#there are like three more zodiac characters i plan on figuring out but i'm still surprised it's fucking 2023 and i'm actually doing this

[aplusod]

redesigned even more old ocs (and designed some for the first time, when they've just been a vague concept for the last 10+ years).

aplusod's character/world directory blog

[idril-la-wiccan]

Mermay 2023 - 4th Week and last three days

Day 22 - Zodiac

Well, with a prompt like this one, it was a little too easy to go with the Aquarius for Mermay. But... the thing is I have a certain attachement for this astrological sign in particular.

Day 23 - Tradition

And here is "Mahu", the dumbo octopus merfolk from day 21, once more ! I had vaguely alluded to it, but "Mahu" won't be their name, even if this is what I had planned initially. I'll explain why.

You've probably noticed that all of the merfolks I made for Out of the Abyss are strongly inspired by polynesian cultures, the most obvious ones being Hawaiian and Maori. And "Mahu" is in itself a concept of the Hawaiian culture : a third gender of which the name translates litteraly to "in the middle". Mahu people had an important role in Hawaiian society. They taught spiritual and social traditions, which included, among other things, teaching the hula.

And so, for me to have the idea of naming them "Mahu" to begin with, you've probably figured out that it's because this is what they are, traditionally speaking. But as I thought about it, I realised naming them by what they are would be like naming a cat, well, "Cat". It's a bit dumb.

Basically, I want to give them a new name. I'll certainly keep a two syllables name to at least keep things simple.

Hmm... In fact, maybe I could find them a name that has something to do with traditions ?

Day 24 - Zaddy

I made this character on the spot as I wasn't really inspired by the prompt. But I think I managed well with it nonetheless.

Day 25 - Food

No matter his form, Humphrey will always be a big glutton. (Even if, thankfully, he doesn't have the same voracity as when he used to be an actual whale.)

Day 26 - Jewel

"Shiny... For me... ?"

Day 27 - Halle Bailey

Ok, I'm not gonna speak on the matter of the Disney remakes as I believe everybody knows and that everybody roughly agrees about it.

No, here, the subject is Miss Bailey. I think no one can deny it, her voice is magnificent. And no matter the state of the movie, if she took pleasure in playing Ariel's role, then I am gald for her. And I also wish her a good continuation in her career.

Day 28 - Sailor

Alright, I might be cheating a bit with this prompt here. But the idea had been floating in my head for a while now and I finally had an excuse to put it on paper.

I don't know if I was the only one to have this idea, but I saw no one imagine the Captain Caviar ending up with a merman form as a result from being cursed by Black Pearl.

And yet, I saw many people draw him as a merman, so I'm surprised I haven't already seen this idea roam around...

Day 29 - Barbie

I loved the Barbie movies when I was a kid, especially the Fairytopia series. Here, I drew Elina, main character of this movie series, who takes on a mermaid form for a good part of the movie "Mermaidia".

Day 30 - Blue

I had mentionned this on day 21, but I'll have to reiterate it for this prompt. Leviathan is a blue whale merman.

It's in fact for this same reason he's the tallest amongst his peers : blue whales are the biggest mammals known in the world. Even Humphrey, a little humpback whale merman in comparison, is no match.

Well, perhaps that under his original form, Humphrey could have surpassed Leviathan.

Day 31 - Good night

I never would have guessed that I needed to see Dino-sour be a father figure to a half dinosaur baby cookie in my life.

Yes, the previous sentence makes no sense out of context.

I no longer play Ovenbreak ever since... well, ever since even before what happened with Yogurca (the less we talk about it, the better), but I'm still trying to follow the stories on YouTube. And honestly, I think that Pond Dino is the best thing to have happened to the "Rise of the Blue Dragon" update. I get how their design bothers some (it's rather overloaded, let's admit it), but... Just...

Baby... <3

Baby that sleeps like an otter. <3

*****

*~ Third week ||

Like my art ? You can commission me !

Buy me a coffee ?

[call-me-chips]

Introduction!

