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fiepige · 9 months

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My concept for Venom!Hobie

Okay here goes

DISCLAIMER: I CANNOT DRAW

I've made another post where I mentioned it as well but I'll reiterate it here:

I don't think Hobie would ever canonically accept a symbiote due to his history with them and how they're used in his universe.

Now with that out of the way let's speculate!

This is my concept sketch for Venom!Hobie

Before I go into details about the design and the possible way he would work in universe:

I wanna give the world's BIGGEST shoutout to @levionok for being the coolest person ever and actually make some AMAZING drawings of Venom!Hobie:

(Like how cool is this!?!?!!! I love these so much!! aaaaahhhhhhhhh<3 <3<3)

Okay so, first I wanna talk about his design and then I wanna speculate about the most "realistic" ways I think Venom!Hobie could come into existence/what his personality would be like.

Design:

I wanted the symbiote to exaggerate some of Hobie's physical features so I kinda went with the idea of Venom!Hobie being even lankier and spikier than regular Hobie/Spider-Punk (since the symbiotes seem to take more after the actual suit when it comes to their design I based most of their looks around how Hobie looks as Spider-Punk)

Since Hobie is already tall I of course imagine Venom!Hobie as being even taller/lankier.

Though due to his longer limbs he has a bigger tendency to walk crouched down on all fours (sixs technically?) as beautifully illustrated by @levionok above. (and less beautifully illustrated by me in the top right corner of my drawing lol)

Since Hobie also incorporates spikes into his looks I did the same for Venom!Hobie and added even more! He now has more rows of "mohawk" spikes, his choker spikes become longer and the same goes for the spikes from his jacket + he gets extra spikes along his back. He also gets spikes along his wrists! - He's a spikey boy!

Also all the spikes are made from symbiote "teeth" and could in theory be moved around on his body if he wanted to (though they mostly stay in place).

The "running mascara"-look (Idk what to call it lol) also carries over from Spider-Punk's mask and is once again even more pronounced in Venom!Hobie.

Now one of the more noticeable traits are the arms! I haven't figured every detail out yet, but so far the idea is that his arms split into two at the elbows but he's able to "fuse" them back into one arm if he wishes to (which he rarely does).

Also to get the idea across that it's his arm being split up I tried to add some symbiote goop between the two parts of the arms!

I kinda like the idea of him being able to change his "design" (changing his spikes and arms as he pleases) so to say, kinda referencing to him not believing in consistency and how he changes "filters" in his animation style! Though I picture him as looking like in the concept drawings above most of the time.

I'm also kinda toying with the idea of giving him barbed wire like webbing since I remember reading somewhere that Hobie apparently has used barbed wire instead of webs in the comics from time to time.

But I also headcanon Venom!Hobie as being more animalistic and more likely to just use brute force instead of webs.

He is fast when he's down on all fours (again sixs? idk lol)

Of course he also gets most of the classic Venom abilities and weaknesses (I haven't read the comics so I'm going off memory of the Venom movie which I've seen once like 5 years ago so please bear with me ^^')

The most noticable weakness being sound! I'll take a closer look at how this affects Hobie when I get to his personality/origin.

Okay that's all about his design for now, I might come back and add more stuff later if I come up with anything as this is still a new concept I'm workshopping (and inputs are greatly appreciated!)

Now we're moving on to his personality/origin as I feel like these two are very intertwined. Cause I feel like the way Venom!Hobie originates will affect his personality too! Let me explain:

So far I've come up with two possible ideas/reasons for Hobie to even bond with a symbiote in the first place and depending on which version you choose I feel like it would end up having different effects on his personality/how he handles the situation:

Scenario 1:

The symbiote is passed onto Hobie without him knowing!

Possibly from an encounter with the cops where a symbiote manages to latch onto Hobie as he kills its former host.

(Or maybe a villain manages to plant one on him somehow).

This would lead to a slow gradual "fusion" between Hobie and the symbiote as it would be very aware that Hobie is NOT exactly a fan of it and would do whatever he could to get rid of it/kill it if he found out about it.

If I recall correctly Eddie also wasn't aware of his symbiote in the beginning and only found out about it when it decided to make itself known. -(referencing the movie)

So I'd imagine a similar scenario here but instead of making itself known, the symbiote hides its presence from Hobie as much as possible while making small gradual changes to Hobie to prepare for an eventual fusion/take over.

Like slowly Hobie starts getting migraines whenever he plays his guitar or listens to loud music so he does so less and less without being even consciously aware of it.

At some point he even stops bringing his guitar with him on missions since he never uses it anyways and hey why did he even bring it in the first place? - I like to think that the symbiote is somewhat able to manipulate Hobie's thoughts over time to make him more susceptible to it.

Going to concerts also becomes a no no.

Hobie also changes his diet; the thought of going to the community garden just not appealing to him as much anymore for some reason. So he visits it less frequently until he also just completely stops going (affecting both his diet and his social life- the symbiote would want Hobie to be as isolated as possible to make him easier to manipulate).

Hobie doesn't realise it at first but he starts craving meat more and more and as time passes he also prepares his meals less and less until he basically eats meat raw. (I'm once again thinking about the movie and that lobster scene, though his symbiote would have to be a lot more sublte for him to not notice what's going on).

At this point Hobie would have to be almost completely isolated and under the influence of the symbiote for so long that it would finally feel "safe" making itself known, preying on his hunger (having been homeless Hobie has known hunger before but I imagine that the hunger that comes with a symbiote is its own unique thing and that it's rather extreme) and his declining mental health.

While a part of him would still very much hate it, Hobie would begrudgingly accept the symbiote and chaos would ensue.

And then of course the Spider-Gang would try and stop/save him cause they know that Hobie would never want this. Wether they're gonna be successful or not is up to interpretation.

Now personality vise I imagine this version of Venom!Hobie is gonna be mostly taken over by the symbiote and thus being more feral and animalistic. It most likely wouldn't talk a lot and mostly be focused on feeding (and like in the movie, its favourite food is gonna be humans. Hobie would try to make sure they only target cops but sometimes the hunger would win over reason).

I know this is pretty dark but I really can't imagine a positive scenario where Hobie would willingly accept a symbiote so this is my first "solution". (Though I also feel like his friends would intervene before he reached this point but still, I kinda like the idea of the slow corruption and the person not realising it until it's too late)

You still with me? Good, cause it's time for:

Scenario 2:

I'd wish that this one would be more positive but I guess that sadly isn't the case

In this scenario Hobie would have reached his breaking point.

He would have been through an experience so traumatic that he feels like a symbiote is his ONLY option.

(If I recall correctly he's reffered to himself as a "suicide machine" in the comics and this would really come into play here).

He'd become way more reckless and not really caring what happens to him in battle. He views this as his last resort.

Like maybe there's a new kind of symbiote that isn't weak to sound or fire and Hobie has no other way to defeat them than to get one himself.

The only positive is that Hobie would be more mentally in control as he's fully aware of the symbiote and how it can influence his mind.

He'd still have cravings for raw meat but he wouldn't have been as mentally unstable and only target cops/other symbiotes becomming kind of a double cannibal.

Once again his friends would try to stop him and he'd definitely be more resonable in this scenario than in the first one.

But he'd still push them away both to protect them and out of shame over his situation.

This time more of Hobie's personality would shine through but it still wouldn't be a very positive version of Hobie as I imagine any scenario with him having a symbiote would really have a negative impact on his mental health.

But still there's room for a happy ending if the Spider-Gang manage to get to him in time!

So yeah, both of these scenarios are kind of a bummer for Hobie (to put it mildly lol) but I honestly can't imagine a positive situation where Hobie would willingly accept a symbiote! (I'm more than happy to hear any takes you guys might have that prove me wrong though!)

Okay, I think that's everything for now!

I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions of Venom!Hobie!

Also let me know if there's anything you want me to elaborate on! Or of you just wanna talk Hobie or Venom!Hobie in general <3

If you made it this far you are honestly a champ and deserve all the gold stars in the world. As I sadly can't give you that have a GIF of Hobie smiling to cheer you up!

Also I wanna give another huge shout out to @levionok! Both for the amazing drawings of Venom!Hobie and for giving me the courage and motivation to share my concept of him! <3<3<3

also have another Venom!Hobie cause I can't get over how cool she made them look! If you haven't already you should really check out their tumblr! They have made some AWESOME ATSV art there!!!

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kradeelav · 19 days

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so one of the technical bits i challenged myself with this gunter/corrin doujin was to:

(a) figure out an efficient process for professional multi-page artistic works in linux/true OSS programs - from ideation all the way to printer hand-off.

and

(b) a process that fit well with my brain and kept me from spinning my wheels endlessly redoing pages. it's a common problem with longer projects (aka why you see reboots of webcomics all the time, and also why i haven't been able to get "what greater sin" out for three years cuz i sucked at this lol).

why the focus on process though?

after mastering a certian degree of technical proficiency. it's what separates the hobbyist artists from the pros. not to toot my horn, but i'm quite good at project management process at work, and about two years ago it dawned on me to take some of that learned knowledge and actually apply it here if only to save eyestrain/wrist-strain time.

work lazier smarter, not harder etc.

before i get into the process outline, there's two programs that are doing the heavy lifting since i gave them a trial run with the last anthology and they worked great in tandem. (both cost no money and are available on all major OS's btw)

krita, my main drawing program. sketching/inking/speech bubbles/coloring/vector stuff can all be done here.

libreoffice writer - basically microsoft word for linux. i use it for arranging multiple pages, reordering, and exporting as .pdf to give to the printer (while amazing at rendering, krita can't export as pdf or show multi-pages)

so!

process wise, it occurred to me not too long ago that i needed to consolidate my multi-page creative projects into 3 major gates.

thumbnail sketches

proof of concept layout

"last 10" final

thumbnail sketches

thumbnails are a common concept in comics, but they're great for print front/back matter too. thumbnails ain't here to look pretty, their sole purpose to get the idea from your noggin to on the page.

here's a completely unaltered spread from my journal with a ton of thumbs and notes for this doujin.

so what's the kind of stuff i think about with thumbs?

how panels in a comic fit together with the major emotional beats + line of action. does the eye follow the pages naturally? do you "feel" the emotional impact?

does the compositions work with each other? negative/positive space, weight on top or bottom or diagonally, etc. do the pages feel claustrophobic or too empty? do they breathe?

decorative framing elements that reflect the tone you want + how they generally lead the eye across the page

random notes about overall tone or potential future pages

etcetc

at this point i import that digitally, and start drawing a proper sketch off of it.

fast forward from that sketch to:

"proof of concept" layout

i'm calling this proof of concept instead of a draft as they serve different purposes. a draft is a half-finished work you can just screenshot and show to anyone for feedback (like comms). proof of concept here is showing a certian level of completeness across draft pages to measure consistency.

lack of consistency is the mind killer killer of comics.

proof of concept is specifically meant to nip the 'fizzled out halfway' issues in the bud. it's to show you how cool it looks altogether already, but also shed a light on problem areas that are potentially popping up on the earlier side, so there's less time wasted.

