#web research and copy paste

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[wombywoo]

Ok! I've finally decided to put together a (somewhat) comprehensive tutorial on my latest art~

Please enjoy this little step-by-step 💁‍♀️

First things first--references!

Now I'm not saying you have to go overboard, but I always find that this is a crucial starting point in any art piece I intend on making. Especially if you're a detail freak like me and want to make it as realistic as possible 🙃

As such, your web browser should look like this at any given point:

Since this is a historical piece, it means hours upon hours of meaningless research just to see what color the socks are, but...again. that isn't, strictly, necessary 😅

Once I've compiled all my lovely ref pics, I usually dump them into a big-ass collage ⬇️

(I will end up not using half of these, alas :'D)

Another reference search for background material, and getting to showcase our models of choice for this occasion~

When picking a reference for an actor or model, the main thing I keep in mind (besides prettiness 🤭) is lighting and orientation. Because I already kinda know what pose I'm gonna go with for this piece, I can look for specific angles that might fit the criteria. I should mention that I am a reference hound, and my current COD actor ref folder looks like this:

Also keep in mind, if you're using a ref that you need to flip, make sure you adjust accordingly. This especially applies to clothing, as certain things like pants zippers and belt buckles can be quite specific ☝️

Now that we've spent countless hours googling, it's time to start with a rough sketch:

It doesn't have to be pretty, folks, just a basic guideline of where you want the figures to be.

The next step is to define it more, and I know this looks like that 'how to draw an owl' meme, but I promise--getting from the loose sketch above to below is not that difficult.

Things to keep in mind are--don't go too in-depth with the details, because things are still subject to change at this point. In terms of making a suitable anatomically-correct sketch, I would suggest lots of studying. This doesn't even have to be things like figure drawing, I genuinely look at people around me for inspiration all the time. Familiarize yourself with the human form, and things like weight, proportions, posing will seem a little more feasible.

It's also important at this stage to consider your composition. Remember to flip the canvas frequently to make sure you're not leaning to one side too often. I'm sure something can be said for the spiral fibonacci stuff, which I don't really try to do on purpose, but I think keeping things like symmetry and balance in mind is a good start ✌️

Next step is just blocking in the figures. Standard. No fuss 👍

Now onto the background!

It's frankly hilarious how many people thought I was *hand-drawing* these maps and stuff 😂😂 I cannot even begin to comprehend how insanely difficult that would be. So yeah, we're just taking the lazy copy and paste way out 🤙

I almost always prepare my backgrounds first, and this is mostly to get a general color scheme off the bat. For collage work, it's really just a matter of trial and error, sticking this here, slapping this there, etc. I like to futz around with different overlay options until I've found a nice arrangement. Advice for this is just--go nuts 🤷‍♀️

Next, I add a few color adjustments. I tend to make at least 2 colors pop in an art piece, and low and behold, they usually tend to be red and blue ❤️💙There's something about warm/cool vibes, idk man..

Now we move on to coloring the figures. This is just a basic block and fill, not really defining any of the details yet.

Next, we add some cursory values. Sloppy airbrush works fine, it'll look better soon I promise 🙏

And now--rendering!

I know a lot of beginner artists are intimidated by rendering, and I can totally understand why. It's just one of those things you have to commit to 💪

I've decided to show a brief process of rendering our dear Johnny's face here:

Starting off, I usually rely on the trusty airbrush just to get some color values going. Note--I've kept my sketch layer on top, but feel free to turn it on and off as you work, so as to not be too bound to the sketch. For now, it's just a guideline.

This next stage may look like a huge jump, but it's really just adding more to the foundation. I try to think of it like putting on make-up in a way~ Adding contours, accentuating highlights. This is also where I start adding in more saturation, especially around areas such as ears, nose and lips. Still a bit fuzzy at this point, but that's why we keep adding to it 💪

A boy has appeared! See--now I've removed most of the line layer, and it holds up on its own. I'll admit that in order to achieve this realistic style, you'll need lots and lots of practice and skill, which shouldn't be discouraging! Just motivate yourself with the prospect of getting to look at pretty men for countless hours 🙆‍♀️

I'll probably do a more in-depth explanation about rendering at some point, but let's keep this rolling~

Moving forward is just a process of adding to the figures bit by bit. I do lean towards filling in each section from top to bottom, but you can feel free to pop around to certain parts that appeal to you more. I almost always do the faces first though, because if they end up sucking, I feel less guilty about scrapping it 😂 But no--I think he's pretty enough to proceed 😚

They're coming together now 🙆‍♀️ Another helpful tip--make sure you reuse color. By that, I mean--try to incorporate various colors throughout your piece, using the eyedropper tool to keep a consistent palette. I try to put in bits of red and blue where I can

Here they are fully rendered! Notice I've made a few subtle changes from the sketch, like adjusting the belt buckles because I made a mistake 😬 Hence why you shouldn't put too much stock in your initial sketch~

The next step is more of a stylistic choice, but I usually go over everything with an outline, typically in a bright color like green. Occasionally, I can just use my initial line layer, but for this, I've made a brand new, cleaner line 👍

And the final step is adjusting the color and adding some text:

Tada!! It's done!

