 

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods? this is kind of a weird question, m, I feel like Bismuth would find learning about the mythos utterly fascinating, as would Tawn. 

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confesshaha. uh. i might. 

aside from the entire “bronze-tangential characters” thing i mentioned awhile back, I tend to really like designing characters with hair color lighter than their skin color. it just looks so cool man. i love drawing freckles but dont put them on enough characters. i like really curly hair, but also really long and flowy hair. i like drawing triangular body types, and pointy/prominent noses. 

44. Something you like about your OCs in generaluhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is a really vague question. m. m. 

45. A character you no longer use?there’s old versions of characters, but a lot of my older ones have been somehow repurposed. I guess there’s Turien, my first-ever DND character, who’s just kind of sitting dead now. Haven’t really done anything with him other than a pretty recent tangential character. 

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly?Not that I can think of.

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child? Im certain it’s happened, but I can’t remember any specific instances. 

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pureSpring. spring knows nothing of th dangers of the world who is letting them into fights someon eneeds to stop this

(spring roll, hehe.) 

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memesim not sure what this question is asking since many of my ocs actively enjoy memes including but not limited to westrin, dave, bronze, xen09, iris, and doctor archersen

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you wanti think. i think im going to pass on this one. i gave you the good old oc talk. your damn turn, yall: 

if you have any questions about any of these guys feel free to shoot one at me!

thats all from me im tired and its one am. techskylander you absolute madman 

[franeridart]

I absolutely adore every single KiriBaku thing you draw. They’re so pure and I love them.

;O; !!!!! thank you holy heck!!!!!

Anon said:Fran i missed your hq fanart, it was so good seeing some more from you!

I’m happy you liked them!!!! I missed drawing them too, really !!!!

Anon said:Imagine this - BNHA kids like It kids. Also love your art!

But I haven’t watched It :O and thank you!!!

Anon said: Is it ok if fictionkin people reblog your art and tag it as kin or anything of the sort?

Sure! People are gonna do so anyway whatever I say after all, and this seems like a really silly thing to get bothered over since it’s not like it hurts me in any way haha

Anon said:Who dabs more, Denki or Mina?

If I gotta pick one I’d say Kaminari, but I sure as heck hope dabbing isn’t still a thing in whatever future bnha is set in, anon hahaha

Anon said:yo i love it when you color your sketches, so pretty!!

OH BOY thank you so so much!!!!! :O

Anon said:I love you and your art so much?? like??? you’re so perfect?? just keep doing what you’re doing because you’re doing fucking amazing

I’m the furthest thing from perfect you’re gonna find, anon haha but thank you so much for the compliment!!

Anon said:thank you for always making me smile.

And thank you cause this ask made me smile, anon!!

Anon said:your coloring skills are improving!!! gosh your art is visibly getting better lately (not that it’s even been “bad”, there’s no such thing!! i’ve always loved it). i don’t know if it’s a good idea to tell you this but i mean it as a genuine compliment!

Are they really??? °O° I wouldn’t have said so, honestly haha but I’m super happy to hear that, thank you!!

Anon said:Are any of your OCs romantically involved? Or are they all just good friends?

Yes and no, depending on at which point in their respective story we’re talking about haha Josh and Chris are in love with each other, and so are Max and Leo (well, their situation is a bit… uncommon, but if I were ever to write their story they’d be together in the end) - I once posted about Gabe and Hector, and by the end of their story they’re in a poly relationship with a girl named Erica I’ve never posted about. Luca has a love (?) interest of sort but he’s not been posted about yet hohoho maybe sometime in the near future. Still deciding about Isa and Ana’s relationship, but maybe. Who knows? That’s about it as far as the ones I’ve posted about go :D

Anon said:your ocs are adorable!! esp ana, I want to know EVERYTHING ABOUT HER (and, yeah, having new ocs is super exciting, like you said! just– being able to figure all that stuff out, actually mould a character of your own– it’s a lot of fun!!!)

Anon said: What are Ana and Isa like? From that drawing, I already think I would want to be friends with Isa! She looks like lots of fun!