Figure I should probably put the DNIs before the cut, so uhh

DNI:

● Homophobes

● Terfs

● Racists

● Sexists

The usual DNIs

Now that that's out of the way,

I'm Chips

Sexuality: Lesbian

Gender: Agender

Pronouns: They/them (Also ok with he/him)

MBTI: INTP-T

Zodiac: Gemini (May)

Fandoms: Bnha/Mha, Kny, Spy x Family, B99, Tadc, Fnaf, Toh, Helluva and Hazbin, Star Wars, Lackadaisy, Sonic, Zelda, Marvel, the Renegades trilogy, Dsmp somewhat, Zeyn_Syre, and I know I'm missing at least one more but oh well

Likes: Women, art, music/singing, cosplay, cats, guns, kpop, photography, formal outfits

Dislikes: Peanut butter, olives, mushrooms, bananas, eggplants, the government, any kind of nuts, iced tea

This is my blog of art stuffs! I post about my own art, as well as others' art and any other interests of mine. I am very gay, so expect what I post/reblog to follow suit.

Some little rules/things to know about my blog:

● BE NICE.

● I don't draw/interact with NSFW stuff, as I know there are minors on here and want this to be a safe place for everyone, so please keep that in mind

● I consider myself to be a Christian. However, due to personal stuffs, please refrain from talking about God/Jesus/Bible things here

● I may post about religious things occasionally tho. They will be used under the tag "chipsvsgod" for bible vents and "chipsandgod" for anything else christian related

● I also plan to post more vent related things that could touch on topics such as toxic family, sh, su1c1dal thoughts, etc., so if you would not like to see that, I will try my best to label all vent things as #chipsvents so you can block it :)

Random things about me:

● I am Canadian (And no, No Name doesn't sell shirts.)

● I dislike peanut butter and dislike bananas, yet I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches

● I have a son. His name is Cody and he's some sort of orange tuxedo tabby mix. I love him. If you ask, I will give pics of my precious boy

● I have flat feet, so going into town for longer than 20 mins really hurts. Woo!

● Some of my fav clothing aesthetics are grunge, dark acedemia, emo, tech wear, and unique gender neutral suits/formal fits (Ik this isn't an actual aesthetic, shut up)

● It took me an embarrassingly long amout of time to realize that Helluva Boss is meant to sound like Hell of a boss, then it took me EVEN LONGER to realize that Blitzø is the Hell of a boss, as the title suggests

● I am what my family calls "A crackshot" and have three gold medals in marksmanship that I got in a conpetition when I was 14 (I beat all the 18 year olds hehehe)

Rules about sketch requests:

● The sketch requests are to cure my boredom/practice and improve my art skills, so they are free

● Don't request anything too specific. I obv won't be able to recreate the exact pose you have envisioned the character in, so just suggest the character and I'll handle posing

● Anyone can send requests

● Will only do 1-2 characters per page, but I may make an exception if the characters are small

● All characters are allowed, minus characters from adult shows/movies, such as Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss

● I can draw Ocs, so long as 1 or more reference photos are provided

● BEWARE, if you don't want your request to look like crap, I recommend not sending in Sonic characters (or just animals in general). I will still try to draw in Sonic's style if you ask, but you have been warned

● Be prepared for the request to take a few days to complete. I'm slow, sorry lol

Tags I'm going to try and use (might forget tho)

● chipsdraws

● chipsvents

● chipsvsgod

● chipsandgod

● askchips

[chasholidays]

Hi, I'm a huge fan, thank you! Prompt (regular): Bellarke AU where Zodiac signs actually matter because people get different superpowers depending on their Zodiac sign.

Despite what everyone seems to think, Clarke hasn’t found fires are any more likely to commit crimes than any other group. It’s a perception problem, like most things. Everyone is convinced that fires are a problem, so stories about fire-sign criminals tends to get more traction. And, of course, anything that reinforces stereotypes takes off even more. Cold, calculating air-sign serial killers, earths who use their strength to break locks or bones, water-sign empaths manipulating people into committing crimes.

