#drawing to get back into doing semi serious art

[idliketochill]

Clam sauce

#limbus hong lu #limbussy #limbus company #hong lu lcb #lcb hong lu #effervescent corrosion #lcb #hong lu #clam sauce… #I will boil him too #drawing to get back into doing semi serious art

[innaillus]

Drawing Ryōmen Sukuna

Development notes

This post has been in the making since last year, before the manga has reached its current arc. My aim was to respond to comments that pointed out that my version of that time didn't look like the one in the anime. I calculate everything I do and the way I do it. My current goal is to share my thoughts on the development of my take on him - simply because I'm a nerd when it comes to anatomy and I love figuring things out. It involves a lot of thinking, questioning, analysis, dissecting information and building theories. So I totally understand if it's not anyone's cup of tea.

MANGA SPOILER WARNING

The very beginning

I used to have a serious case of lack of self-confidence. My earliest art of Sukuna dates back to 2021, but it always felt like my skills are not worthy of this particular character. I never shared my art. I was also struggling to find my artistic voice. I was obsessed with the idea of semi-realism, but even if I managed to pull it off after weeks of stylisation practices, I didn't like the results.

Due to personal reasons, I stopped trying to draw him for a long time.

The development of "my" version

It was an entirely conscious decision to draw him differently.

The top reasons for the change was that I didn't want to sexualise him in his host, Yuuji, who is a minor. Back then I thought he inflicted the deformation on himself (extra limbs, eyes, etc), for the sake of efficiency, and I was curious what he looked like before that - or what he would look like in a civilised environment.

During the process, I considered a number of factors:

the beauty standard of the other JJK men - I wanted him to fit the lineup - his original appearance made him stand out quite much

in a setting where he adheres to the rules of society, more or less, I believe his MBTI personality type (ENTJ) would dictate a lot of his choices when it comes to appearance, at least to a certain extent. I thought he would choose to have an appearance that fits the beauty standards of the era

I kept his tattoos because it's a very distinguishing feature of him, but I also exercise freedom in the way I draw them, to make them as stylish as possible

Reincarnation

I used to believe once he reincarnates, his proportions would be closer to that of a "normal" human, even if he has some extra limbs. However, his size and features are above and beyond of what we are used to, and even the story emphasises their malformed appearance. So a a whole new era of Sukuna started in my art. I chose my favourite manga panels of him and mix-and-matched the most attractive features into a figure that I consider on the fine edge of monstrosity and unconventional handsomeness.

Even when I draw him with a regular number of limbs, I keep his usual mass and proportions. I dubbed this form "true gains" form.

I also realised that some of the tattoos Yuuji's body displayed was a product of the partial reincarnation stage, like we see it on Tsumiki's forehead.

NOTE: Did anyone notice that Sukuna is getting progressively more and more human/handsome in the manga? When he took over Megumi's body, I also noticed that as the story progressed, he started to look older and more mature. I'm curious of it was a conscious decision.

Twin dilemma and speculations

According to the Japanese wikipedia page, the mythical figure Sukuna could have been a conjoined twin. Despite my extensive digging in the matter, I was shocked by the recent lore drop.

My question: what does Sukuna look like in a universe where he did not absorb his twin in the womb during development?

It hasn't been confirmed, but I find it very possible now that he was born with his extra limbs, eyes and mouth, as well as the deformed, wide features. (...as opposed to my first theory about him altering his own body for the sake of efficiency)

This, however, would mean that in a universe where both him and his brother are born healthily, he would look different. There is the obvious lack of extra arms, eyes and mouth - but I believe he would also be closer to the JJK beauty standard of men, as far as proportions go (eg. more narrow face, anime-esque nose, larger eyes).

At first I was hesitant to accept this idea, as I'm very attached to the 4-arm hulk / "true gains" form now, but then I realised: this would mean that "my"version of him actually has logically explainable place in at least an alternate universe.

Thank you if you got this far.

I may edit this post later. Let's see where the story takes us.

#ryomen sukuna #jjk art #jujutsu kaisen

[lxkeee]

I want to know more about Azrael Hfvbafhvbaefhjv 💗

I don't have any art of him (unfortunately, because I cannot draw)

Manifesting that someone will draw him omg 👀

APPEARANCE:

Azrael is a throne angel, his angel form consists of four golden rings that are filled by countless dark black eyes, his angel form is also accompanied by two pairs of black angel wings.

