#i love just....drawing random faces without a reference

[dustofthedailylife]

Genshin Men as Influencers

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Pairing: Alhaitham, Ayato, Kaveh, Wriothesley, Neuvillette, Zhongli, Kazuha, Cyno, Kaeya, Thoma, Tighnari x (gn!) Reader

Summary: What type of influencer would they be. What do they post.

Tags: Fluff, modern AU, short headcanons

A/N: This was a random idea I got today that I needed to get out of my system. And it got longer than I anticipated, oopsie.

Alhaitham | Bookstagrammer

He is neither someone who wants to stand in front of a camera talking nor does he desire to interact with people much. Yet he has this desire to share his thoughts about the books he reads with someone. When you propose the idea of becoming a bookstagrammer to him he is at first very dismissive about the idea, but eventually caves and creates an account. As it turns out he enjoys it more than he originally thought he would. He writes book reviews, does book hauls, and critical literature commentary. Reels are not his thing and he only posts pictures. His account blew up when he posted a selfie of him while reading a book. To this day he has not the faintest idea why that is what made his account grow exponentially. He turns to you whenever he gets DMs or comments that annoy him. He will sometimes ramble for half an hour about a single comment and explain in-depth why what that person wrote is utterly stupid.

Ayato | Fashion Influencer

He is predominantly a fashion influencer and model. Frequently posting pictures and reels of outfits, hauls as well as model and runway jobs. He is often described as the influencer who "effortlessly combines casual and business chic and turns it into a fashion statement". Always the best-dressed man around, no matter where he goes. Both his enchanting looks as well as his enigmatic personality draw his fans in. He has his own clothing brand for his trademark "casual business chic" which is quite successful. Every new collection is immediately sold out a day after launch. Yet, despite his fame, you had never seen or heard of him before. You randomly met him at a local bar where he offered to buy you a drink. You talked to him all evening and had just exchanged numbers with him when his face suddenly popped up on the TV screen at the bar. You had to do a double-take and reconfirm that the man on TV was indeed the one sitting in front of you right now. He had seen your glance and was now smiling back at you smugly, visibly enamored by the confusion that was written all over your face. For once he was happy someone didn't outright recognize him and just genuinely interacted with him without any second thoughts. And he fell for you right then and there.

Kaveh | Lifestyle Blogger

This man has so many things he loves he can't just decide on one thing. So he does kind of everything and his followers love him for it. He is smart, good-looking, artistically gifted, enjoys food, drink, fashion, and is into the latest gossip. His feed is a bit of everything, art gallery visits, food posts, fashion photos including OOTD, motivational quotes and more. He has a loyal fanbase that would do anything for him. They lovingly refer to him as "babygirl" all the time. When you become a couple he incorporates you into his posts and videos as well which lands you a couple of very angry DMs of fans who have formed a parasocial relationship with your boyfriend. And while you just ignore them, Kaveh absolutely can't and won't tolerate this behavior towards you so he replies to them from your account with an angry picture and a long DM. In all honesty, he is more upset over the messages than you are.

Wriothesley | Fitness Blogger

He is your classic fitness blogger and personal trainer. He posts training videos, nutritional advice posts as well as gym pictures of himself and fitness modeling campaigns he gets invited to. And he is quite successful at what he does. When you start dating you're not at all surprised when you learn what he does for a living. A man with his physique? Of course, he would be successful. You mutually decide to keep your relationship out of the public eye. Both because he wouldn't want you to get exposed to potential negative press or hateful DMs. But of course, paparazzi are more watchful than anyone ever could be. So naturally a picture of him and you kissing soon adorns every gossip magazine front page including your name and Instagram profile (because of course they also found that out...). Not long after #WrioYN starts trending. The posts under the hashtag are a mixed bag of either excited fans and positive articles or angry fans and negative press, who say that you aren't good enough for him. Since your relationship is out of the bag now, Wriothesley decides to take you with him to the next red carpet event where he provocatively and fiercely kisses you in front of everyone to show the world what he thinks about their opinion. You're his and he is yours, and no one would ever be able to change that.

Neuvillette | Food Critic

He is one of the most famous food critics around and gets invited to various restaurants all around the world. He writes reviews for the things he eats and drinks and rates the restaurants without mercy. If your restaurant gets a bad review from him you might as well lock the door and close forever. He rose to fame through a video that went viral where he taste-tested a variety of different water brands, grading them on a scale from one to ten as if it was the finest wine. At first, people were amused by the videos and created memes about it until it eventually gave him so much publicity that he was invited to restaurants. So he organically rose to fame practically overnight without even realizing it. This already led to some less nice situations where some angry restaurant owners insulted him in public for ruining their reputation or hate comments under his posts. He didn't understand what he did wrong or why they were so upset with him and he always looked for the fault in himself, socially isolating himself as a consequence. You're always there to lend your ear and shoulder to cry on to him when situations like these arise. He may look tough but you know he has a soft and fragile heart and often takes negative comments about his person way too much to heart.

Zhongli | Food Blogger

He is a food blogger, mostly known for his expensive taste and aesthetic tea brewing videos and it even expands beyond that to clothing and his appearance in general. When watching him prepare all sorts of dishes one could be inclined to think he has all the time in the world. Doing live streams where he brews tea or cooks for six hours or more is not a rarity. His followers love his insight and knowledge about all the ingredients he uses. He always sprinkles in little fun facts, trivia and random bits of information. Being his partner therefore also means you always get the privilege to have the most delicious and fragrant food served to you. If you didn't know better you would think he is a renowned Michelin chef. Food is definitely his love language. Sometimes you and him would do couple cooking streams together and his community is all over you two. You're receiving fanart and people even write fanfics about you two. Generally Zhongli, much like himself, gathers a very level-headed, polite and loyal community around him.

Kazuha | Travel Blogger

He never stays in the same place for long, so much so that at this point his followers aren't even sure he owns a home at all. His feed and stories are filled with magnificent locations from all over the world. From sunsets over to stunning mountain views and sandy beaches. His life feels like a dream. And his followers live it vicariously through him. Always starts his day by posting an inspirational haiku in his story and with supportive words to his followers. The most sunshine and feel-good influencer around and most certainly a good role model. You accompany him on most of his travels but mostly play the role of the camera person and photographer for him since he wants to keep your relationship private. Until one day he pulls you in front of the camera during one of his livestreams and passionately kisses you on the lips before blushing and turning the stream off right after. When you ask him what made him change his mind he tells you that his heart ached due to the rumors of him and another influencer dating and he wanted to get them out of the world once and for all. Needless to say, your heart and the press are on fire the next day.

Cyno | Entertainer

Of course, Cyno is an entertainer. His intimidating looks paired with an impeccable sense of humor immediately resonated with people all over the place. He quickly garnered a large audience both on Tiktok and Youtube and uploads a new comedic skit at least once a week. He also occasionally does some pack-opening streams whenever new TCG card collections come out. You're always there to support him in his endeavors and he is extremely thankful for that. You're always the first to whom he tells his ideas and sometimes you even get cameos in his skits. Some evenings you sit together while playing cards and brainstorming about new video ideas for him.

Kaeya | Fashion Blogger

Fashionista and icon through and through. He loves the spotlight. And his smooth-talking and sly nature has people on their knees for him all over the internet. Unfortunately, that causes him to have the most obsessed and delusional fans around. He mostly posts OOTD posts, fashion inspo and clothing hauls as well as various photographs of modeling jobs. He often goes live on Instagram and Tiktok to interact with his fans. Sometimes you ask yourself how he even manages to hold a conversation with them, considering that most of the comments and chats he gets are simping. But he is just a natural-born influencer. Knowing his bold nature it doesn't surprise you when he pulls you in for a long and intense kiss on the red carpet one day. Until now you had publicly taken on the role of his manager to disguise yourself. It was an idea that came from his actual manager. The reason for that is to divert the attention away from you and spare you from the wrath of his crazy fans. Seems like he finally grew tired of the act. His smug smile, the flurry of flashing cameras around you, and the feeling of his lips pressed against yours were proof enough of that.

Thoma | Food Blogger

Another food blogger and a really good one at that. The handsome blonde mostly posts aesthetic cooking videos, cooking ASMR videos, quick meal-prep recipes for a busy day-to-day life, as well as comfort food recipes. His fans say his tasty creations aren't the only snack on screen though. Interviewers always ask him about his opinion on what his fans say about him, which always causes him to laugh with a shy smile and a blush across his soft cheeks. He also often posts stories and gives some tips for chores and various other activities like knitting, cleaning, and other useful lifehacks. Occasionally he also uploads pictures of new recipes he is working on behind the scenes in his story. All of this earned him the title of the "Malewife Blogger" quite early on in his career and he fully embraced the title. He even has merch designs referring to the nickname his fans gave him. You are always the first one who gets to hear about his new ideas or gets to review and taste-test his recipes. You often tinker around on recipes with him until late at night. You also help him with the launch of his first cookbook by typing out all the recipes and editing the cover image of him standing behind the kitchen with his signature red apron and smile. And you would agree with his fans, the biggest snack in that cookbook is right on the cover.

Tighnari | Garden & Wildlife Blogger

He blogs about all sorts of wildlife, survival tips, and environment protection and gives gardening tips. His sassy and incredibly sarcastic nature and reactions to some comments are what draw people to him. He makes people aware of how ecosystems work and how to live in harmony with them. He sometimes posts reaction videos and stitches in reply to people treating nature in a disrespectful manner and goes on entire tirades about it as well. He suggests environmentally friendly products and eventually even launches his own brand of environmentally friendly cleaning agents he produces himself. Needless to say, it's a complete hit among his fans. You are supportive of his videos and often help him with filming and editing them. You went on trips with him even before he started his social media career so seeing him become famous and successful with what he enjoys most fills you with joy.

Do not repost, copy, translate or edit - © dustofthedailylife || reblogs, comments, and asks about Genshin or my fics are always greatly appreciated and motivate me! Maple dividers are mine - do not copy.

#genshin impact #astronetwrk #genshin x reader #genshin fanfic #genshin headcanons #genshin brainrot #alhaitham x reader #ayato x you #wriothesley x reader #neuvillette x reader #zhongli x reader #kaveh x reader #kazuha x reader #cyno x reader #kaeya x reader #thoma x reader #tighnari x reader #🍁 dust writes #🍁彡 gi

[writeouswriter]

pls no anti ai art demagogy on my dash, thx

(X) in reference to this reblog I assume.

This is the wildest ask I’ve ever gotten.

“Please no love for the humanity of creation on my dash, please. Please no acknowledgement that art and the human experience behind those making it is inherently and fundamentally intertwined. Please no shoving the fact in my face that art is meant to connect rather than consume.

And please no pointing out the basic truth that most AI engines are built off the stolen work of others.”

Demagogy, noun: political activity or practices that seek support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.

You come into MY house, you tell me what not to reblog on MY blog, and you what? Call me “irrational” and insult my understanding of the topic in the process?

Political activity, political activity... fuck off. Actors, writers, artists, those most affected by this ARE the ordinary people, and their concerns and fears surrounding this are perfectly rational.

