#i want to draw something like a whole series of sketches like this and write something like “* yourself!”

[givemebackmypills]

#kiss yourself!! #i want to draw something like a whole series of sketches like this and write something like “* yourself!” #the next one should be something like fuck yourself or what. i mean- #self love is good idc!! #soapshipping #fight club #the narrator #tyler durden #my art

[papiliomame]

Road to 3D- Sam Manson (Part 2):

Character Modeling

Part 1: Model Sheet

Welcome to the second and final part of this project. Since people have asked how I do my models, I decided to make a write-up on how I approach these things using the example of a model of Sam Manson. The first part focused on how I make a model sheet fo a 3d model the second part focus just on the modeling. There are many more things about how to create a fully realized 3d character that I could make whole other chapters for, like UV unwrapping, texturing, shading and rigging, but I don't have enough knowledge past the fundamentals on these topics that could warrant their own seperate posts.

Additional stuff before I continue:

I use Blender for all my model

This not a beginners guide or something similar, it would be helpful to already know the general workflow of a modeling, how to use Blender and know different terminology like edgeflow, retopology etc.

If you are a beginner and want to learn more about character modeling I recommend the videoseries "Modeling for Animation" by Dikko on Youtube

Maybe I make some reference some tricks from this videoseries

That's it, let's go!

My first step is always the block-out phase. The block-out phase is what the construction lines and the first sketch in a drawing are. I align the frontview and sideview from the model sheet I made in part 1 with the z-axis (the blue line in the images above) and roughly shape out the forms with primitive forms. For this I mostly use a cube with a subdivide modifier.

Having a modelsheet without the clothes obscuring the body makes it much easier the get the form right. The block-out phase is one of the most important steps, if it looks good than I have practically half the work done. This is also a good opportunity to practice anatomy.

After this stage I continue with the head. First of all, don't forget to add the mirror modifier so I just need to model half of the model. There are different methods to approach modeling the head, like sculpt the head first, retopologize and than bake all the deatails onto the retopologized head. I actually prefer to polymodel the head especially when I have a good model sheet. I practially trace the lineart from the model sheet by extruding vertices, once from the frontview and once from the sideview. The most important points are the form of the eyes, the mouth, the form of the face and the jawline. The head block-out is used as an anchor point for the shrinkwrap modifier so that the traced forms actually look like they belong to a 3d form and not 2d lines floating space. From this point on it's just connecting everything, pull and push vertices so it looks like a 3d head and make sure the edgeflow is good. (It's also helpful to know how the planes of the head look like) After that I add the eyelashes, eyebrow, eyes and the ears, now it looks like something!

Now comes the hair. For the hair I used the "curve trick" like mentioned in the video series I recommended. Here is a tip to save time: I choose some edges from the head, duplicate and seperate it from the mesh. I convert this seperated line into a curve and choose a beziercircle as a bevel geometry. This is now the perfect foundation to model the hair further. One thing I needed a long time to notice: To get the beziercircle to a perfect square or in this case a triangle lower the Resolution U to 1 in the shape options. Now I just convert the curves into a mesh and add details and the head is done!

With the head finished I continue with the body. Remember how I wrote with a good block-out half of the work ist finished? Well, for this step I practically just use the smooth brush in sculpt mode and smooth everything out so everything looks connected. Then I retopologize the body and that's it. Well, ok there is a little bit more to it: Before smoothing things out I join the block-out part to a single mesh and remesh it with the remash modifier expept for the hands. I prefer to polymodel the hands seperatly without worrying about the rest of the body because they are difficult to model. I reattach them later. Speaking of reattaching, I make sure that the connection points have the same number of vertices while I retopologize/polymodel. To ensure that, I often use the following trick visualized with a simple example ( which is also described in the video series):

I want to reduce the amount of edges at the bottom of this plane, for this I merge 3 vertices from the middle into 1 vertice seen in the left image. After that I can select the blue marked edges from the center image and dissolve them. The result, which you can see on the right, is a nice clean edgeflow with a reduction in the number of edges.

After modeling every part I attach them together and I have a finished bodymesh the work with.

Now onto the clothes, for this I use the model sheet with clothes as reference. Having a retopologized body makes it easier to model simple stuff like e.g. Sam's shirt. On the left image the marked faces of the the bodymesh already looks like a shirt. I just need to duplicate and seperate this area, clean it up a little and the shirt is basically finished. The more complex stuff like the boots I need to polymodel around the bodymesh.

With that the modeling part is done! Now comes the things I said above: uv unwrapping, texture painting, rigging and shading. These are whole other topics I cannot go deeper because I'm still learning how to do these things but I hope my little write-up about how I appoach character modeling was enough to learn one thing or two.

Thank you for your time and thank for reading!

#3d modeling process #3d model #blender #danny phantom #sam manson #long post #my animation #my art #art resources

[tallsc]

Hello fellow QSMP Tumblr people, I would like to make a offer and would love to see if this can catch on.

If we're adopting A1, let's go all out. We're taking care of this kid.

At least three times a week, someone on Tumblr, under the "qsmp a1 tasks" tag, should draw or write something about A1 doing at least one of the official tasks for that day or the prior few days (cause I know it takes time to draw or write). It doesn't have to be huge, could be anything from a sketch to a full picture or comic, from a few sentences to a full short story, as long as it appears under the tag and has something to do with A1 and one of the recent tasks! (Please say somewhere what task you're doing and what day it was from.)

A1 doesn't mind what name you use - Ai, Aaron, Ivan, just A1, something else entirely - as long as you still use the right tag so everyone can see that there's been a task completed. They also use any pronouns and have a whole wardrobe of accessories, again as long as it's clear in the art or story that the egg is A1 and not one of the other eggs.

Feel free though to include yourself or your OCs or one of the QSMP members or none or all of them, this is just a series of writing/drawing prompts with a purpose, go wild and have fun!

Due to it being Saturday already, required tasks won't start until this Monday. After that, let's see how long we can keep our community's new kid going!

Updates account

If anyone would like to translate this into any of the other three languages, I will gladly add the translations to this post and credit you for doing so. I want to make this visible and accessible to as many people as possible.

Translations below (French by @lb1412, Portuguese by @aurora-bore-aura)

Portuguese:

Oi pessoal do QSMP Tumblr, eu queria fazer uma oferta e eu adoraria ver se isso irá se espalhar mais.

Se a gente tá adotando A1, vamos com tudo. A gente vai cuidar dessa criança.

Três vezes por semana pelo menos, alguém no Tumblr, na tag "qsmp a1 tasks", tem que postar um desenho ou escrever sobre A1 fazendo uma das tarefas oficiais daquele dia ou uns dias antes (porque eu sei que leva tempo pra fazer arte). Não precisa ser muito, pode ser um esboço(sketch) pra um desenho completo ou quadrinho, de algumas frases para uma pequena história completa. Que precisa é ao menos aparecer na tag e ter relação com A1 e as tarefas recentes! (Por favor diga em algum lugar que tarefa se tá fazendo e que dia foi ela)

A1 não tem preferência com o nome ou pronome que você usar — Ai, Aaron, Ivan, só A1, algum outro que se faça — desde que você ainda use a tag dita pra que todo mundo veja que tarefa foi feita. Além de liberdade de pronomes ele tem um armário cheio de acessórios, então por favor deixe claro em algum lugar da sua arte ou história que o ovo é o A1 e não um dos outros.

Sinta-se livre pra incluir você, ou um dos seus personagens, ou um dos membros do QSMP, ou ninguém, ou todo mundo acima. Isso aqui é só uma série de sinopses para desenhar/escrever com um propósito, se solta e se divirta!

Como já é sábado, as tarefas necessárias não vão aparecer até segunda-feira. Depois da revelação, vamos ver por quanto tempo podemos manter a nova criança da comunidade!

French:

Salut les fans du QSMP, j'ai une proposition à vous faire et j'adorerais voir si ça peut devenir concret.

Quitte à adopter A1, sortons le grand jeu. On va s'occuper de cet enfant.

Il faudrait qu'au moins trois fois par semaine, quelqu'un sur Tumblr dessine ou écrive quelque chose où A1 fait au moins l'une des tâches officielles du jour ou de l'un des jours précédents (parce que je sais que dessiner ou écrire, ça prend du temps), et le poste sur le tag "qsmp a1 tasks". Pas besoin de faire quelque chose d'y mettre énormément d'efforts, ça pourrait être n'importe quoi, d'un croquis à une illustration ou BD complète, de quelques phrases à une courte histoire complète, tant que c'est posté dans le tag et que ça a un lien avec A1 et l'une des tâches récentes ! (S'il vous plaît, notez quelque part de quelle tâche vous vous chargez et le jour auquel ça correspond.)

Peu importe quel nom vous utilisez pour A1 (Ai, Aaron, Ivan, juste A1, ou même un tout autre nom), cela ne lea dérange pas tant que vous utilisez le bon tag pour que tout le monde puisse voir qu'une tâche a été accomplie. Iel utilise n'importe quels pronoms et possède toute une galerie d'accessoires, tant, encore une fois, qu'il est clair dans le dessin ou l'histoire qu'il s'agit d'A1 et pas d'un autre œuf.

Sentez-vous libre de vous inclure vous, vos OCs, l'un des membres du QSMP, tous les membres, ou même aucun, ce ne sont qu'une série de prompts de dessin/d'écriture avec un but précis, faites-vous plaisir et amusez-vous bien !

Puisqu'on est déjà samedi, les tâches nécessaires ne compteront pas avant lundi. Après ça, essayons de voir combien de temps la communauté peut maintenir notre nouvel enfant en vie !

#qsmp #qsmp eggs #qsmp a1 tasks #qsmp aaron #qsmp ai #art prompt #writing prompt #time to test this social experiment and see how much we've all pack bonded with anything egg-shaped

[genericpuff]

The Extended Mishandling of LO's S3 Midseason Finale Premiere

Alright, so I had mentioned leading up to the release of the newest LO episode that my feelings regarding LO returning were pretty "meh". Not hyped, but not completely back of mind either. Just sort of a weird calm before the storm type feeling that could go either way.

I'm glad I got to have that moment of calmness because good god, this episode was an absolute shitshow. And honestly, I'm not surprised, for several reasons:

Rachel has never been good at maintaining a buffer, even back at the start of the series she only ever had 2-3 episodes ready ahead of her schedule which is NOT an ideal buffer for an originals series.

Rachel has never been good at writing, she's very "draw first write later" and has stated as such in interviews that when she gets 'stuck' on what she's writing, she'll just start drawing and fit the pieces in later.

Four months is NOT enough time to both rest, attend massive conventions, and work on improving a project while also getting buffer episodes ready.

Because of the FP episodes remaining locked over the hiatus, technically Rachel only needed to have ONE episode ready upon return for the newest FP release, not multiple like she'd usually need like in the past during the S2 midseason hiatus or the season finale episodes which would unlock those FP releases like normal - so for all we know, she could have drawn this episode literally last week, especially when the promo material was so last minute. Frankly I think it was REALLY stupid for whoever it was who decided to keep these FP episodes locked (whether it was her or WT, it was more likely WT) but you can read all I have to say about that in my review of the midseason finale episodes.

All that's to say, no, there was never any guarantee Rachel was going to somehow "turn around" the ride we're currently on. I know that many of the critics were hoping for that to happen, but with the circumstances of the hiatus mixed with Rachel's bad habits of putting her best efforts into the procrastination projects that aren't her actual comic (ex. the few original pieces and LO sketches she put out during the hiatus) it just wasn't in the cards. This is where the comic is at and this is where it will remain until it's over.

I want to also point something out about this episode that was... really glaring to me.

As with all of these hiatus returns, LO got priority advertising in the first two banner slots and push notifications AND a popup ad within the app. This is unsurprising, Webtoons is still trying to milk this thing for what it's worth.

I know a lot of people are gonna focus on the art, or the fact that WT is continuing to shill LO, but I wanna point out the part that WT implemented specifically - "NEW SEASON".

This is literally just false. At best I'd like to think some intern just messed up and thought this was a new season, but it's literally not, the episode designation still says "S3". Note that the creators only design the banner art, the actual labels on top are put there by Webtoons.

But at worst, this feels like blatant lying to continue to hide the fact that LO is ending. Mind you, Rachel and Webtoons have still not put out official posts stating that this is the final arc. There is NOTHING from either of them to communicate to the audience that the comic is ending next year. It feels like they're trying to avoid the topic altogether out of fear of losing the fanbase they still have, rather than hyping up the comic's end for those who have stuck around to see how it all wraps up. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the case, considering they're now trying to funnel the fanbase into Penguin/Inklore with new marketing deals and the whole Rachel Smythe Presents thing. They're trying to make this seem like the beginning of something "new" when it's really just a quiet shifting of management (Penguin House).