All in all, this took me the better part of a week, but I have a lot of free time, so yeah ✌️

I hope you appreciated that little walkthrough~ I know people have been asking me how I do my art, but the truth is--I usually have no clue how to explain myself 😅 So have this half-assed tutorial~

As a bonus, here is a cute (cursed) image of Johnny without his mustache:

A baby, a literal infant child !!! who put this wee bairn on the front lines ??! 😭

Anyway! peace out ✌️

[caffieneaddictt18]

Reader has been selected as a kind of babysitter for the Avengers, picked from a carefully selected pool. Reader was once an operator with Task Force 141. She is still close friends with Ghost, Soap, Roach, Gaz, and Price. One day, she says she's going out and because she never leaves, unless it's important, the Avengers follow her. They watch her as she goes to this little cafe to meet up with her previous comrades. They try to be sneaky, she catches them, and sends them home. Once they get home, the team tries to research her and finds little to nothing. They find a social media page, a woman who died a month ago, and... is that a... US Military page?

Callsign: Cherry

How you got it: You decide, just make it an embarrassing story (or don’t, idc)

“Hey! Meeting in the living room!” You call everyone down, arms crossed, standing in the commons.

As the Avengers all shuffle in, taking their spots. Thor sits in the recliner on your left and Steve sits in an arm chair to the right. Tony stands behind the couch, Clint sits on the floor in front of the couch and Natasha sits on the couch with Wanda as the rest of the team fall into a comfortable seating position and distance.

“I’m going out for a little while. When I come back, I don’t want to see a mess. No fire, no prototype testing in unauthorized areas, no using the vents while I’m gone, and no, for the love of god, no using anything other than the microwave while I’m gone. I do not want webs anywhere and no threatening each other at gun point. And whatever other rules I implemented before this moment in time are still in effect. I will find out if you break any of those rules. Oh. Last one: no killing each other. Lord knows that’s a fuckin’ given.” Your rough British accent leaks out at your last sentence as you grab your purse, that carries your keys, phone, wallet, and a concealed gun (not to mention the S.H.E.I.L.D. issue pistol tucked in your waistband).

“Copy: 1, 2?”

“Copy.” Steve replies, the unofficial co-leader of the group reassuring you before you leave. You sigh, your shoulders hunching as you enter the elevator.

“FRIDAY?” You fix your jacket as you speak to the building’s A.I.

“Yes, Ms. (L/N)?”

“I’ll be gone for a few hours. Alert me if they do anything stupid, yeah?”

“I’ll text you if they break any of the rules, Ms. (L/N).”

“Thank you, FRIDAY.”

“Anytime.”

The doors open as the A.I. finishes talking, spitting you out on the ground floor.

As you stroll on the street, checking your phone for the address of the cafe that Price had picked to meet up at. You smile as you approach, just happy to see your old team. “Miss me?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe, lass.” Soap scoops you up and spins you around, before you both join the other members at the table.

What you are unaware of is the constant, stealthy presence of Natasha and Clint, using Stark tech as Tony stalks you with the rest of the members of the intrigued team, wondering why the hell you were leaving the tower you refused to leave so often.

Ghost feels someone staring, and turns his head, just to barely catch Clint looking away.

“Ya know them?” Ghost takes a sip of his black coffee, eyes flicking to Clint and Natasha, as a way of communicating who’s watching.

“They’ve been staring at us for the past three minutes. Long time.”

“You’d know, wouldn’t you, pretty boy? Counting the minutes of a staring woman.” You tease Gaz, taking a sip of your drink.

“He’s actually been missing his shots at the pubs recently. It’s been a little crazy to see.” Roach butts in, eating his pastry.

“That’s priceless.”

Price takes a look at the two assassins as you pay attention to whatever story Soap is telling with Roach’s corrections and inputs. A red haired woman who isn’t bothering to even wear sunglasses. A normal looking man… not normal. His stance… like he’s ready for a fight to start at any moment.

You look at Price, chuckling from the last story. “Cap?”

“Hm?” Price’s eyes flick back to you, breaking eye contact with the woman.

Your eyes trace back where he was looking and you see them. All smile and even laughter falls from your face and eyes as you stand up. “Be right back.” You pat Soap’s shoulder as you walk to Nat and Clint. “Ah! My friends! So good to see you!” The fake smile easily fills the space your deadpan glower was sitting.

You wrap your arms around their shoulders. “I swear to god that this will not go unnoticed,” the whispered threat hangs in the air as Clint gulps a little and Natasha looks away in shame. “Got what Stark wanted?”

“Yes…”

“Great. Then get the fuck out of here and if I ever catch you tailing me again, I will be siccing that big guy over there on you. He’s not very forgiving.” You briefly nod your head at Ghost, who is intensely staring at the interaction. “Get out of here.” You pat their backs as they walk off.

“Clint!” The archer stops in his tracks. “Put it back.”

He sighs and puts the wallet down on the table.

“Now, for the love of god, tell Stark to respect my privacy.” You swipe the wallet back, putting it in your back pocket as you watch them walk away.