And you know, nothing hits it home more for me than when I thought about my favourite show at the moment, the one that makes me lose my mind a thousand times over, I thought about everything in it that makes me tick, thought about both strong points and weak points, because it is flawed, god, is it flawed because people inherently are, and that’s the beauty, but mostly, I thought about the sheer amount of care/thought and depth put into it in a way I've never really seen before and in a medium/genre/whatever you'd absolutely never expect to find that thought put into, especially if taken completely at a surface level. Thought about the levels of metaphor and symbolism layered in beneath the silliness, thought about the callbacks and clever timing, thought about the behind the scenes arguments about what direction worked best for the narrative and the audience, arguments that took place because of how much they cared not just about telling a good story, but about telling one that really means something to them.

Thought about the love, the time, the excitement and the flair and personality and background and intent of each and every person behind the team bleeding its way into the scripts, into the acting, into the heart of what makes it truly what it is, and how that love bleeds into the audience as well, how that love and human connection is what prompts people to write full page essays and analyses on it, draw fanart for it, create the most beautiful fics for it, that love is what prompts them to laugh and cry and vibrate at the speed of sound thinking about it, and what prompts thousands upon thousands to come together in their appreciation for and relation to it, rallying around it like a group of cavemen around a campfire when they had never before seen the flame.

And then.... then I thought about the idea of that same show being written by an AI and genuinely felt physically ill. Because no real care will have been put into that beyond "If it looks like a TV show, sounds like a TV show, it must be a TV show." And on the surface, maybe it’d look fine, I’m sure some people wouldn’t notice. But it’d not only be made without thought, but consumed without thought. And, sure, maybe that'll fill you up in the short term, but it's gonna leave you feeling hollow and sick eventually. Because stories are not a thing to be mass produced with a random assortment of the cheapest quality materials on a conveyor belt that shovels them directly into people's throats at the most efficient speed possible, stories are not a thing meant to just be consumed! They are a thing made with intent in every aspect, even when accidental because our lives shape it subconsciously, they are a thing made with love, a thing to be savoured! And yes, for that to happen, they will take a lot of time and hard work and dedication, all of which deserve fair compensation and respect, all of which cannot just be replaced by a sham amalgamation of these things, and they will be all the better for it.

And on some level, corporations know this, and they want you to blame their shortcomings on the writers, on the artists, they want you to look at things like the strikes and those rallying against AI and get mad that they’re keeping art from the common people, or forcing them to come to this, or they want you to think they’re simply trying to make art more accessible, all the while building their conveyor belts in the background with the blood of those they’re kicking down, taking away jobs and shoving the humanity out of the picture.

Art is made to communicate, and sometimes it’s frustrating when we can’t get that communication across, when the image we want to convey is out of our skill level, our capability, when our words get tangled up, jumbled together and we need a helping hand to find the right ones again, and on this level, maybe AI could be a useful supplemental tool, or a fun little thing to mess around with, if ethically sourced, if used for good, if taking into account and graciously acknowledging exactly how it’s being used as a tool, rather than trying to pass it off as something it’s not.

But is it political, is it irrational, to merely state that the human condition cannot be replaced?

——

The unfollow button is free, I don’t work for you.

#AI #ask #long post #bizarre bizarre #ai discourse #humanity

[mossypidder]

If you click the names of the birds below, you will find photos of the actual birds I’m referring to; mostly provided because the second two are morphs

EDIT: So honestly. Contrary to final poll results and my initial lean toward the grosbeak, I think I might just go with the crow. The design’s grown on me and in the last week I’ve collected many bones and observed many local crows and found myself just quietly very drawn to them. Nothing’s set in stone, but. . . It feels more right than the grosbeak- there are still things that draw me to the latter, and I still really love them and might switch in the future, right now I relate more to crows I think.

Rose Breasted/Cutthroat Grosbeak (female)

Similarities (between myself and the bird) - small and chunky - eats mainly seeds, fruits, and nuts - elusive and relatively solitary aside from nesting season - very intricate, unique nest type - monogamous - take care of young for a month after fledging (which is longer than quite a few birds) - dwells mainly in deciduous forests - I honestly think I do look a bit like a grosbeak overall - there is limited information on them (which is obnoxious, but kinda goes with my aesthetic honestly)

Things I Like About Them - very pretty markings, especially on face which makes for fun character design - they were my favorite bird as a child and I would get so excited during the brief period that they would be at our feeder

Differences - females don’t sing as much as males - I am very much a mimic- I echo other people’s words as well as animal noises a lot, mostly without thinking, and grosbeaks do not mimic. The males learn songs from their fathers, but that’s different, and I’m not male anyway.

Black Billed Magpie (cinnamon)

Similarities - eat a lot of fruit and grain - they are skilled mimics - mate for life something I aspire to achieve one day - have only been seen in Michigan ten times in the last hundred years, so it fits the “elusive bird who’s sightings should be documented” narrative - parents allow their young to stay with them as long as needed, sometimes even years - males and females are both very vocal and sing, talk, and chatter quite often - wary of new things and will shy away from bright colors and flashing lights (yes, that includes shiny things) - many widely believed myths spread about them (such as tendencies to thievery, attraction to shiny objects, and hoarding things tho I am guilty of that last one)

Things I Like About Them - Gorgeous wings and tail (though rather plain facial markings which is sad) - they’re just nice, funky little guys and they were one of my favorites when I was younger as well

Differences - not a bird I’d really call chunky lol - they eat meat (mostly bugs) and meat is not my favorite honestly - while some do only stay in groups of two, many others have tribe of up to twelve

Common Crow (cinnamon)

Similarities - will bring people they like random bits of things such leaves, rocks, lost keys, and bones, as gifts - stops for roadkill (though I don’t eat it, I’m just there to steal feathers or check opossum pouches for potential surviving babies) - bones is good, we like bones - also talented at imitating human speech, other animals, and just random noises they find intriguing - mate for life - very family oriented and good at taking care of each other. They’ve even been known to adopt unrelated fledglings - stay in the nest up to forty days after hatching and often remain with a family group for two years, helping their parents look after younger siblings - males and females are very vocal - wants to eat rocks - scavengers - likes fruits, nuts, and seeds - seen as weird or gross by the majority - slow to trust humans, but is very loyal once they do - could be considered chunky - cinnamons tend to have blue or silver eyes

Things I Like About Them - they are just. very good. - wing markings of cinnamons are very interesting, and while I’d like more intricacies to work with for facial markings, they’re still good and simple

Differences - they are very social birds (but most of that social time is spent with their family, which is where most of mine is spent as well, so I’m not sure this is a true difference) - consumes a lot of meat (which, as stated, is not my favorite) - they are very common in Michigan and easy to spot almost anywhere

#avian #avian character design #character design #poll #because I’m indecisive and need help #I know which design I like best #and I know which personality fits best #but they are not the same #and that is irritating #avariel #me #Ava art #sona #persona #my art #small artist #artists on tumblr #oc artist #tumblr poll #tumblr polls #chibi style #digital art #young artist

[2n2n]

(Hey do you know if hanako kun seal come off, the entire world will fall in disrray..... * that was close-!!* *heart thumping*)

If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your opinion on this?

It's primarily just a joke because Aida-sensei messed up and didn't include the seal on a random drawing suddenly... but I do think it's worth looking at the joke itself. Rather than imagining a Hanako saying "I'M FREE!!" or "nyahahaha", AidaIro-sensei imagine him desperate to secure it back onto his face... we can think of that as something! The gag drawing could be Kou trying to force it back on or idk, Hanako doing something silly without limits, but it's Hanako scared it came off. We can just take the silly drawing as a statement of: Hanako's desperate to keep that thang on. What does it mean to be a dog desperate to stay chained?

I do think Hanako's seal is important to him, and something he seems to want to keep. I often say it but-- I imagine Nene-chan could probably just peel it using her powers, right? But he never asks her to, and he never alludes to his seal as some sort of pain, or problem, or annoyance. There is no underhanded goal to get it off. He doesn't joke about it; he acts as if it is entirely not there and not a concern for anyone, despite it being so plain and obvious. Nene-chan seemingly hasn't worried about it ever since Kou's vague explanation, and Hanako isn't interested in doing any correcting or expositing. He isn't defensive about it, or self-pitying.

I think the seal represents repression, "holding back". Nothing could be more important to Hanako than repression, amirite? I think it's an important memory, whatever occurred, that he doesn't want to lose as a reference point. Because the Minamoto family were aware of the Red House, and their grandma forbade them from ever nearing it, and at some point, also sealed Hanako, we can assume the sealing of Hanako may have touched upon a lot of sensitivities.

Hanako is a person who deflects everything. He is cryptic, obtuse, he jokes and handwaves things, he lies. He's always compromising, or trying to run away. He'll only tell Nene-chan his wish when he believes he will never see her again. He seems afraid of leaning into his own feelings. He won't say anything out loud, not until pushed to the limit, and even then, he doesn't cede much. He is a person who surely feels it would be bad if he did all he wanted, or told the truth. Perhaps the truth is ugly, or what he wants is terrifying.

As Yako talks about "going berserk", Hanako touches his seal. He seems uncomfortable with the notion "you're still you; you don't become somebody else".

Perhaps for Hanako, it would be convenient to believe you become somebody else, or are fundamentally altered. Perhaps he would like to not have to owe all of his actions to only himself, his nature. It would be more convenient to be infected with something external that makes you behave badly, than simply have your heart speak out in its natural tongue.

(by the way, this is why I don't personally like drawing a distinction between 'Amane' and 'Hanako', and I think it is drinking the kool-aid to argue their difference. I do not think the manga's message would be "well, you're different!" versus the FAR more potent message of "you're still you, no matter what", especially when we're arguing about the personhood or authenticity of people like Tsukasa and Mitsuba. We shouldn't be calling anybody 'fake' or 'gone', and we shouldn't really be calling damaged people 'irreparably altered and lost'. Surely, we should accept and love all of somebody, and see them as themselves, at their best, or at their worst. Lost, confused, fractured-- Hanako and Amane have the same heart, and it is miserably in love.)

As humans, it's relatable. We'd often like to imagine it's not our own fault, or not our nature when we react to something. We like to think of some people as "bringing out something bad" in us, or influencing us, changing us, to become bad-- due to THEIR nature, not OURS. We don't like to take ownership of who we are. It's a complicated notion for Hanako, who both wants to be held accountable and given credit for the choices Amane made.....

.... and struggles with full ownership of his selves, his past, his present, his future. Or perhaps he struggles with the continuity of his existence? Those fragmented, lost, altered parts?

... all things his seal makes me think about.

Could Amane really become this? What Hanako is? Could Amane do all Hanako has done. I mean yes, but.... things he has to think about.

The boy behind that seal-- what did he do? What was he like? If we remove Hanako's seal, will some part of him come back-- a part he doesn't want to interface with? Is he reluctant to have access to certain power? Just how much is really behind it? It is a warping abstraction, is it an irrational sense of self-apprehension, or could it be that dramatic?

I enjoy AidaIro joking "the entire world will fall in disarray", it's like his catastrophizing is fodder for THEM to mock (I love how they bully Amane.... the normal Amane is normally useless...)

Well, whatever the case... he must be attached to the self that is sealed, the way he behaves now. He seems to prefer this for himself, but Hanako hates himself.

meanwhile sympathy for Aida-sensei who has to flipflop between sealed and unsealed boys as she draws the living and the dead boy for any random chapter or event. I cannot imagine. it's literally sf hard when drawing the boys to mind the seals.