But all that aside, let's actually get into the episode. It's one episode after 4 months, which is not standard for LO's hiatuses, typically FP episodes release on schedule (meaning free readers start hiatuses 3 weeks after FP readers do), the only time this has been an exception has been with the 2 week breaks because the whole point of those was to build a buffer (which you can't do if you're going ahead and releasing the FP episodes anyways). For extended hiatuses like these, usually free readers still get their FP episodes, but that wasn't the case here. That means Rachel technically only needed one episode ready for the comic's return, and it shows. It really fucking shows.

FROM HERE ON OUT THERE WILL BE FASTPASS SPOILERS REGARDING EPISODE 254. DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED !!!

As per tradition, we get a title that means nothing at all. It just says what we already know.

Our collective husband Zeus is dying, no thanks to the poison cupcake fed to him by Apollo. For those who don't remember, Apollo had tricked Zeus into eating the cupcake by making him believe it was from Hebe. We are fully aware that it was Apollo who poisoned him. Remember that for later in this review.

Right off the bat we're off to a hilarious start, both with a cryptid appearance from Apollo in the background (lmao) who is, for some reason, ALREADY returning to the scene of the crime he just committed because... who knows at this point. Apollo and Psyche know it was Apollo at this point, I might add, but I have no clue why Apollo is actually returning to the scene of the crime when he has no idea Eros and Psyche know.

Moving on from that, can we talk about this hilarious dialogue?

"We have to call a doctor! Let's call Asclepius!"

"No, we can't trust him! Gosh darn it, why are we only bothering to think of ONE doctor in this universe where we've seen more than one doctor?? Guess Zeus is just gonna die! What a horribly contrived situation this is!"

And that's literally how I can best describe most of this episode. Contrived. There is a LOT of manufactured drama in this that makes ZERO sense even on a surface level.

And what do you mean exactly, Eros? "What a terrible system!" Is this supposed to be a joke? Lampshading? We've seen Persephone go to the gynecologist. There are non-god doctors who tend to gods all the time here.

Eros just doesn't seem to be that pressed over this, he sounds like Ned Flanders and that's NOT a good way to open up a scene like this... let alone an episode people have been waiting four months for.

Anyways, after a few pointless reaction panels (again remember I have to cut a lot of what I show here for Tumblr image limitations but I promise you, I'm keeping as much important stuff as I can in this, there's just THAT MUCH filler at this point), Eros and Psyche confront Apollo and he is... good god.

There is... so much to unpack here.

First of all, remember those theories about how Rachel was clearly trying to write Apollo as this "secret twist villain" the whole time but it doesn't work because Apollo is simultaneously written as both a 'conniving villain' and a massive dumbass at the same time?

Well, I finally have a more appropriate term for him. He's your average red pill redditor - someone who thinks he's smarter than everyone else when really all he does is sit on reddit all day using big words incorrectly in arguments he gets himself into with a bunch of equally-air-headed dumbasses.

"You can't possibly understand the nuances of the Olympian political system," Apollo said proudly, a man who had, ironically and obliviously, run for president in a monarchy. The union of kettle and pot is eternal.

He's the Slappable Jerk but instead of it being a painfully hilarious impression, it's just painful and hilarious for all the wrong reasons.

this is so stupid because it's 1.) Eros pointing out how obvious Apollo's plan was, despite Apollo acting smart two seconds ago with a goddess who, mind you, has been a goddess for ten years, and 2.) patricide isn't even intrinsically linked to politics, there's nothing 'political' about a guy trying to kill his dad except in, idk, a monarchy, which again, Apollo has spent ten years trying to rise to power in as a president which is a completely different form of government.

If I wanted to be really granular with this, I'd like to think Apollo is making some kind of point about the critics who call out LO's whack as fuck political system (especially in the trial arc) - as if he's saying "well you're just a stupid reader and this is fantasy where you don't understand exactly what political system we're using, so shut the fuck up you stupid twig" - but I don't think it's meant to be that deep. I think it's just Rachel trying to write a smart character and then failing at it because she, herself, is not a smart writer. And I'm really inclined to believe that more than the theory about this being some kind of meta-narrative about the critics because this entire plotline is contrived and stupid down to its core.

I did not cut anything out here, that's the pacing. Leto literally just appears out of nowhere and uh oh spaghettio's, she has Kassandra! Remember Leto? The character we were led to believe was truly "pulling the strings" until she disappeared from the story completely after she realized that Apollo and Persephone weren't a thing, even going so far as to call out her own son for being a fucking dumbass? Well, she's back and once again she's being involved as some kind of "double agent" in this whole thing, even though we literally haven't seen her since halfway through S2.

"Mm yes, you're so stupid, falling into my trap! Even though you had no reason to remember Kassandra anyways because she's literally a mortal woman you just met and you yourself have committed acts of violence against mortals without a shred of care! I'm so smart! My plan is all coming together!"

We've never seen Apollo do anything except cry and poop his pants, the closest he got to being "powerful" was his attempts to murder Daphne (who he seems to have forgotten about in this "master plan" of his) but ultimately he's literally just a piss ant baby and there's no reason to believe that he could somehow outmatch the God of Love who can literally manipulate people's emotions and states of mind with his arrows. But yeah sure go off, you're so powerful and smart.

The worst part is, I can't even buy this as the narrative trying to be like "see how manipulative and conniving he is?" because it's just silly. We've SEEN this man cry with his victim complex, we've seen him say and do the DUMBEST things that don't lend to any amount of "intelligence" he may have, it comes across less as him being "smart the whole time" and more as him trying to sound smart but ultimately sounding incredibly stupid. And I can't even immerse myself into it and buy that maybe that's the point, because it doesn't feel like the point, it just feels like inconsistent writing, he doesn't feel like a 'threat', he's just monologuing.

Bad art and Apollo literally just repeating what Leto already implied so this is a waste of the audience's time.

This is the funniest panel in the whole episode because I can't tell if Apollo is supposed to be in the background (for some reason, despite him literally being in front of Eros and Psyche two seconds ago) or if he's in the foreground and just REALLY small for some reason. This is so off-putting. And of course, it's just Apollo explaining what we're ALREADY SEEING ONSCREEN.

You see, in addition to this episode being contrived, it also talks down to its audience a LOT by explaining exactly what we're seeing onscreen. It's like Rachel saw the criticisms about her not including enough to depict what's actually going on in her head and so she thought the solution was to spoon feed information over pictures that are already doing the job of explaining what's going on. Rachel really doesn't know how to write and even when she tries to implement changes that reflect criticisms that have been made of her writing, she somehow makes things worse because she completely misses the point of what those criticisms are trying to get across.

Anyways, without even trying to resist (for some reason) Eros and Psyche get sentenced to horny jail.

They're now trapped in a basement that Leto somehow has in her home. How do we know that?

HAHAHA FUNNY LAMPSHADING SO FUNNNYYYYYYY

Leto claims that they shouldn't try to escape because the dungeon is "enchanted", but she doesn't even bother to explain what that means. So they literally don't bother trying. They don't try to call her bluff, they don't try to teleport out of there, they literally just go "well shoot", shrug their shoulders, and accept their fate. Just like with the whole "we can't trust the only doctor we bothered to think of" situation, Eros and Psyche are turning out to be some of the stupidest, lowest-effort characters in this comic who literally can't be bothered to try because that would require too much brain power.

Notice how much time we've spent on this and we haven't gotten back to where the cliffhanger of the last episode left off? Well buckle up because there's still more to cover.

So it turns out Hebe was still inside with her dad, in FULL VIEW of what was going on through glass which is somehow COMPLETELY soundproof, and when Apollo steps inside, she just has no idea what happened. She never bothered to even look outside to see what was going on with Eros and Psyche, she's just been sitting on the floor staring at Zeus' dead face for what was likely several minutes, unless Rachel is seriously trying to convince us that conversation and hostage negotiation from earlier only took 2 seconds. The timeline is such a mess at this point that characters basically freeze in place as soon as they're not the focus of the scene.

Apollo rushes inside, acting shocked over the situation, and when Hebe asks where Eros and Psyche are (again, she could have just looked out the window at any time), he's just like "dur idk they just left lol" which Hebe just... buys, I guess.

That's just Persephone but yellow. She's even missing her beauty mark.

See how Apollo put his hand on Zeus' chest/shoulder by the way?

Apparently, despite Mr. Smarter Than Everyone Else trying to pretend it wasn't him, he's able to discern that Zeus is dying from a toxic and rare poison just from touching him. He doesn't even really seem to use his powers, he just touches him and goes "welp he's dead i guess lol don't bother asking me how I know that".

But oh nooo remember that note from before? Well gasp Apollo's gonna use it to frame Hebe! In front of no one else at all!

Hebe of course says she didn't write it, but Apollo continues to try and frame her anyways, even though, again, there's no one else present here, and so it effectively just becomes the most absurd form of gaslighting I've ever seen.

Again, THERE IS NO ONE ELSE HERE IN THE SCENE. He's just trying to claim she did it to absolutely no one at all, in the hopes of... what exactly? That she'll just take the fall for something she knows she didn't do? That she'll somehow be convinced? It's not like Hebe has the same thing going on as Persephone where she has a 'wrathful dark side' he could pin it on, this is just a criminal who just robbed a building pointing at the first person they see and yelling "YOU DID IT!"

All I'm saying is that Apollo would be really bad at Among Us. He'd be the type of player to kill someone, hit the report button, then claim yellow did it which, even if he DID convince the rest of the team, would still get kicked anyways as soon as yellow was proven through the eject to not be the imp and everyone would go "okay cool so yellow wasn't the imp, that means obviously it's purple self-reporting." It's a trick that doesn't even work anymore because of how old it is. Hebe isn't a child here, she's an 18 year old woman who should be fully capable of raising an eyebrow and wondering why Apollo is this quick to accuse her - almost like he's trying to hide the fact that he did it.

But Hebe can't catch onto this, just like Eros and Psyche, she has to act stupid for the sake of the plot.

At first I thought maybe Rachel was trying to do some "whodunit" scenario, but that doesn't work here because we already know who did it. And while there are stories that exist like that that pull it off (ex. Knives Out) the problem with trying to do this the way Rachel did is that the person being framed has to have this thing called motive. The reason why Knives Out and Glass Onion work so well is because the person who was murdered (or conspired against) is someone who is being targeted by multiple people who could all be the murderer. It's quite literally called out in Glass Onion as a form of smart lampshading. "It's like putting a loaded gun on the table, and turning off the lights."

But it doesn't work here because Hebe does not have motive. If you're going to attempt to frame a murder on someone, it has to be someone who would have reasonable motive to commit that murder, even if they didn't actually commit it.

And who among Zeus' children has motive?

What about the war-mongering bloodthirsty god of war who has been regularly sentenced to time in the Mortal Realm to fight in wars in which he's been regularly injured?

What about the chaos-seeking wrathful goddess who would do it to get revenge on the parental figure who cast her aside, or even just for the fun of saying she did it?

Why try and pin it on Hebe, the doting daughter of Zeus who's only had a collective of maybe 20 panels in the entire comic?

But then I realized... it's not Knives Out, it's the fucking Lion King.

Which is just as contrived - if not more - than the assumption this was gonna be some attempt to frame Hebe. It's not. He's literally just trying to keep her from assuming it was him. He could have just as easily played dumb without calling attention to the note but he intentionally went out of his way to try and be Scar from The Lion King , while completely missing the point of why that scene worked in the original movie.

Scar wasn't trying to 'frame' Simba for Mufasa's murder. He was trying to hide the murder, while also attempting to get the only heir to the throne out of the picture, so he passed the guilt of the death onto Simba - a child who, unlike Hebe, wouldn't have the ability to rationalize or realize his uncle his a scumbag - who then ran away from home because he was too terrified to face his family for what happened, assuming that it was all his fault when it wasn't.

That's not how this is panning out here. Hebe is the now 18 year old daughter of Zeus, and not one of his only children. She doesn't even fit into the whole "sons overthrowing their fathers" prophecy like Aries would. Apollo is literally just being a big idiot here by saying "well I'm gonna give you a headstart to run away, because if you stay, I might hurt you" (which btw, should be MORE of a smoking gun that Apollo did it??)

And again, it's all so contrived so that the plot can move forward. "Well I'm going to frame you for this murder, but y'know, you should just leave, I'm not gonna try and press it further lmao"

Again, Apollo is a fucking idiot here, because he just attempted to frame someone who has NO MOTIVE to harm Zeus, to absolutely NO ONE at all who would side with him, only to let her go which would leave her to question why Apollo would try to accuse and harm her in the first place before considering other options. And through ALL this he claims he's the smart one, which I can't even be bothered to "love to hate" because it's written so poorly.