this is a little premature in the process for a proof of concept screenshot, but you get the idea here in a later strip, shown here as screenshots imported into libreoffice writer:

another reason that made libreoffice writer essential is the accurate 2-page spread view. between that, being able to resize the page to whatever you need, and the very easy pdf exporter (with customizable compression), i don't know if i could do this kind of project here.

now, backing up - what kinds of consistency are we checking for here?

does the inking/coloring style change noticeably in a jarring way?

is there one comic strip that the pacing/paneling sucks in comparison to the others? or feels awkwardly added in tone and perhaps better saved for a different project?

is there one panel within a sequential series that's torturing you? what's the best way to throw it out and redo it even faster?

do the front/back matter support the meat of the inside in a clever, on-tone way?

did you accidentally change the font halfway through after you liked your new shiny toy? which one works better?

etc

keep in mind we're not just checking the consistency in one strip, it's for the book as a whole.

and then lastly,

"the last ten" final

"the last ten" is a mental concept i've used for the last ten years for single comic pages. it's especially tempting to noodle over endlessly making one comic page perfect, when you could have done ten reasonably good ones in the same time, and so i made this my last step making IC pages.

once when you approach a level of reasonably done, but kinda hate the page and are procrastinating on getting it out, stop, rest your eyes overnight, and list the last ten minor things you'd change.

once when you've changed those? out the door it goes.

i'm gonna switch to a different project but here's a good example of a "last ten" stage applied to illustrations when i did fallen!gunter's FEH mockups.

looks pretty complete, right? WRONG :D

i can't remember the exact last ten i used, but it was something like:

too much of one specific glowy purple on both, i wanted more contrast with the red glow + "water" texture

needed more effects on the first image to better match FEH's aesthetic

change Leigh's credits after they got a chance to see it and give the thumbs up

knee/shin on left looks unfinished painting wise, clean up

missing chest plate silver decorations on left, clean up

etc

this is the last hail mary check to hack your brain into being satisfied with the page. you've had your say, onwards to the next one.

now, you can also have an additional 'last ten' for the project as a whole. but it's especially critical for comic pages to help keep the momentum/tempo/pace going.

anyway!

we'll see how all of this actually works in practice depending on how fast i can get this doujin out. :)

#not art #resource #ashes and ghost

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jojo-schmo · 2 months

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I really like your artstyle. Especially whenever you draw Dedede. It inspired me to make this:

It's artwork I made nearly two years ago. The left is remade artwork.

How do you stay consistent with your style?

- Jocket

Oh wow!! That's a true honor to hear, thank you for telling me this! Both drawings are so lovely!! But I love how dynamic and in motion everyone's poses are in your new one, and the expressions and colors are so fun!! :D Keep drawing, it's looking great! <3

And that's very kind of you to say that about my artstyle! It's funny you say that, I've been feeling a slight struggle with my consistency these days. (But that's also probably my own perception :P )

I think... whenever I struggle with consistency, I aim for confidence. Confidence in my sketches and the lines I draw. Reminding myself that while the art might not look exactly like the image in my head, I'm doing this to the very best of my ability.

Even when I feel like I'm not drawing something "technically correct." Like backgrounds or perspectives or something I haven't drawn before. I try to remind myself, "This is the very best I can do right now, and it's better than having drawn nothing at all! Because this didn't exist before I put pencil to paper, or stylus to screen. And that's pretty magical!"

Also just studying new things to draw and plenty of practice, I suppose! Practice makes progress! I mean, I didn't draw Dedede AT ALL until I was like 24! And I've been drawing Kirby characters since like, age 11! I just learned to get over my own mental blocks that I created over time. Before, I thought that if I couldn't draw a character "well," I shouldn't even try at all. And that reluctance to leave my comfort zone when I was younger caused me to miss out on a lot of growth in my technical art skills! So I try to remember that mindset more these days.

And hey, maybe consistency isn't the ultimate end goal for everyone's art styles. I mean, art styles are allowed to evolve as much as an artist wants them to! I think I'm personally happier with my progress in my confidence than my progress in consistency. But I'll keep working on both.

I hope that all makes sense :) Keep up the wonderful work!! Your art is something only you can make! And I think that's beautiful!

#ask #jojo rambles

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rogerswifesblog · 1 year

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A/N: it’s my first time writing this much angst, I hope you like it. It’s sad. No Happy End.

Please feedback?🥺❤️

Written in the stars

Summary: Steve always loved you. And he’d always love you, in health…and in sickness. Till your forever would end. You two only hoped it wouldn’t happen so soon,

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, cancer, angst, angst, angst, fluff, but it’s sad

You and Steve met 6 years ago, literally bumping into each other on the streets. He had spilled his coffee over your white shirt-yes, very Rom-com cliché. He gave you his hoodie to wear, and his number in case you’d like to call him…

You did.

After six months of pinning, meeting the avengers and a lot of teasing you were together. A perfect, happy couple.

Steve had realized he loved you very quickly into your friendship-two months after meeting you, you had invited him over (not for the first time), but this time you wanted to show him something. Something that you loved. A little hobby and passion of yours.

Stargazing.

While you were laying on the blanket, covered with another one, your gaze was glued to the sky-while Steve had only eyes for you. He couldn’t stop looking at you. Your eyes were so sparkly and pretty…your pretty lips so rosy and soft looking…and the smile creeping over your face whenever you saw a shooting star.

“Oh Steve look! The Coma Berenices…”, your voice brought him out of his thoughts, quickly looking to the sky. “It’s really pretty…”, he mumbled, once again letting his gaze slide to you. “Beautiful even….”

He put his arm around you “come here, little star, have it comfortable”, he laughed gently in your hair, pulling the blanket higher.

You had spent many hours just stargazing. After a while you had put your head on his chest, cuddling him closer, since it was a bit cold. Well, you had the blanket, which was technically enough, but….but you really wanted to cuddle him. And he enjoyed it as much as you did.

When you fell asleep on his chest, talking about the stars and how much you loved watching them. He had known about a few of your hobbies-but you’ve never talked with so much passion about something. It made his heartbeat fasten.

In this new world people didn’t show their feelings or love for other stuff than technology-internet, YouTube or Netflix. Everything was always about social media-and he was an old fashioned man. Don’t get him wrong, technology was great but he enjoyed the simple things. Like sketching or…or just stargazing.

He fell in love.

What he didn’t know was that you had also fallen for him that day.

Steve had asked you if you wanted him as your boyfriend-which was sweet. He didn’t ask you to be his girlfriend. He asked you to be yours.

And he did it again. Three years later.

He asked you if you’d let him be your husband. Be the one at your side for the rest of your life. Be your forever.

But you didn’t know that forever would end so soon.

Five years into your relationship you got married. It was a small ceremony, with Natasha being on your side, while Steve had Bucky standing behind him.

Steve cried. (You did too.)

Natasha said she didn’t cry. (She totally did.)

Bucky cried openly, seeing his best friend-that one that got beaten up in alleys twice a week-getting married.

One year after your marriage you got diagnosed.

You were taken to a hospital, after passing out while shopping with Natasha. She was supposed to help you find a pretty dress for your anniversary.

You tried on a dress, spinning around and needing to sit down after that. Moments later you lost consciousness.

Cancer.

Terminal cancer, to be specific.

You were completely surprised with this diagnosis-shocked, actually. It came out of the blue. Well, you were a bit more tired lately, slept more and had trouble with your appetite. You were often exhausted by doing very simple things, like walking down the stair-lately even carrying the laundry was difficult.

Maybe you should’ve seen it coming?

Steve spent the next hours with you, just holding you in a tight hug.

Needing it as much as you did.

Maybe even more than you.

Definitely more than you.

In the evening he had to leave you, since he wasn’t allowed to spend the night in the hospital. (He tried the Captain America card. Didn’t work. Stupid people. His wife was dying and he wasn’t allowed to be with her.)

He spent the night in Bucky's room, not being able to be alone.

He cried.

Hours passed and he was still crying.

Until he fell asleep.

Three months passed and you felt weaker every day. Steve stopped going on missions to be with you-he didn’t tell you that, but you knew. You knew why he was doing this.

He wanted to spend more time with you. The last days, weeks….as long as you had left. Which probably wasn’t that long anymore. You could tell it wouldn’t take long.

Steve knew it too. He could hear your weak heartbeat. Your heavy breathing…

You slept a lot-making him nervous Every Time you went to sleep or napped. He was scared you wouldn’t wake up one time, which made him scared of falling asleep himself.

Steve gave you a gentle kiss, walking past the couch on which you were sitting. “Hungry, sweetheart?”, he asked, putting his hands on your shoulders and squeezing gently. A small smile crept over your face, while you put your head in your neck and looked up at him. Your eyes seemed so sad…slowly losing their sparkle.

“I could eat”, you mumbled. “Okay, I’ll make you…something that I won’t burn”, he grinned, giving you another kiss. It made you laugh quietly too. He really was a bad cook, always burning everything-but with the many tutorials (and JARVIS’ reminder to check the food) he managed to make decent meals. Even really good ones.

Even Bucky ate with you two once, praising the food, thinking you had cooked. He didn’t believe it, when you two told him the truth. You remember the red blush on his cheeks hearing the praise.

Twenty minutes later Steve sat down next to you, two bowls in his hands, one for you, the other for himself, clearly a much bigger portion. “I think it’s not salty enough-but I’m not sure”, he mumbled, looking at you and waiting for a reaction.

After eating a bite you shook your head quickly. “It’s really good. I like it”, you mumbled, slowly leaning your head against his shoulder. Enjoying the warmth radiating from his body.

If someone had asked you ten years ago, If you wanted to die you'd say yes.

If someone had asked you, If you were afraid of dying you’d say no. Back then, you didn’t care. You didn’t feel like life was worth living. Always working, being stressed and not being able to sleep from all the coffee you were drinking, to staying awake at work. You often had enough, just needing to scream into your pillow to let out your frustrations.

You hadn’t really appreciated life. You hadn’t found your reason to love life.

Until meeting this gorgeous, sweet man.

He made life worth living. You loved every second you spent with him.

Now you are scared. You didn’t want to die. Not when you had your whole life with Steve before you.

A single tear rolled down your cheek. You didn’t want to leave Steve behind. He didn’t deserve it.

While Steve had made your life worth living, the same happened to him. Having met you, he finally felt like he had a purpose. Not as Captain America, but as Steve. You made him happy.

“Today is a meteor shooting. Maybe you’d like to watch it? I could put some blankets on the roof…make us some snacks…”, Steve mentioned one day, while you were a bit stronger than the days before, taking a walk outside.

Steve still wanted you to hold onto his arm, which you gladly did, leaning your head against his bicep.

Smiling brightly, you looked up at him. He finally saw some of the sparkle he had missed so much. “Yes, it’s so sweet you remembered, Mr Rogers”, grinning you gave him a kiss on his cheek-to do that you needed to step on your toes. Steve pulled you a bit closer, kissing your lips gently. “Of course I remembered Mrs Rogers. It’ll be a beautiful night”, he whispered, giving you a few gentle kisses on your face.