#avvy's JSHK

[adobe-outdesign]

This might be a bit of a big ask but what are your thoughts on the rest of the Gen 9 cross-gen evos that weren't revealed before release (Annihilape, Clodsire, Dudunsparce and Kingambit)?

I think a lot of people kind of missed the point of Dudunsparce. Dunsparce is a tsuchinoko, a rare Japanese cryptid known for being completely useless and stealing your booze. It's supposed to be a joke, kind of like Magikarp but without becoming anything useful. Ergo, having a low-effort evo that just becomes a slightly longer Dunsparce makes perfect sense, much more so than it suddenly becoming a dragon or something.

Dudunsparce also comes in two forms, a two- and three-segment version. Not much to say about these, other than they continue the joke of it being rare but useless (given the low odds of getting a three-segment form).

Visually, one nice thing about Dudunspace is that its wings and segments are numbered 1 and 2 (and sometimes 3 depending on form). It's subtle, but it's a clever visual twist to an otherwise plain design.

However, I have to admit, there is something about Dudunsparce that bugs me a bit. I think it's just that Dunsparce has such a good design that a lot of the stuff Dudunsparce does just lessens it. For example, having the head be separate from the first body segment just doesn't look good, and neither does the tail being on a straight rod connector instead of naturally flowing into the body. I also dislike the random purple rings on the underside, which add nothing to the design and are way too low-contrast. Overall, it's a silly joke 'mon, but one that could've maybe been a little stronger design-wise.

Annihilape is a long-overdue evo for Primeape, and I gotta say, the entire thing is a brilliant reference. Specifically, to this one entry in Pokemon Sun:

Taking that 'dex entry to its logical extreme and making a ghost-type evo for Primeape is brilliant, and makes for a great concept and visual twist on the original design. The wispy hair works perfectly, the red eyes and pink nose pop nicely, and the broken shackle on the arms is a perfect visual nod to Primeape. I also love the eerie, infuriated expression.

(Part of me wonders if it wouldn't have made more sense for it to be mellow given the entry its referencing, but then again it's not actually dead yet and sheer rage is kind of this line's thing.)

I guess the only real problem with it is that it feels a bit out of place due to the sudden color shift—but at the same time I get why they did that, as it reflects the new ghost-typing and overall looks cool, so I can't really complain.

Finally we have Kingambit, my personal favorite out of all the new evos this gen. First, I'm always a sucker for cool humanoid 'mons, and Kingambit is the perfect mix of human-ish while also looking like a cool monster.

More importantly, Kingambit fits with the rest of the line perfectly. It is very, very hard to introduce an evo to a three-stage line and have it look like it actually belongs to that line (just look at Rhyperior). But Kingambit? The visuals are distinct, yet blend in so seamlessly with the rest of the line that you'd probably never guess they were generations apart if you weren't familiar with the line already. For example, the golden gloves are extended from Bisharp's hands as is the blade on the head, the shoulder pads are extensions of Bisharp's, the goat-like feet are kept, the middle blades have been extended, etc. It's masterfully done.

In terms of the design, I love the silly giant mustache blades and how they provide a focal point to draw attention to the otherwise small face. The body design is appropriately samurai-like, and the gold accents are much better used here than on Bisharp due to being more prominent in the design.

My only real issue with it is that the hair-throne is pushing it a bit. I get that it's based off of the popular samurai squat/sitting pose, you know, this one:

But having it just awkwardly scooting around when it moves feels incredibly forced and unnatural, making it harder to see as a living creature. The bottom of the hair under the legs also doesn't look great. I would've happily accepted it squatting in its default pose with the hair stopping at the legs, and it getting up to stand when following in the overworld and whatnot.

I'm also not big on the blades sticking out from the middle of the body. I get they were playing off of Bisharp's middle blades, but they look very fragile and really don't add much to the design. I feel like just having the metal rings around the middle to represent a samurai uniform would have been more than enough.

I also feel like the grey Vs on the knees weren't needed or could've at least been gold to make them pop more, though that's not terribly important overall. The top blade could've also maybe come down like 20%, just so its not competing with the mustache as much.

Anyway, overall, I think Gen 9 might have some of the strongest cross-gen evos of any game. Girafarig (already discussed in a previous review) is perfect, Dudunsparce is funny and fits the line's theme, Annihilape is a great lore reference, and Kingambit fits with the rest of its line absolutely perfectly and has strong theme. I gotta say, I'm impressed.

#dudunsparce #annihilape #kingambit #pokemon #pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon reviews

[guzmagang]

the everything guzma pt 2 kinda

commission for @kungfualice ! i’ve been working on this over a hot minute- it’s as the title suggests. everything guzma. thank you so much for your support!!!

commission/kofi tips open; reblogs greatly appreciated :) cross posted onto AO3 as nasabasa.

Content notes: mention of trauma, references to self harm, spicy but not explicit explicit bits

Guzma is not, in any way, a morning person; if you were to be technical about it, he actually needs more sleep than the average adult + nightmares, meaning he needs more sleep but he doesn’t typically get it.

If he does get enough sleep, he likes watching the sunrise.

On the topic of trauma and sleep, he is slowly growing and moving through and past nightmares and night terrors; they’re hard, they’re exhausting, but slowly and surely they’re being met.

The less nightmares, the more sleep he gets, the more rested he is makes it easier for him to recognize certain things and develop things he didn’t get to when he was younger.

Guzma is definitely one who is seen in change, not a violent renaissance; he makes sure and hard decisions about change he is going to make and how he is going to grow, but he’s still Guzma.

His closeness to you grows with his personal growth; he is not going to hurt you but that means he closed some parts of himself off from you, like anger and certain confusions around memories.

As he is able to understand himself a bit more, he opens himself more to you, but he also doesn't expect you to try to fix him, nor does he want you to; he wants to love you and he wants you to love him- you love and support him, not try to unwind everything that happened to him.

Guzma had a cage stage when he came to terms with himself- with what happened and what needs to happen now to grow. He wanted to rip everything up from the bottom and start over again, but it’s hard to sleep without a floor; he had to have patience with himself, which is one of the first things that was ever ripped away from him learning.

Golisopod got in on the action of keeping Guzma from harming himself. Very big bug is hard to stop.

Guzma doesn’t know how to drive. He never learned. He was able to- or had to- walk everywhere.

Doesn’t know how to ride a bike either.

Guzma is from Alola- with great scenery- but he’s never left Alola; he’s never seen a non-volcanic mountain or great plains or anything close to an arctic.

On that note, if you’ll help him find a form of transportation he’s comfortable with and doesn’t feel trapped in, he’ll travel with you. You’ll have to help him pack though, he does not know how to pack for cold nights.

Cold nights to him are 68 F and he is not ready for a 22 F night.

Bring him to a landlocked mountain and watch gears turn in his head.

He’s not sheltered when it comes to music, but he’s almost in a time capsule; he has his CD’s. That's the music he knows. I don’t think he knows what a fiddle is.

He did not know the difference between a Violin and a Viola and I'm not holding it against him.

Guzma forgets his own face a lot. There’s not much to it, but he just genuinely doesn't remember his own face a lot of the time.

When he does see his face, he kinda stares for a minute remembering that the reflection is him. Gives him a mini crisis sometimes though.

If you stand with him in front of a mirror and do something like holding his chin or lining his face, he has a more major mini crisis.

Guzma really likes softer random touches; hold onto his arm gently to announce your presence, draw circles into his shoulder absently. He loves it. He loves knowing there’s a magnetic pull between the two of you.

He’s definitely one of those who’s intelligence catches you off guard; he’s not going to change his vocabulary to sound like he has a stick up his ass, but if he (now) has an opinion on it, he has a pretty well rounded opinion he can defend. It’s a bit strange but I’m happy for him.

He has very well rounded, valid criticisms of the Alolan traditions, especially those pertaining to the trails, and he’s much better at articulating it now.

Guzma (obviously) knows how to read but he got really out of practice of more critical and complex reading so he took up reading in his lets not go crazy downtime. He has an odd variety of books/literature he likes but at least he’s enjoying himself.

Guzma is one of those people who doesn’t have to wash his face for his skin to be clear/not angry and it’s infuriating.

When Guzma was first getting into a safe place, one of the things they gave him to try to help him redirect feelings was an adult coloring book. It didn’t really work in the sense of helping him calm down but it’s something for him to do.

Please get him some good shampoo. Maybe some conditioner too. Fucker is bleaching his hair and needs to take care of his hair.

Guzma is really cuddly at night; he lulls out a lot and gets a lot more calm and quiet. Not very talkative but still wants to be around you. Kinda like a cat.

If he ever purposely gets into a scuffle, he does it so you dote and scold him. He likes when you clean him up a bit and tell him to stop getting into trouble. He’s like a lovesick puppy.

He does not strike me as the type to be able to flirt before he starts dating you; he just likes you, you know, he doesn’t have to prove anything. So naturally he’ll drag you into a battle with him or to watch him battle someone.

Overall he tried to stay calm and not blushy but you know it’s hard to be a bit stoic when you actually like someone and want them taken care of.

Guzma absolutely denies any emotions he has for a long time; he doesn’t want to deal with emotions nor have them… but that doesn’t really make them go away. It just proves how stubborn he is.

He does acknowledge how touch starved he is.. how much he enjoys having someone to be around…. he doesn’t acknowledge he likes you but he acknowledges that he’s lonely.

Guzma has a weird relationship with routine; he has a routine, technically, but routine means a place and a time. Places have always been fleeting and time has always been fuzzy. But now, it’s more structured, and it’s weird. It’s new.

Guzma is, in no way, extreme in any sort of way when it comes to intimacy; he never thought about it much before, and now that he has it he’s a tiny bit bumbling.

Sometimes will lowkey just break into your house. He doesn’t really mean to, but, you know, the window was closer and he was able to pick the lock. Sometimes it’s just like that, alright.

Not a master of any domestic intimacy but it’s not for a lack of trying; he’ll give you a back rub. It might not be the most amazing but he’s definitely doing it with the intention of making you feel better.

Sometimes he just will latch onto your neck and chill there for a moment or 10 minutes or so. You’ll be having a mark there.

On that note, sometimes he just rests his head on your shoulder and stays there with his face buried in your neck, sometimes clinging to you and sometimes just… laying there.

He wants to touch you, he wants to hold you, there will be some sort of contact at all times. Please. Touch is really warm and he really likes that.

Not really a movie person but not really against them either. He just. Never watched movies very much and now doesn’t watch movies too much. If you want to watch one with him though he’ll watch it with you.

He’ll get you to hold both of his hands sometimes at night, almost a silent “safety” restainment, where he won’t attack or harm himself and you’re the reminder to hold himself to that.

Guzma never really learned to “properly” type. He doesn’t use a computer very often anyway.

He really enjoys sharing a shower with you for some reason. Maybe it’s the gentleness from the whole experience. Maybe it’s that you can wash his hair and he can lull out for a bit. Probably because pretty soaps he doesn’t feel guilty for using because you’re using them on him.

Can and will pick you up.