And really it all comes down to how everyone else behaves in relation to Apollo that makes it so stupid and unbelievable. Apollo, you're not smart just because all the characters around you are intentionally being written to be as stupid and non-confrontation as possible. If you can only write a smart villain by making everyone else stupid, you haven't written a smart villain, you've written a dumbass whose victory only happens due to contrived plot convenience. It's not even done well like in Glass Onion, it's just bad writing, full stop.

And who does he call to report this emergency? The satyr police? His son the doctor?

No.

The media. Literally just "hello, the media?? I need your best journalist here stat!"

I need you to understand, even if he were calling a tabloid magazine like The Weekly Nark, you don't just... call a journalist to report a murder. These are not the actions of someone who's trying to absolve himself of guilt, these are the actions of a complete dumbass trying to get news coverage of his trophy kill who would be better off just playing dumb instead of trying to play smart. Even Walter White wasn't this fucking stupid despite all the times he fell on his own sword, Apollo is literally just instigating suspicion towards himself for no reason at all. He's self-reporting so hard and worst of all, you can't even take any of this seriously because of how corny it is. There's no dramatic tension, no stakes, it's just a bunch of characters performing in a really bad stage play and reducing every conflict to "well I guess Zeus is just dead now because no one's bothering to make an effort to stop Apollo or ask questions lmao"

It's truly the epitome of "this plot wouldn't exist if characters would just talk to each other."

But finally, FINALLY we mention the thing this episode is named after, the transition point to Persephone.

Just like with the midseason finale episode, there's a lot to cover here, so I'm gonna get more into it in a part two post.

That said, you can see already this is the messiest, most contrived bullshit to ever wind up in LO. It's trying so hard to be smart and it just comes across as a bunch of toddlers in the world's worst stage play rendition of Clue. None of what was done here was in any way dramatic or tense, it's just a bunch of characters infodumping shit we already know, trying to set up new plot threads that don't make any sense, and allowing one another to get away with what they're doing because they don't bother to even try.

It's completely manufactured, contrived nonsense. It's not "smart", it's not "so dumb it's brilliant", it's just dumb.

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #anti lore olympus #this is the comic that bought two eisners #uh i mean *won* two eisners #... no wait i had it right the first time lmao

[hederasgarden]

Stand By Me - Part 1

Summary: When a local ranch hand’s attention evolves into something more sinister, Rhett Abbott becomes an unlikely source of comfort and protection for you. Pairing: Rhett Abbott x F!Reader Word Count: 4K (SORRY) Rating: Mature, future chapters will be explicit and 18+ only. Stalking, anxiety, panic attack, and Rhett being protective. Future chapters will include some violence. No spoilers for Outer Range. A/N: This will be a three part series. I cannot thank @wildbornsiren, @mayhem24-7forever and @callsign-phoenix enough for their help and support putting this together. Thank you @callsignhurricane for the absolutely gorgeous header.

Please comment and reblog if you enjoyed this story. Your interactions keep me writing and inspired.

Masterlist

He’s back again, lingering at the front of the store by the power tool display.

Even though his straw hat is pulled low to shield his face, you know it’s him. Greasy strands of thin blond hair peek out from under his hat and you recognize the distinctive scar running down the side of his neck that disappears into his shirt. You don’t know his name, only that he’s a seasonal worker at one of the ranches outside of town. He came to the hardware store one morning weeks ago to buy supplies to fix a downed fence. Your conversation was brief, but even then he unsettled you. His gaze lingering too long, fingers brushing over the bare skin of your forearm as you turned to leave.

You tried to forget about the strange interaction until he started showing up like clockwork during your shifts. He never bought anything, just lingered and stared. When he did speak, it was always questions that were overly personal, though never quite bad enough for you to feel comfortable calling him out. Any space you tried to put between the two of you was quickly eaten up by his imposing frame. He made you feel small, vulnerable. After the first few times, you learned to stay behind the counter when he was in the store, anxious to face him without something between you.

By far, the worst was the strange little gifts you’d find on your car windshield after he left. They started small like your favorite flowers or little stuffed animals, but quickly escalated. Sometimes it was things you remembered mentioning that you needed to coworkers or customers. New gardening gloves when your old pair got a hole or a phone charger for the one that broke. A few times you found charcoal drawings of yourself tucked under the wiper. They were nearly all of your face and always done in achingly deep detail.

That’s when you went to the Sheriff; but he wasn’t much help. He made it clear that he thought you were overreacting, even going so far as to suggest that you should take the attention as a compliment. Deputy Joy had been more willing to listen, offering to sit outside the store and catch him in the act.

He never showed on the days she was there.

Things got worse when he asked you out and you politely declined, citing a boyfriend that didn’t really exist. His 'gifts' continued, but the tone shifted dramatically. Dead flowers and sketches torn or with your eyes scratched out. You tried to go back to the police station half a dozen times but always lost your nerve. Instead you kept quiet, embarrassed and scared, half hoping he’d lose interest or move onto the next town for work.

You didn’t tell anyone else until Cecilia Abbott caught you crying in your car early in front of the store one morning. She was a regular, coming in weekly for supplies or just to chat with the owner, Mr. Anderson, always with a kind word for you and the other employees. You didn’t want to tell her about the man. Then she knocked on your window, looking so concerned, and you couldn’t help it. You didn’t tell her everything though, feeling like somehow this whole situation was your fault. It was too embarrassing to share all the things he’d done so you downplayed it.

Even though she couldn’t do much, Cecilia made you feel heard and offered you her number. “Next time he shows I’ll send my husband down, he’ll straighten the man out.”

At the time, you accepted the slip of paper but declined her offer, worried any action would only make it worse. Now, you wished you had let her help. It’s only 30 minutes until you’re supposed to close up the store and he’s your only customer. It was already dark outside, the few lights that lined the main street flickering to life. You track him as he moves through the store, your foot tapping anxiously against the barstool. You're craning your neck to follow him when the air conditioner kicks in. The jarring, unexpected sound makes you jump and the stool scrapes against the floor loudly. He looks up, the brim of his hat lifting just enough for you to see a flash of his light green eyes and pale face before you look away. You can feel his gaze on you and the memory of his warm breath on your neck when he once stood too close to you resurfaces.

You press a shaking hand over your mouth. Fear and self-doubt war inside, making your early dinner sit like a stone in your stomach. Before you can think too hard about it, you pick up the old phone by the register and pull out the crumpled paper from your pocket. Cecilia answers on the third ring, her soft, familiar voice a comfort as she greets you.

“I hate to bother you so late,” you whisper, twisting the cord of the phone around your finger. “But…” you begin, only to trail off, feeling stupid for calling her. “Nevermind, it’s nothing,” you continue quietly.

“He’s back honey, isn’t he?” She questions, the concern in her voice clear.

“Yes and I’m closing tonight.” You pause and lean to the right, looking past the register to check he’s still in the shop. He's lingering at the front display again, far enough away you can’t exactly tell what he’s doing. “I’m probably blowing this out of proportion–”

She cuts you off with an empathetic sound. “No. You’re not. I’ll send Royal or one of the boys up. Old Mr. Anderson shouldn’t be having a woman closing up all on her own anyhow.”

The relief you feel is immediate but underneath is the ever-present worry that you’re making a bigger deal out of this than you need to. It’s a 20 minute drive into town for whoever she sends to help. What if they thought you were wasting their time, like the sheriff did?

“Cecilia, I…I,” you stammer.

She makes a soft sound and you close your eyes. “It's not a problem, honey. You sit tight.”

After you hang up, the minutes seem to crawl by. You split your time watching the clock and trying to keep track where the man is in the store. It’s hard to concentrate. Every little creak of the old wooden floor and any flash of movement sends an anxious spike of adrenaline through your heart. At 9:55 you stand and lock the register, bending down to retrieve your purse from under it. When you straighten up, the man is standing on the other side of the counter. You flinch and trip back and his hand shoots out to grasp your wrist.

“Woah there, baby girl." He practically purrs the words, sending a shiver of disgust down your spine. “You’re jumpy tonight.”

An automatic apology is tumbling from your lips before you can call it back. He smirks, leaning forward and you tug your hand away, holding it tightly to your body. He stares at you without speaking for a long moment until the bell over the door jingles. He turns immediately, an unhappy tick in his jaw, but you breathe out in relief.

It’s Rhett Abbott, Cecelia’s youngest son. You don’t know him well, never moving past exchanging pleasantries whenever he came into the store or you saw him around town though you nursed a crush on him from afar throughout high school. Tonight he looks like he came straight from work, wearing dirty jeans and a blue button-up shirt over a white henley, sleeves rolled up to expose his tan forearms. He tips his hat when he sees you, cutting his gaze to the man in front of you.

“Think I forgot something,” the man says suddenly, his eyes darting angrily away from you to stare at Rhett. "Why don’t you help your new customer while I go find it."

He takes off down the middle aisle, keeping watch on Rhett’s progress towards you. You know the man is waiting for you to be alone again. The realization kicks up your anxiety even more and you have to clasp your hands together to keep from shaking.

“Hey,” Rhett greets, setting his hat on the counter and leaning forward on his elbows. His hair has grown longer since you last saw him, curling under his tan jaw but his blue eyes are just as intense and beautiful as you remember. “Ma said you got an admirer,” he tells you, a single brow raised. He glances over his shoulder briefly and then returns his attention to you. “I’ll walk you to your car after you lock up.”

“Thank you,” you tell him, slipping the strap of your purse over your shoulder.

Rhett straightens up and you look past him, meeting the pair of pale green eyes that watch you through the shelves. A cold rush of fear washes over your body and you make a little sound, something between a wheeze and whimper. You’re frozen in place, heart beating wildly. Rhett says your name but you can’t make yourself respond until he lays a hand on your arm. You flinch at his soft touch, your scared gaze jumping back to him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Rhett asks. “Did he do something to you?”

A tear slips down your face, betraying what you want to so desperately hide. You shake your head, staring into his kind eyes and concerned face. You’re afraid that once you start, you won’t be able to stop. Rhett’s face darkens and he rises to his full height. Your arm shoots out, twisting the loose fabric of his open shirt to hold him in place.

“Don’t. Please.”

“Alright, it’s okay,” he soothes, stepping back up to the counter. His hand settles over yours and he squeezes, thumb brushing across the back of your hand. “I’m just gonna ask him to leave, alright? Nothing else.”

“Okay,” you agree, scared for more than just yourself this time. You have no idea what the man might do when confronted or if he would hurt Rhett for trying to help you.

You hold your breath when Rhett walks away, straining to hear whatever quiet conversation he has with the man. You expect him to argue or maybe cause a scene but their conversation is brief. He looks back at you, jaw clenched, and then stalks off towards the front of the store. Rhett follows him to the door, locking it behind him and flipping the sign from open to closed. Despite the clear dismissal to leave, the man remains outside watching.

Rhett makes his way to you, but doesn’t stop at the counter, rounding it to get close enough to lay a hand on your shoulder. His touch is nothing like the man’s; it’s light, meant to soothe and comfort. You stare up at him, watching him frown when he sees the man is still there. In response, Rhett gently pushes you towards the back storeroom until you’re both hidden from the view of the front windows.

Until you’re hidden from him.

“What’s going on?” Rhett asks, careful to keep his tone soft.

Your throat constricts and when you open your mouth, a little sob comes out, your shoulders shaking. Everything you’ve been holding back these past few weeks comes out in an uncontrollable rush. Your breaths come in short little gasps for air, your chest heaving. Rhett looks so alarmed that it only makes you cry harder. He doesn’t seem to know what to do, looking everywhere but at you. Then, after a moment of hesitation, he shifts forward and his strong arms encircle your body.

He holds you against him tightly, one hand coming up to cup the back of your head while other rests along your lower back. You’re not sure if he’s speaking actual words or just making some kind of low sound meant to soothe you. Either way, it works. As the low warble of his voice slowly penetrates your panicked mind, you suck in a deep lungful of air.

“That’s it,” he encourages. “Breathe for me. I got ya. You’re safe.”

You realize for the first time that you actually are safe, protected in his arms. You sag against him and Rhett grunts, absorbing your weight. For several long moments you stay like that, face buried in his chest and his chin resting atop your head. He speaks to you like a spooked animal, but you can't even find in yourself to feel embarrassed. It feels good to be held and reassured when you’ve been scared for so long.

Only after you fall quiet in his arms does Rhett pull back and look at you, searching your face. He doesn’t have to ask the question again, you know what he wants to know.

“I’m sorry,” you start, wiping at your face. There’s a wet patch on Rhett’s shirt from your tears.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” he assures you. “Just tell me what’s going on. Did he touch you? Hurt you?” He demands.

“I think he might want to,” you admit quietly. You’re not sure how to tell him just how awful these last few weeks have been. How scared you are. “I went to the Sheriff when it all started…” You trail off and Rhett scoffs, his opinion on the older man clear.

“It started when he began leaving me gifts. They weren’t so bad at first… Then he asked me out. I lied and said I had a boyfriend. I thought he might take that better than me just saying no, but he got scary after that.”