She is!! She’s sort of a jock, a bit of a dummy and really loud, she’s easy to make laugh and got the type of laughter that makes you wanna laugh with her so when she’s around the mood is always a good one! She’s not exactly a social butterfly, but she’s got no problems with socializing, knows by instinct how to bend her behaviour to fit with all types of people and has the incredible ability to have every and all awkward situations fly right over her head, she just doesn’t notice them, and that makes it hard to be anything but relaxed when she’s around. She’s actually how she and Ana got in the group, since she’s gym buddies with Leo! She also really really likes ball sports :D

Ana’s an introvert all the way through, on the other hand - she’s really witty and sassy when she feels comfortable enough, and sarcasm is her preferred way of communicating, but if she doesn’t know you/ too many people she isn’t 100% comfortable with are around she comes off as timid and closed off, smiles politely and barely utters a word - people assume she’s the subdued and shy type at first so once she starts opening up it’s always sort of a shock haha she’s got a scientific mind and while she isn’t a “gifted kid” like Chris she likes to learn and study a lot, which is why she ended up having a real great relationship with Chris specifically out of everyone in the group (they like to nerd out together) (Josh isn’t particularly happy about it, the jelly idiot) 

Anon said: I love seeing you drawing and getting asks about your OCs. They have so much personality and it makes me super happy. I hope you’ll feel like sharing them with us more often!

Thank you so much!!!! I’m really really happy people seem to like them too!!!! :O

Anon said:you draw the children so long i love it :0

!!!!! :D thank you!!!

Anon said:Did you now that the voice actor of Tenya is also the one of Kageyama ? (I start Haikyuu because of you by the way, thanks for this and for all your great art !)

I did know!!! There’s a lot of hq va’s in bnha, that’s always made me happy haha

Anon said:Love the new Haikyuu art! Although it’s sad that someone made you lose motivation to draw BNHA :/ Daishou is one of my faves, too. He’s such a doof, love it.

OH BOY I love Daishou so much, I’m glad you like him too! Aside from how much fun he is to draw (and color! he’s a green haired boy and that matters lots to me haha) he’s got so much personality and he’s such an interesting character! I honest to god disliked him with a passion during the nekohebi game, actually haha but that’s how it is with most of my hq faves, after all hahaha glad you liked the doodles, by the way!!!

Anon said:DOGS? SHOUTS? LUCA IS MY KINDA GUY

THANK YOU FOR LIKING MY ANGRY SON !!!!!! :D

Anon said:I love Luca! Where did he get his scar?

A fight with some punks back when he was a teen that ended up escalating when knives became a thing that was being used :O he comes off as the dangerous sorta type which makes good people steer clear and bad ones come looking for trouble/ pick fights with him cause they assume he was picking a fight cause of his resting bitch face. Well, he’s an ass so let’s say that at least half the times he had been picking fights, and it’s not like he runs when someone tries to fight him anyway… that’s not the only scar he has, it’s just the most visible one haha

Anon said:I’m kinda freaking out about Luca and the others being italians! It makes me love your OCs even more ahah Btw, don’t know if you’ve already answered this or if it’s too personal but… are you Italian? (Or what nationality?)

Yah I am! :D and I’m super happy to hear you like my kids!!!!!

Anon said:Hello! I just wanted to let you know that you inspire me a lot! Your blog is honestly such a happy, fun place to be. You draw so much stuff, so much cute and sweet stuff regularly and I aspire to be like that! I’m extremely slow at drawing, and I lose motivation or get distracted from drawing easily, but I’m hoping for a day when I can make a blog just like yours; a place where I can regularly draw things that make me happy. I hope you have a wonderful day!

I’m!!!! so happy to hear that!!!!! And yeah I 100% understand the being slow and getting discouraged easily, I used to be (and sort of still am) like that too :O my need to be faster is what had me end up with the style I have now, actually haha I hope you’ll find a comfortable style that’ll let you be as fast as you wish soon too, anon!!!

Anon said:I don’t think you understand how much it means to me that you drew an asahi! He’s my fave and he looks precious and pretty in your style! Thank you for this gift :’)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m glad you liked him, then!!!!!!! *O* thank you!!!!!

Anon said:Thank you for drawing Noya! Im sorry it was sort of cause of a shitty anon, I also really enjoy your bnha drawings so im not trying to be all “waaaah go back to hq”, but im happy to see my lightning son and also find out hes in your favs? Yay!