He’s working on standing up straighter which is good! But now he’s even taller and slightly smug about it. Only slightly.

Guzma doesn’t actually do that whole taller-than-s.o. trope where he puts things up too high for you so you have to ask him, mainly because he’ll forget about it. Straight up. He just won’t remember what he put up or where he put it up. Bless him.

Sometimes he’s as bad as a horny teenage boy where he just wants to make out with you and touch your body; no thoughts head empty only vague horny zones

Most of the time he sleeps on his back with you pressed against him in some fashion, but there’s some nights where he ends up with his head resting on your chest and holding you tightly.

Gets super blushy if you insist on holding eye contact while there’s any sort of intimacy happening, sexual or not. Break this motherfucker

Intimacy has to be really gentle for a long time while he’s going through the trudge of trauma and such; he wants you to feel good but he also can’t bring himself to get (consensually) rough with you.

Pre-healing, he was much rougher and took his anger out a bit.

He has a therapist now and a support system. :) so you know he won’t break your back.

#guzma #pokémon #guzma x reader #pokémon guzma x reader #Pokémon guzma #Pokémon sumo #pokémon sun and moon #pokémon ultra sun and ultra moon

[hotwaterandmilk]

Our household suffered a loss over the Christmas period, so I'm going to post some random comments about stupid shit to help divert my focus away from being depressed.

New BLOOD+ Anthology!

I received my copy of this year's BLOOD+ Petit Event Anthology this week. The title of this year's volume is "Season Calls Me" and like, the previous anthology, it contains a solid mix of short comics and novels by the small band of active Japanese fandom members for the series.

There are a couple of great little comics (that actually feature my faves, surprisingly) plus, like last time, Fujisaku Jun'ichi and Ishii Akiharu participated as well so we got some great additional content that makes it worth the effort of BUYING RIGHT NOW. What do I mean by this? Brand new colour illustrations from Ishii again, baby!

David smiling is so awkward, I love it. Ishii you have truly blessed us.

I won't be scanning in these images because this is a brand new publication. I ask that you please support all the wonderful fans involved in this doujinshi and purchase your own copy before it sells out.

Kotobuki Tsukasa draws ADG art again!

Kotobuki Tsukasa drew a new version of his Aphrodite illustration that was used for the first Akihabara Dennou Gumi ED sequence. The pic will be featured on his Comiket postcard for this year (2023 is the 25th anniversary of ADG) and I reeeeeaaaaaally want it. Edit: He just posted, it's limited to 127 units & has asked people not to resell so there goes my chance lol. :(

Kotobuki doesn't have the original image anymore so he had to use an online pic as reference and honestly, I think it looks pretty great even without the full studio finish (I particularly love that he incorporated Hibari's expression into Aphrodite as this is the fusion version from the movie).

大切なものなんですか... (it's stuck in your head now, watch here)

In a comment to someone mentioning the possibility of an art book he did say he'd discussed it but it hadn't progressed further. Please, for the love of god, I need an art book to happen! I WOULD PREORDER THE SHIT OUT OF THAT! I just love my '90s anime girls with faces like half-sucked mangos that much, ok?!

I Have an Autographed Yamamoto Yohko Novel!

Honestly this isn't a huge deal, back when the novel series received a kanzenban release Shouji Takashi autographed a lot of books for fans and they surface again every so often for sale. I happened to score one and now I have his autograph.

I'm not a big autograph person, but because the series was canned in 2001-ish the 12th kanzenban volume is the only way to get Shouji's conclusion to the story so I figured two birds with one stone and all that (not that I can read anything these days).

Anyway, it's nice to have. Maybe one of these days I'll work on my TBR pile.

I had actually planned to spend my few days off over the New Year catching up on things, then everything kind of just went to shit. So instead of me achieving anything you get this post of random nonsense while I struggle to process my grief, sorry.

#blood plus #hagi #otonashi saya #david #david (charles) #julia silverstein #otp: i will go down with red shield hq #ishii akiharu #akiharu ishii #doujinshi #akihabara dennou gumi #cyber team in akihabara #cyberteam in akihabara #aphrodite #hanakoganei hibari #kotobuki tsukasa #tsukasa kotobuki #soreyuke! uchuu senkan yamamoto youko #soreyuke uchuu senkan yamamoto youko #soreyuke! uchuu senkan yamamoto yohko #soreyuke uchuu senkan yamamoto yohko #starship girl yamamoto yohko #photo #my photo #merch #merchandise #don't feel obliged to comment about my situation #it's fine to just comment on the silly cartoon stuff #i need the distraction

[the1weepinqguitar]

tally hall sketches and other assorted doodles

Here ya go guys! I also have improvement pics from last year! Almost two years in the Tally Hall fandom! Woohoo! My Marvin's CD is gonna hate me even more after all of this

A Ross sketch! I'm super proud of how it turned out! Below is a close-up!

The aforementioned close-up, showing the shading on his face and the folds of his sleeve!

Zubin! I love the side profile, and I used his picture in the MMMM booklet as a reference! Close up below, so you can see some of the more fine details/shading

the close-up!

Here's Andrew! His hair is kinda hard to not fluff-ify, but I dealt with it anyways and tried my best to keep it close to reality. Obligatory close(r)-up below.

next will be some other random stuff, mostly tally hall, but some of it is oc art

drew this drawing of Ross last September. Not amazing but very stylized, which I love/hate. the tag on the bottom left reads, "he's rather disheveled but this is the best I could do back then"

wtf is he doing? He in an action movie or something? btw this was last-year's andrew. very stylized. i hate it.

decided not to include the other last-year Rob cause i hate it deeply. this one's much better. very fluffy. i dont like the collar tho

just me poking fun at my horrendous attempts at stylizing joe. im not gonna draw him as much as the others btw.

This is from an au created by @bonkdd, but i did rob and andrew's designs bc i never saw his designs for them. i also added a lot of lore and plot stuff because i really liked the concept. in simple terms the tallies are robots that were abandoned by Marvin after he passed away so now they're falling apart n stuff without him to care for them (that's why rob hides his face). Anyways, huge thanks to Bonk for the original idea! They're a great artist, you should go check them out!

Edith, drawn/sketched with a ballpoint pen.

Another one. I like this one better, but I spent two days on this one versus a half on hour on the other so i guess it makes sense

Adrian and Reuben (OCs), done in a college-ruled notebook bc i ran out of pages in my sketchbook. next is a close-up so you can see more shading.

probably my favorite gay couple i've ever written ngl

Ace again, but wearing Reuben's favorite sweater.

Looking mighty fine!

He's lookin' tough, he's got the stuff, he's got the spiffy shades... (/lyric)

pose practice

Boll weevil, why don't you get out of your home? (/lyric)

old art jumpscare - i actually kinda like this one, might redraw it. Below is the full thing

why is zubes staring like that??? its creepy

here's another. i don't know why it's sideways. andrew is scared of joe btw, this isn't the entire drawing

Did an embossing peice. It's the Mojo Chessmaster! I tried by best to make it as detailed as possible, and I think I did pretty alright. The neck was probably the worst part to do. Below are close-ups

the head of the guitar was a pain in the ass.

This part was also pretty tricky but it came out okay. the dials at the bottom are raised as much as I could get them to go, so I'm not worried about them. My issue here was the pickups.

I also added Flansburgh's little signature guy but i drew his hair because why not? Anyways this piece took me a good hour or so to finish, I think it'll fetch a good grade (it was for my metal design class).

I'll add a sketch I just did as a bonus:

it's from a tally hall fanfic/au i made back in may after my grandpa passed away. It was a great stress-reliever and I still really like how it turned out. It's about cryptids and monsters and shit. I'll post a summary on a different post because this one was mostly for the drawings. I might post a few installments of it on my ao3. It could be a weekly thing since i usually have time on fridays to write.

Once again, a close-up is available below.

I put literal hours of research on cryptids and of the area (ann harbor, MI) while writing this fic. It was fun though, and it helped me a lot. Feel free to ask me anything about the plot or world-building !

#ivan's art tag #tally hall fanart #oc art #random assorted sketches and stuff #buh-bye

[yanzers-infodump]

Been drawing TrenderMan in just random outfit ideas. The traditional sketch was kinda without reference and more random. The digital was an idea I had for him to wear something kinda fancy for a "birthday" celebration. He loves head and face accessories and the openness of the outfit pulls from an idea I have about TallOne/Derula culture — being that they have(had) a lot of revealing and/or loose fitted clothes to allow their tendrils to branch off the body, particularly off the midsection and back, as that's where the tendril tissue is stored. Nowadays, Trender sorta developed a magic fabric that allows tendrils to pass through without damage to the clothing, but he still appreciates the older, semi fae-like style of a much older time

Trender was created from a maple tree, so I added a little maple seed "earring" as part of the circlet and decided on red for the primary color because he emerged in fall, when maple leaves are a glorious crimson ^^

#Trenderman #outfit #digital art #traditional drawing #derula #character reimagining #inverted #fanfiction #creepypasta #slenderverse #slenderman

[ladyhoneydee]

30 Day Song(fic) Challenge: Day 14

Hi hi! Being late seems to be my new normal, but given that I haven't slept yet, it still feels like the 14th to me, lol. Today's Song(fic) Challenge prompt was "a song you think is underrated", and I chose "Grilled Cheese" by Peach Face. It's a dreamy song (with a very fun finger-snap beat in the background) about the early period of a relationship, and so I sought to capture those feelings!

Please note that this fic references past sexual activity, but nothing at all explicit! The most that happens is some suggestive dialogue and one single line mentioning the touching of a male chest. Still, if that bothers you, you may want to skip this one! (Also, if anyone thinks that this should be rated M instead of T, please let me know.)

halfway (to something that you'll never find)

Game: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom

Pairing: Zelink

Word Count: 1905

Keywords: Modern AU, waking up together, romantic fluff

To be honest, Zelda really had no clue how she had found this. For all intents and purposes, it should be impossible to just stumble across a man who would share his nights without judgment nor the expectation of more; a lover who made sure of her happiness as well as her pleasure; a friend who she had just as much fun splitting a sandwich with as in the sack. Statistically, the odds were astronomical. And yet…here they were. Taking their sweet time as they wandered into love.

Read the fic on AO3, or under the cut!

Zelda woke with the coming of the light. 

Link’s bedroom windows faced west, and so, heavy sleeper that he was, he never bothered to draw his sage-green curtains at night. She wasn’t sure why he even had them, honestly. He’d never once covered the windows up while she’d been over at his apartment, even during sex. She supposed it made sense—the view from his eighth-floor apartment was one of his favorite things about living in Castleton, and it was true that no one would ever be able to see them entwined on the mattress. Still, Zelda was a light sleeper, and even the ambient light from his window was enough to stir her.

Link’s arm lay draped over her waist as he spooned her from behind, and she pretended that the easy possessiveness—the good kind, not ‘you are my property’, but ‘I want to keep you close’—didn’t send a sparking thrill to her stomach. It wasn’t that it was too soon for that kind of excitement, with how many months they’d spent sleeping over in one another’s apartments and meeting for random meals since that first encounter at the bar, but…she didn’t want to push it.

Zelda scooted over an inch and rolled from her side onto her stomach. Link’s arm fell heavily across her back, and she smirked at the dead weight before reaching for her slate.