“Scary how?” Rhett presses, forehead wrinkling.

You close your eyes, ashamed.

“You can tell me,” Rhett encourages, a knuckle under your chin tipping your face back. Your skin tingles where he touches you.

“It might be easier to show you…” you tell him, reaching into your purse to pull out your phone.

You unlock it and bring up your camera roll before handing it to him. A muscle in his jaw jumps as he scrolls through the photos of all the gifts the man left you. You’d taken care to document everything on the advice of Deputy Joy, not that the Sheriff cared to look at the evidence.

“Does he know where you live?” He asks.

You shake your head. “I don’t think so. I’ve only found the gifts here.”

“But you’re not sure?” He presses.

“No,” you admit.

“Right, I’m driving you home,” Rhett says, handing your phone back. “I’ll bring you back to get your car tomorrow.”

You want to tell him no, worried about how much of his time you’ve already wasted. He was only here at Cecelia’s insistence, and he probably had a pretty girl waiting for him at The Handsome Gambler.

“You don’t have to,” you tell him.

“I want to,” he assures you,

There’s something in the way he looks at you that bleeds away any argument. “Okay,” you agree.

On the way to his truck, Rhett keeps his hand on your upper back, his body close to yours. His sharp blue eyes survey the empty street as he urges you along. Even though there is no sign of the man you know that doesn’t mean anything. There are pockets of darkness between the buildings and he could be in any one of them.

Watching. Waiting.

When you shiver, Rhett shifts his palm higher on your back, hand curling so his blunt fingernails catch on the patch of skin at the base of your neck. It's such a simple gesture but it does so much to calm you.

“It’s alright, I’m here” he assures, opening the car door and waiting until you’re buckled in before shutting it firmly.

You give him your address and he puts the truck in gear, pulling out onto the empty street. Both of you watch the rear view mirror for any sign of lights or a vehicle. There’s none but you don’t relax. Rhett doesn’t talk, fiddling with the stereo until an old bluesy country song crackles over the radio. A little of your anxiety subsides and you relax into the old leather seats. Every few minutes you can feel his eyes on you, but you stare straight ahead, unused to the weight of someone else's worry.

He slows the truck down when he turns onto your street, searching in the darkness for your house number.

“That’s me.” You point to a two-story house at the end of the street. “I’m on the second floor.”

It’s an older home, dated and frankly falling apart in places. The lady who owned both units, a woman in her 70s named Mabel, gave you a good deal on the rent. It was worth it to have your own space though now, as you stared up at the dark windows with a sense of foreboding spreading through your chest, you wished you didn’t live alone.

Rhett seems to sense your hesitation and reaches out to touch your shoulder. “Want me to come up for a bit? Check it out?"

“It’s silly, I’m sure everything is fine,” you tell him.

“It ain't,” Rhett says earnestly. “You have every right to be scared.”

It’s a relief to have someone take you seriously, but the disquiet in Rhett’s eyes chases away any comfort that knowledge brings because it’s clear he thinks you're in real danger.

“If you don’t mind, maybe you can come up…”

“Give me your keys,” he says, holding out his hand. “Lock the doors after I get out, okay?”

He doesn’t move until he’s sure you’ve heard him. You nod, doing as he asks after he takes off. It’s a long five minutes, waiting in the truck for him to return. You pick at your nails and chew on your upper lip, old anxious habits that give you a little bit of relief, though it’s not until you see him jogging back down that you feel like you can finally breathe.

“It’s all clear, come on,” he says, holding onto your elbow to steady you as you exit the car.

He follows close behind as you walk up the stairs, shutting the front door firmly behind him once you’re both inside. You drop your purse on the couch, eyes wandering around your apartment. It appears the same as you left it this morning but you can’t help looking at everything with fresh, suspicious eyes.

Rhett says your name softly and you turn to face him. He’s watching you, waiting.

“Thank you for everything,” you tell him sincerely, wanting him to understand how much you appreciate his kindness. “For driving me home and for, um, caring.”

You don’t even realize you’re wringing your hands until he steps forward and settles a large hand over yours to stop the nervous tick. The warmth from his touch takes the tension from your shoulders. You stare up at him, just breathing and soaking up his touch. He takes a step closer, saying your name quietly but before he can continue, his phone rings. You jerk back on instinct at the shrill sound, his hand falling away from yours. Rhett purses his lips and looks down at the screen.

“It’s my mother,” he says. “Probably wants to make sure you’re okay.”

“Please tell her thanks.”

Rhett nods. "Hey Ma,” he greets, turning away from you.

You move towards the kitchen, feeling like you should offer him a cup of coffee or at least a beer for the trouble you’ve put him through. You also want to give him some privacy, though the walls are thin and you catch pieces of his conversation anyway.

“Not exactly," you hear Rhett say. "It's worse than she let on.” There's a beat and then he speaks again. “I’m a little worried he might. Thinking I should spend the night outside in my car just in case.” Another pause. “Yeah, I know. Not exactly my first night sleeping in the truck, Ma.”

It’s already cold outside and you know the temperature will continue to drop the later it gets. The thought of Rhett spending the night in his truck for you brings on a fresh wave of self doubt and guilt. You feel like you’re back in the sheriff’s station again, making a big deal out of nothing.

“I got my rifle in the truck. It’s fine,” he continues.

The mention of the gun surprises you, kicking up your heartbeat again. You creep back to the doorway to watch him. His back is to you, one hand parting your lace curtains to look out your window.

“Yeah, I thought so too. I'll see if I can get her to go back to the sheriff with me in the morning."

Anxiety crawls under your skin at the thought of having to face Sheriff Burtt again. He made you feel so small and silly last time, but maybe it would be different with Rhett at your side.

“Okay, love you too, Ma,” he says, hanging up. He seems surprised to see you standing in the doorway though he doesn’t act upset. Instead he looks a little concerned. “You alright?” He asks.

“You don’t have to sit out in the truck for me. It’s… it’s probably okay,” you tell him, even though you don’t exactly believe the words yourself. You want to give him out.

“I’d feel better if I did,” says, closing the distance between the two of you. He slips his hat off and holds it to his chest, making sure he has your attention before continuing. “I want you to come with me to the sheriff’s tomorrow morning. I’m gonna make him listen, okay? We’ll get this handled.”

“I’ll go if you agree to sleep on the couch,” you offer. At least in your apartment he’d be warm and close by.

The corner of his mouth lifts up briefly as he watches you. “You drive a hard bargain, but I can agree to that.”

“I’ll get the spare linens and a pillow for you,” you tell him with a smile.

When you return to the living room he’s back at the window, watching the street outside. His hat sits on your coffee table. You make up the couch as best you can though there’s nothing you can do about the fact he’s too tall to fit comfortably. The realization adds to the guilty feelings you already carry.

“Much better than the truck,” Rhett assures you. “Thanks.”

You nod and leave him to get yourself ready for bed. It’s nearly 11pm and you’re exhausted. As you wash your face and go through your nightly routine, you’re overly aware of how easily every sound travels through the wall. You exchange your work clothes for your well-worn pajamas. Even though that helps you feel better, there’s still that low buzz of apprehension. You close your eyes and see the man’s scary green eyes again.

Your throat tightens in response and you move towards the door before you realize what you’re doing. Quietly, you creep down the hall to the living room, mindful of the rickety floorboards that could give you away. All the lights are off but you can make out Rhett’s sitting on the couch, hands resting on his thighs. He’s removed his blue shirt and wears only his white henley. The barest hint of golden stumble is visible along the sharp lines of his jaw. He sighs and leans back, tucking a hand under his head. The frantic beat of your heart slows and you stand there for several moments watching him.

Eventually, you withdraw and return to your room, sliding under the cool covers. You hardly know Rhett but there’s something about him that makes you believe everything will be okay. With him there sleep comes easy, you know nothing bad will happen to you.

✥

Chapter 2

#rhett abbott x you #rhett abbott x female reader #rhett abbott x reader #rhett abbott #outer range fanfic #outer range

[faffreux]

can you tell us about when you fell in love with fawful? :)

Yep. In fact, I'll write a whole mini essay for you so I can add it to the FAQ section of my website coming up shortly LMAO (SINCE I NEED TO FULLY ANSWER THIS QUESTION FOR THERE ANYWAY, RIGHT???) CLICK UNDER THE READ MORE TO SEE IT BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE THE LONGEST THING I'VE EVER POSTED HERE, LMAO.

To preface, I have been a fan of the M&L games going back to the early-mid 2000s when I was a kid. I had no involvement with fandom or anything of the sort back then but I used to hop on my mom's bulky computer and look up fanart and other related content as early as 2004/5 and as a result, ended up captivated by the characters long before I knew who they actually were. (As a result of this, I have the names and art styles of various old M&L fandom creators permanently ingrained in my head and often wonder where they are today since a good deal of them vanished..!) It wasn't until 2006 that I got my first handheld console (DS Lite) and of course, what did I do? Immediately begged my mom to order me a used GBA copy of Superstar Saga. 

When I finally had the game in my hands it was like coming home to a colorful world that I'd been captivated by for so long but never gotten the chance to actually explore until now. The characters felt like old friends and the Beanbean Kingdom as a location felt familiar and comforting to me. (As a side note, Popple quickly became my favorite. Shocker, right?)

I used to sketch various beans in my notebooks as well as on printer paper we had lying around the house. Long story short, I finished Superstar Saga and then a few years later in 2010 I picked up Bowser’s Inside Story and THAT’S WHEN THINGS SHIFTED–

BIS brought Fawful and his personality to life in a way that captivated my imagination like nothing else had prior. He quickly overtook Popple as my favorite character from then on forward… and that’s where it ends! Or.. is it?

Nah, that’s where it gets funky. Life got a little chaotic after that and not only did I stop playing video games altogether for many years, but I also almost completely gave up on art - the one thing I was most passionate about above all and thought I would make a career out of someday. A series of depressing events caused me to lose all hope and motivation for anything I created and the spark I’d kept inside of me for so long all but died out as a result.

We’re going to timeskip again, this time to late 2019. I’d just moved away from home permanently for the first time and had been getting settled in and no matter what I did to make my new apartment a cozy place it always felt like something was missing. My mind would keep wandering to the fact that I never made art anymore despite it having been such a key part of my life when I was younger. I so desperately wanted to change this and over the next few months the frustration only kept growing until on January 1st, 2020, I sat down in the living room with a pencil and paper in my hand and shut my eyes tightly before saying under my breath:

“I do not care what it is, I don’t care how it comes. Just please… PLEASE send me something to bring my art back. Anything… anything at all. I don’t care what I draw, I just want to be drawing again.” And with that, I placed the lead onto the paper and began to sketch…

And from there… a familiar face appeared!

(Now I could ramble to you about how much I do NOT like this drawing and how off model it is from how Fawful actually looks… but I’ll forgive myself since I hadn’t touched the M&L games in over a decade at this point and had forgotten most of Fawful’s character. And yet?? Here he was.)

How else can I explain it except that in that moment it felt like the pencil in my hand had suddenly become one of these:

A joy that I hadn’t felt in SO long suddenly filled my entire being and without wasting another second, I immediately went online and ordered both Superstar Saga and Bowser’s Inside Story to replay again. In the time waiting for the games to arrive I had started drawing daily again - sketching out various old characters of mine with dozens of doodles of the bean man stacked in between them all.

There he was… always smiling, always happy to see me, and oftentimes with his arms outstretched as if to give an encouraging hug. When the games arrived I worked through them quicker than I ever had prior - finishing up Superstar Saga in less than a week and subsequently moving onto Bowser’s Inside Story with a LOT of excitement built up for it. 

It was my first day playing and I was having the time of my life! The way Fawful looked in his little grey cloak with that enormous, charming grin of his as he bamboozled Bowser into eating the Vaccuum Shroom had me giggling with joy while words repeated in my brain over and over of: “I need to draw this later, I NEED to draw this later!!!” I WAS EXCITED ABOUT ART AGAIN… AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. I was practically hopping in my seat from the happiness I felt in my heart and chest every time Fawful appeared at this point!

This was how it felt until the moment I arrived at the Fawful Theatre and watched as he began dancing on the stage floor. THIS time.. something different came over me. If you’ve felt it before, then you’ll know what I mean when I say that it was like my entire body turned warm all at once, like some sort of flame had been lit inside. I’d never felt it for anything or anyone prior to then, and that's partly why it hit me as hard as it did. I was practically sweating.

Heck, I was so absorbed in my feelings that I had forgotten there was anyone else in the room with me! That is.. Until my roommate at the time spoke up: 

Her: Are you alright? Me: Uhhh… yeah, why? Her: You’re red as a beet. Are you sure you’re okay?

By this time I had realized what was really going on so I reassured her I was fine, grabbed my 3DS, and ran to my room to finish the playthrough on my own so I wouldn’t embarrass myself any further, hahaha.