YAH HE’S THE BEST ISN’T HE he’s been one of my top 5s since he first appeared, he’s such a good I’m glad you liked him!!!!!!!!

Anon said:FRAN YOUR NEW HQ ART IM IN LOVE!!!!!! YOU DRAW DAISHOU LIKE A LITERAL SNAKE HES SO SMUG ITS SO GOOD!! AND YOUR OCS!! I WOULD HONESTLY READ A BOOK ABOUT THEM. OR A WEB COMIC. BOTH ARE GOOD. SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS IM JUST EXCITED BC HQ!!!! AND AWESOME OCS!!!! (can you tell that i have a weakness for other people’s ocs, esp when done well) (which you certainly have)

THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENTS OH GODS !!!!!!!!!!!! Especially about my ocs, that makes me so happy oh boy ;O; !!! And and and I’m super happy you liked Dai! He’s honestly so much fun to draw, for me hahaha

Anon said:I’m sorry that people are being assholes, sending good vibes! I love all your art, I hope you have a good day

This to you and everyone else who’s sent the same type of ask, thank you SO much! You guys are all so incredibly nice and supportive, bless all of you ;O;

Anon said:Dave!!! :D

Dave indeed!!!!!! :D :D

Anon said:your art is Good

Thank You !!!!!!!!

Anon said:omg i love your ocs so much

SOB thank you?????

Anon said:I love how the collar on Kiri’s coat in the ‘Them boys’ post is reminiscent of his pauldrons

……………………………………………….. that was totally on purpose. Yep. Definitely. Hmhm.

Anon said:Anon from before showed me your stuff today and just wanted to say wow I love your stuff what even your art is so good I fuckin love kiribaku and oh my god I swear I must have gone through your whole kiribaku tag and I’m gone your art just made my day

GOSH I’m glad you liked them???? thank you for such a nice message aaahhhh !!!!!!

Anon said:Im cry omg i just realized ur url is franeridart fjhfhf this whole time i thought it was friend art bddnjx

You’re the second person that tells me that in the span of just a couple of days omfg hahahaha it’s cool tho, I wish that was actually the url, it’d have been such a soft one haha

Anon said:hi Kaminari can skateboard he has a skateboard in his room

Kaminari in his room also has a dart board, a basketball and a dj console, and that’s only the stuff whe can see so actually, considering in his likes there’s “cool things” I think he’s the type of boy that tries to pursue any hobbie he might think would make him look cool, so either he has no clue how to use any of the cool things in his room above a vaguely amatorial level or he’s still pursuing all of those interests! Which would actually be super cool! Incidentally this is my preferred headcanon too so, yeah, as far as I’m concerned he knows how to skate. And play basketball. And darts. And also how to dj. He’s a cool kid haha

Anon said:Bless you and your super cute kiribaku ^_^

Bless you for the super sweet message, anon!!!! ;O;

Anon said:THAT JIROU IS SO TINY AND ADORABLE I’M DYING LOOK AT HER SIDE BY SIDE WITH KAMINARI AND BAKUGOU OH MY GOD

Hahahaha I might have actually accentuated that a bit, but she’s about 20cm shorter than the both of them and in a chibi style that’s hard to keep accurate hahahaha but yeah I love my pocket sized girl she’s the best

Anon said:Im so fucking happy because youve been posting (almost?) daily for a few days now

That was my own poor attempt at something similar to inktober, actually! I’ve had a few days through the month I wasn’t at home at all so I couldn’t draw all 31 days, but I think I got close? Maybe? I’m glad you enjoyed it, tho!!

Anon said:you deserve all the love in the world

I’m f sobbing so do you, friend ;u;

Anon said:do you like as*noya?? or, which are your main pairings for asahi and noya :)

I do ship as*noya, but I prefer Asahi with Daichi and Suga (ot3) or with Kiyoko, actually :O while my fav Noya ship is with Tanaka~

Anon said:I have recently fallen totally in love with kiribaku as a ship, and your art is always my favorite to see in the tags. Thanks for drawing those two nerds, and I hope you have a good rest of your day!