No notifications. Just the way she liked it, when she was over at Link’s. Although she did need to head out in about half an hour so she could meet Riju for coffee. Eight-thirty in the morning was pretty early for plans, but Riju was still entangled in the depths of her senior year, so Zelda couldn’t begrudge her the weird timing. Hers had been even worse last spring, after all, when she was putting the finishing touches on her master’s thesis. 

Satisfied that she wasn’t missing anything important, Zelda tucked her slate back under the pillow—oh. She froze, before a smile slowly crept over her face. 

Once again, she’d fallen asleep with her makeup on, and the last remnants of her berry lipstick and smokey bronze eyeshadow were decorating Link’s striped pillowcases. Good thing he’d just set out her usual one last night before they got in bed. 

She probably shouldn’t be so elated at having ruined one of Link’s pillowcases so thoroughly and repeatedly, but how else was she supposed to feel when that meant that one of his pillowcases was basically hers?

She turned around to face him. In sleep, Link’s face was open and relaxed. His hair was a disheveled, wheat-colored mess that was half pinned beneath her own head. It was lucky that he hadn’t been out that night as well, before she came over, or else his own pillowcase might’ve been marked with that forest-green eyeliner he favored. His eyes weren’t twitching beneath his lids, which meant he was at a lull in his REM cycle. 

Perfect. That meant it was a fine time to kiss him awake. 

She started with his face, peppering the lightest of pecks along his cheekbones, before drifting to his jawline. Link was slow to grow facial hair, and so her lips smoothed across the skin without any friction to inhibit her trajectory.

When she began a long, slow, suckling sort of kiss at the sensitive place where the underside of the right side of his jaw met his neck, he began to stir. First with the slightest roll towards her, seeking the sweet, soft pleasure of her mouth, and then with a stretching arching of his back that made her wish she had more than ten more minutes to spend in bed with him. She knew the moment he woke: he stiffened the slightest bit, then melted under her lips, and then reached a hand up to cradle the back of her own bedhead. 

“Good morning to you too,” he whispered, voice roughened with sleep. 

She hummed into his skin in response. Link soaked up her touch for another moment, before shifting his hand to cup her chin, and gently guiding it in the direction of his face. She pressed one last rebellious kiss into his skin, before following his lead. 

His mouth tasted sour with morning breath, and she was sure hers was no better. She adored the realness of it.

Her eyelids fluttered open slowly, taking her time in this warm cocoon. Link was already gazing at her, lips curved in the sweetest of smiles. When he looked at her like that, she…well. She felt a lot better about the ever-increasing intensity of her own feelings toward him, that was for sure.

“I have to get up soon,” she singsonged. Her tone was teasing, as though he was the one who would be crushed by this news, but she felt a pang in her own chest at her words. Truth be told, she never wanted to leave this bed. 

Link played along, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her atop his chest. “Not if I hold you right here.”

“Mm, I think I could get out pretty easily if I wanted to.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Never breaking eye contact, she stroked one hand slowly and deliberately down his chest. “We both know how quickly I can get you to sing for me. Once you’re distracted…”

“Or you could just stay the whole time.” Link grinned, but she didn’t miss the way his pupils had dilated at her touch. 

“I do prefer taking my sweet time, it’s true.” She indulged herself in the tracing of his lips, and the way they parted under her touch. “But…it’s still early. We wouldn’t want to wake the neighbors.”

Like ripping off a band-aid, she pulled herself free of Link’s arms—he’d never cage her against her will—and swung her legs off of the bed. For all her teasing of Link, she’d never actually flake on Riju like that. The girl was practically a little sister to her, after all. 

Link groaned, but followed her up willingly. As she yanked the flared pants she’d worn the night before over her hips, he passed her black strappy tank over as well, which had ended up on his side of the bed. She returned the favor with a beatific smile. 

“Are you sure you won’t be cold? You weren’t wearing a coat last night when you came over, and it’s chilly out this morning.” 

Fair point. Zelda’s arms were already prickling with goosebumps. “Yeah, but…” She shrugged. “Guess I’ll just have to deal. Not very wise of me to go out without a layer, huh?”

Link’s voice was carefully controlled as he picked at the corner of the quilt on his side of the bed. “You could borrow one of my hoodies, if you wanted. I don’t mind.”

His hoodie! Link was a nice guy, with a lot of clothes, and it wasn’t a stretch that he would lend clothes to any friend in need. But she couldn’t help but be thrilled at the offer of a hoodie. It was such a boyfrie—no, she better not even think it, else she risk jinxing it.

“Yeah, sure,” Zelda answered, cool as a cucumber. “I could do with dressing down my outfit, anyway.”

“I’ll find something that looks nice with your pants.” He disappeared off towards his closet, and Zelda took the opportunity to put her socks and shoes on. Thank Hylia she’d worn boots instead of heels the night before. 

Before long, Link returned, handing over a soft, thick black hoodie bedazzled with golden designs. “It should be nice and warm. Developed by Embr Labs over in Eldin.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Supposed to provide the sensation that you’re right next to the volcano.”

“Aw, Link, it’s so nice!” Zelda pouted. “Now I’d feel bad if I stole it.”

Link laughed. “Damn right! I expect a prompt return.” He watched as she pulled the garment over her head and gave a shiver of delight at the coziness. “Flip up the hood,” he suggested. 

She did, and gave a laugh of delight. “Are these dragon horns?” She petted the plush prongs lightly. “That’s so cute. Now I’m really going to have to buy myself one.”

“Super cute,” Link agreed, a soft smile on his face. 

Zelda looked down, flustered. “Well, I ought to head out,” she hedged. She tipped the hood back off of her head carefully. “Riju’s gonna yell at me for being late if I miss my train.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course!” Link rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll walk you out.”

At the door, Link opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again, apparently changing his mind. “Have a nice coffee date with Riju!” he said instead. “If you want to hang out again sometime soon, just give a whistle.”

“Same to you! Enjoy your day off.” Zelda bit her lip, and before she could lose her nerve, leaned in and planted a kiss on Link’s cheek. 

The last glimpse she caught of him before heading out the door was of his blue eyes wide, hand pressed to his cheek. The image lingered in her mind as she descended the stairs, exited the apartment building, and headed west for the nearest train station. It was only interrupted when, keen to protect the back of her neck from the chilly morning air, she flipped up the hood again and realized she’d forgotten her earrings back on Link’s bedside table. 

“Stupid, Zelda. So distracted with—wait.” She paused in her self-flagellation. Come to think of it…

She pulled out her slate.

Zelda: Turns out I forgot my earrings at your place? They’re amethyst and gold. Should be on the bedside table.

Zelda: Could I come over again to pick them after I’m done with Riju? I could return your hoodie then too, since my apartment isn’t far from the coffee shop and I could change into some fresh clothes then.

Zelda: Maybe we could have lunch, too. You could make us that mushroom tomato stew and some grilled cheeses. They’re not the same at home… :3

Link: yeah they’re here!

Link: sounds perfect

Link: see you at 11 <3

Link: whoops idk why the heart sent! 

Zelda laughed out loud and nearly ran into one of the train station poles. Link might have no idea why the heart sent, but she had a clue. No two-character emoticon could be written ‘accidentally’. 

Hylia, he was cute. Maybe over lunch, she’d finally ask if he wanted to take their unspoken mutual desires and make something official out of it. She had a feeling it would go all right. Everything had so far, at least, and she didn’t see why that would have reason to change. They were still Link and Zelda, after all. 

To be honest, Zelda really had no clue how she had found this. For all intents and purposes, it should be impossible to just stumble across a man who would share his nights without judgment nor the expectation of more; a lover who made sure of her happiness as well as her pleasure; a friend who she had just as much fun splitting a sandwich with as in the sack. Statistically, the odds were astronomical. And yet…here they were. Taking their sweet time as they wandered into love.

She stepped onto her train just as the doors whished closed, with a smile on her face.

#loz #zelink #breath of the wild #botw #tears of the kingdom #totk #loz fanfic #botw zelink #my fanfiction #30 day song(fic) challenge

[myhappyexobubble]

EXO Fandom - Part 2 - FanArt

This post follows part 1 - available here.

After working on stories and loving the imaginative fiction created by the fandom, I came across stories that highlighted visual work by fanartists to help provide visual reference. Initially I found most artwork to be digital, but it was happening upon a pencil artist that struck a chord and made me think, “I could probably do that.”

At the time, I was close to graduating with my Bachelors Degree in Studio Arts with an emphasis in painting and mural. I was known for hating portrait work and chose to mostly work in abstracts and landscapes, or still life. The pressure to make a person look recognizable was daunting. I had just finished my senior project early and had very little to do in studio reserved time, but had an ample supply of medium and papers. So, without much thought, I started to draw EXO.

My early work is pretty rough, but as I mentioned, I did not like drawing people. I spent most of an entire semester working on some random drawings and eventually completed my first ‘series’ which was really just portraits of all members using the same medium and paper. I posted those drawings on my personal Instagram because I didn’t see it being a big deal. It became a big deal.

With enough positive comments, I decided that I wanted to keep working on portraits of EXO and sometimes other K-pop artists when inspired. I wanted to improve and to see if I could get better at drawing faces. As I continued working on shading and texture - especially hair, I began to wonder what other mediums could be used to achieve different effects. I also began networking. I started to follow and talk to other digital and traditional fan artists who used all sorts of effects. I wanted to emulate digital effects traditionally, working with physical media in layers. I went to the art store often and purchased more variety of tools. I got recommendations for brands and techniques from a network of artists that was beginning to span the globe. I had never felt so rich in community as I did around my 2nd year of working on fanart.

Of course, it wasn’t just the community that prompted artistic growth. Not to be biased, but Kai has always been just a little more artistically portrayed in photoshoots. What I consider to be odd fashion preferences became amazing to recreate in charcoal and colored pencil. Still frame movement and emotions were so motivating that at times I couldn’t keep up with the amount of visual content that was coming out and how fast I could draw.

It was a constant race to keep up. I remember that the Die Jungs photobooks were the first that I felt so incredibly motivated by and yet could never draw everything I wanted to from those books before new content was available. When Exodus and Love Me Right came out, I was cranking out 1-4 portraits a day or at least in a week. I wanted to do more series. As EXO members moved on (Kris, Luhan, Tao) I wanted to keep making series that included the 12 regardless. I wanted to merge charcoal with paint and do blends of medium that seemed impractical. It was intensely motivating because I had not just Kai but 12 total muses that belonged on canvas.

At the time of writing this I have produced 692 pieces of traditional fan art. That’s 692 pieces of paper or canvas where the medium was applied by hand via pencil or paint brush. Never in my youth did I think I would ever complete that much body of work in an entire lifetime. 

EXO gave me the inspiration to get over a fear of portraits, dabble in more medium than I’d imagined, network globally and make friends, and for the first time made me feel like a legitimate artist. Now, we could spend another entire post talking about the copyright issues and art practices and their validity, but for now - my creative growth is still one of the many reasons EXO is my favorite K-Pop group. 

More to follow, thank you for reading.

#EXO #fanart #random writing #reflection #part 2 #EXOL

[mutedeclipse]

Thunder bomber from jetterz!