In the days, weeks, and months following that moment I became dedicated to drawing the best art of Fawful I could possibly create! What started as a challenge to myself to ‘give back’ to the person who’d given me back the ability to create again turned into someone I genuinely could not stop drawing for how much fun I was having doing it. The desire to make better and better art in order to honor him drove me to improve at a speed I never had prior, and soon thereafter I created Jolligig as a way for me to be in this colorful world with him and to express the deepening affection I was feeling for him with every day that passed by.

By some miracle, my prayer had been answered and here it was in the form of a grinning lima bean.

[End of Part 1. Interested in the rest? Yes… there’s more, I’m sorry. Please let me know in the comments. This took a while to write so I thought splitting it up would be best if folks are interested, LOL.]

#ASKS #MY GOD I AM SORRY (no i'm not) #fawfultalk #important

[tmntxthings]

Alright, I don't know if you're still taking requests but I had this fun little idea and I just had to leave it here.

A platonic Turtle bois + April(& Casey Jr if possible, don't feel obligated to if you don't feel like writing him tho) x Reader where the gang asks the Reader who's their favorite one(as in favorite best friend), and Reader just insists they don't do favorites until one day Reader forgets their sketchbook there and when the gang takes a little peak at it they just find pages upon pages filled to the brim with full on Mikey drawings(colored, shaded and all), doodles, sketches, even handmade stickers and all along with other stickers that resemble Mikey(like Pizza stickers, tangerines since it's the same as his color, radio boxes, skates all that jazz)

This is totally not because Mikey is my favorite character in the entire series and I think he's pretty underrated compared to his other brothers-

Anon🌠

The Favorite

author’s note: INSTANT YES, I love it, I completely agree, here you are my 🌠 anon

warnings: capital F for Fluff c; unedited

—————————————————————————

“We all know who it is,” Leo said smugly. Kicking his feet up on the coffe table. “Know who? What now?” You said looking up from your phone. You hadn’t realized it but everyone was looking at you. The turtles, April, and Casey. “Okay I’m definitely missing something..” you said feeling nervous from all their stares. “Oh ya know just that I’m your favorite friend!” Leo continued to say, a wide smirk on his face.

“Leo, don’t kid yourself, I’m their favorite,” Raph said throwing a pillow at the blue clad turtle, it smacked him squarely in the face since he had those smug eyes closed. “Oomph!” He sputtered. “Scoff! You two?? The favorite??? My calculations would state otherwise,” Donnie pipped up. “And let me guess your calculations say you?” Casey asked crossing his arms with a slight smile. “Exactly future boy, exactly,” Donnie replied.

“Well I’d definitely want to be the favorite,” Mikey said excitedly, turning in his bean bag to give you the biggest puppy dog eyes. “Sorry boys, I mean the answer is obviously April O’Neil~~~” April sang confidently. Soon everyone was claiming to be the favorite, trying to talk over one another until you couldn’t even hear your own thoughts.

“Guys!” You said and immediately they hushed, looking expectantly at you, each ready to be proven right. “I don’t have a favorite!” You exasperated, shaking your head at all of them sincerely. “Yes, let them down easy Y/n, the truth can stay between us,” Leo said quickly, because he had totally expected you to say his name. “Leo I’m serious! How could I possibly choose between my best friends??”

“Easy, by saying April O’Neilllllll~~~” she sang again and everyone started arguing again! Casey shot you a glance, shaking his head as if to say ‘oh well what’re you gonna do?’ He had to deal with this same situation not too long ago. He had tried to say the same thing, that he loved everyone equally but c’mon, Leo is totally his favorite. Casey told him so privately just so Leo didn’t break down.

Thankfully they dropped it after you kept your answer steady. No favorites! You were happy to be friends with them alllll. A week went by and you were back at the lair, thinking that the whole discussion was finally over with. When suddenly you got an important call, “Oh my god, I think this is them!! This is it!! I either get the job or get let down!!” Everyone wished you good luck as you stepped out of the living area into the sewers for some privacy.

You had been doodling in your sketchbook, leaving it closed and unattended. Leo’s eyes turned mischievous after a moment of silence. “The time has come!” He announced and everyone was looking his way like ‘oh lord what’s he about to do.’ “Y/n’s prized art book will surely tell us who the favorite is!” Mikey was just as curious as Leo but he knew how private a sketchbook was. “I don’t know Lee..” he started to say reluctantly.

“How about this Mikey just a quick peek!” Raph said as Leo snatched the book, everyone leaning closer from their seats. The first few pages was of the entire group, all laughing or making silly faces which made everyone smile and “awe.” But as Leo kept flipping through pages, the main color of choice became orange. Sketches of Mikey and his stickers, skateboard, the boombox radio he carried around. Mikey’s face flushed a dark green, more than flattered that you had chosen to draw him. “Well well well, Angelo would’ve been my second guess,” Donnie said informatively. It didn’t come as a surprise to the purple turtle because Mikey was his favorite brother.

Leo kept flipping until the pages turned blank. “So Mikey, how’s it feel to be the favorite?” He sniffed, a little jealous but happy for his brother. Especially when he saw how happy Mikey was. “Hurry and put it back Leo!” He said not wanting to get caught rifling through your things. “Guyyyys!” You shouted from the sewers and no sooner you were back into the common area. “I got the job!!” You said smiling a big cheesy smile. Congratulations and cheers were in order and April gave you a big hug, knowing how hard it was to get not just a job but a good job!

Mikey was still reeling from the secret knowledge of him being your favorite. So when the whole gang piled into the hug, he gave you an extra squeeze a slight blush still on his face. “You draw really well by the way,” Leo said in the middle of the hug. A moment of silence for those words to settle and you gasped, “you didn’t!!!” you said in an accusatory tone. He smiled sheepishly, “hey wasn’t just me!” and you turned to the whole group, “so we’re going through everyone’s things now?!”

“It was Leo’s idea,” Donnie made sure to say. “And none of you stopped him?!” Mikey’s fingers came together tapping, “well I tried, but I’m happy I got to see your sketchbook, you do draw really well..” Mikey gave you the brightest smile and it was your turn to blush. Realizing he had seen all of the drawings you did of him, of his things. “I can’t believe you guys!!” You sputtered trying to maintain an angry expression but at this point you were just flattered at getting compliments from Mikey. He inspired you greatly and you thought his artwork was the best out there. “Well, the favorite can make it up to you somehow,” Leo teased and you groaned.

Yeah… Mikey was your favorite.

#mikey x reader #michelangelo hamato #michelangelo x reader #rise mikey x reader #tmnt fandom #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt oneshot #rise tmnt oneshot #oneshot #tmnt oneshot #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #turtle bros #leonardo #raph #donnatello #mikey #michelangelo #tmnt fluff #fluff #rise mikey x y/n #rise mikey

[x-0ophelia0-x]

A work of Art which did not begin in emotion is not art. - Paul Cézanne

pairings: Artist!Reader x Ezra Bridger

warnings: none! just fluff and a sad ending. And not proofread yet.

word count: 2,4K

summary: You’re an artist. Drawing is your passion, something you do whenever you need to relax or do when you’re motivated. You see things in a different way, a more peaceful one. Observing things is your speciality which comes in handy when you start your anatomy studies on a certain someone, whose training sessions with Kanan seem to be the perfect opportunity for you to study.

authors note: this might be my favorite one until now- this prompt was stuck in my head like for forever now. Being an artist is part of a reason why this kind of escalated in it‘s length-

It’s also S4 Ezra, ignore the gif, was the only one I found with Kanan 😭

This wasn’t originally based on Cézannes quote, I just had a rough idea of a peaceful scenario on Lothal and his quote seemed to fit the best on how this fanfic went on.

I might make a series out of this, words can’t describe how much I enjoyed writing this one 😭

anywayyy, the Ahsoka final will air in just two hours and guess what? I‘ll miss it because it’ll be 3 am here and I‘m supposed to get up in 4h for school :D

enjoyyy <3

What is Art?

It was a question you could never really answer yourself.

It had grown into a part of you, defining the person you had become.

Art wasn’t just a drawing on a paper or on whatever material you could imagine. It was a feeling, an emotion. The desire to create something new. The desire to immortalize your emotions into the paper you were working on.

The Arts priority is to make you feel something, to understand the Artists hidden message.

Some use it to express their feelings, others indirectly use it as a love letter to their beloved ones.

Art ist a matter of perspective, some see boring studies, others see emotions at it‘s purest form and then others again see the hidden message behind it.

And yours? Let’s say that yours was a mix of everything.

- Lothals sun was low, it’s dimmed light bathing the landscape in a beautiful haze of gold. The grass fields reflecting the golden light perfectly as they were moving with the wind. Lothals mountains being highlighted by it while several loth cats where playing around. 

The whole scenery sent a feeling of comfort and warmth to you, the peaceful moment, a luxury for you and your friends since fighting against the empire was your dangerous lifestyle.

You sat by a rock, leaning against it while a loth cat was cuddling up right next to you. Going into a peaceful slumber, trusting you with it‘s life right now. As you sat there, holding your sketchbook with the one hand and your pencil with the other. You couldn’t help but to get lost in this moment. 

Everything seemed so perfect right now and the beautiful scenery in front of you really resembled a painting itself. And beside the loth cat, you weren’t alone. 

Hours like this were used by Kanan and Ezra to train, a perfect opportunity for them since they wouldn’t get distracted here as much as somewhere else. 

And this was your perfect opportunity to make some anatomy studies. 

Drawing was your passion, a hobby you shared with Sabine. 

And moments like this just boosted your motivation. Sitting on a open field while the sun had it‘s golden hour, having your pen and sketchbook right beside you, what else could you possibly want more?

Ezra also became a key figure to your studies. His training sessions with Kanan offered you dynamic poses, interesting ones that were perfect for your exercise. 

You often found yourself sketching him, being it while he trained or while he fell asleep on your shoulder due to his exhaustion whenever he finished his double trainings with Kanan and Rex. He knew about your hobby, everyone did. What he didn’t know though was that you were sketching him, that he was a constant figure in your sketchbook. Studies of him while he trained, slept against your shoulder and his face, especially his eyes.

You loved him and he loved you. You both confessed to each other a while ago, he didn’t really question you whenever you watched them train or always having you sketchbook near you since he knew that drawing was your passion after all. Ezra even enjoyed having you around, not only because you two were a couple, but because he knew that with you, he’d never be truly alone again just as he was before the ghost crew found him. 

The crew is his newfound family, there’s no doubt in that, but they wouldn’t stay together, close like they were right now forever. The day where everyone would go their own ways would eventually come, leading to them being completely united again just when they’d have a mission together or plan a trip or something. He’d have his friends but he’d again have to live somewhere alone, which was a fear of him, one he hid damn well from the others. 

But now he had you, someone he’d never imagined meeting in his life. Someone who would love to spent their life together with him. Someone who felt the same connection towards him like he felt for you. 

His training with Kanan continued, parrying each strike from Kanan while you continued to sketch him. Each pose having a different dynamic. 

Whenever you felt that you had too many poses on one page of position, you chose single parts of him, his face, his hands holding the lightsaber or just his expressions, drawing them separately next to the poses. Trying to bring in some contrast so that looking at those sketches later wouldn’t be too boring.

The loth cat eventually woke up, nuzzling it’s head against you while it watched the Jedi and the Jedi in training, train. 

Then it’s head turned to you, looking into your eyes and then into your sketchbook. It seemed to recognize Ezra‘s silhouette, looking back and forth, as if he was comparing the original Ezra with his sketched version. 

You couldn’t help but laugh at the creatures confusion, it was adorable.

„Yes it’s him“

You said, your voice just loud enough for it to hear, not wanting to risk Ezra hearing you. He didn’t know that he was the star of your sketchbook and you didn’t know how he’d react if he realized that you had a whole sketchbook of him. 

The loth cat then again looked up to you, gesturing to your sketchbook and itself.

„Do you want me to draw you too?“

You asked it, smiling down, adoring it‘s character. It was the first loth cat that didn’t attack you at first sight but instead chose to actually spend time wit/ you. 

And it seemed happy about your question, taking a position while looking straight at you.

Not wanting to hurt its feelings you changed your subject, sketching the cat instead of Ezra right now. 

It was still on the same page as Ezra though and even if it didn’t really fit with your topic for this sketchbook, it somehow fitted to him, his connection with those kind of creatures being his passion. 

When you had the bases finished, having a full body, a close up from its head and a version of it sleeping like earlier, you continued with its details. Something you loved. Hours could pass by and you’d never grow bored of adding more of them.

The difference this time was that you were fast and didn’t need too long for the loth cat‘s features and details. Being finished quicker then it thought, showing it the results. 

You weren’t a loth cat expert but it’s stunned expression, looking at your sketches of it with awe, was kind of an confirmation that it liked your way of portraying it. 