A few hours later you two were laying down on a blanket on the roof, with you cuddling against his chest. He was like a human heat pack- “I’m what?”, you felt your cheeks blush, realising you had said these words out loud. “Oh god, sorry Steve-it’s just you’re so warm”, you laughed quietly, matching his own laugh.

He shook his head slightly. “Yeah, okay, you’re always telling me I’m warm but…a heat pack? Interesting” Steve grinned, looking at the sky, slowly turning a darker shade, from the most beautiful rosy, organ he and purple shades the the dark night shades, lighted with beautiful bright stars.

Both of you sighed, watching the stars shining brighter than ever.

It felt special.

A special, beautiful night.

“There’s the constellation Coma Berenices…”, you pointed at the sky, where you saw it-knowing that Steve had no idea what you were talking about, but he liked listening either way. He tried to find it. “I remember you’ve mentioned it a few times before…What does it look like?”

You pointed once again at the stars. “These…these three stars in the half square are the main stars” “what is it about?”he asked, looking at the stars you were pointing at.

A small chuckle escaped your lips. “It’s a constellation for lovers-well, technically for the sacrifice of the beautiful hair of Queen Berenice of Egypt. She did it for her husband Ptolemy…was so concerned for his safety when he went off to war….so she vowed to cut off her glorious long hair as a sacrifice to Venus”, you whispered, closing your eyes slowly.

“Did it work?” Steve sounded hopeful, making you smile a bit. He had such a good heart. “Yes. He came home safely…and Zeus placed Berenices beautiful hair in the heavens to shine among the stars…” “that’s a beautiful story.”

You nodded slowly. “It really is….I get why she did it. I’d do everything for you too”, you whispered. Steve was quiet for a moment, looking at the brightly shining stars. He kissed your head gently. “I’d do everything for you too. Meeting you was the best thing that happened to me.”

Smiling, you put your arm around his waist, inhaling his rich smell. “I love you, Steve. You’re the love of my life…the reason I was the happiest I’ve ever been in the last few years. God, you’ve no idea”, you said, which nearly ended in a sob. Steve felt like he could cry himself, which he often did.

“I love you too, my little star.”

You smiled, looking at the Coma Berenices again, then also seeing another shooting star. Then you closed your eyes again, cuddling a bit closer against his chest.

Lying in Steve’s arms was an incredible feeling.

He was your home.

It’s the best place you could imagine ever being.

It was perfect.

For a while you two just watched the shooting stars. The sky was filled with beautiful and bright lights. Nature was the most beautiful thing. Incredible.

Feeling Steve hugging you even closer-if that was possible-made you sigh quietly, softly.

If hugs could heal, you’d never be sick in the first place. Maybe they did. Maybe Steve’s embrace was the only thing you needed.

The pain stopped.

Steve stroked over your hair gently. Another star fell, making him smile lightly. “Look, another one.”

But no answer came. “Sweetheart, we’ve been here for only two hours, you can’t sleep now”, he laughed, gently shaking your shoulder.

You still didn’t move.

He took a deep breath, listening to your heartbeat.

Silence.

Gently kissing your head he stroked over your hair, not holding the tears back anymore. It was over. Your pain was over.

And he was happy he was with you, till your forever came to an end. You weren’t alone. You died in his arms.

In the arms of your true love. He knew you were happy in your last moments, doing what you loved the most, watching the stars. With him. He knew you loved him, he saw it in your eyes everyday. Even when your sparkle vanished, he saw love.

“I’ll love you till my forever ends, my little star…”

And looking up at the sky he knew you were looking right back at him. Free. At peace.

Thank you for reading!

Please interact, leave some feedback!❤️

I’m thinking about writing another one shot about this-maybe some fluff and cute memories or something, or Steve’s life after…I’m not sure, but I enjoyed writing this. (Even if it broke my heart, it was nice to write something like this)

#steve rogers angst #steve rogers fluff #steve Rogers #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers x you #steve rogers x reader

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datrb · 5 months

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2023 art review!

Even if this year wasn't the biggest on art, due to my physical condition (especially in last couple of months), it would still be nice to look back on what i did as an artist throughout it!

This is gonna be a fun ride...

So, let's dive straight into it, shall we?

Continuation under the cut

January

2023 started on a high note, with me just having finished the King piece, and moving on to the next big thing, being an AvA3/5 double piece.

Sadly, during the process i messed up big time which led to me being unable to finish the piece the way i wanted to, rendering this project an eternal WIP. However, i still cherish the idea and do wish to either redraw, or complete it.

February

Doing 2 big projects one after another did end up affecting my overall drive, so i spent majority of that month just making sketches.

First one is a little redraw/redesign of my old character - Derek, whom i used for a roleplay with my friends like 3 or 4 years ago, and second one is Deach, a character from my fantasy setting.

Also, back then i joined a new fandom, people in which have reminded me of my admiration for SCP, after which me and my friends proceeded to make OCs for it. Was a fun time! (Also this access card was sold by me as a YCH, sadly i couldn't really find buyers, so yikes)

March

By march is slowly started recovering from january's disappointement and was a bit more productive already. One of my friends really helped with it too.

A musician friend of mine reached out to me, asking to develop a design for a villain character in the plot he was working on. After listening to the theme song i couldn't resist. This ended up being one of my favorite designs so far, and i adore its look in neon.

In the meantime, i kept working on my fantasy setting, refining more minor details of designs and stories, yet having to reserve only to making sketches as i was too busy with college and other projects. Characters you see on screen are Ian and Lanfor respectfully. One is a strong yet troubled mage and other is a great Emperor, and even better person.

April

I'd say april was one of the most productive months of this year, mostly because i managed to snatch some time for myself and my setting, which allowed me to complete two full pieces and achieve some extreme progress with my story.

This piece is an illustration to a scene i wrote for two of the characters, Lanfor and Emile, called "Night Visitor". This was a scene of a reunion of two old friends. A bittersweet, yet a lovely work. Love both the written one as well as the illustration.

This one was more of a... Proof of concept. Needed to test out the expresiveness of the design for one or a relatively new characters - Covlar. Was originally a simple sketch on paper, but i couldn't resist the urge of making it into a complete illustration. I then proceeded to make a few notes for this scene. Both want to write it properly and avoid it at all cost... Best to avoid it, for my own sanity.

May

May was a bit of trainwreck, because i got a brand new laptop, which took me quite some time to get used to and even more time to reassure myself that it is in fact alright for me to draw on this suspicioiusly thin piece of tech.

Ironically enough, the only vomplete piece i drew that month was drawn on my old laptop. This screenshot redraw was to made to honour the premiere of AvA6 ep.1. Sadly, i did it a bit late because fo technical issues, but i still had a ton of fun doing it.

June

June was... Chaotic, to say the least. Mostly because i finally got comfortable with the new laptop and could now draw a lot more freely due to it being a lot more compact than the original one, which worked almost like a PC. Besides, i got a ton more free time because semester finals ended up being a breeze.

Ended up making a ton sketches and doodles, that i didn't actually plan to finish, but still enjoyed a ton. Here are some of them

Then, ofc, the memes and the gand redesign, because AvA6 just had to break all of my portrayals. But, i mean, after AvM s3 my original designs did become a bit dated.

The biggest pride and saddest of failures was this picnic piece, however. I still plan on finishing it, but it is hard doing so, when i have changed quite a bit of my artstyle by now.

July

July was quite lazy. Semester ended and i spent that entire month out of the city. It was a great time, very peaceul indeed.

And again, that musician friend from before came into clutch, asking me to develop another design for his other project. And again a villain. He said he really liked how i draw bastard type of characters.

August

Well this is where fun began. End of summer break means i have just this much time to actually draw something i would never have time to draw normally.

For me to draw something to commemorate a new episode is almost like a tradition at this point. And, given how long it's been since i made anything that would require effort, no wonder i have chosen arguably the most complex piece to pull off energy-wise. Yet i did and now i simply adore this piece, even if it did render me disabled. (I crunched through all of this piece, pulling off 40+ hours of work in just 4 days, so naturaly it ended up worsening my condition by a lot)

Then i also proceeded to do all of these tiny side projects, like Victim ask, which i couldn't last long at due to my condition, and working on a design for my favourite streamer. (Which i cannot show as the work is not complete an it's best if i avoid spoilers)

September and October

These two months i spent being unable to draw at all via a doctor's advice. Arguably, these two were the hardest months for me to handle.

I assume you can imagine how hard it is to suddenly stop being able to do what you love, regardless of how much you wish to do it.

Novemer

*Nervous laughter* I... actually still wasn't allowed to use my hand, but that didn't stop me and i ended up making an entire series of sketches to celebrate AvA6 ep2.

"Small in big quantity will sure be less exhausting than a single big thing" - (C) Me, proably

I will admit, i still adore all of these sketches and each of them deserves to become a fully fledged piece in it's own right, but i really better keep them as they are. For my own safety.

December

As you way have expected, this month will stay without a single thing from me. It's not because i don't want to, but because i can't. And, given the circumstance, it better stay that way.

Afterword

I finally got my diagnosis and soon enough i will start active treatment for my condition. It would be a shame to make this worse than it already is with impulses like those that happened in november, so i am making this post as a way to draw a line for myself.

It is still kinda crazy to realize that there are quite a few people interested in what i make, so i will make sure to take my recovery as responcible as possible, and then come back to you with even more art in the upcoming year! Let's be positive about it.

#alan becker #animation vs animator #ava #illustration #ava fanart #animation vs minecraft #avm #artists on tumblr #2023 art #yearly art summary #oc art #original character #digital art #No character tags because there are too many of them

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pawseds · 2 months

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I convinced our Delta Green game master to have a play-by-post (basically text roleplay) section in our game's server and uhhhhh maybe I've been having too much fun with it. Writing is faster than drawing comics, what can I say?

(Long ramble about writing stories below hehe oops)

While we're here! A bit about writing: I like writing! I've written for loger than I've drawn for (because school). I think I'm better at writing than drawing for that reason (I'm more confident at least). I've written short stories. I've written short stories about TTRPG things. I've also written a ~100k word novel by hand for 2 years. While writing it, I had 'writing class' (technically AS/A level Ennglish Language classes). It was the only class I had confidence in and high expectations for.

With those 2 combined, I burnt out pretty quick LOL. Specifically, I had a big perfectionism issue because of the high expectations I had from my teacher and especially myself -- it was the one thing I knew excelled at in school, so I better do it well! After I was done with the novel and A levels, I was supposed to edit the novel. It's been years and I haven't done it yet, and I wouldn't write non-assignment stories (except 2) until now. Writing became more nerverwracking than it was fun, so why would I?

To get back to the PBP thing: I've been in a campaign that was fully PBP. With my mindset being the way it is, hey! This is just one big writing exercise, so I ran along with that and had fun with it. I saw how some players would make their own PBP and essentially monologue/have a scene only with their PC. That was cool to see.