Thank you!!!!! This fandom is super full of incredibly talented people, I hope you’ll enjoy it here hahaha

Anon said: I first found your blog searching the Bokuroo tag.I was very happy because it was one of my all time OTPs,but they didnt have much content.Then there you came,with amazing art.Time passed and you watched BNHA.I was absolutely captivated by BakuShima and then I checked your blog and it had BakuShima!!I told myself “this person cant get any cooler”.But today i found out about TetsuKami and I checked their tag and yoU ALREADY MADE FANART OF THEM!!Officially ,you are the coolest person on Tumblr tbh

We seem to have really really similar tastes in ships, anon!!!! that’s so great omfg !!!!!!! :O and I’m super happy you like my stuff still afer all this time hahaha

Anon said:Could I draw some fan art of your ocs?

Oh my god yeah!!!!! please do link me to it if you do!!!!!

Anon said:BLESS YOUR BEAUTIFUL SOUL FOR MAKING SUCH AMAZING ART

BLESS YOU FOR BEING SO KIND, ANON!!!!!!

[franeridart]

AAAAAA I'm called Giulia too!! And she quite looks like me too ~ just wondering, is she Italian by any chance?

Sure is! They both are, actually~ 

Anon said:HOLY HECK I MISSED DAVE AND IT WAS SO GREAT TO SEE HIM AGAIN BUT NOW IM IN LOVE WITH GIULIA TOO YOU HAVE A GIFT FOR MAKING BEAUTIFUL AND LOVEABLE OC'S!!! NEVER STOP!!! Also I'd love to hear more about Giulia!!

AHHHHHH thank you!!! I’m super glad you like her too!!!! And sure, tho her life isn’t all that much more exciting than Dave’s is haha she’s a uni student majoring in Modern Lit, and she works in a bookstore not too far away from Dave’s place of work - she hates costumer service and never does anything more than what’s striktly required of her (her most used line must as well be that’s not my job) and honestly she doesn’t even exactly need the job, but working in the bookstore comes with being able to read whatever she wants whenever she wants and she’s such a book junky that that’s enough for her to keep working there. Uhmmm... oh, she’s got light blue hair at the moment! 

Anon said:I love Guilia and would like to offer her a hug

Thank you!!! She’s sorta prickly with physical affection, but she appreciates the thought haha

Anon said:You've gotten this a lot probably but I really love your bakukirikami (or whatever the name is) and how in character they are???

THANKS !!!!!! It always feels super nice to know my characterization works!!!!

Anon said:i just read part 3 of your bokuroteru tattoo artist au and... in the park... that's totally bakugou and kirishima isn't it (i didn't notice the first time because!! i hadnt read bnha!! but now i did and i cant think of anything else i have to know if its them)

Yah it’s them haha

Anon said:Im the same anon who asked you and!!! Akko x amanda is literally my fave ship and their tag is almost empty which is really sadddd :((( soo im really happy that you like them!!!! Though i guess im not surprised that amanda is your fave!!

It was predictable, wasn’t it hahaha she looks like she was made specifically to make me weak, it’s incredible - and yeah the tag is empty, isn’t it? Probably because most of the fandom mains Akko with Diana... well, everyone’s got their tastes, I guess! I like Akko and Amanda the most because tbh they’re seriously fun and their friendship’s dynamic enough to never be boring and tbh I watched the dragon episode and I was slayed and lost forever what a good great couple

Anon said:Your bakushima kids are so freaking adorable! Sorry if anons or anyone else made insensitive comments. You designed the perfect kids for our boys to adopt!

SOB Thank you SO MUCH for liking them!!!! ;A;

Anon said:Omg I have this great, dumb image in my head of BakuKiriKami being like Jesse, Danny and Joey in "Full House" raising kids together, complete with many heart-to-heart talks and singing harmonies for their little one when they can't sleep ���😂

You know what anon, as far as bakushimanari goes I’m a fan of the scenario in which none of them knows what they’re doing with this kid and raising them ends up being a lot of trial and error and asking help from their parents and the rest of the squad (who, by the way, knows just as little as they do) and google - I haven’t thought much about the actual situation before now but... something in which the adopting ends up being something they stumble into wouldn’t be bad, for them. It’d be chaotic, but what isn’t with those three messes, really haha