But fires are already stigmatized, already considered volatile and unpredictable, dangerous by coincidence of when they were born. It’s neither fair nor reasonable, but Clarke has seen it time and again. It was all over sample cases in law school, and when she said she wanted to be a public defender, everyone warned her this was going to happen.

So when Bellamy Blake tells her about his sister’s case, she’s not surprised, but she is pissed off.

“She was born on April Fool’s Day,” he tells Clarke, as a conclusion, the icing on the whole awful thing. She winces, and his smile goes wry. “Yeah, exactly. With Mars rising. Probably the worst time anyone could have been born, socially speaking. So my mom just–lied about it.”

“I can see why.” She worries her lip. “I’m Sagittarius cusp, so–”

He cocks his head at her, clearly surprised she’s just admitting it. “Scorpio or Capricorn?”

“Capricorn. Fire and earth. Premature babies, always screwing up careful planning,” she adds, with a little smile.

“They were trying for an earth?”

“Grounded, practical, strong. The Griffin family traits.”

“And are you?” he asks.

“I’m definitely strong,” she says, showing off her arm muscles, which aren’t actually that impressive. Like everyone else, if she wants muscle definition, she has to work for it. She’s just starting from a much higher base strength than most people. Not as high as it would be if she was a full earth, of course, but still more than enough. “And I’m practical enough to tell you that the case against your sister shouldn’t be as good as it is, except that she’s a fire. A fire who lied about it, even.”

“She doesn’t lie about it now,” he admits, rubbing the back of his neck. “She won’t shut up about it. She wants me to be more open about it. I’m a cusp, like you,” he adds, before she can ask. “Cancer/Leo.”

“Cool. I’ve never met a water/fire cusp before. That I know of,” she adds. “Not everyone mentions it.”

“Yeah, I can pass as a Cancer, most of the time.”

“I would have believed it.”

His smile is a little rueful. “Thanks, I think.”

“So, your sister.”

That sobers him up. “My sister. The case against her is–”

“Circumstantial,” says Clarke, looking at the file. “If she wasn’t an Aries, she wouldn’t have been taken in. What’s her power?”

Bellamy makes a face. “Fire-breather.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, that’s what our last lawyer said. Even if they can’t prove arson, the best he thought he could really spin was that she set the fire by accident in a moment of heightened emotion.”

“Which is why you’re looking for a new lawyer.”

“Yeah. I heard you had a history of defending fires, so–”

“You’ve got a good case. It looks like the police saw a fire, looked at the employee data, found an Aries, and called it a day.” Her eye snags on a line from the report, and she glances at Bellamy. “You were at the scene too?”

“I’m a firefighter, my unit was called in to respond. I’m fireproof and intuitive,” he adds, with a shrug of one shoulder. “It was kind of a no-brainer career choice.” He cocks his head at her. “Can I ask what you got from Sagittarius?”

She raises one finger and places it on a piece of paper, focusing her mind on the single point of contact, feeling the paper warm under her touch. She lifts it again and smiles at the sight of the small hole. “Flameskin,” she says. “That’s about as much as I can do, though. Not that I’m complaining, intense flameskin is a pain. I already have trouble with singeing bedsheets during weird dreams.”

“I bet.” He scratches his neck, looking awkward. “So–will you take the case? If you won’t, I need to try to find someone else who will.”

“No, no. Of course I will.” Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes, she’s sure, but Bellamy doesn’t know her very well. He might not realize it. “I don’t see any evidence your sister did this. All we have to do is prove that.”

*

It’s not the first time Clarke’s seen this. A fire starts with no clear source, and it’s easy to blame the person on staff with fire powers. But the motive is, in this case, completely lacking. Octavia Blake is a staff member in good standing, and her supervisor and coworkers don’t really think it was her. The only red flag in her history is an inaccurate date of birth recorded on her birth certificate, from her mother having tried to pass her off as a Taurus. She updated the birth date herself at age fifteen, with Bellamy, seven years older and her legal guardian, vouching for her true date of birth, and for his mother swearing him to secrecy. Neither of them did anything wrong, and they made the changes as soon as they were legally able. Octavia’s employee file shows her correct date of birth and her power is on file, disclosed willingly.