You chuckled at its reaction, it was fricking adorable. It then turned its head against to your direction, as if it was asking you if it was really him.

„Yes that’s you“

You then spoke softy, failing to notice that Ezra’s training had ended. 

Seeing you interact with the cat warmed his heart, and Kanan noticed it.

„Ah.. young love“

He teased him, receiving a smirk from Ezra.

„Don’t get me started on you and Hera.. Master“

He replied, knowing that he hit a spot with this one.

„This point goes to you“

Kanan then says, faking a defeated tone with his voice. 

„Enjoy the sunset“

Was all he said before leaving the field and walking over to their ship where the rest of the crew was. 

Ezra also made his way to you, but from behind, aiming to scare you a little.

While you still let the loth cat to look at your sketches, he sneaked up from behind you, throwing his arms around your waist and whispering a short ‚boo‘ against your ear.

„Oh my force!“

You shrieked, jumping at his sudden approach, accidentally losing hold of your sketchbook. Then realizing that it was the sketchbook. 

„That’s what she said“

Was everything he said, not able to hold in his laughter while you jokingly pushed your elbow against his side.

„Very funny. Bridger.“

He sat down, right next to you, bringing his arm behind you and wrapping it around your waist, holding you into a half embrace. 

„I feel honored and scared at the same time“

„As you should“

You then also started to laugh, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.

„How was your training today?“

„Like always.. I‘m just happy that it’s over for today, Kanan and Rex went hardcore.. I didn’t know that I had this many muscles until today“

You chuckled.

„Why? Did they remind you how useful they are while they let you do the galaxy’s most historical workout?“

„No. It’s because I feel EVERY single one of them right now“

He whined, letting his head fall and rest against your shoulder.

„What about you?“

He then asked, yawning as he looked at the golden hues spraying wildly across his home planets landscape. 

„What about me?“

„You were drawing again, I saw you when Kanan gave me some seconds to relax“

Ezra said, shifting his gaze from the sun to your sketchbook.

„You always seem to have this with you when I‘m around.. can I see it?“

He asked with a genuine tone, sounding almost innocent.

„You want to.. see my sketches?“

You asked, hoping that you understood him wrong but him nodding proofed you otherwise. 

„I‘d love to“

The cat noticed your unease with showing him your sketches of him. But it also sensed your bond, it somehow made it happy that you two were happy together. With the power it held right now, it decided to play the matchmaker and carry your sketchbook over to Ezra. 

„I don’t know where you found the little dude but I already love him“

Ezra said, laughing at the cats action which left you more nervous then before. He wasn’t an idiot tho,knowing Sabine meant that everyone on the ghost learned the importance of someones privacy regarding a sketchbook. It was yours after all, who was he to do whatever he wanted with it, right?

„Would it be okay for you if I see it?“

He asked you, holding the sketchbook in his hands after the cat gave it to him. And you somehow where curious of how he’d react, if he’d like them or hate them. 

So you accepted.

„Sure.. just.. you’ll see it yourself“

You said, looking down at his hands that held it.

Ezra then opened it, the first page already on full display, showing sketches of him training and his eyes. He didn’t think too much into it, thinking that it was just a coincidence but when the page after and the one right after continued to have the sketches of someone looking like him, he couldn’t help but wonder. 

„y/n.. is this person me?“

He asked, slowly rising his head from your shoulder to look at you, and you nodded.

„Yeah..“

Was all you could say right now.

„Please don‘t feel creeped out..“

This catchend him off guard.

„Why should it creep me out?“

Ezra asked her, returning his gaze to your sketches. Looking at them in awe.

„These sketches are perfect like- they are amazing.. breathtaking even“

He continued to turn the pages, looking at each portrait of him, mesmerized by how perfect you catched in his details. 

And you where completely dumbfounded. Didn’t expect this reaction.

„But.. why me?“

Ezra then asked, getting you out of your confused state.

„Uhm…“

You started, not knowing how to explain it to him at all.

„well.. I needed to study the anatomy on someone so.. I decided to exercise it on the person I care the most..“

You said, looking down at your sketchbook.

Ezra then smirked.

„Is that so..?“

A blush made its way up to your face, reddening with each word he said.

„You’re adorable“

Was all he said before he placed a kiss on your temple. 

„You even drew the cat“

„I did“

He then closed the sketchbook after he was finished, laying it down next to you. 

„So.. I saw that you studied different parts of me too… which one was your favorite?“

His head was once again on your shoulder, holding you close with his other arm while you also held him close with yours around his waist. 

„Your eyes“ 

You said almost immediately.

„They remind me of the endlessness of our galaxy and the hyperspace‘s blue. I could look at them forever and never get bored by it. They’re.. You’re mesmerizing“

Your tone was genuine, and this time it was Ezra who was blushing. 

„Thank you..“

He said, feeling kind of proud that he had this comforting effect on you.

„You’re mesmerizing too tho..“

You chuckled at his nervousness. His cocky attitude from earlier being completely replaced by it right now. 

He then had an idea, knowing that his drawing skills were terrible.

„Would you want to teach me to draw like that too?“

He asked you, feeling excited about this. And you too felt the same, sharing your hobby with someone was good enough, but sharing it with your partner was just out of this world.

„Of corse! I’d be more then happy!!“

You said, your excitement evident in your voice. 

It was a promise you both looked forward to. 

Then, you two, okay technically three since the cat refused to go aways, laying down between you two, sat there with a perfect view, looking at the sunset in front of you, staying together until it went darker and darker, enjoying each others company.

You both were still unaware of what was about to come.

Which daring challenges would not only cost you one dear person, but also another one‘s well being.

Unbeknownst to you this was one of your last peaceful moments together. 

The galaxy had other plans for your futures and soon enough your sketches of him where the only things you had left to keep his memory fresh in your mind.

To remember him whenever you felt lost, feel close to him again even if you felt the loneliest you ever felt before.

They kept you strong, for years to come.

And you knew that whenever you’d find him again, you’d need to start a new one.

#ezra bridger x reader #ezra bridger #star wars rebels #star wars

[nanistar]

do you have any tips on story writing / comic making? ive got something all plotted out but i just dont know where to start with executing it

hmmm this one is tough because i have a long history of starting and giving up on comics, even if i have a full script written out. i'm personally really bad at the whole planning-stuff-out thing. i tend to work in short bursts and write stuff maybe two or three scenes in advance.

i think my best advice would be: if you have something planned out, and you're excited to start working on it, just start working on it.

don't wait to find the perfect beginning, because in my experience, you'll eventually lose confidence or motivation if you wait too long. the worst thing that will happen is you might come up with a cooler idea later, but the good thing about webcomics is you can always start over, especially if it's early on. my "main" comic- something ive been working on since 2014- i have started and stopped about 6 times, and i have changed the plot/settings completely about as many times. i even wrote it out as a 100+ page novel for a creative writing class in high school. i actually started SBC with the intention of doing a short 1-2 year comic to kinda "warm up"

share some of your process online and with friends for feedback as you go with pre-planning. when i was building up the mojave clan concept, briskwater was intended to be the main character, with vulturepaw, a sunclan cat, having an unrelated but major side story but when i shared my first character sketches with my friend server, they all went bonkers over Saltburn so i changed my plan to focus on her. you don't have to share everything, but just having people initially interested in your story is a HUUUGE motivation boost. if you're having troubles scripting a start, don't script. think about openings to shows/series that you like and just start sketching stuff. i really like the foreboding prose-like openings of Fellowship of the ring and Avatar the last airbender, that tells you everything you need to know about the world itself, and mayhaps foreshadows a bit, but is still opened-ended enough that it can go anywhere. you can also start in media res; AKA start where the action all ready happened/is happening, and do a "teaser" of sorts, and then go back, sometimes called a Cold Open (tho that one is used mainly in TV, and some argue it's different but they're both functionally the same thing). think about how procedural investigation shows will often show you an obscured view of how the episode's victim gets murdered/kidnapped/whatever, and then it launches into the shows opening credits.

also finally, and i mean this so, so genuinely, it does not have to be perfect, and it wont be. you are going to be drawing SO many characters so many times, so many BGs ect, things are going to slip through the cracks that that's OK. you can take shortcuts, you can be lazy, you can have continuity errors. also give characters in the BG funny stupid faces instead of worrying about details because its fun to do

sooo yah. that's all i got TLDR: look at intros to media you like, and steal their style. don't worry about getting it perfect. if you have even a slim idea of what you want, just go for it and it will come to you. if you don't know what you want.... also just go for it.

also. my style of writing/comics works for me, but it might not work for you so take any advice i give with a grain of salt. ask other comic folk, like @razmerry and uh. ive been sitting here for 15 minutes but i literally forgot every other comic person ever. so sorry. but anyone who knows things feel free to add on.

#im not really the best person to ask for advice because im so scatterbrained #i also dont script stuff line by line #i typically come up with the full dialogue on the fly #comic writing #comic advice #idk what to tag this as

[blade-that-was-broken]

Chapter 12 of Moments to be Real has me bawling 😭🖐️

Like ugh 💔💔💔 I'm back here again to show you ANOTHER song that fits so well with this chapter (maybe even the whole series tbh)

It's "Final Duet" from the game Omori. While listening to this I just imagine all the happy times they had together with JD and start crying. This fic really hits me right at the feels (in a good way)

Expect fanart you amazing person, you cannot escape from what you've cause/lighthearted 🫵

(while I'm working on the fanart, have this sketch of Floyd getting thought it™)

Here's the link to the song if you want to check it out

https://youtu.be/8ya9EhvcNsA?si=wCT5xxeSseOWPguj

Literally so many chapters make me cry, especially now that we are beyond this part. Like there are others dude. Prepare plenty of tissues cause especially the other character's chapters? Clay? Bruce? Floyd? They think about their history and their feelings and YO it is something.

That song is fitting so well cause I just put in music for writing while I tried to fix one of the chapters and I'm just LIKE WELP THEN. I love finding music that I can relate to certain stories. It gives me life.

kgnffdlnbflkngsdings I literally cannot believe you are considering drawing fanart for my stories like I can't even wrap my head around that.

FLOYD BABY!! dfn;kfgnldsjfojdfoinsdfknsginea screaming crying, screaming more

(Also, he has two chapters and one of them got like 100% more devastating just a warning)

#ask #I'm still here au #not me just freaking out rn or anything whaaaaatttt? #the level of love and engagement ya'll give me is insnae #I feel so spoiled omg

[theskeletongames]

hiya! i'm attempting to start a comic.. thingy from a series of doodles i did in my sketchbook. I wanted to ask for some advice. More specifically; how do you decide how you want the comic panels to be layed out without initially drawing the scenes themselves? I've made comics before but admittedly the layout was never any good compared to what i've seen others do

I've answered this question a lot so here's my guide that shows a lot of my process. I don't do thumbnails like a lot of people suggest, because they don't work for me. Instead, I read my script and try and visualize the entirety of the page. Page comics usually use one page to represent a whole idea. I try and fit 4-6 panels per page and split my script into blocks of ideas that fit into something like that. Ask yourself, what is this page getting at? Is it introducing a new scene? How do I use imagery to set mood in this new scene? Are the characters talking about a specific point, is a new plot idea being revealed? How much drama should be on the page for these ideas?

Sketch out your images on a different layer than the panels so that you can easily move them around. Sometimes I quickly add some circles for where the heads and bodies will be. This way I can see if the layout is working from panel to panel, particularly for difficult to draw scenes so I don't have to put effort into something that isn't working. I often move the panels around or redraw them after reading through the pages. Expect to do that and throw out hours of work. Also work in your text bubbles and make sure not to draw so big there isn't room for text. Text is part of the page and should lead the viewers eyes through the panels and drawings as you read them. Use it as a tool.

Do not get too wordy with text. Break it up into more panels if it is getting long. Nobody want's to read a word wall. Nobody! Make sure your panels naturally read in order. If the reader gets confused about panel order, it will bring them out of the story. Use strong angles for drama, and flat easy to read angles for jokes. Paneling is something you have to try out for a while to really get the hang of it. I'd suggest reading manga that you like and really combing through the pages to see how they do things. Read to learn, not for fun, and break down those pages. If you liked an action scene, ask how they posed the characters in the panels to create the action? If it's just characters talking, but you feel enthralled, ask yourself how they used the panels to make it interesting. And jokes! Those are so much harder than you think. I always suggest learning how to write and compose your own jokes. So many artists are just out there blandly copying meme formats they've found floating around. That doesn't teach you anything. It's just copying. Learn how to write your own jokes and use panel timing to get that punchline out. When you read them, ask yourself why they are working? What panels they are using, and are they effective?

That's about all I got. I still feel like I have a lot to learn about panels, but hopefully that will give you some ideas.