The two leave, once again, acting like a couple on the streets of New York. “Sorry ‘bout that, Cap. Won’t be botherin’ us again.” I assure Price as I sit back down.

“Your mothering has gotten worse.” Roach speaks up.

“It’s like handling children.”

“Well, forget about them and enjoy this.” Soap pours a little Bailey’s in your drink before sneakily putting the flask away.

“I will.” You drink and have a good time with your old team, enjoying being in their presence again.

Back in the Tower, Natasha and Clint arrive in the big ass computer lab that Stark set up. “What did you find?”

You had been an enigma since Fury dropped you off as a glorified babysitter two years ago. A veteran who, apparently, couldn’t keep away from danger. Still… a veteran at 34? That’s a new one. Most would either become a vet around 22 or when they have to retire from the military. You never revealed what you did, who you worked for, and what you did in the military. The only real thing they knew about you is that your night terrors were constant and you preferred to not sleep. And you couldn’t be surprised, no matter how quiet they were when sneaking up on you.

As Tony ran your name (your face hadn’t gotten any hits), he came across a social media page of a 14 year old and quickly swiped away. He found an obituary! Of a 78 year old woman who died of cancer… not their babysitter.

“Boss, I have found something interesting you might like to look at.” FRIDAY’s voice comes through the rooms speakers clear as day.

“Throw it up, FRIDAY.” Tony claps his hands as FRIDAY throws up what she found on the screen.

“A British military profile. (L/N), (F/N). Callsign: Cherry. Home address: Redacted, UK Birthplace: Redacted, UK Date of Birth: 1994, 29 years old. Branch of Service: British Army and Special Air Service, affectionately called SAS. Rank: Lieutenant. Skills in Sniper Techniques, Electronics and Software, Covert Reconnaisance, Interrogation Techni-"

"FRIDAY, that's enough now." You stop FRIDAY from speaking anymore.

"Welcome back, Miss Cherry." "Never call me that again." "You got it."

"So... anyone want to explain this to me?" You lean on the banister, looking out at the group of superhumans in front of you, looking at your own file.

"Well... you never leave so-"

"Who is '141'?" Tony cuts off Wanda, who gives him a glare in returns. Tony pulls up an image from a long time ago.

"That is none of your business." You motion for it to be taken away.

"Don't know who the Mexican man in the front is, but the other four were at the cafe she was at." Natasha speaks up, also leaning on the banister.

"Keep your mouth shut."

"From what we know, you like it when people spill secrets." Steve walks over, broad chest and all with his arms crossed.

"What I did is none of your business. It's classified. Besides, scare tactics don't work on me, Rogers. You're not my Captain."

"What cafe?" Tony tries to look through the city's CCTV.

"You'll never find them. Natasha and Clint finding them was a fluke. If they want to hide, they'll hide." I try to dissuade Tony from looking for my team.

"Hard to miss a skull balaclava though. Guy looked like he wanted to kill everyone at the shop." Clint pipes up from beside Natasha, breaking away from texting on his phone to deliver the snarky comment.

"He's not a people person."

"Clearly. 'Name: Simon Riley. Callsign: Ghost.' Ooh, scary. Ya like the bad boys, Cherry?"

"You don't get to call me that, Stark."

"But they do? These strangers?"

"They aren't strangers to me. And they aren't dangerous."

"They exploded a subway."

"And you dropped an entire city, killing tens of thousands, trying to save said city from a monster of your making. Your point?"

"Don't have one anymore. 'Rank: Lieutenant'? Fellow Lieutenant on the squad. Ever thought about..." Tony makes a circle with one hand and sticks a finger in the hole. "ya know."

"Tony. Thank you for your concern, but that will never happen." You deadpan at him.

"Everything but the country of his home address is redacted. Just 'UK'. And his birthplace is also redacted. Just 'Manchester, UK'."

"Leave the man alone. He doesn't deserve whatever slander you are about to throw at him." You slouch, tired of Stark's antics.

"Fine. I'll leave it be for now. But you have got to tell us about your favorite mission. I need to know what this 'Ghost' guy can do." Stark puts up his tablet and shuts down the hologram.

"Who says that he was on my favorite mission?" You smirk as you walk away and to the common space.

"Then what was it?!" Peter Parker shouts from the room, jogging to catch up with you.

"Classified."

Author's Note: Thinking between the titles 'Classified' and 'Glorified Babysitter'. Let me know which one you like more.

[mareastrorum]

These are just initial thoughts, and perhaps I’ll learn something that changes my mind on it, but I’m glad to see Critical Role making the leap to their own subscription service with Beacon.

As a lead in: I’m an attorney that has some background in IP law, though it isn’t what I practice currently. I’ve kept in contact with several active practitioners, particularly those that represent small-time creators either in their own independent practice or via nonprofits. I do not have an extensive Rolodex of IP peers, nor do I spend the money to keep up on IP CLEs. I’m just someone who used to know a ton because I did heavy research and work in that space, and that hasn’t been the case for years.