Perfect timing since its nearly his birthday!

Favorite thing: Hard to place tbh, i just think hes neat all round

Least favorite thing: Probably figuring out how to fkn draw his face. That sucked real bad especially with his little grate. Like i love his design but UGH.

Favorite quote: "i can finally now understand.. the pain my comrades felt as they were snuffed out" < while a translation from the kinda scuffed youtube translation this line made me giggle and kick my feet in the air (metaphorically) because this is such a cool l moment for him

Brotp: i had to look up what this meant btw. I think him and mighty wouldve gotten along well as buddies :}

Otp: max and thunder. Stupid fly is trying his damn hardest to be nice to him...

Notp: anything between him and the other shittenu. Theyre siblings. Grand bomber litterally refers to him as older brother.

Random headcanon: if he had the opportunity i think he'd take up piano. Or any instrument but i mainly think of piano. He seems to have the discipline for it

His design is great and badass without any modification. He may be teeny tiny and blorbus and maybe slightly goofy to some but idc hes awesome

Favorite image:

An image from the blueray that i stole from fraction's twitter back when i used that. I cherish his once smile

#thunder bomber #ask game

[dark-night-star-light]

Spirit Animals: Immortal Guardians (Reread pt. 9)

DISCLAIMER: WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOOKS ONE THROUGH SEVEN IN FIRST SERIES, BOOKS ONE THROUGH THREE, TALES OF THE GREAT BEASTS, AND TALES OF THE FALLEN BEASTS.

Masterpost

Chapter 1

“If only she could turn right around and go home” (1). Interesting first line . . .

“I wish I had a spirit animal, Kaiina thought. Then I’d always have company . . . ” (2). That’s . . . actually a good reason, wow.

“‘How could I have summoned Dinesh?’ Kaiina asked in wonder. ‘And why to me?’” (5). Yeah, is it, like, random . . . or . . . ?

Woah, Zerif speaks the local languages . . . ?

“ . . . but this one was white . . . ” (7). Has Kaiina never heard of a polar bear before? Don’t they teach her about these things???

“The polar bear and the boar had spread out” (8). Okay, so she does know what a polar bear is.

“ . . . saw two more tattoos appear on the man’s chest: an eagle and a ram” (10). Uh . . . when does he take Arax??? That wasn’t in Tales of the Fallen Beasts . . . 

Chapter 2

“But now Myriam was too busy playing host to worry about that - the ibis kept busy greeting each newly arriving bird . . . ” (13). Oh, that’s so cool. 

“ . . . Myriam had spent the day following them around, keeping tabs on which was the most beautiful” (13). That’s so funny. I imagine the peacocks being like, What is this thing following us around?

“She gathered lichen and wedged it into the narrow black crack, wetting the patch with pond water” (14). Isn’t the Evertree in the middle of Nilo??? It’s near a pond???

“ . . . The tree was dying” (15). I genuinely forgot why it’s dying. I know it’s something to do with the Wyrm, but I don’t remember how.

Chapter 3

“In Zhong, she’s perfected a serene smile, warm enough to honor the person’s interest but chilly enough to discourage handshakes and questions” (16). Parallels to Meilin’s very first chapter in Wild Born?

“Lately Jhi had started to take Meilin to task whenever she slipped into rudeness. It was very annoying” (17). See, this is the dynamic the Bile robbed us of in the first arc.

“Essix the Falcon is not a messenger pigeon! Essix eats messenger pigeons for breakfast!” (18). Why didn’t Rollan just send a messenger pigeon? 

 “ . . . and I’m not asking this lightly. But you must come to Greenhaven as soon as you can . . . ” (19). This does not sound like Rollan at all.

Rollan signs his letter “Your Rollan” and then in the immediate next paragraph, Meilin refers to him as her “friend”. 

Abeke has gotten even more muscular! Slay!

“But Meilin knew what her friend would really want her opinion on. ‘I like your new skinnier braids’ . . . ” (20). When has Abeke ever shown interest in hairstyles, though???

“‘Oh no! What have we done?’” (21). This quote is so weird??? I don’t know, it just feels off.

So far, the vibe in general feels weird . . . 

“ . . . Abeke said, looking at Kovo with something almost like sympathy” (23). Why, though??? Why is she sympathetic?

“‘You’re polite as always, Takoda,’ Rollan said to the boy, a complicated expression on his face” (24)). I feel like I remember Rollan being suspicious of Takoda . . . is that what this is???

Kovo drawing the Wyrm symbol on a landscape??? What is the landscape, though??? I don’t remember this . . .

Chapter 4

“‘I came down here to study while we were training’” (29). Literally when??? When did Meilin ever go to the library???

“The tortoise blinked its rheumy eyes at them and yawned” (30). I wonder if Meilin ever thought of the tortoise as being slow, like she did with Jhi.

“‘ . . . the Lost Lands is contained in here’” (33). Stetriol also had a nickname??? Eura’s the only one without a nickname, now . . . 

“At the elbow, where the living tendril ended, the knob of it throbbed and shifted, curling into new visions of the same shape” (38). So it’s in a spiral shape even as it squirms up? That’s odd.

Chapter 5

“ . . . and now he was going to lose the people he loved most in the world because of it” (39). Is he??? Also, awwww, that’s cute (that he thinks of them as the people he lives most in the world). 

“He felt his face twist into a humiliated scowl” (39). Oh my god, he’s becoming Meilin.

“Rollan wouldn’t give up. He threw his arms around his friend. ‘You’ve been disgusting ever since we’ve known you’” (40). It’s so awesome that I can actually see the character growth from the last arc. 

“‘Rollan and Abeke are our best trackers. . . ’” (42). Getting the feeling that I missed something? Rollan can track? 

“Meilin and Rollan were staring at each other with moony longing . . . ” (42). Why do they do this in front of other people???

“With one move, she’d told him she wasn’t scared of his sickness” (42). Personally, I think that moment is far superior to Meilin and Rollan staring at each other.

Chapter 6

“Takoda had spent his life in sandals, and now he was wearing a pair of heavy boots he’d borrowed from Conor” (44). I feel like I remember Takoda living somewhere else before the monastery??? Did he really wear sandals? Or did he go bare foot before that?

“He probably wouldn’t say no if they asked him to be a Greencloak someday” (45). Kovo would, though, lol.

“It was a moment that would forever be seared in Takoda’s memory . . . Takoda couldn’t imagine a spirit animal relationship more different from his own” (46). Funny, because Meilin’s relationship was pretty similar to Takoda’s during the first arc.

“ . . . the Great Beast that had nearly conquered the world - stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the leader of the Greencloaks” (48). Symbolizing the new relationship that the Greencloaks forged with the Great Beasts in general?

“If only he and Kovo knew more than ten symbols, he could explain the danger” (50). He can explain the danger anyway, right? Kovo understands Common.

I forgot whether Kovo recognizes this place or not.

“‘Kovo saved your life’” (53). Okay, so Kovo killed Briggan, who bonded to Conor, who killed Kovo, who then saved his life. Parallels???

“It was like the earth itself had a mouth, open and hungry, waiting for prey to fall in” (54). If they’re in the mountains between Zhong and Eura, how do they get to Nilo, where the Evertree is? Because this is where they fall, right?

I do not remember Kovo and the others fighting over the door??? Huh.

“Calmly, as easily as if it had been made of wet paper, Kovo reached up and plucked off his collar” (59). So ominous.

Chapter 7

“‘. . . and we’ll stop in and say hello to all the shop owners you stole from back in the day’” (60). Okay, I need Rollan to go back to that Valdez guy and push him around a bit. Just a bit.

“ . . . memories of the handsome blond boy resurfaced in unexpected moments” (62). First Shane reference in second arc!

“‘Many of the people of Northern Amaya are nomadic, following the herds throughout the year . . . ’” (63). Rollan doesn’t sound like Rollan at all.

“‘Where to?’ Rollan asked. ‘Anywhere!’ ‘No seriously, where to?’” (64). It feels like they swapped Rollan and Abeke’s personalities? I kind of like it, though. More foil theory fodder.

Rollan caused a stampede??? Wow, I clearly remember close to nothing from this book.

This whole scene is very . . . different??? In a good way, though. There isn’t much Rollan and Abeke friendship in the first arc, so now that they’re alone, it feels strange. But I like it.

Chapter 8

“‘Meilin,’ Conor said in low tones. He placed a tentative hand on her back. ‘I’m as angry as you are . . . ’” (73). Conor and Meilin friendship is all but nonexistent in the first arc, but it feels like they made up for that in the second arc.

“‘King. Worthless,’ Takoda translated” (76). King??? Who’s the king? What king??? Is it Takoda?

“‘I have to tell you that I miss him’” (76). Doesn’t putting your spirit animal in passive make you stronger to some extent? They fought off the “bonding sickness” from the staff at the end of the last arc that way.

“Stop it, Meilin. Terror is your enemy” (79). Giving major first-book-Meilin energy.

Chapter 9

“‘You have more in common with Kovo than you think’” (82). Conor getting mad!

“ . . . the torchlight seemed to have the monster dazzled” (83). The Many’s weakness being light is not something I remember. 

“ . . . a spiral, just like the one on Zerif’s forehead . . . ” (84). I wonder if Conor thought that Zerif would eventually become one of these things.

“The light bomb seemed to affect the ghoulish creatures much more strongly . . . ” (87). I wonder if the Wyrm itself is sensitive to light? Or Zerif?

“Then Takoda gasped, like he’d been punched, and in a flash Kovo became a tattoo on the boy’s neck” (88). Why does it hurt for Takoda to take Kovo into passive state? Did Kovo want it to hurt? Can he do that?

“Although she closed her eyes to slits, they streamed tears, even in the dim light” (88). Oh, so it’s just because the Many are Sadreans, not because they’re Many. 

“‘It’s okay,’ came a voice Conor knew as well as his own” (89). Aw, Conor-Meilin moment(?)!

“‘You’ve come to stop the Wyrm . . . ’” (91). Why does Xanthe think that? Was there a prophecy or something?

Chapter 10

I kind of wonder if the city or tribe you’re from is like a last name in Erdas. They say “Abeke of Okaihee” and “Rollan of Concorba” as someone would say a full name.

“Abeke longed to see her father and sister again” (96). Why??? They are literally so abusive . . . this is just one thing about this series I’ll never accept.

“‘I’ve never seen a horse take such an instant disliking to someone’” (98). Rollan’s horse rivalry saga continues. 

“ . . . The leopard lay down in the earth, head resting on her paws, and started up at him” (98). Wasn’t it mentioned that Uraza didn’t really approve of Tellun in The Evertree? Also, in Tales of the Great Beasts, she never, ever bows down before Tellun. Neither do the other Great Beasts . . . ?

“‘You make him sound so serious.’ Anda laughed. ‘I just think of him as my elk. And I’m his boy’” (99). I still think it was definitely a choice to have a leader of the Great Beasts. I also like Anda’s attitude toward Tellun. Less awed, more of a “oh, yeah, ha ha, that happened” type. 

“‘My elk is silly most of the time; I’m not sure why he’s being so serious today . . . ’ . . . ‘Why didn’t you ever tell me you were that important?’” (99). This line makes no sense. Anda knows that the elk he summoned is Tellun, but didn’t realize he was important? What exactly did Tellun tell him?