[drawsdenfiles]

I don't use tumblr a lot, but i check your blog all the time now and I wanted to ask what your process is for desiging Butcher's characters?

Aw, thank you for your question! I have way too much to say about this, here we go.

I started drawing them just based on how I imagined them while listening to the audio series, but lately I've tried putting more effort into actually reading Butcher's descriptions. It's his series, man, it's important to me that the characters look like the characters. ♥ Also, putting in that extra effort gives you a better chance at achieving a design other readers might've imagined too. ♥

After reading the descriptions, I'll try to incorporate more personal stuff into each character based on their personality, actions, and/or whatever, like, team they're associated with. For example, Lasciel's a Fallen Angel, right, so I've been giving her a pretty, albeit shattered, halo lately. Namshiel, too, has a broken halo in the form of some curved horns and floaty, magical gemstones. This part's really, really fun and an awesome creative exercise.

Next thing is to not settle on a design until it feels right. It's an amazing feeling and you'll know it when it hits you. I can't tell you how long I thought about Kincaid's design and how hard it was for me to see him as a blonde. I don't know why! Kincaid took a super long time and I also ended up looking for outside inspiration- I've been playing the Witcher 3 a lot lately and you can totally see that guy in the Kincaid drawings I made recently. Always keep playing around with stuff. It's so fun. Dresden Files is the first book series I've actually gotten really into- seriously, I'm not much of a reader at all, but Butcher's descriptions of characters and scenes give you so much to work with. Aaaand, while I have you... If you're looking for some art-related advice-- studying anatomy/photo books and redrawing the pictures in them have helped me out a whole bunch. I spent hours and hours studying/sketching the shape of the collar bone back when I was in middle school. Really look into proportions too. An oil painting class I took in community college has REALLY helped me appreciate colors and shapes- I've never oil painted before and maybe the supplies can be expensive, but God, it's so worth it, man. My teacher was, and continues to be, a master. OH- and a color theory class too! It was kind of tedious, but I can see color in a totally different way than I used to before. These classes are your tools, man, whether you do traditional or digital art. Did any of that make any sense?? Thank you for your question! I love talking about art- I think it may be difficult for a lot of people, especially nowadays with the introduction of AI, but nothing beats creating something all by yourself, whether it's writing or drawing, etc. Putting in the work and getting that good feeling- it's super cool.

#See???? I have way too much to talk about. #I think a lot of this advice can be used for your own stuff too- if you're ever writing/drawing your own series.

[lordisitmine]

TTNBD BLOG: PART THREE

Welcome back; as always, spoilers for this week’s installment. Sorry this post is a few days late- I had my hands full with some real-life stuff but it’s the morning of New Year’s Eve and I finally have a day off to sit and write some commentary!

Let’s talk face casts! I don’t normally do real-life face-casts for fictional characters that already exist, but for my OCs it’s kind of necessary, since no one other than me really has a concrete frame of reference for how they look. I tried to draw them of course, but that doesn’t really always translate for me into how they look in my brain. Except for Sybil. My drawing of Sybil was perfect, and the one of her mom as well, that’s exactly how I imagined those two characters, but you can and should disregard the other drawings I did lol. So, if you’re really wondering what Simeon Montrose and Madame LaChance look like, I have good news! I have face casts for them!!

In chapter two, I described Madame LaChance as “the most beautiful woman Lizzy had ever seen” and that’s because I imagined her as the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, or at least one of them, and an actress I’m obsessed with- Carla Gugino. There’s just something about her face and her body and her energy on screen that just makes me feel insane. She has this hypnotic charming quality that is exactly how I wanted characters and readers to feel when they interact with Madame. Incidentally, if you’ve never watched the Haunting of Hill House or The Fall of the House of Usher, I HIGHLY recommend that you do so. Two incredible horror series, both of them are on Netflix and they’re 8 episodes each. She is in both of them. Madame’s hair and eyes are different colours of course but like. That’s the face.

I always had a face cast for Simeon without realising it. When I described him, I had this fac in mind, and then when I actually sat down and thought “who does he look like irl?” my brain was like “Luke Evans. You were thinking of Luke Evans this whole time.” Specifically, these pictures, because his facial hair and age is similar to Simeon’s, even though Simeon’s hair and eyes are a different colour.

Perhaps now that I’ve actually nailed down my face casts, I can do proper portraits of these characters. On top of the rapidly growing pile of other sketches I want to do OOF.

CHAPTER THREE: WAIT AND HOPE

I thought it was time to have some Sybil backstory/POV. The fact that she’s half-demon and has some abilities from that is going to be a much more significant part of the story as we continue, and as a minor spoiler/teaser I will tell you that she had no idea what her dad actually is or what that makes her. Shhhh it’s a surprise for later. Obviously I’ve revealed that she’s able to see the spirits of the dead, but I’m gonna keep her other abilities hush-hush for the time being, she doesn’t even realise she has some of them, and I’ll get into the mythology of half-demon children a bit later. I promise I won’t leave you hanging.

We have a literary reference as a title again! This time it’s from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, which is a story about faking your death and getting revenge, among other things. A little on the nose maybe- but it amused me, so I included it. I liked the idea of Ciel having read it in English and having this visceral reaction to it, and then seeing if the context of the line “all human wisdom is contained in these two words- wait and hope” had a different context or meaning that made it less stupid (to him) in French, since he lives in France now, and the book was originally written in French, and things sometime get lost in translation.

Also, I’m half-accidentally half-intentionally mirroring his and Lizzy’s narratives in this story, and she was reading in the last chapter, so it just fell into place when I was trying to give him something to chew on with his angst in this chapter. Don’t worry, that’s the last literary reference I have planned for now, lol.

Let’s talk about the ring!! Ciel’s ring from the series is based on the Hope Diamond, an actual diamond that was owned by many famous people who all ended up suffering horrible deaths/trauma. Life is funny that way, but of course, people decided that it must be the diamond that was cursed. In Ciel’s case, it was a Phantomhive family heirloom, and all of his ancestors who wore the ring ended up dying horrible deaths. Including him.

So, naturally, Sebastian had to take that and turn it on its head. I already reblogged the post on my blog (scroll down a little), but Tumblr users noirserviteur and azuresins designed, 3D printed and then cast in sterling silver (with real stones I think) a replica/depiction of Ciel’s ring, which I used as reference images for my design. I changed the stone, since it is a different, but similar, diamond- the stone in my version is circular, to fit the engraving of the contract seal.

Sebastian giving Ciel a ring is another way to like, show possession, because this motherfucker is possessive. Also, the original ring was a symbol of a curse that was haunted Ciel in his mortal life. This new ring is sort of Sebastian’s way of saying “no one gets to curse/haunt you forever except me” which is super romantic. Not that either of them sees their bond as a curse, but like, it’s an eternal, unbreakable attachment, which is sort of like a curse in some ways I guess. A Super fun, romantic curse.

And they’re dancing! The song they’re dancing to is Waltz no. 19 in A Minor, b.150, OP- Posth (1860) by Frederic Chopin. It’s always a fun writing exercise to describe music as the characters are hearing it, and I hope I did a good job nailing down the vibe. These two are very Chopin-coded to me, whatever that means. I listen to a lot of classical/instrumental music when I write, and while I haven’t made any playlists, I’m partial to these ones on Spotify when I work on this story specifically. This one is one I find to be specific to Lizzy & Sybil. I am a huge music person; I can’t do anything without my tunes.

There… was not supposed to be a sex scene in this chapter. I honestly hadn’t planned on writing one, but oh boy howdy did this thing want to be written. It’s probably the fastest I’ve ever finished a sex scene (it normally takes me AGES to write porn). And it ended up being super hot (if I do say so myself). I guess these two just really wanted to fuck lmao.

Now that the contract is over (or not over, now that it has morphed into something else), Ciel and Sebastian aren’t really master and servant anymore. So, I love flip-flopping on the power dynamics between them, especially when it comes to sex. When Ciel “orders” Sebastian around in this scene, Sebastian doesn’t have to obey, but he chooses to. What would have once been a tangible command is now just role-play and it’s still so fun to write!

The Christmas stuff was fun to write too. As I said, I’m (sort of) intentionally mirroring Ciel and Lizzy’s story lines here, so I wanted Lizzy to get some jewellery too. I browsed through listings for necklaces of the time and found this one, which I thought was just perfect. I would 100% buy it if I had 1,450 US dollars lying around. I think blondes look really great in green, and Lizzy’s eyes are green, so despite her colour scheme in the anime being super pink and girly I’m putting her in a lot green in this story *glances at the next upcoming chapter). I have multiple party-type events lined up in this one so for you purists out there, don’t worry, she’ll be back in pink eventually.

I grew up in Canada, so ice skating on ponds and lakes local rinks, be it for figure skating or hockey or just for fun was a big part of my childhood. I have a lot of fond memories of ice skating with my family and I thought hey, they probably skate on the Thames and the Sienne rivers, right? We Ontarians do that in Ottawa when the Ottawa river freezes up in the winter. I didn’t even bother looking it up to see if they did it/do it in Europe, I just decided that I was going to make it happen. I did, however, make sure I was referencing ice skates as they existed in that time period. I’m not a complete lunatic.

And of course, Lizzy having to teach Sybil how to skate means they’re going to be put in Physical Proximity mwahahaha. The image of Lizzy getting kissed on the cheek by a pretty girl and falling over was burned in my brain and refused to leave me alone until I wrote it. Their romantic relationship is a slower burn but it’s starting to burn brighter from here on out.

I’ll leave the commentary sparse for the last couple of scenes- I don’t want to accidentally give anything away by talking too much about the crime scene or the coalition meeting. Have you figured out who the victim is?? Do you think you might know who’s leading the coalition cult since Sir Arthur kicked it four years ago? Much to think about… until next week xoxo gossip girl

lord_is_it_mine

#lord speaks #kuroshitsuji #fanfiction #black butler #sebaciel #writing #my writing #behind the scenes #ttnbd #tteoe series #ttnbd blog #commentary

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community! I’m Malice and I’ll be your host today. 

Here today to talk all things whumpy is the fabulous @experi-sketches!

Thanks for joining us today, @experi-sketches! Do you mind kicking us off today with some facts about youself?

Hi, I'm Katie! I'm a 30-something with a pretty boring day-job in bank operations. I've always loved all things creative - as a kid that meant drawing and playing the viola, but as an adult I've found that what I really love is writing! When I'm not writing, though, I enjoy cooking, reading, spending time with my partner & loving on my pup, a 12-year-old pit bull/german shepherd mutt named Cleo who is an absolute doofus. I am, in fact, a lover of all dogs and will happily smoosh any pup's face or give them belly rubs. I tend to be quite shy, and I'm a bit of a clueless geezer when it comes to social media (I'm really not very good at it lol) but I love getting a chance to meet new folks in creative communities!

What does whump mean to you?

I enjoy the versatility of whump; to me it's any story centered around a character who endures intense struggle or suffering - be that emotional/psychological/physical, or maybe all three - and is changed in some way by that experience. I've always loved stories where the protag has to fight tooth and nail to survive, like *really* fight, and whump tends to have that in spades. The drama of it is just *chef's kiss* so choice!

And how did you find the whump community? What made you want to join?

So, to be honest, I kind of fell into whump by accident? When I started posting my current project on AO3, "An Iron Blood Tale: Iron and Gold," I was feeling anxious because it dealt with some very dark/violent themes that I'd never written before, so I wanted to try and make sure that I included enough relevant tags so people knew what they were getting into. One day I was perusing other stories on AO3 in the master/slave tag, trying to see what types of tags similar authors were using, and this word 'whump' kept coming up. I had no idea what it meant so finally I googled it. When I found out what it was I had this lightbulb moment like "Omg, this is exactly what I'm writing!" Whump was the tag I'd been searching for without knowing it, and once I started using it, I not only started to reach folks who enjoy the same kinds of stories I do, but I also realized that there was a whole community of them! I suddenly didn't have to feel self-conscious about the dark content of my story, because I could serve it to people who actually wanted to see it. It made me feel like I'd finally found a home for "An Iron Blood Tale."

Finding the whump community really feels like coming home, doesn't it? Do you think your view on whump changed since you joined?

Well as mentioned this is all pretty much a new world for me! So I'd say no, still kind of figuring things out lol. I will say that my perception of the community has changed, though. Like many newcomers to a community, at first I was afraid to engage because I was constantly worried that I might say something silly or post something that could offend or upset someone, so I tended to just lurk quietly in the background. But I've since come to see that most folks here are actually quite sensitive and accepting! For a genre that deals so many with dark themes, I've found the people here very kind and welcoming.

Do you have a favourite whump trope? Or more than one, it's so hard to choose sometimes!

I enjoy anything that includes power dynamics, particularly unbalanced power dynamics, although I feel that's sort of a given for whump. Since I've started writing "An Iron Blood Tale" I find myself more drawn to slavery tropes & also dub/non-con, mostly because I like seeing how other people handle those topics and again, power dynamics lol. I also tend to lean more towards emotional/psychological whump - give me a character who has to battle internal demons along with external ones!!