His semi-angel form is a male gendered body, except his head is a mini version of his actual angel form just floating above his neck.

Now to his humanoid or human body,

Azrael is tall, is 243.84 centimeters tall, has very long and slender legs and arms, skinny and slender body build (yes, he has a slutty waist), pale skin, dark black monolid eyes, long eyelashes, sharp jawline, pretty face (ethereal and out of this world, his facial features differ to the souls he's guiding. Terrifying to sinners, angelic to winners), clean and trimmed fingernails (sometimes he wears a black or gold nail polish), and his halo as dark as the abyss floats stop hiss head.

I don't know what hairstyle this is called but his hair is like this(https://pin.it/5WZCzuwcU) but his hair color is black.

He has the touch of death and he can activate and deactivate it at will. When activated, darkness crawls up from his fingertips up to his elbow, creating an ombre color of light and darkness.

Azrael Pinterest board (https://pin.it/L5weDj6X9)

PERSONALITY & BACKGROUND:

Azrael is a mystery amongst the three triads of heaven, doesn't make an appearance often amongst his kind.

Azrael has a laid back yet teasing personality; teases anyone if he has the chance to, he finds it amusing to see the person's reaction.

He always has a smirk on his face.

He has a bit of a flirty personality, he knows he has the looks and won't hesitate to use it to his advantage.

Especially asking the angels underneath his leadership to do favors for him, such as doing paperwork or doing boring tasks that he doesn't feel like doing.

Due to his laid-back personality, he sometimes doesn't take serious situations seriously and often cracks a joke during it.

He usually skips meetings unless it's a meeting that is held at the First Triad Embassy.

The First Triad Embassy is where angels who commit serious crimes are to be judged.

As the angel of death, he couldn't possibly roam the mortal realm on his own.

That is where the angels underneath his leadership come in.

Each virtue oversees their assigned angel types

He watches over the thrones and dominion angels, giving them lists of souls they needed to reap, usually souls of winners.

He wants to personally reap the souls of sinners, he wants to scare them.

When guiding a winner he just summons a portal that leads to heaven's gates.

When guiding a sinner, he just opens a portal underneath the soul's feet and drops them to hell without notice.

Azrael was born into existence when earthly creatures were created, no, humans aren't the first creatures on earth.

He was created because mortal creatures existed.

He is death, he is what awaits them after their time ends.

Yes, he also sends animal souls to heaven.

Azrael is currently seventh in rank among the seven main virtues, embodying the virtue of humility.

MISCELLANEOUS FUN FACTS:

• His favorite flower is a red spider lily.

• He is a cat person, he loves cats. His favorite are the orange ones.

• His bird form is a black swan.

• He doesn't like doing paperwork.

• He likes drinking black coffee with two cubes of sugar.

• His favorite colors are black, white, and gold.

• He wields a black scythe with golden edges.

• He gets distracted easily.

• Slightly narcissistic.

• Amongst Luke's ocs he is the favorite child.

#lxkeee answers #hazbin hotel #Lxke's Azrael character

[batsplat]

Your post about sete/vale rivalry is literally so informative it's like a pivotal post to fully understand the way valentino's mind works. You're his friend just up to the point you are not (mainly after perceived crimes not backed up by any real proof apparently). Valentino literally turbodivorced every guy he was friendly with in the paddock (and the irony of two of those turbodivorces happening in the same place isn't lost on me)

I did do my best to keep marc out of that post and let the parallels speak for themselves but like. yes

what's interesting to me about this rivalry is that it's... kind of his first rodeo. I mean he'd obviously had rivals before and a feud and all that and him and biaggi were constantly *gestures* - but one of the most common complaints about valentino is that he switches up towards you when you actually become a serious threat. which!! I still fully believe to some extent is natural, this is sports, they're competing, and I take more seriously with some of valentino's victims than with others. (melandri is always the one where I'm a bit? valentino no offence but why would you bother, in 2005 there wasn't a title fight and in 2006 valentino actually got on really well with two of the four other main contenders and at the very least didn't actively have a problem with dani. so maybe just a melandri problem question mark.) but I do feel like sete was... maybe not the first, but the first that was this extreme. and, very much topic for another post, but he really does learn a lot from the sete rivalry. a lot of the tactics and performance art and all of that, how he uses all of it to demoralise his enemies - this rivalry was kinda the blueprint