“It’s just so lazy,” she tells Raven. “The police must have just looked at the employee registry, seen an Aries, and decided the case was closed. She’s been working there for three years. Who sees an arson case at an abortion clinic and decides that a longtime employee is responsible?”

“I’ll bet you ten bucks the prosecution’s motive is that she heard someone wanted to get rid of a fire-sign baby and when the clinic didn’t refuse, she lost her temper,” says Raven.

“Because this is definitely the first time in three years that’s happened,” Clarke says, with a roll of her eyes.

“Mars was in retrograde when the fire happened. I’m not saying I think she did it,” Raven adds, before Clarke can protest. “I’m just helping you figure out what you’re up against. Are you going to have the brother testify?”

“I think so,” she says, thoughtful. “He’s a fire cusp too, I think the more we can demonstrate fires behaving calmly and reasonably, the better. And he was one of the first responders. He’s a character witness and a professional.”

“Which makes him biased.”

“I think we’re better off talking to him. If we don’t, it feels like an omission. Her brother was there, he was her legal guardian for years, and we’re not even talking to him? It feels like we have something to hide.”

“And you don’t? You think he can handle himself?”

It’s a question that makes her bristle a little, but not an invalid one. Most fires, even fire cusps, do have quick tempers. Clarke does, and she assumes Bellamy does too. Like everyone else, they learn to deal with it, but if Bellamy loses it under cross examination, it’s also damaging to their case.

So the question is logical, like all of Raven’s are, and Clarke taps into her Capricorn side to think about it.

“I think he can, yeah. He’s been completely calm in every one of our meetings, including when his sister is ranting about all the bullshit. He says he passes for a Cancer most of the time. He had to change his own date of birth too, his mom put him a few days into Cancer to hide the cusp.”

“Guess that makes sense. It’s not like you can tell by looking at someone, most of the time. Unless you’re Monty,” she adds. Like her, he’s an air; unlike her, he’s always floating a couple of inches above the ground. “So, you like the brother?”

The question jars her for a second, because she had been liking the brother a little, in an unfortunate, guilty way. He’s intelligent and considerate and passionate, on top of being quite attractive, and while some of those are fine things to notice about a client’s brother, others really aren’t.

But Raven is asking if she likes him as a witness, so she recovers, manages a smile. “Yeah. I think he’ll be good.”

*

Clarke is used to people not touching her. It takes a little while, depending on their personality type; some people aren’t touchy at all, and it’s not a struggle for them. Close friends who like physical contact will get used to it, like her parents did. She’s not so warm that she can’t be touched, as she knows some full fires are. But it’s something people have to get used to, and not everyone wants to do that. Some water signs can’t; she met an Aquarius with frostskin in college, and when they tried holding hands as an experiment, they generated steam.

Bellamy is the first person to ever touch her and not react at all. She’s at the office late on the third day of the trial, and the door is unlocked, so he announces himself with a knock on the door frame and a soft, “Clarke?”

She blinks a few times, eyes uncrossing. “Bellamy?”

His smile is crooked. “I saw the light on my way home. Tell me it’s not that bad.”

“It’s not that bad,” she says, obedient, and he snorts. “But really, it’s not. I’m always like this when I’m in court. Long hours, and then I sleep for a week.”

“Have you eaten anything?”

She has to check the garbage can by her desk. “A protein bar?”

“Jesus. Do you like meatball subs?”

“That’s weirdly specific.”

“Mancini’s has the best in town, I was going to get one for myself. Do you want one?”

“You don’t have to–” she starts, and he puts his hand on her shoulder. It’s the lack of response, the way he doesn’t flinch and jump back, that shuts her up, as much as the gesture. No one’s ever been so prepared for the temperature of her skin.

“I know I don’t have to. I was doing it anyway.”

She swallows, wets her lips. “That would be great. Thanks.”

He gives her shoulder one more squeeze before he lets go. “Back in a few.”