And now, my current Delta Green campaign (tagged 'Helvetia'). Hrothgar (guy in drawing) and his kids were ported over from a previous D&D campaign (the fully PBP one!), so the crew had a very well defined background already. Of course I get tons of drawing ideas for them, except I don't have the time to draw them all (compsci hard). But since the server has a PBP section, I had like 2 weeks to kill between session 0 and 1, and I was bursting with ideas... I made a lot of solo PBPs that were essentially short stories.

It didn't quite hit me until some time ago, but the PBPs actually made me enjoy writing again -- enjoy it a lot more, in fact! I think the format of Discord threads and messages removed most perfectionism tendencies I had. I just had to fire the story away, message by message. It didn't have to be amazing, and it was fun! (Also I really don't know how to shut up with them LOL)

I'll definitely be cleaning these PBPs up and posting them here as stories. Some of them are just silly, fun, slice-of-life character sketches. (These were the stories I wrote after my novel... and yes, they were about my other set of Delta Green characters LMAO) (and I've posted them here under pawsedswrite btw!) But some I see as legitamite short stories that I would edit more heavily and present as a short story. They were the kinds I could see myself writing on a document rather than on Discord.

Well, I lied. 'I would edit' is false. I have already edited one, because I spent like 5-6h writing this one PBP (oops) instead of writing the draft for my short story class/elective (oops 2). I joked to my two friends saying that I could just submit it as my assignment. Apparently, they both really liked it and said the dialogued slapped. So I did!

I procrastinated like hell on it though, because I was very nervous to go back into the PBP with an axe to edit it. Being in a writing class where nearly everyone else has been formally studying writing for some years kinda puts some pressure on ya!

Like the last assignment (which I'll post here after editing), I had a lot of worries. But the feedback and grade I got from my last assignment, the peer review I got from the current one, and also the support from those two friends (shoutout @katastrofish <3) made me feel more confident in myself. And also the fact that I had a lot of fun editing the PBP!

Uhhh this ramble was way longer than expected LMFAO if you've made it this far, damn, thanks for reading! If you also write or have similar experiences, feel free to share em. And have a good day!

(bonus POV editing)

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den-ai-d · 5 months

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Ooof...a decade on this site eh?

Oh no, story time incoming!

10 years and yeah, so much has happened already. Originally, I made this blog back when I was in high school as a place to post my drawings; back then, it was all just pencil drawings on paper. Looking at them now...well it was obvious I still had a long way ahead of me LOL. And to think some people assume that everyone skilled enough in art must have had some innate talent for it. CLEARLY, they don't know what they're talking about because I was terrible at it early on!

But I mean, I didn't really think that of my art, did I?

No. In fact, I'm pretty sure that kid me was very much impressed with his own works. See, that child had a very bloated ego and a high opinion of himself. You should ask his poor friends; I'm sure they'd agree that the bugger could take a few lessons on humility with how he'd be sharing all of his silly sketches to them and pontificating on and on about how nice he thinks they are. Yeah, I was an insufferable kid.

But I do think that overinflated ego of mine turned out beneficial for my growth as an artist because without it—without my love for my own art—I wouldn't have stuck to it.

And stuck to it I did.

Went to college soon after that and took a program majoring in biology. Not much of a surprising choice since I've always liked the sciences and figured it would later on give way to a stable career; funnily enough, while I was very passionate about making art, I never thought it would be a profitable source of income. But that didn't mean I'd stop doing it on my free time though! Actually, this was when I got myself my first tablet! And what better way to start my digital drawing experience than to buy a FUCKING EXPENSIVE cintiq!!! With the extra motivation coming from the monetary pressure of such a purchase, you bet your ass I used the hell out of that thing. I was so intent on making use of it that—would you look at that—I still use it to this day! (Wow, they really made those old wacom tablets to last, didn't they?)

Obviously, college work ended up taking a lot of my time so I couldn't really draw as much as I did a few years ago. There were even times when I could only make one painting throughout a whole month; a far cry to my previous output. But even so, I never wavered in thinking that making art—being an artist—was something that was part of my identity; it was something that I always will come back to, no matter how much busy I got contending with course work.

And speaking of which, fuck that! Got my first honest-to-goodness mental breakdown because of all the studying I was doing at one point. See, I'm the type of student that likes getting good grades because BIG NUMBERS so I made it a point to be studious. To the point of insanity, apparently.

Anyway, I got better eventually and it all turned out nice. Even snagged all the awards I could've gotten for my thesis by the end of it! Yes, I am bragging. I deserve it, thank you very much! (For anyone curious, it was a study about plant pigments and using them in solar cells).

After that debacle, I found myself whisked into Adulthood which meant I finally had to find a job. Guess I was lucky since I didn't really have much of a hard experience searching for one. Got accepted into a cosmetics company for a lab position. Hmm, in hindsight, I think they just wanted a fresh graduate who wouldn't demand a high salary and that was me so I got in pretty easily. And honestly, the work was AWESOME. My job ended up with me coming up with formulas for new products. I got to make lotions, shampoos, soaps (ugh, I hated that one), perfumes, toners, balms, scented candles, and—oddly enough that one time—glue! It was a wonderful experience for me since it blended my interest in science and art with how it required me to think of creative ways of applying technical solutions in order to make products that needed to look, feel, smell, and perform a certain way.

As a bonus, I even got to make stuff for myself! I was particularly fond of making creams with menthol. The soothing chill on the skin is just so nice!

It wasn't all good though. I mean the menthol was fine and dandy, I assure you, but even if I was enjoying myself with the work, it just so happens that it just wasn't giving me enough money to provide for the family. Also, there was that one time I splashed chili oil on my eye. A very eye-opening and spicy turn of events to be sure.

With the bills stressing the hell out of me, I then thought to myself: if only I had a marketable skill that I could use in my off time as a way of engaging with a hobby whilst earning money.

Yup, I started my singing career!

LOL no. I opened art commissions for the first time!

It was a very scary experience, mind you. I don't consider myself a social butterfly and the prospect of talking with other people in a transactional context was a big reason why I haven't even considered doing it all this time. Turns out being poor and running out of money outweighed such concerns. Also, my keeping up with art and posting them online all these years seemed to have payed off well; my twitter having then recently crossed over a thousand followers which meant I had a decent pool of potential clients!

And so I bumbled through my first few commissions trying to appear professional and all put together in front of my clients while consistently shitting myself on the inside. Just like all well-functioning adults!

It was October last year when I started. I figured that I wouldn't have much in way of commissioners—what with being new to the business—and that was fine since I didn't have much time to put on them anyways since I did still had to go to work on my day job. What mattered was that it gave me enough of a financial buffer so that I didn't have to worry too much about going under.

This continued to the turn of the year where I was able to juggle both my job and doing commission without much of a hassle. In fact, I noticed that people were actually really interested in getting commissions from me. So much that at one point...I actually made more money in a month than what I would've with my monthly salary! At that point, it was so over! Like, I originally was planning to at least observe how things went within this year and then decide after if I would just keep it as a side gig or go full-time with art. Turns out I was much more impulsive than I expected.

It was on a bright sunny February morning (no cinematic storm clouds in sight, unfortunately) that I decided on a lark to approach my boss at work and tell them that yup, no joke, I was gonna be leaving. I handed my resignation letter a few days later.

I would've liked to say that it was a tearful goodbye with my cherished co-workers whom I've spent the last five years of my life with but...COME ON, I barely talked with those people! Instead, it was a lukewarm farewell between people who just happened to work in proximity to each other. Eh, like I said, I wasn't much of a social butterfly and no one really made an effort to get to know me so oh well. MOVING ON!

Actually, I couldn't just up and leave because there are laws around these kinds of things so I worked there for another month but all that was a blur. Soon enough, I was officially unemployed!

So like I mentioned earlier, I full on did not expect doing art as something that would bring in much in way of income. My parents too thought the same. They said that yeah, art was a good hobby but as job? Let's be serious here! Well, turns out we were wrong all this time. With me fully dedicated to commission work, I was able to take on a larger volume of clients. Not as many as some of you go for (I'm looking at you, people who take ten or more commissions per batch, you monsters!) but enough that I was actually making a stable living! And yeah, WAY more than my now previous job. What an absolute shock to everyone involved; me most of all.

Now it's almost the end of the year, my plans having all but shattered into tiny pieces. Tiny pieces that scatter with the wind as I look back on the past ten years that has led me to where I am today. A lot of time has passed. I graduated high school, college, then got a job. Then graduated from that too. Certain people have come and gone. Some more permanent than others. I've lost friends and made new ones. Tumblr got fucked. Twitter got fucked. The world stopped for two years. For some, it's still stuck in those two years. I made glue in a lab. Almost lost an eye in a lab. I bought chips with my very own money for the first time. I loved people. Hated them too. Things have happened. Things have changed.

I certainly am very different from that kid who was having troubles fitting in with others from his class, what with being bullied and suffering through a particularly angsty teenage (oh my god I was CRINGE). A kid who often sought drawing as an escape to all of those terrible things out of his control.

I guess I'm happy I can still relate to that kid.

#den thoughts #10 year tumblrversary #tumblr milestone #omg an essay #what the hell #it's 5 in the morning #I wrote this for two hours #me and my pretentious ass #ugh #I'm going to bed

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tizzypizza · 4 months

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How long have you been drawing?

And

Are you self taught or did you follow totorials or.....

And

How long did it take before your art started looking good.

Ooh ooh okay.

1) I’ve been ‘drawing’ since kindergarten, but really started it as a hobby when I was in 5th grade. I drew Pokémon for my shiny Fennekin DeviantArt ask account HAHA But I only started ‘studying’ my sophomore year of high school about 4 years ago! Right as COVID hit.

2) I think the definition of self-taught might be a little skewed in the wrong direction here, as yes I am self-taught which means I never went to any academies or received academic help or training. I did however watch tutorials and begin to independently study books and whatnot! Which leads to

3) My art never started looking good. In fact I quite hate how it looks like 90% of the time and I can always find technical flaws with it, but I started being able to think like an artist/draw constructively when I abandoned the notion that you could do well just winging it. “I never learned perspective/anatomy” is a huge flex for a lot of younger artists and one I touted around for years before buckling down on both abouttt 2 years ago? I never learned either PROPERLY but I studied the foundations on my own and the INTENTIONALITY of that decision marked the beginning of when my art started becoming consistent. I used to spend hours trying to freehand a tiny shitty doodle, now I can actually just sketch things in 60 seconds thanks to the amount of croquis I’ve done. Opening myself up to the idea of receiving professional help or often seeking it out from friends and letting go of that misplaced pride/feeling that I had to have an inexplicable talent that made me better than everyone else with zero help was what changed me as a person and an artist. But that barely answers the question so TL;DR it took 8 years into my 10 years of drawing fandom works LOL!

#hehehehe i am always a huge advocate for studying art #lets all get better together #tiz’s inbox

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shen-daozhang · 2 years

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A while ago @majestictortoise got an ask about c-drama recs for someone who has watched The Untamed, and opened the floor for more recommendations from other people. I have a Part 1 here, but I ran out of time/space, and there were still a couple that I wanted to mention- specifically for someone who is looking for more danmei-inspired shows. I have a watch list here that's filterable by genre, as well as some other things, but like my first list I wanted to pull out a couple that I think are good for people who are looking for something to watch after The Untamed that might not be the first shows you'll hear about here on Tumblr (so, no Word of Honor, Guardian or TGCF).