“Though she and her family had worked through their differences . . . ” (100). When??? It went straight from Abeke’s father saying he didn’t care about her at all to Abeke and her family “making up” at the end of The Evertree. 

“‘They could gossip in the woman’s tent and sip herbal teas together’” (101). Oh, he’s a sexist. Also, if he believes so much in gender roles, how come Anda told Abeke that the men would have loved to go hunting with her? Wouldn’t they have scorned her just like her father?

“‘ . . . I’m closer to my family now than I ever was before I left Okaihee . . . ’” (102). That’s unfortunate. She’s closer, or she’s just learned to put up with their abuse?

“At the sight of his son’s crying, Anda’s father’s face tightened into a frown” (103). Presenting, the manliest masculine manly man, who can’t handle the sight of a guy crying.

Chapter 11

“ . . . Xanthe looked even more like the strange beings that had attacked them . . . ” (105). Can’t tell if Conor is trying to say Xanthe looks like the monsters, or that the monsters look human. 

“ . . . Meilin allowed Xanthe to help her to her feet” (105). She what???

“ . . . the rising air smelled vaguely like the hot stones his mother had once used to warm his bed . . . ” (107). All I could think about reading this was that one scene from the Shadow and Bone show.

“Conor smiled as he imagined [Meilin’s] outraged expression” (108). Conor and Meilin’s relationship is peaking in this series. Said this before, I think, but there are no good Conor-Meilin moments in the first book. At all (in my humble opinion).

“‘Are you scared of heights, Meilin?’” (111). I don’t remember this at all??? I think she was scared of spiders because of the Drina situation and the Webmother, but heights???

“ . . . it seemed some Sadreans had spirit animals, too” (113). Right, but before the Second Devourer War, they would’ve had bonding sickness, right??? Right??? Because they didn’t have access to the Nectar??? Plot hole???

“‘Our man of mystery,’ Meilin said in amazement as she watched Takoda stride forward and introduce himself to the nearby Sadreans. ‘Shy with us and assertive with everyone else’” (114). Yeah, why’s that??? Just pointing it out doesn’t change the fact that it makes no sense.

“‘I’m not afraid of heights, you dummy’” (115). Oh my god, this is too funny.

“By the time they’d stepped onto the city’s rock floor, Conor and Meilin were breathless with laughter” (115). That’s so cute . . . they’re acting twelve again!

This trap system is really cool, it just needs some archers and it’s good to go.

My guess: the screamers fail somehow, and that’s how they get attacked by the Many (I seriously don’t remember anything about this plotline). 

“‘This shows the founding of Erdas’ . . . ‘ . . . become the civilization known as the Hellans’” (121). Where did the Hellans come from??? How do you “found” a whole world???

“ . . . Briggan and Jhi and Uraza were pictured near one another, friends even way back then” (122). Where’s Essix? Also, it’s funny, because in Tales of the Great Beasts, Uraza insults dogs and glorifies cats. Kind of want to know Great Beast Uraza and Great Beast Briggan’s relationship.

“‘He told the Hellans about the danger of the Wyrm and gave us our task . . . ’” (123). Right, but doesn’t Kovo hate humans?

“ . . . ‘the Evertree’s roots withered, and the Wyrm’s egg dropped . . . new roots began to grow where the old had been . . . much weaker than before . . . the fall cracked the egg, allowing small gray parasites . . . to spill out’” (123). I think it’s so interesting how they managed to make the original series’ climax be the cause of this new problem.

Ooooooookay, I was wrong. The screamers did work. 

“His body broke into shudders, and he couldn't make it stop” (126). Conor had a panic attack?

Chapter 12

“Aynar had mapped them a trail that would lead back to the Tellun’s Pride II . . . ” (132). Wait, so, Tellun literally gets stolen in the time it takes to go back the same way they came? Wow. That’s . . . sad.

“‘Anda is scratching the leader of the Great Beasts’” (133). How come nobody had this reaction with the Four Fallen? I mean some did, but Rollan was all “oh yeah, I summoned a Great Beast”, like he wasn’t in awe or anything???

“‘It’s confusing to me, too. It’s Tellun, but he’s not using his boomy voice’” (134). Again, Essix wanting to follow Tellun is so weird. Like, I just think the idea of a leader of the Great Beasts is a stupid idea in general, but whatever.

How did Rollan not see anything in the north, when an attack came so soon after?

“‘But I think he can communicate freely with any animal he meets’” (138). So, Tellun can: turn a desert into a lush forest in a matter of minutes, communicate with any animal he meets, and invoke awe. Is it just me, or are his powers all over the place?

“‘My father and I only started to understand each other recently, but our love was there all along’” (138). Okay, that’s it. Did they just refer to the relationship between Abeke and her father as “loving”?

“He dreamed of Artica, of balancing on an ice floe with Meilin . . . ” (141). Is this a reference to the fact that Fire and Ice is the first book in the series with major Rollan-Meilin moments?

“He recognized this awful pain. Rollan had felt it once before, under a bloodred sky at the end of the world” (142). Wasn’t that bonding sickness caused by the Staff of Cycles? And the bonding sickness is gone now, right???

Ohhhhh, so the bonding sickness comes from the Evertree being sick, and the Evertree is sick again . . . so . . . there’s bonding sickness again???

Chapter 13

“[Kovo] roared” (147). Why’s he just roaring at the Sadreans??? Is he good?

“Each of the elders came forward and did the same, choosing a different part of Kovo to honor . . . ” (148). I do not remember this ritual . . . at all.

“Immediately Jhi was covered in color . . . She looked delighted by it” (148). The elders: *doing an ancient ritual* Jhi: Play time!

“Xanthe scrutinized the panda’s belly, then she, too, threw her arms around Jhi” (149). But she just met Jhi???

“‘This isn’t precisely what I’d call a feast, not exactly,’ Conor said . . . ” (149). Conor being rude? No way . . .

“ . . . or, more distantly, her mother” (152). Her mother died giving birth to her, though???

Huh, Meilin also had a dream about Rollan and her rotting bond.

Jhi can stop noise???

“They’d gotten the high-speed summoning down to a science . . . ” (155). How high-speed, though?

“ . . . Conor managed a wicked grin” (157). Who is this guy?

Wow, Meilin be using the Many like a surfboard.

“ . . . he took her trembling frame fully in his arms” (165). I can’t get a handle on Takoda despite reading a whole-ass chapter from his perspective.

KOVO IS JEALOUS???

“‘Give her a second!’ Takoda snapped” (165). Honestly, yeah.

“His eyes were a bit too wild. His smile was a bit too stretched” (170). Did the Wyrm change him physically besides the parasite, though?

Chapter 14

“ . . . cruel Gerathon was the one who most often stalked his dreams” (171). Why??? Shouldn’t it be Kovo?

“Gone were the days of allowing Zerif to call the first shot; Abeke gave no warning before letting her arrow fly” (172). Parallels to shooting Zerif in Against the Tide? Also, when had she ever let Zerif call the first shot?

“Anda had started to flee . . . ” (173). So he’s flight out of fight-or-flight.

“‘Tell me, plainsboy, you only just summoned the Great Elk. Have you mastered his dormant state?’” (176). Okay, but Tellun died first, meaning that he was reborn first. So shouldn’t Anda have had enough time??? To learn? In Tales of the Fallen Beasts, Dawson summons Rumfuss into passive, so . . . that means that Anda should’ve also had enough time to learn to summon Tellun. Also, it’s up to the spirit animal, so Tellun can just go into passive if he chooses???

 “ . . . the mysterious figure wore a long, stiff crimson cloak. Even if there hadn’t been a hood hanging low over his head, a curious mask - a single white plate, like one huge scale of a reptile - covered his features. The stranger stride forward fearlessly, the fingers of one leather-gloved hand flexing and unflexing” (179). I love the Redcloaks’ outfit, actually. I love how it manages to cover every part of the body, the body, the face, the hair, and the hands. Also, the masks are supposed to be reminiscent of their spirit animal, right? So how come Shane’s isn’t a crocodile???

“But with one long stride, the red-cloaked stranger was in front of Abeke” (180). Awwwww.

Okay: unpopular opinion (probably . . . ): I don’t like that Anda lost his spirit animal. I think that Shane should’ve showed up earlier to help save Tellun, then disappeared as usual. Anda would’ve joined Rollan and Abeke and it would’ve helped us flesh out Tellun and his powers more. But now, all that’s left are broken relationships.

I get that it was to set up a sense of failure and hopelessness, but instead, the failure could’ve maybe come from letting Anda get so hurt?

Final thoughts and rating:

I really liked the description of Sadre. It was done pretty well. The colors made it seem so foreign, and I like that. The newer Conor-Meilin bond is so good. I don’t remember a single moment in the first series where they had such a moment. I did like Xanthe as a character. Rollan and Abeke’s relationship is amazing in this book as well. Conor getting angry and being rude in some places was something I enjoyed personally, because it shows his development from the last series. Kovo returning, and this time being on the side of the protagonists was an amazing direction to take the story, because it explains how complicated the first arc really was. I really like how mistrustful-but-grudgingly-playing-nice relationship between the group and Kovo was cemented, as well. 

Rollan didn’t really feel like Rollan for parts of the book, and while I get that it’s because he matured, it’s possible to mature a character and still have them be recognizable. I thought Anda losing Tellun was straight up unnecessary. We could’ve finally learned about Tellun’s powers, but instead Tellun gets taken and we don’t. I still don’t understand how the Sadreans had spirit animals without getting the bonding sickness, since they didn’t have access to Nectar. I absolutely despised the way they’ve glorified Abeke’s relationship to her father, and especially after she’d come such a long way to understand that family sometimes wasn’t biological. I also didn’t like that this arc wasn’t even a little foreshadowed in the first arc, though that’s a more minor thing. 

Rating: 9/10

#draeyem rereads spirit animals #immortal guardians #spirit animals series #spirit animals books #sa spoiler #abeke #conor #meilin #rollan #takoda #xanthe #kovo #zerif #anda #tellun

[adobe-outdesign]

Would you mind talking about the Spinarak line if you haven't already? If you have, I'd love your thoughts on Skorupi! (And vice versa; I did some searching but I didn't see it)

Spinarak is a cute little guy! It's probably the simplest spider design we've ever gotten in Pokemon, but that's a not a bad thing. The blank-ringed eyes convey a sort of compound eye without being too literal with it, and the little fangs and random horn (following in the proud Gen 1 tradition of slapping horns onto things for no reason other than that it looks cool) add just enough detail to prevent it from being too bland. I also love the stripey legs, a feature found in many spiders.

The main draw of Spinarak is the concept of it having a second face on its abdomen. Not only does this make logical biological sense (it would confuse predators), but it also makes for a fun little theme, and increases the cuteness by 20%.

My only real nitpick with the design is that the red fangs feel a bit out-of-place; they could've easily been yellow. Then again, it ties into Ariados' radically different palette and many IRL spiders have different-colored pedipalps, so I'm willing to give it a pass.

It's also worth nothing that Spinarak had a completely different palette in general originally, sporting a mostly purple look. Ariados was also purple originally, which created more design coherency between the two stages. I'm not sure why they changed this. Maybe they thought it made them look too much like poison-types?