It’s useless to try working while he’s gone; all she can think about is the cool, firm feeling of his fingers. Most of the contact was through her shirt, but there’s a lingering, phantom sensation of the side of his finger against her bare neck. Fires are rare enough she hasn’t met many of them, and as far as she knows, he’s the first fireproof. It hadn’t occurred to her that heat might not bother them, but of course it should have. Not burning is one thing, but even if they don’t burn, the heat should be a problem. If he’s fireproof and heatproof–

It doesn’t really matter. But it’s interesting.

“I got you a salad too,” he says, when he gets back, putting a bag in front of her. “And a gatorade. You should really go home.”

“I will. Eventually.” She clears her throat. “I wouldn’t mind company, if I’m taking a break.”

He smiles, takes the seat across from her. “Cool. My stuff would have gotten cold if I went all the way home.”

“Not a problem for me,” she says. “I’m my own portable heater.” She waits for a few seconds as he settles in, then asks, “So, do you have a higher heat tolerance?”

If he understands why she’s asking, he shows no sign. “I guess. I’ve never been too hot. Which is actually dangerous, in my line of work.”

“Yeah?”

“I might be fireproof, but my lungs aren’t smoke proof. There was a fire next door when I was a teenager, I nearly got myself killed trying to rescue them. It felt so easy, I didn’t realize how much trouble I was having breathing.”

“And you still made a career out of it?”

He shrugs. “I was still good at it. I just needed to learn how to do it safely.” He takes a big bite of his own sub. “How did you end up a lawyer?”

“I didn’t want to be a doctor, but I still needed to get an overpriced degree so I didn’t let the family down.”

“Obviously. Are your parents both earths?”

“Yeah. Your mom sounds like an air, if I’m going to stereotype.”

“Trying to lie about her kids’ signs?”

“I might do it too,” she admits. “But–it can’t last.”

“Practical. Yeah, she was an air.” He leans forward, frowning a little, adjusting his glasses. “I don’t really get it. It would be better to combat the stigma against fires than just pretend we don’t exist. It’s not like it’s always existed. It doesn’t even exist everywhere. Plenty of cultures don’t discriminate.”

“Yeah. That’s how I feel too.”

His smile is a little sheepish. “Preaching to the choir, huh?”

“Think of it as an appreciative audience.” For a second, she tries to talk herself out of it, but she can’t help asking, “So, my skin didn’t feel weird to you?”

He blinks, clearly caught off guard, and she can see when he figures it out. “Oh, because it’s–no. I didn’t notice. I guess skin is skin.”

There’s no inherent meaning to that, no magical, perfect connection. But she can’t help hiding a smile in her gatorade. She’s had friends and significant others who got used to her touch, who didn’t mind it.

But it’s a little nice, to not be noticed at all. She thinks she could like it.

*

A week after Octavia Blake is declared innocent of setting the fire that destroyed her workplace, Bellamy stops by Clarke’s office after hours again. This time, he comes with the sub already in hand, and he looks profoundly unimpressed.

“Do you have a life outside of work?”

“Not when I have paperwork to file. What are you doing here?”

He holds up the bag. “Bringing you dinner.”

“Why?”

“I have two answers, you can pick,” he says, starting to unload the food. “First, I like you and I wanted to thank you for what you did for Octavia, even though I know I don’t have to. I like taking care of people, it’s not a big deal.”

“Okay. What’s the other answer?”

“I like you and I want to keep seeing you. Ideally for a real meal, outside of your office.”

“Like a date?”

“Something like that, yeah. Your call, like I said.”

“I like option two,” she says. “I was trying to figure something like that out myself.”

“Good.” His eyes flick over her, and then he leans in, presses his lips against hers, quick and easy, his mouth soft and just a little cool against hers. “That’s the one I wanted you to pick.”

“Don’t you have intuition?” she teases. “Shouldn’t you know?”

“I’m just a cusp, my intuition isn’t that good.” He ducks his head. “I had a good feeling.”

It’s appropriate that the warm glow of hope in her chest feels like an ember. Maybe fire cusps are supposed to stick together. “Me too,” she says. “Thanks for dinner.”

“You can treat me next time,” he tells her, and she smiles.

“It’s a date.”