Since this is my list and I can do whatever I want, I have also included a movie and some donghua ^^

Want found family and food porn? A delightful cast of flawed people trying their best who grow and change throughout the show? Then check out...

THE SLUETH OF THE MING DYNASTY 48 episodes. Viki.

In 1478, three very different men- low-level magistrate and foodie Tang Fan, imperial guard Sui Zhuo, and palace eunuch and teenaged head of the Western Depot Wang Zhi- team up to solve mysteries and stop a major conspiracy

The found family in the show is one of my favorites in all of tv, and I love that it expands beyond the "two adults and a kid or two" setup you see a lot. Nearly all of the characters start off a strangers and the relationships that grow between them are just really well done. This show also touches on mental illness (Sui Zhuo has PTSD from his time in the military) and while it's through the lens of it being the 1470s, I just really like how it was handled in terms of how it impacts his relationships, but also how his relationships impact his mental health. I highly recommend this show if you enjoy historical mysteries with some basis in reality (while the events of the show are very much fiction, the Emperor, Consort Wan and Wang Zhi were all real people).

This is inspired by the danmei webnovel of the same name by Meng Xishi. While there is the addition of a female love interest for Tang Fan (who imo is an interesting character in her own right), Tang Fan and Sui Zhou literally end up living with each other and basically adopt a child together - I think it's pretty clear what's going on between them aside from a platonic bromance. You might recognize: Tang Fan is voiced Su Shangqing, who overdubbed Meng Yao in The Untamed and Cao Weining in Word of Honor.

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Looking for a short show with a unique take on the mystery procedural and fantastic chemistry between the leads? Then...

UNDER THE SKIN 20 episodes. Viki.

Artist Shen Yi has a remarkable talent for constructing eerily accurate portraits using limited information about the subject. Seven years ago, that talent was used to murder a police officer investigating a human trafficking ring. Newly hired as a police sketch artist, Shen Yi clashes with the headstrong police captain Du Cheng who blames Shen Yi for his colleague’s death. As cases with connections to the trafficking ring begin to appear, can they put aside their differences and move on from the shadows of the past?

"Wait, hold up," you say. "This isn't a danmei adaptation." Technically you're correct but hear me out. I tend to avoid modern mystery shows for personal reasons, but when this come out earlier this year I thought I'd give this a chance mostly for the language practice. I'm really glad I did, because a show I thought was going to be something I was just half-watching ended up grabbing me by the throat and not letting go.

This is a good show that's made exceptional by the acting of and chemistry between Shen Yi and Du Cheng. I actually stopped watching an episode to check if this is based on a danmei webnovel because the enemies-to .... bros was just so strong (it's completely original for the record). In fact, most of my faults with the show lie in the episodes where they don't interact as much.

I already thought Tan Jianci was a good actor going into this (he's a stand out in Winter Begonia and steals the show in Secret of the Three Kingdoms) but this is easily his best performance. He's fantastic as both the edge-lord Shen Yi of seven years ago, and the haunted, driven man he became. Jin Shijia is perfectly cast as the earnest, heart-on-his-sleeve Du Cheng, and is a wonderful foil to Shen Yi. Seriously, I could go on and on about the chemistry between the two of them. The art aspect of this show is also really interesting! Unlike a lot of shows with a "gimmick" this show actually keeps up the art thread and uses it in new and interesting ways. I will say that I think this show loses a little steam in the middle (though it regains it again); however the characters more than make up for any faults to be found in the plot. I also wanted to mention that I really liked that there were two young women in the show who weren't there to be love interests, who develop a caring friendship with the men. I found that really refreshing.

I just want to give a heads up that there are some cases involving sexual violence (all handled in a PG13 manner). Feel free to message me if you need more details. I also go into more details about the content in my entry for this show on my watchlist.

You might recognize: Tan Jianci is playing Gu Yun in Winner is King Two actors from Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty appear in this. Baby Zhang (Qing Ge in TSOMD) is a co-worker, and the Emperor shows up in one of the cases.

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Are you in the mood for a beautifully designed and evocative show about the importance of the arts in a time of rapid change?

WINTER BEGONIA 49 episodes. Viki.

As the threat of the 1937 Japanese invasion looms over Beijing, two very different men- Western-educated businessman Cheng Fengtai and eccentric and talented opera singer Shang Xirui bond over their shared love for Peking opera.

(Full disclosure I'm still watching this at a glacial pace - this is a show I have to savor rather than binge - however I still feel the need to recommend this show because it's just so good so far)

Going into this, I'd heard this got regulated to just a bromance (you know how it is), but upon watching this I just have to say I have never seen more soft looks and soft-focus camera lenses used in so many shots with two men gazing at each other. Seriously, get yourself somebody who looks at you like Cheng Fengtai looks at Shang Xirui.

I had sworn off Republic-era dramas because the costuming and prop design tends to be... not great and those are two of my special interests, but I am so glad I gave this show a chance because it's beautiful. They walk a good line of being decently period correct while still telling you a lot about a character at a glance, and the opera costumes are stunning. It also looks like they sourced a good number of actual vintage props as well. A lot of care and effort was clearly taken to recreate the world of 1930s Beijing (called Beiping during this period), and the show really immerses you in a world that's rapidly changing. I think they also do an excellent job of involving audiences in why opera- which has become an acquired taste for modern audiences - is something that is so important to these characters.

You might recognize: Hei Zi (Gao Chong in Word of Honor) as Commander Cao Tan Jianci (Secret of the Three Kingdoms, Under the Skin, Winner is King) as Chen Renxiang

A film and some donghua under the cut!

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Open to film or animation? Well, then that case...

THE YIN YANG MASTER: DREAM OF ETERNITY (film) Netflix.

When a demonic serpent awakens, polar opposites Qingming and Boya must team up to stop a dark conspiracy that threatens their world.

Another "this technically isn't a danmei adaptation but there is no heterosexual explanation for what's going on"

This is one of my favorite movies! In particular, I'm really taken with the art direction, which is a blend of Japanese and Chinese influences. The costuming in this movie is drop-dead gorgeous. If you like opposites-attract, and sorta-enemies to.... "bros", you'll love how Boya and Qingming go from literally spying on each other because they don't trust the other one, to the other being the one person they are willing to lay down their life for :') There's also a side-romance that's checks off a lot of tropes for me that I can't get into with getting spoiler-y, but suffice it to say this movie gave me more feels than I expected from a New Years SFX extravaganza.

You might recognize Deng Lun (Boya) from Ashes of Love

NOTE: This movie and Yin Yang Master (Shi Shen Ling) are not related! They're both on Netflix and about the same characters, but they're completely different takes, with different stories and tones. I also really like that movie too and recommend it (in particular Chen Kun is fantastic as a more openly chaotic Qingming), but there aren't any of the implied feelings between Boya and Qingming in that one, even though that Qingming exudes chaotic bisexual energy

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Do you like stories with a main character who is trying to remain true to his principles and survive in a corrupt environment, while their foil is very "I don't see why I can't be both the love interest and the antagonist?" Then check out:

THOUSAND AUTUMNS 16 episodes. WeTV.

Devout Daoist sect leader Shen Qiao believes in the fundamental goodness of humanity. Demonic sect leader Yan Wushi firmly believes that all humans are fundamentally evil. When an assassination attempt leaves a poisoned and blinded Shen Qiao in Yan Wushi's hands, will Yan Wushi be able to corrupt him? Or will their relationship change how they both see the world and their place in it?

Obviously I love this show (and the webnovel it's adapted from, also by Meng Xishi), given my username. Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao- and how they play off each other- are some of the most fascinating characters in fiction, in my opinion. In addition they cast one of my favorite voice actors as Yan Wushi, and somehow made it more explicitly gay than the novel at this point in the story- which never happens- so it's just fantastic all around, honestly.

There is an unofficial resub that I highly recommend checking out because the the official one leaves a lot to be desired and frankly doesn't do justice to the show by a long shot. Send me a message for a link! You might recognize Yan Wushi is voiced by Wu Lei (voice of Shen Qingqiu in Scum Villain)

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Want a modern fantasy with interesting world-building and a story that stretches back millennia? Do you like two main characters who are both kind of terrible people and are incredibly full of themselves, who are also just really fun to watch? Then.... DROWNING SORROWS IN RAGING FIRE 12 episodes. Funimation.

3,000 years ago, against seemingly insurmountable odds Sheng Lingyuan united humans against the monstrous yao threatening their survival, and won. But despite being heralded as savior in his youth, Sheng Lingyuan is remembered by history as an infamous emperor who committed many ruthless and cold-blooded atrocities before throwing himself into a lake of fire. In the modern day, Xuan Ji- who works for an organization dealing with magical beings while being one himself- has a big mess on his hands because someone just raised a demon Sheng Lingyuan from the dead, and their reasons for doing so are probably bad news for everyone. And also Sheng Lingyuan is an emotionally manipulative asshole, honestly. But why do Sheng Lingyuan and Xuan Ji seem to have an inexplicable connection? And what's the truth behind Sheng Lingyuan's actions so long ago?

I feel like this sells itself - the main character is a cocky bisexual fire bird-man, and the love interest is a manipulative demon who blows up an elevator because he doesn't understand Arabic numerals, and they're both terrible people and it's fantastic. This is based on the webnovel of the same name by my favorite author, Priest, which I also highly recommend.

I watched this as it aired and I went from skepticism (don't care for the animation style or the character design, makes me think of Pokémon) to LOVE by the end of the first episode when the two main characters started interacting. And really, the interactions between the two leads is what really carries this show, but I also have a soft spot for Aloujin. My biggest compliant is I personally found some of the humor from the ensemble characters to be a swing-and-a-miss, and the show starts off a little funky, but my love for the main characters more than overpowers those elements.

You might recognize: Sheng Lingyuan is voiced by Jiang Guangtao (Xie Lian in TGCF- he's the complete opposite in this and it's great) Xuan Ji's sugar daddy Xiao Zheng is voiced by Guo Haoran (dubbing actor for Zhao Jing in Word of Honor)

So that's that for my recommendations for the moment! I've been thinking about doing one of these for webnovels (which I also have a list for) ...

#cdrama recs #slueth of the ming dynasty #tsomd #under the skin #猎罪图鉴 #winter begonia #yin yang master dream of eternity #shjx #thousand autumns #drowning sorrows in raging fire #lhjc

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lemonadehtwooh · 6 months

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Can you tell more about your Fate redesigns? Like your Penth, Hektor, Paris/Apollo, and Astolfo?

*FOAMING AT MOUTH* YES I CAN.

WARNING FOR A SUPER LONG READ

OKAY so first Imma talk about Paris/Apollo because Alexander-Paris is one of my most in-depth designs ATM and also explains some of Hektor's concepts!