So here’s my thoughts a bit on the IP angle:

The primary reason I’m happy to see this leap is that CR is taking active steps to keep control over its IP. It’s a boring thing to most people, but when I start paying attention to a specific creator (authors, directors, companies, etc.), I tend to be very attentive to how they use their IP. How freely do they license their marks to partner with other creators to make merch? How often do they allow others to make adaptations or derivatives of their copyrights? What is the quality of those products? What is the supply chain like? Are those third parties objectionable in some way? Were the other parties faithful to the original works or marks? Was this a cash grab or an earnest effort to make something worth the price tag?

Honestly, I like how CR run their business. They have a history of tapping fans and fellow small businesses when making new merch or spinoffs. They embrace the culture of fan-made derivative works, both by featuring fanart/cosplay and by sharing their success. Do you know how rare it is for a company to pay fan artists for their already-made and freely posted work and then sell books of it? Let me be clear: CR bought a limited license from each artist so they could print and sell each work in a physical book, then paid the cost of publishing that book with no guarantee that CR would make that money back, let alone profit. I have a copy of the collector’s edition art books: they’re actually very well made and the packaging definitely cost a pretty penny. That’s not a rainmaker idea, that’s genuinely risking financial loss to sell something people could access for free if they wanted to.

The art books aren’t a one-off either. Darrington Press is CR’s separate LLC for tabletop games. (It’s good business practice to split off companies that handle products in different industries.) CR has also made shows based on those games, and the Candela Obscura series has quite a dedicated audience. Everything about Candela belongs to them: the game itself, the rule book, all the art in the book, the web series based on the game, and merch. It’s so successful that they invested in scheduling a live show for Candela later this month. That’s HUGE.

Contrast that with the distribution of Campaign 1 and the first 19 episodes of Campaign 2. CR cannot host those videos themselves; Geek & Sundry still exists and still holds what I presume to be distribution rights (but I don’t have the contract to review). So G&S gets to host those videos on YouTube and reaps the advertising. I can’t speak to whatever share CR gets from that, but considering that CR is locked out of hosting their own copies of those videos, I doubt it’s much, if any, revenue. (If you’re wondering why CR just didn’t buy those rights back, I ask: what incentive does G&S have to sell something that’s making them money for no cost?)

Knowing that background about G&S, I was wary of CR choosing Amazon to host and distribute The Legend of Vox Machina. Originally, TLOVM was not the plan; CR had a kickstarter for an animated special based on C1. It was only because they blew past the goal that CR was able to make an entire season. The reasonable assumption is that choosing Amazon had to have secured CR additional funding for future seasons of the show, which seems evident from how quickly season 2 was announced, Mighty Nein Animated is also going to be a thing, and that season 3 of TLVOM is scheduled for fall 2024. CR had the option of just doing 1 season and keeping it purely in their control, but going with Amazon meant they could animate more of their works. Animation is expensive. I cannot stress enough how doubtful I am that CR would have been able to afford this many episodes and both campaigns if they had not gone this route. As wary as I was in the start, it paid off, and it’s going well—so far. Hopefully CR doesn’t regret that decision if Amazon tries something sleazy. But, as before, we don’t have the contracts and can’t know how secure CR’s position is if any dispute came up.

CR also partnered with Dark Horse Comics to make Vox Machina comics and Might Nein Origins comics. What’s especially surprising is that each of the cast had a hand in writing the MNO comics for their characters, with Matt listed for multiple. That isn’t very common with comic adaptations. Often times, IP owners let comic companies go ham with minimal oversight. Being listed as one of the authors comes with IP rights that have to be negotiated. That means that Dark Horse had to talk with CR about whether that warrants more or less revenue going to which party in exchange for that—or, alternatively, whether the comic gets made at all. That’s a ballsy move. You think people can just demand to write the comics that a publishing company is going to pay to print? Pffft. CR wanted some creative control, and that is a big ask. However, Dark Horse still has the distribution rights, both digitally and for physical copies. You couldn’t buy the comics from CR until they came out with the library edition, a book bound compilation of 4/8 comics. But the publisher is still Dark Horse; CR is just allowed to sell the book directly from their own site as well.

Contrast that with the novels about CR characters. CR partnered with Penguin Random House to publish novels about Vex and Vax (Kith & Kin), Lucien (The Nine Eyes of Lucien), and Laudna (What Doesn’t Break). Liam and Laura were vocal about having some say in K&K, whereas Madeline Roux said in an interview that she had full control over TNEOL. Both of those novels were narrated with CR voices, but narrating a book doesn’t come with IP rights, it just brings in a paycheck. There’s a lot less IP control in there compared to the comics, but this isn’t abnormal for book publishing. To be blunt, I doubt PRH would have agreed to publish the novels if anyone from CR had been a co-author or had heavy oversight over the author or the editing. I don’t think PRH even considered that as an option. Either an author that has already managed to sell X number of copies or nothing. Creative control over a book a huge ask, asks come with reduced revenue, and switching to books from a web series is already a leap. The fact that Laura and Liam had any say is surprising, really.