Now you have to hype yourself up! What's one of your favorite pieces you've written?

Well literally the only other complete work I have posted on the internet is "Wham, Bam!" (NSFW) which is slice-of-life m/m erotica. It's about a fellow in rural Texas who grew up closeted and bullied, and who gets his world turned upside down by an attractive and selfish stranger.

I wouldn't say it's whump, or at least not very much so, but the protag in that story, Harvey, is definitely fighting through some emotional and psychological hangups that were beaten into him during his childhood. It's on my AO3 if you're interested!

Otherwise my big project at the moment is a fantasy novel called "An Iron Blood Tale" - very whumpy long-format story about a young man named Jerre whose village is raided by elven invaders, and as a result he becomes enslaved to a disgraced nobleman named Arna Sindri. It's also very much NSFW, (deals with slavery & NON-CON, PTSD & physical, emotional and psychological torture so please be warned) but I would say the predominant focus is on Jerre's struggle to cling to his humanity while he fights to find a way to escape a world that is very strange and dangerous to him!

I do like some good emotional and psychological whump! Would you mind sharing what your writing routine looks like?

Oh I'm definitely more productive in the morning. I get the bulk of my writing done on the weekends - maybe I'll do a *little* writing during the week, but usually after a long day at work all I have the mental energy for is some editing/revision. On saturday and sunday I like to get out of bed around 6 AM or so, (partner & dog are still asleep at that point so I have the whole house to myself, which is a rare delight,) make some coffee, and just write as much as I can. I tend to write long-format things and I've found a few tricks that work well for me - admittedly none of them are very unique but hey, they do work!

First, I've got to have the right soundtrack while I'm writing. Music is so helpful, it puts me in the right mood & gets the creative juices flowing, and it literally helps me visualize scenes better. In particular I love 'movie trailer music' - artists who write orchestral music used for trailers and stuff. It's great because it's not associated with an *actual* movie so I can use all those epic vibes I feel while listening to it to manifest my own characters and stories. In particular I like Kevin Graham's music, and there's this youtube channel called Really Slow Motion that's also great. Highly recommend if you're looking for some epic music to write to!

Second, I don't write chronologically. I tend to write stories/chapters completely out of order. I already know all the Big Stuff that happens b/c I like to plan the plot in advance, so I'll just write whatever scene I feel inspired to write that day. Over time the gaps between those scenes shrink and then eventually all I have to do is fill in the blank spaces between scenes and boom! I have a completed draft.

Last: I don't worry about what I write being good. It's a thing I hear a lot of writers say, but it's so, so true. I tell myself that the point of a first draft is simply to *exist*, and then I just slap whatever garbage leaves my brain onto the page. I don't judge myself if it's awful because I can always go back later and revise revise revise to make it better. Letting go of the need to make everything perfect on the first try has made my writing time so much more productive and fulfilling.

Sounds like you've got a strong routine. Is there an easy thing for you to write? What do the words usually flow for? Is there something you struggle with writing?

I always feel like action sequences or Big Dramatic Events flow the best for me. If Jerre is getting attacked or experiencing some kind of trauma or torture, or if there's a battle, or a fist fight, or an argument - you know, big, action-y things. Where I tend to struggle more are those quieter, more intimate scenes between characters. Soft, tender dialog, or a moment where a character is alone with their thoughts, or struggling with their inner demons, stuff like that. It's so hard to make those scenes land correctly and not seem tacky!

And is there anything you're working on at the moment?

So my big project right now is "An Iron Blood Tale" over on AO3 It's kind of taken over my life. There's going to be two books, "Iron and Gold" and "Soot and Blood." I kinda mentioned the set-up for the first book "Iron and Gold" above - Jerre's village is raided and he's enslaved to Arna Sindri, and with the help of his fellow prisoner Emrik he tries to find some way to escape. The second book, "Soot and Blood," continues Jerre and Emrik's story as they struggle to navigate the traumas of their pasts while also tying to save the continent from the elven invaders who destroyed their lives. I'm currently drafting the very last chapter of book one, and doing *tons* of revisions on the chapters I've already written. But I…I cannot even wait for book two. I've written some of it already, but I'm actually crying inside to devote 100% of my attention to it - book two is where shit really gets real!

That sounds son awesome and I can't wait to read them! IS there any writing advice that you'd like to share?

Write whatever you want and whatever makes you happy - write for yourself. If you love what you write, chances are other people will sense that and love it too.

And also give yourself the freedom to be a bad writer! Seriously. The hardest part of writing is just making that *very* first draft, so just slam out whatever rubbish comes out of your brain, and who cares if it makes sense or not? Once it exists, you can go back and make things 'good.' And what even is 'good' anyways? It's all subjective! If you just remove the pressure of trying to make things perfect on your first try, it frees you, and you become so much more productive!

Oh, and find some good music to listen to while you write. Feel like most people know that one already, but it's so true haha

Finally a shout out to your favourite writing/whump blogs, bffs or people who've inspired you.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that I'm still so new here that I'm kind of trying to find my sea legs! Like I said, I'm pretty shy, so I've mostly just been lurking and poking around through the whump tags here on Tumblr and also on AO3…there's so much that it's kind of overwhelming! I do want to give a little shout to @burntcoffeewhump, though. They've been super amazing and supportive of my story, and they've even pointed me towards some other whumpy blogs & stories that I've been checking out! You're a true hero haha

Anything you'd like to add?

Please feel free to say hi! Drop something in my asks, leave a comment on AO3, @ me on twitter - I'm trying to get over my nerves and get more involved in the community, but I'm always excited to say hi and meet new folks!

Thank you so much for joining us today! It was great to have you on the show!

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[thesketchyheartist]

03/20

Neon Genesis Evangelion (EP 8, 16, 24, 26)

I want to start off this post by talking about a new main character Asuka. It took me about 2 episodes to figure out she is Rei's opposite. Appearances: Blue hair and red hair. Long hair and short hair. Eye colors are different. One is soft-spoken, the other is vocal. One talks too little (from what I gather from the assigned episodes, I think Rei is supposed to be Eve or Lilith, but Asuka is like Shinji in that they are some descendants of the Evas or Angels or something that is not totally human, so this explains why she acts so cold), the other talks too much. Also the weird but true observation: one is indifferent to perverted accidents, the other is sensitive to perverted accidents; both may or may not [always] involve Shinji.

Asuka represents the tsundere stereotype, I think. I hear the "Baka, hentai!" comment from her a lot, but I can't tell if it's hormones or if she is actually attracted to Shinji. Shinji is a teenage boy, so I know he gets the classic red hand mark on his face, and it's rarely ever his fault. Those characters who are quick to anger and violence without listening to reason are often redheads, and I know it's a popular trope, but I realize as I am writing this the paradox of it all. Asuka is a young girl, and as a bit of a crazy anime watcher, I do believe violence is not always the answer, but it's wrong to assume violence is not an option. However, if every situation that triggers you is answered or resolved in violence, then it's rarely ever resolved. If Asuka even paused for a moment, she could tell Shinji probably did not even have the guts to pull harassment on any girl. To accuse him would make her the true culprit, not the victim. I know the children did not have parental figures to follow, but I guess their immaturity further proves they are really not qualified at all to be humanity's saviors. On the other hand, it is ironic that Asuka's hits can be overlooked so easily. Think about it, if a young boy suddenly had his p**is touched, accidentally or not, by a girl, he probably would just shove her off because if he hit her face, everyone would call him violent. Children who are used as child weapons are essentially taught that violence via their mecha skills is the ONLY solution to solve humanity's biggest problems, so quietly, it's the only solution for small misunderstandings.

Finally, the last episode was more philosophical than I thought. I didn't watch EP25 which I assume is the final battle because I don't think there is a sequel series. The ending didn't even explain what happened to humanity. But I think it's a good moral story to explain ego and self. The swap to 2D pencil drawings is a good way. Without depth, shadow, and background, a sketch exists limitless. I like how Shinji was always told what to do and how he should live. Even at his crisis, he asks people what he should do and how to live, they are the ones telling him the truth of how he should live. While I know the show is the one telling us the truth, to Shinji, it's still outsiders instructing him, even if they have his well-being in the best care possible. It was Shinji, experiencing the No Angels AU (that got to be an AO3 tag, if not, something like No Eva AU) or Middle/High School AU (love the silly shoujo reference with Rei, bread in mouth, "I'm going to be late on my first day of a school in this new city!", and headbumping ML, but not the accidental peeking), that he realizes the truth people have been trying to tell him this whole time. Funny how even his best friends care more about him than he does himself, and only when he really loves himself unconditionally, Eva or no Eva, even in a world where only he exists, that he can learn to actually love others, even his hated father becomes a person he can accept unconditionally. You realize after hearing all the voices, it's because they were people, not static faces with voices, that Shinji can compare his world and his self-image to everyone he meets in the show to find his true self.

It's such a roundabout way to explain everything. All anyone needs is a famous quote by a powerful warrior, one who transcended the mortal realm for his wisdom, bravery, and sheer popularity:

I never heard about ATLA until COVID-19. Funny because if I had heard of this show when it came out, I would have had a very different childhood.

My favorite post-spring break gift from my professors is an exam (it's not.)

-03/19/24

[leomerlyn]

For this year's Dream Show Challenge may I present:

The Weekenders

Synopsis: Sisters Clara, Ada, and Florence have been trying to make it in the Regency-era music scene their whole lives, and finally find opportunity together among New York’s burgeoning upper crust. Their success is bolstered by their music’s mysterious ability to draw the rich and powerful into trance states, bringing them to reveal their worst secret. It becomes a mark of honor and virtue to survive a performance-- a feat none have managed yet. 

Melanie Lynskey as Clara Sephton: The eldest sister, she always keeps the score. She maintains careful records of her family. As the cellist of the troupe, she takes her role as the sonic foundation eagerly. She aims to support her sisters in all ways, at any cost. Fiercely dedicated to her craft, her fervor for perfection can sometimes stifle her sisters. She craves progress.

Sumalee Montano as Ada Sephton: The middle sister, Ada is often forgotten about. She compliments her sisters well, both in temperament and her sound on the piano. Ada is the bridge/filler between Clara’s dark tones and Florence’s flighty notes. She unifies them, but can be blunt in her ways. She is stubborn about what her sisters are allowed to do, often denying things she deems too dangerous-- regardless of the possible reward. She craves stability.

Ronke Adekoluejo as Florence Sephton: The youngest, Flo is full of life. Often dubbed a firecracker or a loose cannon, she is better compared to a will-o’-the-wisp. With the voice of an angel and a memory to match, Flo leads the troupe in tempo on and off the clock. Often labeled a troublemaker, she’s really just wildly curious about the world (and people) around her. She finds that many people don’t like to be scrutinized, especially by someone they perceive as less than them. Flo refuses to accommodate that judgment, which often lands her in hot water-- but helps her know who her true friends are. She craves truth. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Samuel Hulley: Eldest son of antiquities magnate Lewis Hulley, Sam has taken well to the life of an eligible bachelor and well-regarded portrait painter. Though these two reputations can sometimes interact poorly, Sam is dedicated to his art. Like Clara, he takes the eldest-child role to heart, even when he doesn’t show it. An avid seltzer water enjoyer, he routinely behaves much rowdier than his BAC would justify. He craves beauty.

Matt Ryan as Thomas Hulley: The younger Hulley brother, Thom craves his father's approval-- as well as the (somehow) more fleeting feeling of creation. He studies his father's ledgers by day and music by night. He befriends John, his father’s favorite composer, and is more likely to be sat admiring the Sisters than socializing at his father’s grand parties. He is determined to make something remarkable, but finds himself smoldering like an old campfire with no fuel left to burn. He craves soul.

Mike Colter as John Taylor: An esteemed composer, John writes the most novel waltzes, polkas, and quadrilles. His songs have an air of both whimsy and weight, mirroring the man’s youthful yet perceptive manner. All he ever wanted was to live one of his songs out-- to be the main character-- but as he gains fame, he realizes that protagonists are rarely safe. He craves relief.

Brendan Fraser as Lewis Hulley: Antiquities dealer and professional rich guy, Lewis feels the pressure to maintain his fortune for his family. He adores them and genuinely enjoys taking care of them, but sometimes struggles to keep up with the image and standards required by “high society.” He’s great at going through the motions, but felt like he was in a dream state until he met the love of his life, John. He craves simplicity.

In my head this is an hourlong 9ep limited series along the lines of Under the Banner of Heaven or Transatlantic. I tried to sketch out the eps but it turns out I'm more of a shot-list girlie than a script girlie lol

#RBACL Dream Show #OBSESSED with this cast #tysm for putting this challenge on <3