Ignore that all I can in find my camera roll are SUPER old doodles of him lmao XD this ask really making me go through doodles from last year

So firstly is the color symbolism! I noticed in FGO that his design is very light-colored, and while that's interesting, I thought it would be more symbolic to have the main colors be dark as to point towards how he inherently can't escape his fate and actions as an adult, even in a child/teenage body, and also as a sort of symbol of how dark his future is. Adding on, Paris is VERY SPECIFICALLY summoned as having a child's body but the memories of his entire life, and I had the idea that the darker colors also show that he knows more than he lets on/he isn't innocent. The gold and such are to point towards him being a prince and technical demigod, and the blues are just in general for color diversity

With his horns and wings: Both Hektor and Paris in my AU are biologically Apollo's children (reference to some versions of the Troy Boys actually being his biological children instead of Priam's), so the horns and wings symbolize that (which Hektor doesn't have, more on that later). Apollo-Sheep's "humanoid" design concept actually has the wings and horns too (just bigger and more fancy lmao). Another Fun Fact: Both Hektor and Paris have some sun/fire related abilities in my AU, although it's slight

Next Paris and Hektor's eyes! Yep! I put thought into eye color! Paris' eyes are orange, while Hektor's are black. HOWEVER, when they use their NPs, Paris's eyes darken to black and Hektor's glow orange! Prominently, I honestly just thought Hektor having glowing eyes when using his NP would be Fun and Sexy XD However then i was like "...Okay but what if... Paris had opposite? What if... Symbolism?" And this idea is so cool to me because of how they can connect!!!! Hektor's glow because he's deemed to be Troy's hope, while Paris's darken because he's deemed as Troy's downfall!!! Sorry I just love how I can make the brothers contrast each other and how they can be interpreted AAAAA

I also made Paris's hair darker while Hektor's hair lighter so that they would look more similar to each other/look more like brothers, same with them both having wavy hair and the eyelash part on the bottom eye (it's kinda hard to see in the pictures RIP). I just wanted them to be a lil match-y. They also both have beauty marks that mirror each other! I imagine both of the Troy Boys to have thicker bodies

I gave Paris some armor parts as well as to look more similar to Hektor, while I also kept the cute dress parts because the cute stuff just seem to be more of his own style and I think That's Neat. The symbol on his skirt piece is Romeo's command spell symbol, matching with a headcanon I had posted some time ago about the command spells appearing somewhere in a Servant's design

Paris also has these sorta long-sleeve glove things due to me originally adding it to my Jekyll/Hyde redesign (which I need to remake) and Paris, in my AU, is one of Hyde's best friends, so I thought it would be cute for them to have a lil match-y thing XD

With the black wool, I thought it would be interesting to show physically of Paris being more of the "black sheep" of his family, especially considering he wasn't raised as a prince, he was raised as a sheep herder. And how he was sorta cast aside as a baby due to the prophecy of him becoming Troy's downfall

This is my current concepts for Hektor (the graphite sketches are a lot older than the digital btw, but good a good idea about his arm and shoes design), but it needs some work XD I want to add a lot more later on, but this is a good start I think

with Hektor, color-wise I tried to make his pallette somewhat a mix between opposite and similar to Paris. For him, the dark colors represent more of his death. He doesn't have the horns or wings anymore due to Achilles dragging his corpse, too. I think I posted some old sketches before of the back of his head having the broken bases on his horns. I would imagine his back having scarring and some skin disfigurement where his wings once were as well

With the red, specifically the red wool and the red gradient in his hair, I wanted it to represent the blood that was shed during the Trojan War. Plus, it also contrasts against Paris's blue colors, pushing more of that contrast between the two

With Both the Troy Boys' personalities, Paris still has that childish demeanor about everything, but he's definitely fully Aware and could manipulate if he really wanted to. However he doesn't really, unless if he wants to get away with childish things (like sneaking candy). He's a bit cheeky at times, and in general is A Lot like his canon FGO self. He likes being helpful when he can. Although something I added is that he Hates romance/romantic things. He thinks it's gross, but also his view point is due to the Trojan War and his whole thing with Helen.

Hektor is a mix of things that's hard to explain. He's similar to his canon FGO self. The thing is that FGO itself states that he has a facade going on, which pretty much is what For Funsies AU also does, so there isn't much for me to add XD Although I think in my AU, his facade is a bit different. Other than that, he's silly goofy as usual

i could have sworn I had pictures of her that are more recent/go more in-depth with her design ideas, but I can't find any TwT I'll talk more about her personally redesign since there isn't much physically I can exactly say

Next with Beserker/Penth, her concepts are still definitely a WIP. The general idea I have for her is this 16 year old being very elegant yet absolutely able to kick your ass with the slightest provoke. She's beefy, I would imagine (I really wish I had better sketches of her). I kinda want her to lean more towards having a "royalty" look yet also young and armored up. Iirc in Canon FGO she literally has herself be summoned at a younger age so Achilles can't flirt with her, so I decided to lean on her looking young. I also gave her more furs and armor coverage since she's a warrior and also the whole thing with her fighting in a bikini just. Doesn't sit right with me.

Personality-wise, I think she would try to act very mature and serious, but she's Not immune to Acting Her Age. Aka being a goofy teenager. She definitely tends to butt heads with Paris because he keeps stealing her hair comb. I definitely think she's super smart though, considering the business she has going on in Canon FGO. However, even smart teenagers can be silly (as a treat). She's definitely still has that Extreme personality trait, like tending to take things too far and being rather hot-headed. I like her dynamic with Mr. Utterson because he'll be like "Thank God you're here. Maybe you can talk some sense into Paris" and immediately Penth is trying to knock Paris out with her fist because it's faster and more efficient XD (also as revenge for stealing her comb). She's wonderful, although I'm still working on her dynamic with others and how she generally acts

i can't find any of my Astolfo doodles other than this Really Old One TwT (HELP IM BEING SUBJECTED TO MY OWN DRAWINGS)

In general, color-wise I'm thinking of making their outfit+armor VERY vibrant with Many colors to the point it's gaudy and dramatic. I kinda still want a cutesy look with them, but also messy and disorganized to show more of the sorta "frantic" and "can't sit still" vibe they have. It's hard to change anything about Astolfo because they're already a pretty interesting character with a solid design and personality. Anyway, as you can see in the drawing, I tried making their hair Super Messy. I imagine them being so energetic that their hair is never done in a "proper" way

So yeah! Yippee! Thank you for the ask <3

#forfunsiesau #alternate universe #fgo #fate grand order #fate go #fgo fate grand order #ibis paint x #character design #character redesign #Obviously you can see I have favorites in this AU lmao #But also that I really need to draw more XD #sketches #doodles

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craftycoola · 5 months

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Happy NYE/NY everyone!

Because 'tis the season for reflection, I went through my camera roll and picked out the 9 projects from this year that I'm proudest of.

(We all know what posts from this year got the most online attention, but I think it's important to be introspective and think about what projects and posts were actually most valuable to me. Anyways. /soapbox)

Swan Song Scarf (Jasmine Lin, Crafty Coola). This is my design, and although I released it a good while ago, I'm still incredibly proud of it. I spent a lot of time sketching, charting, knitting, ripping back... it was a labor of love, but I'm proud that I stuck with it and got a result I'm happy with. Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply (World in a Book and Light Clematis)

Woodland Cardigan (Anna Johanna, Where We Once Knitted). This was my first time steeking, and yeah, I'm pretty gosh-darned proud of that. Yarn: Knit Picks Palette (Wonderland Heather and Calypso Heather)

Anza Dress (Kennis Wong, Itch to Stitch). This was my first time installing buttons, making (sewn) buttonholes, using interfacing (...don't judge me), and sewing scoop pockets. So many new techniques for me, but it created such a polished product and was an excellent learning opportunity. I'm so glad I took the leap with this pattern. Fabric: Singer Brand Cotton Poplin (2 yards)

Color Triangle (p: do you love the color of the sky?). This was my first time using powdered acid dye (read: Big Girl Dye instead of tie-dye/Rit/food coloring)! Obviously the whole color-formulating process for the Color of the Sky shenanigans remains in progress, but I'm proud of this triangle as it is anyways. Fiber: Knit Picks Stroll Bare, Dye: G&S Acid Dyes

Custom Intarsia Blanket. This depicts DNA replication using restriction enzymes and DNA ligase. I did this one for a custom commission, and I'm proud of myself for a) designing it, b) being so free with it, and c) getting to make something science-y! I sketched a rough plan before beginning, but I had to make an absurd amount of adjustments along the way -- in the end, I even had to duplicate stitch over the restriction enzyme bit with a half-strand (i.e. half the plies) of yarn since the stash yarn was too fine. I'm so used to planning everything and then being stubborn; this was a great exercise in adaptability and letting go.

Elderberry Dress (Shavonne Cruz, Mood Sewciety). I'm not one to do muslins or even much fitting on my sewing projects. I tend to just take patterns straight out of the envelope and then sew them, consequences be damned. This dress, though? After each wear, I've been making little adjustments to improve it; shaping the neckline and adjusting the fit, amongst other things. That's something I want to carry forward for my future projects.

Eliane Scrubs (Jalie). These aren't anything particularly special from a technical perspective, but they are possibly my most-worn me-made EVER. They've held up to weekly wear and washing and I'm proud of them for that, as well as of myself for letting my babies "do their job" instead of hiding them way out of fear. Fabric: cotton poplin

Fractal Yarn (p: swirling solar winds). I spun most of this for Tour de Fleece (which feels like a lifetime ago!) and it's a huge accomplishment for me. I'm often afraid to break down gradient braids, so doing a fractal spin was a first for me! I also got it nice and fine; a practical weight for what I usually work with. Fiber: Emily C Gillies (now House of Wool) Luck of the Draw December 2022 on Merino/Silk

Handspun Sweater (p: we pull apart the stars). Ok, so this isn't finished, but handspun sweater. I think that speaks for itself as far as why I'm proud!

#top nine #nye #reflections #craftblr #knitting #sewing #spindle spinning #p: swirling solar winds #p: we pull apart the dark

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thesherrinfordfacility · 5 months

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LWA: The poster is right that the characters have deviated far from their originals, and not just because so much of their dialogue got swapped around in S1. Gaiman has confused matters because /he/ insists that the characters are fundamentally the same, even though the TV incarnations behave in ways that are implausible for their novel versions. A few years ago, I saw a Tumblr post that said, roughly, that if Novel!Crowley had tried the wall slam he would be made to see the error of his ways very quickly, and...yeah. That being said, S1 is an adaptation in dialogue with the original--a lot of what's interesting occurs in the dynamic engagement /between/ S1 and the novel, as opposed to saying that the novel /explains/ S1 or anything afterwards. I think that the novel's conclusions about "messing about," for example, are on the table for the S3 endgame, but I don't think that they'll be articulated the same way, or perhaps even have the same meaning in their new context.