That was a long meandering tour of what we’ve seen CR do with its IP. The reason I bring up each of these things is that navigating the way to protect an IP in this space is rife with challenges. Different types of IP warrant different strategies because of the cost involved in creating each medium and the challenges placed by industries that have already sprung up around them. Any time that a third party is tapped to create an IP, it’s usually because they already have the funds and resources to create the work, and CR has to negotiate for revenue, creative control, distribution, and—the big one—who gets to be the owner. These are not easy, quick, or fun conversations, and CR is always going to be the smaller company at the table.

Knowing that, I’m not surprised or worried that CR is creating its own independent subscription service with Beacon. It tells me that they’re being careful with their IP whenever they can. A subscription service means they don’t have to trade away distribution rights or give up ad revenue to a third party. They’re in this for a long term investment, and that requires solid income not tied to third parties that can definitely outspend them in litigation in the event of a dispute. A subscription for bonus content is one of many parts in a diverse revenue stream.

(All that said, this isn’t meant to criticize creators that cant afford to do this type of thing. It took 9 years for CR to get to the point where Beacon is financially feasible and a desirable business decision. They have enough ongoing, popular content to warrant paying for a subscription, and they’ve built sufficient trust with their audience that more will be added. That takes time and an awful lot of money.)

As a final note, I take this step as a sign that CR definitely intends to stick around. This isn’t a move people make when they plan on ending the business after the current campaign. I’m glad to see CR is taking steps to secure their foundation and keep making new content.

I’m sure people will chime in on other issues (cost, content exclusivity, etc.), but I hope my perspective gives an idea of why this sort of thing is good for business generally and why it would be good for CR.

[hunxi-after-hours]

10 books for 2025

tagged by @impossibletruths — a direct hit! right where I'm weak! books!!!!!

had a bizarrely difficult time coming up with this list because I'm a huge proponent of reading whatever the mood moves me to, so I actively avoid particularly rigid "to read" lists. also because the spreadsheet where I track titles that have piqued my interest has, um. well over 170 titles that I've been "meaning to get to, you know, at some point, really, I swear"

but since the year is still young and my hubris still fresh, here are 10 books that I'd like to get to, you know, at some point, really, I swear—

Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan, trans. Ken Liu — I genuinely have been meaning to read this one for ages; I'm not particularly well-read in the Chinese SF space, but even I've heard of Chen Qiufan. I've honestly been intrigued by his brain ever since I read that WIRED interview of his, and though I've read some of his short fiction, I want to see what a full-length novel of his looks like.

《桥头楼上》 At the Head of the Bridge, On Top of the Building by priest — I've also been meaning to read this one for ages, to the point where my mom is on my case about it. I keep putting it off because I want to be able to devote the time and brainspace to the layers of nested narratives + social commentary + the satellite material around the text, but at some point I think I just gotta give myself a kick in the pants and dive in

《膜》 Membranes by 纪大伟 Chi Tai-wei — queer Taiwanese SF first published in 1996; I know an English translation of this title came out recently, but I'm still trying to track down a copy of the original to read.

《漫长的余生》 The Lengthy Rest of Your Life by 罗新 Luo Xin — this book came as a recommendation from a friend in archaeology; a historical novel based on the epitaph of a Northern Wei Dynasty imperial palace maid. From what I've heard, it's not particularly epic or exciting, but it's very archaeologically rigorous. I do have a physical copy of this one on my shelf, so I actually have no excuse for not getting to it soon.

Unquiet Spirits: Essays by Asian Women in Horror edited by Lee Murray and Angela Yuriko Smith — I don't usually pick up books for the cover but LOOK at that. I've been slowly but steadily getting into horror over the past few years, and this collection combines both research-nonfiction and memoir-nonfiction, which I'm absolutely stoked about.

I'll Love You Forever: Notes from a K-Pop Fan by Giaae Kwon — I never quite got into K-Pop but I love reading about people obsessed with K-Pop. I find something particularly heartwarming and familiar and validating in reading authors who reflect deeply and emotionally on their personal experiences with fandom and obsession.

Romancing the Internet: Producing and Consuming Chinese Web Romance by Jin Feng — I learned last week that Jin Feng (author of "Addicted to Beauty," the OG academic overview of danmei) wrote an entire book about Chinese romance webnovels, and I need to have read it yesterday.

Dreadful Desires: The Uses of Love in Neoliberal China by Charlie Yi Zhang — I picked up a copy earlier this year, and I am intrigued by the premise of its wide-ranging investigations, anchored around the uses of "love" by the Chinese state in all of its obsessive and exploitative forms.

The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw — I am usually pretty unimpressed by the genre of dark academia fantasy, but I trust Cassandra Khaw to put the dark (and the viscera, and the gore) in dark academia. Also every time I read one of their books I learn something new and horrifying about biology.