While it's a shame that there's little color consistency between the two, there's at least some visual consistency—the horn, the stripe and spots on the abdomen, the fangs, and the striped legs all remain. Meanwhile, the body shape has changed in a way that makes it look appropriately stronger, and its gained a really pair of false legs on the back that no other spider 'mon sports.

Unfortunately, what doesn't remain is the theme. Spinarak's most noticeable feature was its false face, so it's baffling that Aridos drops that in favor of... nothing really. Aridos is nicely designed, sure, but it doesn't really have anything specific to make it stand out. I point this out mostly because this was Aridos' beta sprite:

Most of Aridos' design has been improved from this design; the finalized design sports a much more interesting body shape that looks much more different than Spinarak's than the beta's does, and the face feels a lot more complete in the final with its thinner head and larger eyes.

However, the loss of the face on the back was honestly a travesty. Like I said, the face on Spinarak was its main theme, so using the evolution to advance the face from being a simple smiley face to a full-brown vicious pattern ala Arbok would've made the line much more memorable, and would've created a greater sense of increase between the two stages. Even the final Pokedex entries for Aridos still blatantly reference this earlier design:

If they had kept Aridos' final design but allowed it to keep the false face of the beta, the line would've been dang near perfect. As-is, they're both still enjoyable spiders—just not nearly as memorable as they could've been.

As a final side note, I could see potential in revisiting this line. I don't think a third evolution would be out of the question; maybe play back into the face theme or expand upon the false legs by giving it the ability to flip itself upside-down or rightside-up on a whim.

#spinarak #aridos #pokemon #pokemon reviews

[austronauts]

Hi bestie I'm making a presentation on Mitch to my friends (please don't ask I have immeasurable brainrot and need to get it out somehow) but I don't really know what to include to really encapsulate all of his... everything so what are your personal favourite moments/ important Mitch lore. Also if you could drop some pics of him sitting on men's laps and engaging in otherwise questionable activity that would also be appreciated lol

oh my GOD. that is SO CUTE and i am so so honored to be called upon to help you with this incredible project.

i feel like (although its in need of an update. not me doing quarterly updates of this mitch marner primer like it's my actual job) my mitch marner primer will have a lot of the content you're looking for (if you haven't already seen it flkjdlsss. apologies in advance for the insanity of this even existing) *also my matt martin tag, justin holl tag, and patrick marleau tag has a lot of adorable gifs and photos!)

random things that immediately come to mind are what justin holl and alex kerfoot and Zach hyman said about mitch that just STAY WITH ME because i feel like they convey what mitch means and is for the people around him: justin holl: “you can’t really put into words how much Mitchy means to this team” alex kerfoot [when asked about where the leafs miss mitch the most - when mitch was out with injury i think]: "we miss him everywhere" zach hyman listing the things he'd want on a desert island: mitch

Other lore stuff (this is going to be very stream of consciousness and messy...apologies in advance)

The way Mitch draws SMILEY FACES and stuff on his gloves to remind him that hockey is supposed to be fun (and sometimes he writes Z on it - presumably for Zeus. Other times he's written H on it for Hayden, a child cancer patient/friend that Mitch befriended during his London Knights Days, which you can read more about here)

THE ENTIRE ATHLETIC ARTICLE about what mitch was like during his London Knights days https://theathletic.com/2469915/2021/03/25/mitch-marner-ohl-season/. THIS IS SUCH A GOOD ARTICLE but does have a paywall…if you don’t have a subscription, copy+pasting the athletic link into here should allow you to bypass

This video of Zach asking reporters if they caught Mitch singing loudly in the lockerroom lmao. I just LOVE how every single Leaf immediately points out Mitch as the one who's most likely to always be busting out into song and dance. I just know he was a Gleek when he was younger i just KNOW IT

What Jon Cooper says about Mitch. i just know jon cooper is smackin his lips somewhere out there wanting to sign mitch to play for him. Coops i know what you are

The way it's literally IMPOSSIBLE for mitch to go ANYWHERE or do anything without acquiring at least 3-5 doting father figures who want to kidnap him and squeeze him like a stress ball (same)

EVERY. SINGLE. THING about the 2015 NHL draft class and the friendship between connor dylan and mitch. every single thing

The way Mitch takes ANY and EVERY opportunity he can to gas auston and his teammates up! and his general inability to chirp anyone without immediately backtracking (most noticeable in the leaf to leaf with matt martin) and being a big loser about it. I know he always says he LOVES getting under his friends' skin and being annoying but i feel like this is like the time he asserted "he was thick for his size"? aka patently false but we love the DELUSION for you, babygirl! no but fr - it is generally impossible for mitch to get through any media appearance without complimenting or referring to auston at LEAST once. that boy is a simp to the core for auston matthews. this i think is even sweeter because - idk about now - but it's pretty clear that mitch's dad saw auston as a massive rival to mitch and a threat to mitch's potential success with the leafs? so mitch's friendship with auston and general "HEART EYES HUMINA HUMINA AWOOOGA HES SO GOOD HES MY BIG BOY HES MY MASSIVE MAN" demeanor about auston is all...in spite of his dad

The way he's never met a goalie he hasn't fallen in love with

The way he loves all dogs and kids (and the way kids seem to gravitate toward him). he's a CARICATURE of a man.

The way he complains and whines SO much whenever his teammate posts a photo without tagging him, even if he's not even in the photo. the constant need for attention. the babygirl behavior!

The way he sTILL HATES VEGETABLES and distrusts soup because of the texture and YET will make "ice cream soup" by mixing it with a spoon until it's all melted before he eats it. like what the fuck? what the fuck.

his utterly guileless warmth and happiness and enthusiasm for LIFE, hockey, and his PALS. he's a little stupid sometimes but he's so sweet and so CUTE and just a little k-pop group maknae-coded man

The way he melts himself into older players' families so thoroughly their kids believe that mitch is actually one of them

Moments of Mitch sitting on other players' laps or generally needing to be the most tactile physical-affection craving baby:

mitch and matt napping and spooning

this just makes me laugh bc mitch...wat are u doin

anyway, i will end this with what my friend said about mitch: i think once you're friends with mitch you just accept that he will be cuddling and spooning and draping himself over you. look. all these men clearly have the tired expressions of 'look, mitch just happened to me i didnt have a choice.'

#i hope this helps!!!!!!!!!! #im prob forgetting a lot...my brain at this point is just..it holds onto so much useless mitch marner information it scares me

[fishandships]

IDV ship dynamics

i wrote up some summaries for the dynamics between my IDV oc/canon ships a while back and figured i'd post them as a drabble of sorts? so lots of schmoopiness below cut lmao

Luchino/Rosario (Amor Fati): Luchino can dish it out but he can’t take it. He’s casually confident and smooth until Rosario flirts with *him* and he gets awkward and flustered (which Rosario finds extremely endearing). He uses lots of pet names and discovered very early on that sweet talk in Italian makes Rosario swoon so he deliberately peppers it in for their benefit. In particular, he refers to them as columbino once their relationship becomes official. Rosario uses “my love” and “my heart” but more often just “Luchi” (drawing out the vowels in sing-song the more they want attention). Luchino is naturally very touchy, not just in a romantic sense but in general, and Rosario, being as touch-starved as they are, does get flustered at first but absolutely loves it. Luchino also pays little attention to personal space.

These two getting together happened extremely fast - it was mutually love at first sight and a week later Luchino was inviting Rosario to move to Italy with him. The impulsivity of this decision is OOC for both of them - Luchino is (supposedly) known for his caution post-bite, and Rosario initially had a 7-year plan for figuring out whether they wanted to marry someone. But when the two met they both immediately felt like this was literally their other half and continuing life as it was previously would feel like being bifurcated.

OH random small thing I really love: Luchino canonically needs glasses but refuses to wear them most of the time. Once in a while he’ll wear a monocle to read. I headcanon that he’s awkward about this - maybe he dislikes the way it makes him look. Rosario, on the other hand, thinks he looks *fantastic* with glasses.

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Bane/Rosario (So Deer to My Heart): Slow burn; it takes a while for Bane to admit to himself that he has feelings for Rosario and longer still to admit to them because he’s too Tough and Independent for emotions (he tries to project this but tbh even he doesn’t believe it. He’s a huge softie who tries and fails at being an edgelord). Meanwhile it does take Rosario a while to develop romantic feelings - because of how quiet and solitary Bane is, it just took them a bit longer to get to know him. Despite being withdrawing, Bane is not shy and is very confident, so he doesn’t fluster unless Rosario does something very directly sweet that catches him off-guard. Since his face is always covered, Rosario interacts with his hands earlier than they would with others (for whatever reason, hand-touching is third-base stuff in Rosario’s mind). Bane tends to think of Rosario in comparison to an elk/deer both in terms of interpreting their behavior and physical description. As a sort of pun he tends to call them “my dear” and “dear heart” once their relationship is established. I stick with the original canon of Bane being unable to speak much due to having had his tongue cut out, and my personal headcanon is that initially he didn’t bother to learn sign language since he didn’t want to talk to people anyway. When he meets Rosario, he largely communicates via writing on a slate when absolutely necessary, but later starts using sign as he starts to want to talk to them (and Luchino!) more. Rosario is keen to learn along with him. Taking a cue from Luchino, Bane’s personal sign for Rosario is the sign for “dove”.

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Norton/Rosario (Magnetic Attraction): Once the initial headbutting is out of the way (both are extremely stubborn), Norton starts to appreciate Rosario’s overall softness and decides that he wants that for himself. Being a go-getter, he approaches them directly and without guise. Rosario is intimidated and mistrustful at first, but once Norton shows them he’s serious and actually does have a soft side himself, they fall really fast. He wants to be looked after and they want to be protected, so the relationship is mutually beneficial. Most likely pair to play-rassle (Norton, who is much stronger, always wins and Rosario, who has a competitive streak, is fake-mad about it). Norton thinks of Rosario in terms of being precious/valuable/treasure and of himself as being their rock/sturdy/steadfast. He doesn’t usually use pet names but once in a while during very soft moments will murmur “darlin’” or “sweet thing”/"sweetheart". Rosario calls him “my love”, “love”, and “handsome”.

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Andrew/Rosario (Like Real People Do): After being treated cruelly by so many people because of his albinism, Andrew gravitated towards Rosario extremely quickly and got clingy really fast. He struggled with his self-image and fear of rejection conflicting with his urgent desire to keep Rosario close, which resulted in a lot of awkwardness as he would try to make a move but panic and bail halfway through. Rosario finds him fascinating for a number of reasons, particularly his surprisingly romantic philosophy, and falls for him at a slightly slower, less noticeable pace. Even moreso than usual their nurturing instincts are extremely strong towards him and will go out of their way to protect him and make him feel comfortable, from physically getting between him and an aggressor to tucking scented herbs in his wardrobe so his coat will smell nice. Pet names aren’t as much of a thing, but both address the other as “my love”. Andrew can be extremely poetic and will spontaneously produce flowery phrases of endearment that always catch Rosario off guard and make them emotional.

#river babbles #drabble #rosario killick #the naturalist #otp: amor fati #otp: so deer to my heart #otp: magnetic attraction #otp: like real people do #my writing