S3 is a different beast because, among other things, it cannot be whatever Gaiman and Pratchett sketched out. Gaiman does a lot of retconning, to put it politely, and it seems dubious that the moves he makes at the end of S2 could set up the original plan (for starters, Gabriel had to be ported out because he had been injected into S1, and presumably would have been swanning away as Supreme Archangel otherwise ; there was no need to get C & A back on the clock because, technically, they weren't off it at the end of the original novel; TV!Aziraphale's religious trauma/cult abuse allegory is entirely foreign to Novel!Aziraphale's characterization, so whatever his motivations were, they couldn't have been that; etc.). Moreover, Gaiman has so depoliticized the original, beyond very loosey-goosey-hand-wavy type things, that it also isn't clear that we're going to get the kind of "tear down the system!!!" plot that a lot of fans seem to expect. Gaiman himself is very non-tear-down-systemy, and while it's hardly unheard of for authors to experiment in narrative with politics they don't hold, I wouldn't be surprised if the end result was less BURN IT ALL DOWN and more "hey, here's an exit strategy for other angels and demons who want out."

LWA!!!!✨ glad you saw that post, wondered if you might have a word or two to say on it!!!

i completely agree that where aziraphale and crowley's characterisation is concerned, it can't follow - what i presume - would have been their intentioned continuation following the end of the book and going into a sequel. i love how they are presented in the book, but as i tried (very badly) to explain in the tags of that post, i can't fully conflate them and how they are presented on screen. i personally therefore look to distance the two as if, frankly, they are entirely different characters. as you say though, some of the most intriguing choices are in how their traits, motivations, backgrounds, and their interactions/inner thought processes are translated to screen (as well as what has been chosen to be translated to screen; what is missed out/not depicted going from book > show is equally as interesting as what is).

however, i do think there is still potential, with s3, in revisiting the political analogy the book depicted (as did s1 to a certain extent); aziraphale is now in the heart of it, and i don't think it would be too out of field to say we might, respectively, see a lot more of the inner machinations of heaven than we have up to now. if we accept that there continues to be a litany of parallels between GO and the cold war for the characters personally (aziraphale and crowley, as well as multiple entities in the book/s1 (tracy/shadwell, anathema/newt, the them/johnsonites) are posed as adversaries to each other), it stands to reason that there would be a similar track upon which the story itself might very loosely follow, going into s3.

focusing solely on s1/book for a moment, we have the themes of espionage and surveillance made manifest by multiple references; agents meeting in st james' park or the museum (and aziraphale and crowley meeting in public places in general), crowley's comedic-but-insightful penchant for (and attempted embodiment of?) james bond, and aziraphale's list of professions that he's essentially used as covers since eden. the clandestinely-worded phone calls, the backdoor intelligence sharing between michael and ligur, constant means of surveillance that can be accessed at any point given the inclination, and the sitreps fed back to their respective superiors (to varying degrees of interest).

similarly - on a really basic level - we can look to the environment the story finds itself in. humanity - and earth by extension - is being divided up into good and evil, collectively under an overarching threat of punishment regardless. two higher powers with opposing, but equally faulted, ideologies carve up earth as its playground for an ulterior purpose irrespective of the consequences for those around and below them, who get no say in the matter. agents are sent across the borders on friendly liaison missions but with the covert assignment to gather intelligence, spread propaganda, and report back on what the opposition is doing. both are reluctant to make the first move into provoking out-and-out conflict because of the potential retaliation it could bring upon them, and instead employ means of spreading their own influence on those that will sway to one side or the other, and tip the scales that way instead.*

*albeit debatable where heaven's concerned.

but looking to the events of s1/book vs. cold war itself; a big example for me, and im sure im not the only one to have recognised or chuckled sensibly about it, is metatron's line: "we thought a multi-nation, nuclear exchange would be a nice start!". so, frankly, let's accept that armageddon is a direct...ish parallel for the cuban missile crisis. that would, on face value (because, in true GO fashion, everything gets reimagined and adapted for the narrative), make sense: a stand-off between two immensely powerful entities of the same original stock, both possessing equal power and capability, and both threatening to annihilate the other "just to see whose gang is best". obviously, armageddon doesn't resolve in the same exact way, but nonetheless both sides withdraw in the full knowledge that a reckoning is still likely to occur, and both are only kept at bay in a stalemate of what i think both heaven and hell secretly recognise to be, and are afraid will be, mutually assured destruction. a potential trump card lies in the second coming, to be sure, but in any case, as aziraphale and crowley discuss on the bench: this isn't the end of it.

but at which point, how far do we extend the analogy? given that real-world context has shifted between the times of the book and the show, how far can it extend, and how relevant would it be? well, arguably, it still is; recent conflict has proven this, and beyond that, even if the cold war has long ended, there is always conflict, and conflict because of opposing views thinking they are superior to the other. it isn't a complete analogy, but has enough similarity to be relevant. in which case, we could presumably look for an event in which there has been a symbolic sense of liberation and personal freedom, and apply that to be, potentially, the blueprint for the resolution of s3. my first thought would be the berlin wall.

because if we consider that heaven in the most rudimentary sense follows along the same lines as USSR/communist regime, the wall was built by the soviets. it was (and im really stringing this out, and grossly oversimplifying it - forgive me) built to prevent defection from east to west germany, to cut off east germany from the exaggerated allure of capitalism, and as a way to even up the power imbalance. whilst obviously not in any physicality, it's not too inconceivable that heaven would take a similar stance, in terms of policy, when it came to the fall - especially when considering how gabriel's intended punishment for subverting armageddon 2.0 was not to be condemned to fall and go to hell, but instead to be kept within the confines of heaven, hit with memory erasure, and a significant demotion to a role (and by extension choir/rank) that would keep him firmly under heaven's thumb.

furthermore, if we accept that the fall is the first notion of free will, ie. the choice to step away from a regime where your efforts are only in the interest of the state (👀 AWCW and his stars being for the purpose of fulfilling god's plan that will also see their dispassionately executed destruction in 6000 years, or so aziraphale explains 👀), then that's presumably the parallel advantage that hell offers. aziraphale even says, "surely the great thing about being a demon is that you can do whatever you want!"; crawly points out readily that aziraphale sounds jealous, no matter how quickly he tries to disparage that assessment.

however, if we consider that hell by extension of the analogy (getting more and more contrived by the minute) does represent the US/capitalism, how much of free will offered by hell is an illusion? well, arguably, it is an illusion; crowley seems more at liberty to do what he wants "as long as they get the paperwork", but he is readily pulled back to hell at any given moment, and equally under close surveillance throughout both s1 and 2. the grass is very rarely greener, depending on your circumstances, and there's no guarantee of anything that remotely resembles true freedom.

so let's go back to the berlin wall. quick, reductive summary (mainly to help me in trying to explain my thought process); the wall physically represented, and assured, the divide between the two 'sides', and when gorbachev's leadership started to reform how the previously hard-line regime was held in the eastern bloc, east germany started to take great interest in how this may lead to their own liberation too. east german military refused to fire on protestors, and many citizens went into hungary and austria, and back out into west germany once border controls had been relaxed. ultimately, in 1989, the barrier was opened, and piece by piece the berlin wall was brought down. germany later reunified, and the USSR was dissolved.

so, when talking about an "exit strategy for [those] who want out", i think this could have the potential to be extremely relevant - maybe not so literally, and not so much emphasis on the dissolution of heaven being the end goal, but more that removal of the divide between the two, allowing anyone and everyone to make their own choice for themselves - and do with their existence as they will, without fear of retribution - might be the answer. the cessation of being 'messed about'; not only from the viewpoint of how humanity is treated as a playground for these higher beings, but how the angels and demons themselves are messed about with, in turn, for ideologies/beliefs/purposes they possibly don't even truly understand anymore, and were only spoonfed in the first place.

whilst i do think, to some extent, that the focus of GO has shifted somewhat from the idea of liberation on a political level, and is more focused on that of a personal kind, the two for me can still go hand-in-hand. imo, both aziraphale and crowley still currently embody some of the ideals that keep them on opposite ends of the compass; crowley often acts (for a number of very good reasons) very individualist. aziraphale similarly often acts very collectivist. that being said, there are key moments where they cross over - it's not, ahem, as black-and-white as ive just reduced it to - and this only serves to highlight where the balance between the two speaks to true sense of self, morality, and subsequent liberation from having a 'side' at all. it makes sense that in s3 they would continue to exist in the grey, if they prove to be a driving force in how the overall story resolves - not to mention how it would contribute to the resolution of their own romantic subplot.

the crux of the matter is that, in the bigger picture, these two sides are not so fundamentally different; both, at the top of their respective circuses, instil a sense of, "the other side is the worse side, look! they are the opposition, they threaten everything that is right! they deserve to be eradicated!". and when it comes to those underneath them, the performers, it's much the same; that there is no difference whatsoever, and in fact you'll probably find you have more in common with your adversary, your opposite number, than you do with those above you - those that only value power, the security it brings to their own ends, and being the side to hold the most of it.

so having the freedom to choose, as far as i see it, comes from recognising that one isn't better than the other, and that there is no simple good vs evil; both define and give meaning to the other, and are often, depending on how you approach it, the same thing. it's all about perspective - seeing it, understanding it, and keeping it - and to be allowed to choose based on what you think is right... and what could mean a happy and fulfilling existence. however, to give that opportunity any credible foothold, it only works "if you start everyone off equal". maybe that might be the difference that aziraphale makes.

don't know if you observe/celebrate, LWA, but happy holidays to you and yours!!!✨💕

#in this house we talk about the cold war at 2.30am on christmas day #made all the better by my sudden yet impeccable reimagining of aziraphale but as an illya kuryakin figure - fantastic #good omens #ask #s3 narrative spec

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thatonecrookedsmile · 1 year

Photo

illusion. the art of mimicking real life.

-----

BATIM is officially 6 years old..oh jeez. A little hard to believe it's been this long. Six long years since the little devil that invaded my life was created. Where did the time go? Still,it's cool to see how far it's come. The journey so far has definitely been a rollercoaster of emotions,with ups and downs,but even so,I'm still glad I discovered this little guy. He definitely brought me a lot of good moments in recent times.

I didn't have anything really new or done specifically with the anniversary in mind,but I had this drawing I was trying to finish a while ago that I thought would be nice to post on the day. As we can see,this successively failed.I had the idea for this drawing since 2021, and I tried to execute it at the time, but I never made it past the sketches. Then last year I tried to redo it from scratch and since then I've been trying to finish it and post it on specific dates and failing successively.

But eventually, I manage to find the strength to finally end this piece altogether and put it behind me. The main drawings had been finished for a while,it was just a matter of doing...well,whatever the final result became. I confess that I didn't really know how to do the "broken mirror" idea at the beginning. And that wasn't even the original idea that I have in mind back in 2021.

I'll admit the first time I stopped and looked at the glass cracks I was unsure if I was liking how it was turning out. But it's better than nothing. And at the moment I'm just thinking "Bro, stop. You've done everything you could do in this drawing. It's over. Just let it go". So I'm going to do it.

Oh and Joey is here too,I forgot to mention that. Technically it was also his birthday too. So happy day of birth,pencil man. He's definitely going through something in this drawing. This was mainly made with one of my AUs in mind and the events that happen in it,but I think if you look at it as something more “canon related” (close to canon?),it might work well too. I think at least.