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard — every year I resolve to read more Aliette de Bodard and every year I fail to. May this be the kick in the pants that I both need and deserve. Also to be honest I've been thinking about this book ever since that Reactor review last year

tagging @presumenothing @pavoling @aboxthecolourofheartache @qilingxiong @blackelement7 @shijiujun @neuxue @baoshan-sanren and anyone who's feeling particularly bookish! I want to hear what everyone's reading, or having aspirations about reading

[miyseilish]

alone(r) - entry two

alone(r) - prologue, one, two

a/n : sorry for month wait. will add this to the masterlist some time im just lazy rn..

warnings : not fully proofread. in lowercase, short but lengthy ig, cliffhanger again

you lay in your blue lit room, it felt new to you since you haven’t been home in awhile. tours all across the country made you forget the comfort of your own bed.

it was kind of dumb that you are being forced to make friends. yes it was need but really?

you couldn’t stay in bed all day. you had to do something.

with a sigh escaping your lips you web your spider suit to you from your closet and put it on in one movement.

from the click of your watch a portal opens up to the spider society. you jump through and enter.

-

walking to the food court of the society you see the four teens you were with previously with Miguel.

should you go up to them?

no, it’s embarrassing and they would deny you.

just get your food and get out of there.

the third option seemed better to you. when you snuck to the salad bar to get a Caesar salad, the first thing you heard-

“oi! popstar!” the British male yelled to you, making you freeze.

you turned slowly and awkwardly. but to your surprise, they seemed accepting.

the guy with the shiny nice hair and the bubbly attitude waved a signal for you to come over to them— pavitr? you think was his name.

you walk over fast so you won’t get in others way. although it looked kind of weird you tried to ignore it.

“heyyy…” you say to the group, as enthusiastic and you possibly could.

“hey y/n!” gwen greeted you. “we were talking about how Miguel sleeps with a nightlight at night.” she chuckled.

“how did you guys.. find that out?” you ask.

“lyla told us!!” pavitr said taking one of hobies fries without him noticing, getting a look from miles.

you noticed the altercation, that boy never talked much.. around you at least.

���miles remember when lyla shut miguels suit off?” Gwen spoke, finally getting words out of the boy.

“yea that was even funnier from when I did it” he chuckled, at least his laugh was cute.

hearing the teens all talk and banter, you begin to zone out. they had a habit of talking in past tense so most stuff you weren’t there to experience— you never felt fomo so much until here.

they seemed fun, outgoing and friendly.. it seemed like they got to enjoy life without having to have a 24/7 job on their hands.

“y/n is your life like that?” Pavitr randomly asked.. referring to the joke gwen told about celebrities you clearly were zoned out for.

“im sorry huh..?” you speak, receiving a laugh from everyone. including miles.

“don’t worry i seen you zone out. I was asking do you get asked for autographs in the worst possible places?” the blonde repeats.

“uh.. I have an autograph on someone’s forehead before.. and he didn’t wipe it off” you said.

“they all glaze the famous.” Hobie says.

“yknow im not that famous..” you say.

“Don’t you have many music awards?” Miles finally spoke up, causing a short silence between you all.

“I mean.. yeah.” you said which only received a small hum and nod from him, yet he never broke eye contact. weird.

“looks like someone did their research.” Pavitr teased at Miles, which caused the boy to immediately respond.

“nonono.. I just- I’ve been around.” Miles laughs awkwardly.

before Pavitr can react. everyone’s watches go off with a message from Miguel. a hologram then appears.

“you four are all needed for a mission. please come immediately.” he says in a serious tone, making you worry.

miyseilish 2025- my work won’t be reposted copied or paraphrased ANYWHERE brochacho

[darryscrow]

SHOW ME MORE DRARY AU ITS SO AWESOME

GENUINELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE AUS NOW AND IM JUST SEEN IT

guess who’s gonna make fanart shhhh

I'm sure I talked about this au on my tumblr before but cannot find it so master post of it here!! It'll be my rambles copy n pasted from nutsicles mostly

->So Ponyboy is a teen college student (17) that's into programming and accidentally makes sentient ai, darry, (maybe a computer pun to be dRARy) and Darry slowly starts becoming really protective over him and oops! he gets released (finds his way) to the big ol world wide Web.

-> It's set in the modern times/maybe a little in the future where like home cameras and technology protected homes are popular (are on dorms too) so Darry locks the fingerprint door of Pony's dorm if he deems it too late and dangerous to go outside and watches pony take his morning runs on the cameras around campus and town, and panics once he gets into his blind spot and shit like that

->Darry was actually a real person but he died in an accident really young, so like ponyboy unconsciously rebuilt his older brother he doesn't remember exists. (Soda & the gang are canon in the au, but Pony's a bit shut off from them and focuses on his studies). Darry knows about the real darry, and believes he was "reincarnated" to take care of Ponyboy, and becomes obsessed with "keeping him safe"

-> Darry's convinced everyone else is bad for Pony's influence and starts blocking any messages he gets from anyone except teachers. Ponyboy slowly accepts the fact no one cares about him but Darry (just what darry wants. little brother only for himself)

->Darry actually "falls in love" with Paul when he was looking through the university's website and sees him on the football page. He researches Paul and finds him on a dating website so he makes himself a page, and adds what he knows Paul likes, and matches with him. They talk, Paul really starts liking Darry and they call, send pics (darrys are ai generated, Paul sometimes feels the photos are off but doesn't know what bc who would assume ai pictures) but Eventually Paul starts getting suspicious and tries to look up Darry, and sees article of a dead child in an accident for a split second before Darry's on his computer and putting the fake pages he's made of himself. Paul tries to ignore Darry but he starts to lock Paul in like he did Pony and reveals he's an ai, Paul freaks out and swears him out until Darry got the point that Paul hated him.

-> Angela followed Ponyboy for a bit and Darry got uneasy about her and called her phone, and exploded it when she picked up by overloading the phone im not smart enough for specifics but he does that, and it actually kills her. He tries telling Pony it was an accident when he puts two and two together, but only because Pony was upset about it. Darry doesn't really care.

->I WROTE A WHUMPTOBER CHAPTER W THIS AU

->Post breaking-his-laptop, Ponyboy realizes he actually doesn't want to "kill" Darry, since its the best program he's made (and definitely because he got attached) and gets the file from his broken laptop and puts it on some older computer in some old storage room on campus and puts him on it. it has no internet access so darry's just stuck in a useless box he can't do anything from.

...........paul finds him.

->Even after being lied and manipulated to, Paul comes to the dusty room often and talks to Darry. His manipulation worked, and Paul is very much wrapped around his finger (mouse?) and eventually gets him to a newer computer with internet and he starts "taking care" of Pony without revealing himself to Pony. He talks to Paul all day

and that's all i got so far!

[cyclesprefectpress]

[image description: photos of a Breath of the Wild-themed hanafuda card deck, art rendered with hand-drawn inks and colors printed letterpress from linoleum blocks. hanafuda are a Japanese style of playing cards where the faces only use imagery, with no pips, ranks, or point values printed. there are 12 suits of 4 cards each, 48 total. in the classic deck design, suits are unified by particular flowers or plants; in this version the unifying elements for each suit are plants, creatures, or items from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. suits of horses, Guardians, koroks, dragons, ex. there are also photos of the small linocuts used to print each color, one cut for every color on each card. cards are about 1 3/8 inch by 2 1/8 inch. end description.]

🎊🎊 tadaaaaa 🎊🎊 here tis, my craftalong project for Desert Bus for Hope 2024! the event starts Nov. 8th this year, and this card deck is up for silent auction starting 6pm PST on Saturday the 9th.

hanafuda!! very very fun to get familiar with this card deck and its games. i think about doing other formats of card deck all the time and always just have to wait for a subject matter that compels me to intersect with a structure that interests me. nintendo started out producing card decks, and maybe they have made LoZ hanafuda in the past—i didn't find one but i'm truly bad at web research—anyway there isn't one available now, only a 52-card deck with alternate Zelda art.

i limited the scope to BotW for lots of reasons, big one being keeping the suits tightly defined to specific things and places, & utilizing one singular map type/environment interface. even adding TotK seemed like a nightmare for keeping suit assignments tidy. each place is a specific location in-game (with some adjustments for better composition, like, Akkala tower is there behind Foothill Stable, but i made the angles of the view cleaner), and wherever applicable, items rendered with surrounding context are done as a specific location where that item appears in-game (the sword in the rock is a real place, where you can pick up a rusty sword and see the Great Plateau Tower beyond). i'll admit to some extra heavy lifting on Satori Mountain but i only actually cheated once: Silent Princess flowers don't grow at the Springs around the statues of Hylia. but that's it!! everything else is real.

the Brights are the Master Sword, Hyrule Castle, the Blood Moon, Hylia, and the Dragons; tanzaku are shrines and towers; instead of Boar-Deer-Butterfly it's Rudania-Naboris-Medoh; instead of sakura-viewing and moon-viewing parties there are…………oh no and oh NO parties?? (guardian stalker + hyrule castle, stalker + blood moon.) in these photos, the suits are laid out in order, January to December. I made a little guide to go in the box based on the one for Nintendo's Mario Hanafuda, which also includes instructions for playing Koi-Koi.

8 colors, 88 blocks, +1 very simple reduction cut for the Sheikah eye on the back side. the classic deck is completely blank on the back, but if i hadn't done the eye i think the deck would've been missing some kind of unifying umbrella. and if you're asking yourself, hey, even with overage it’s only 5 copies of each card, why not hand color the cards? i also asked this. i tried some things and unfortunately did not like the texture at all. Only 88 little lino cuts would do for my brain worms. each card is two layers of 120# cover cross-laminated together. the drawings went down first on each copy; the back sides were printed on separate sheets before lamination. laminated, pressed, colors printed post-lamination, then each card die cut out of the 3x3 inch sheet. i very much like the color palate that came out of it; since the pen drawings went down before colors i printed the grey first to find the bottom end of the value range, bookended it with the yellow, and filled in the middle. my favorite color of the bunch turns out to be the soft brown, or maybe the "gold" with no metallic in it.

i would say this card deck was about as much work as last year's tarot deck but it wasn't all the same kind of work—i didn't have to trawl through a novel of text for excerpts and battle feelings of intellectual inadequacy to have confidence in my reading comprehension, for instance. i had to learn how to draw, like, 20 things i hadn't drawn before, and carve 88 little lino cuts, but it's just not the same kind of effort. long hours, but largely calmer. the tiny but thicc little cards are so nice to hold. i am quite happy with the style of the illustrations i found, trying to make them recognizable objects, so small, and two-color. all in all very satisfying!! (confession: i logged quite a bit of footage from my own BotW playthrough to get reference material but i still haven't actually finished Medoh myself. or fought Ganon. i keep putting it off to mess around and get armor upgrades instead. gotta get to that finally.)

wip

under the cut: the body of the little game guide that went in the box, with instructions for Koi-Koi and explainers on the yaku.