Better finish this desc before it gets too long. As a bonus,here are the two main drawings I did for this piece,unedited (because I'm not going to show the edited versions,I assume they're kinda ugly separately) :

Call me "Bendy and the Ink Machine Remix and Lyric Video" because I was AHHH AHHH AHHH trying to finish this drawing.

#The phrase at the beginning of the text is not actually a definition of Illusion it's just a phrase I quoted from TIOL #or at least it's not a real definition i found #I just thought that in the context of the image itself the phrase made sense #batim #bendy and the ink machine #bendy and the dark revival #i guess #joey drew #idk if I should tag Memory Joey on this because considering this drawing is more geared towards the events of my AU than those of canon #+ the fact that I started this drawing before the release of BATDR #the Ink/Cycle Joey here is less ''a memory/copy of the original''#and more like the real deal you know #but at the same time I say this I decided to change the design of the Ink Joey that I was using at the time #to something similar to the one of M!Joey #making it now much more similar to canon even though in the context of the image Ink Joey here is not a memory/copy and #yeah maybe i should have used the old design #now I'm bothered lol;but fuck it #as I had said #if you look at this drawing as something made with canon in mind and not an AU; it might work well too #i.e. interpret it however you want;it's still connected to an AU at the end of the day but that doesn't mean it can't be seen in other ways #what other ways?#I don't know; you tell me. if you want #but hey; at least i wont have to change my AU for the thousandth time because of new canon info haha #damn; only now I find out that there is a tag limit;if anyone has read this far;hi;hope you had a nice week;okay I'll shut up now #crookedsmileart #batdr

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tellthemeerkatsitsfine · 4 months

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So, I’m a big fan of the regular stand-up format: funny stories for varying lengths of time that average out to an hour, callbacks, building up a theme, tying threads together, serious and/or sad bit at the end, try getting overly personal or overly political if you think you have the chops to handle it (because it’s fantastic if done well and really hard to watch if done badly), preferably some meta commentary, up to four traditional punchline-driven jokes if there’s enough time. It’s an excellent formula.

I don’t completely object to experimentation. Nick Helm and Rhys James made me realize that spoken word poetry is probably the artsiest thing I really like in a stand-up show. And I often like people who add music in there. Sometimes I even don’t mind a prop or a costume.

What I find it less easy to get into is sketch comedy, and/or character comedy, something with a narrative that’s entirely fictional. Physical comedy. Anything that can be described with the word “clowning”. I think this is why I don’t mind that a lot of the comedy recordings I have are audio only. The visual side isn’t a big part of what I enjoy in most comedy.

Basically, I'm a big fan of stuff that was called alternative comedy twenty or more years ago, when the thing to which it was an alternative was just a misogynist going setup-punchline for 30 minutes straight. Whereas stuff that's called alternative now can be literally anything, and some of it I like, and some of it makes my chest feel weirdly tight in an uncanny valley sort of way. I don't like puppets. I'm glad everyone else is having a good time but I don't like the puppets.

I’ve posted about this before, and usually add that every once in a while I’ll watch something like that to try to expand my horizons. Here’s how that’s gone.

Shows that have made me think – yep, I was right to believe this isn’t for me, I mean I’m really glad everyone’s having a good time and I wish them the best and I can appreciate that this might be technically very well made, but not for me:

- The Delightful Sausage – Nowt But Sea

- Mr. Swallow – Houdini

- Phil Ellis - Excellent Comedy Show

- Anything with that little purple Feltface puppet

- I watched this show called Siblings that was streamed from the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe because it was a variety show and I wanted to know what that was like, there was someone who spun hula hoops and removed her clothes and someone else who juggled fire and various sketches and a drag queen and one guy who just slipped on banana skins as his whole act, I was very impressed with some of the technical skills on display but it also felt weird and uncomfortable and the only part where I had any idea what was going on was when Tom Ballard came on to tell jokes about his sex life and made me say “Oh thank God for something I recognize”

- Anna Man – A Sketch Show For Depressives

- Elf Lyons – Swan (to be fair, this is probably a lot funnier if you’re familiar with how ballet works)

- Christopher Bliss – Writing Wrongs (this barely belongs on the list because it’s very accessible, but technically it counts because the whole thing was in character, and the character seemed to pretty much have one joke, and that one joke was quite funny but not for a whole hour)

A lot of it made me laugh but it still gave me this strong sense of "this isn't really my thing":

- Lorna Rose Treen – Skin Pigeon

- Joseph Morpurgo – Hammerhead

Shows that have made me think – actually, I could be cultured and understand outside-the-box comedy, I am enjoying this a lot:

- The Delightful Sausage – Ginster’s Paradise (I don’t think this was actually more accessible than Nowt But Sea, I think it just watched it second and enjoyed it more once I’d figured out what to expect from them)

- John-Luke Roberts in general

- Zoe Coombs Marr in general

- Lazy Susan – Forgive Me, Mother!

- Crizards – Cowboys

- Does Jordan Brookes count? I went into his stuff thinking it might be too experimental for me, but then it ended up being much more accessible than I’d expected, I did really like it though.

Shows that I can definitely tell are very good, and they made me laugh and think at the right places, but also made me really uncomfortable while watching them and I don’t know if I could call the experience enjoyable, but it was still good in some other way I think, I mean I recently mentioned in a post that I find John Robins “pussy line” routine mildly uncomfortable just because I’m a bit squeamish about hearing someone say the word “pussy” that many times in a few minutes and this sure did have a challenge for that side of me, also I find puppets difficult to look at, but seriously, they were really good, they made me feel a lot of things in the way I believe art is supposed to, I mean they made me feel a bit anxious in a squeamish way but also I think made me feel some proper art things alongside that, and they were funny, overall I’d probably pay good money to see her live but only if I’m allowed to close my eyes at some parts, it’s at times like this that I remember I am a jock/athlete that migrated to this level of art appreciation in my thirties, I do not have the type of theatre kid background that may be necessary to be unbothered by all the weird shit going on in this, but still, really really good and I highly recommend them though with the caveat of trigger warning for like everything:

Natalie Palamides – Laid

Natalie Palamides – Nate

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sharkneto · 1 year

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73 for the wrapped game. Five vs his environment 🤠

Our cheeky little ruse like we weren't talking about this prompt/result last night when I was supposed to be going to bed ;) But tis for you, friend.

Spotify Wrapped writing prompt game

#73 is No Glory in the West - Orville Peck, which makes me think of, well, the West and that means cowboys and cowboys means horses and horses means Five vs his greatest enemy. So, some backstory for that alluded to moment in the Horse Fic -

cw horse death

Five frowns down at the problem.

Un-fucking-believable.

He’s been in some pinches. Been in some ridiculous situations, between his half-hazy memories of the Academy days and the much clearer memories of the past couple years working for the Commission.

This one might take the goddamn cake, though.

“No,” he tells the horse he’s staring down at, like that’s going to fix its obviously broken leg. It snorts at him, brown side heaving as its eye rolls. It thrashes a little, whether in pain or in a sad attempt to get up on its three functional legs, he isn’t sure.

What he is sure about is that he is still miles from the podunk little town his target is in. He pulls her picture from his pocket, a careful sketch made by the Analytics department because she’s not a person important enough to have gotten her picture taken by an actual camera. What she needs to die for he’s not really sure, he stopped paying attention to that bit of information long ago, somewhere after his twentieth job. What he does pay attention to is the Where and When and Who, and Analytics only got two of those right on this trip and he knows the Handler’s answer to him trying to contact them about that is a sickly sweet then figure it out, so that’s what he did.

Got the woman’s actual address from some too trusting and loud-mouthed men at the saloon, and then got a horse to ride the goddamn prairie for thirty miles to get to the next goddamn town where she better be. He’s already hours later than the estimated completion time, which isn’t his fault but he’ll get blamed for anyway. Sure, he can teleport. Not thirty goddamn miles, though.

Five sighs again as the horse writhes, graceful neck arching as sweat froths on its dark chestnut hide.

It is a beautiful animal. Dumb and inefficient, but he can appreciate that about it at least. It screams again as its thrashing knocks its bad leg.

He knows the leg is broken, felt the lurch and heard the terrible snap as the horse stepped in a poorly-covered prairie dog hole. Blinked off as it fell, safely out of the way from being crushed and at least with the presence of mind to have grabbed the briefcase with him so he still has a way out of frontier. This won’t be his manifest destiny, no fucking thank you.

He runs a hand over his mustache, the dust that covers every inch of him gritty under his fingers.

There really isn’t anything more he can do. He’s within technical walking distance of whatever that little town is. He has the briefcase, he has his gun, he has a bit of food and water.

There’s nothing he can do for this horse except put it out of its misery.

He’ll have to fill in paperwork for the expended bullet, but he can put up with that if it means not leaving the beast to slowly starve and die an agonizing death in the middle of this nothing. Or a much quicker agonizing death when the coyotes come by it in the night.

If Analytics had only done their goddamn research. Either gotten him the right town or the right date for when she still lived in the first town. But no, so now he’s here fixing their mistake for them and has to deal with this.

No use putting it off. The sun is already dipping low in the sky and he has miles to cover now on his own.

Five sets the briefcase down to pull one of his pistols from its holster. He steps to the animal’s head; it’s stopped thrashing again, is now laying quiet in the dirt and breathing heavily. It looks up at him with its big brown eye, ringed with white.

He grimaces down at it. “Sorry,” he tells it, genuine. It shouldn’t have been with him to begin with. Should have lived to step in a hole a different day.

The bang from the gun echoes through the vast emptiness of the prairie.

Five spends another few seconds staring down at the now-still form. The glassy eye stares back at him, unseeing.

That’s that.

He nods to the horse, not that it cares (now or when it was alive), and then turns to gather up his meager supplies. Not a lot of water, but he’s gone farther with less. Same with the food. The briefcase is going to be a pain in his ass to carry. He is thankful he was able to talk Tailoring down from the ridiculous boots they tried to put him in for this much more sensible pair, and that he wasn’t able to talk them out of the stupid hat he wears; its large brim has been doing good work to keep the sun off his face and neck.

Leaving the horse’s body behind him, Five starts on his way. If he was paying proper attention (he’s always paying proper attention), the horse got him a good seventeen miles before it kicked it. That leaves him with fourteen to go on foot. Not terrible. If he wasn’t getting such a late start, he could do that in a day. As it is, he’ll probably only be able to get six or so done before he’ll have to make camp.

So, he’ll get there tomorrow. Around noon. If he’s lucky, one Emilia Bragshot will be in town doing her shopping. If he’s not, it’s only another couple miles to her farm. Done by late afternoon and back to the Commission in time for dinner.

Not bad.

In the meantime, he has a long way to walk and lots of time to fill with working on the math.

He’s getting close. He can feel it.

Maybe a few hours of walking is just what it needs.

#there is One Important Detail that I hope you all pick up on #re: what five is wearing #but this was fun sail #i dont write canon five as much these days with finishing up jt and i even more rarely write Old Five #tua #number five #five hargreeves #tua fic #the umbrella academy #cw animal death #ficlet

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