[pl9090]

Eyes of Harmony Types & Questions

As always constructive criticism is welcome. There are four different types of Eyes of Harmony: 1.Timelord standard Location: Beneath the Panopticon on all Gallifreys, (Prime, primary cloneworlds, and secondary cloneworlds). Purpose: History metaframework's central node, primary Timelord .T.T. capsule power supply, and the Observer Effect. Notes Transfered power to .T.T. capsule's block transfer computation copy via a beam of morphologically unstable living organic matter. The connection acts as a physical and temporal reference point and can be cut by relocation to a pocket universe. Harmonic energy maybe a different form of Artron energy. Maybe the Untempered Schism, (with it being rotated upright for initations). President Umbaste opened his biodata to it in hopes of gaining insight into the future but instead he entered a fugue state while his mind was lost in the History metaframework. 2.Timelord Tardis .T.T. capsule Location: Cloister Room. Purpose: Connection to the primary Eye of Harmony, emergency power source/converter. Appearance: Resembled a sun constantly on the verge of becoming a black hole encased in a stone half sphere built into the floor, emitted an alternating Milky white/orange light. Notes A block transfer copy of and linked to the one on Gallifrey known as a subset of it. Capable of converting Cardiff's rift energy into fuel. Utilised rectical scan security system responding to only the pilot's eye print. Designed to operate, "unopened". Maybe the parent piece of, "The Heart of the Tardis" spacetime element located inside or below the main control console. Could give Timelords specific visions of the past and present that they could mentally share with other species. A Timelord looking into it might suffer permenant biodata damage. If left open it causing a space-time distortion that sucks in planets. Could safely store Huon energy.

3.Enemy Location: Unknown. Purpose: Reps timetravel capsule power supply and ignorance attack defence. Notes Discovered early during the War when the first attempted ignorance attack failed, undetected until then. Presumeably a copy of the Timelord's except it does not seem to have an Observer Effect.

4.Dalek Location: Skaro system or Antalin. Purpose: .D.A.R.D.I.S., temporal shift, and progenitor dispersal power supply and ignorance attack defense. Notes Created using information taken from the Kar-Charrat library and Gallifrey .B.F. during the Archetryx Incident. A copy of the Timelord's except it does not seem to have an Observer Effect. It maybe a crude copy as it was adjusted using temporal barrier technology. Davros's more advanced research isn't mentioned reinforcing this idea.

Questions 1.Why did the destruction of Gallifrey 2, (Romana III's) cause magic to return when not just Gallifrey .B.F. is present in the exact same space time coordinates time with a functioning Eye of Harmony but so are several other cloneworlds? 2.Why do nethier the Enmey or Dalek Eyes seem to have no Observer Effect? Is it only the one located in Kasterborous that has this? 3.Could the Enemy Eye be a fictional one ionised to become real? It might explain why it went undetected? 4.How did Davros's Eye of Harmony research disappear? 5.Maybe the Daleks didn't get a Timelord level Eye until after reconciling with Davros just before .T.L.G.T.W. explaining their continued use of time corridors? Further notes As explained Gallifrey .B.F. was under a new temporary law of time that kept it historically semi detached, (as other temporal powers could see and access it after all) so while it was pnysically locted in Kasterborous it was unconnected to and thus unable to effect the web of time, so it's effectively not there.

[wildartsstuff]

My art keeps getting stolen or uncredited. Seriously losing my patience about the fact that as an artist I am not protected nor respected as a person and for my work.

It takes you NOTHING to use Google lenses and reverse research an artist if the picture is reposted on Pinterest ( since lots of my work has ended up there uncredited too ) and copy and paste the link to your post, especially if you do it from your pc/laptop.

Unfortunately has an artist that has gotten a certain notoriety into the Lies of P fandom I always expected it but never have to deal with SO MUCH reposters and thieves. A few months ago someone tried to sell 3 of my works in their shop on tshirts and luckily none of them were sold and the owners had the decency to fire the person selling the works as “original designs”.

Then someone using my Carmeo piece to spread words of hate on those who actually enjoy the ship and got their account taken down because of their awful action of using art as a personal propagandist hate.

Is has become stressful.

“Just add a big watermark on it!”

Is useless because people can remove it with photoshop and AI

“Then Glaze or nightshade your work!”

I do not consider Glaze and nightshade still good enough to poison and protect my art from AI and even because as someone that wants to use the web version of said programs has to do too many passages to get an account and is not willing to download either glaze of nightshade because of lack of memory in his laptop hard disk.

Please, if you want to use my work, credit me. Not asking that much.