but, at the same time, of course it was a different valentino that marc ended up fighting, and not just in terms of how fast and competitive valentino was at that stage of his career. this is something that's quite hard to get across sometimes, because the natural inclination is to just... look at all the past instances in which valentino was a dick and conclude that he has, in fact, always been a dick. but he wasn't just statically malevolent for a twenty plus year career, and it's important to... reinsert context to assess how he developed as a rider and as a character during that time. it's not twenty non-stop years of valentino feuding. and marc is facing a valentino who had inevitably changed as a result of years of injury and poor results on a poor bike. valentino was pretty open in 2012 that he was returning to yamaha after two years on a donkey of a bike to, y'know, see if he was still fast, if he still had it in him - because he genuinely did not know (stop me if this reminds you of anyone more recently). he was so frustrated in 2013 with constantly finishing in fourth place that he took the truly radical step of firing his crew chief jb. one more try, one more change up to see if he could still be fast

it was only in 2014, where, okay he was losing to marc, but he could feel that he was competitive again, he could semi-regularly beat jorge and dani at the very least... then comes misano and he beats marc in a direct fight, draws an error out of him, gets him to crash, and marc shows up at his ranch and manages to strongly signal that he does actually really want to beat valentino. and that, in a way, shows that he was beginning to take valentino seriously as a competitor again (which I would suggest he wasn't doing at the end of 2013). that's something that's easy to miss about the ranch episode: yes, it's notable how much they were treating each other like hardened rivals, but it was also notable they were doing so in 2014, given the kind of season marc was having. maybe it truly was the worst possible timing. maybe it truly was the race in misano that made both of them go. hey. this really could be happening

but it's still a humbled version of valentino, it's still a version of valentino who has already kind of had to make his peace with the fact his time might very much be over. to me, in a way it's more dramatically satisfying if he did make peace with it, if he was more or less all right with marc making the sport his own. okay, there's always going to be a little bit of bitterness, a little bit of envy... because he wished he could still do what marc was doing, of course he did. but by the end of 2013, he knew it was more likely than not he would never be involved in another title fight. he thought his career might be ending after the 2014 season. he told the world if he wasn't competitive in the early races in 2014 then that would be that, and I think he meant it

there was no guarantee he'd have a season like 2015 - sure, he was working harder than ever and making radical personnel choices, all in the hope he still had something more to give... but he didn't know it would happen. it was really really unlikely!! there's a giddiness to him in early 2015, almost like he couldn't quite believe himself he'd get that chance. and then, yes, he does withdraw from marc, he does go back into title fight mode... but relatively speaking, this is still a more agreeable version of valentino. this is still a version of valentino who is determined to not start shit with jorge - it's odd to watch, but in those 2015 pressers valentino is constantly engaging him in conversation, at a time in which the marc chatter was already dropping off pretty sharpish

(incidentally, I think vale was proper pissed off at how jorge reacted to the whole sepang thing and how jorge was angry with valentino, which is very funny to me. like at catalunya 2016 vale's going!! I actually made an effort with this bitch!! I was nice to him for three years, does that count for nothing??)

valentino also doesn't blow shit up over assen, even though by his standards marc should be giving him plenty of reason to. he's definitely cooled off towards marc, but he's still giving him the benefit of the doubt where he wouldn't have done so with past rivals - which, yes, I do think partly reflects how he felt about marc, but also reflects how he was approaching that year and that phase of his career as a whole. he didn't really want drama; he wasn't really looking for any distractions from the actual title fight. which doesn't mean that he wasn't already changing his behaviour towards his competitors in response to the demands of the season - it's just a question of the extent. here from a write-up of assen 2015 (I don't entirely agree on the point of the effectiveness of valentino's mind games, though I do agree - like valentino himself does - with the general idea that most of the work needs to be done on-track):

in the end, he cracked. I guess that's what generally happens when you put someone under that kind of pressure - you make them revert to type. valentino wasn't arrogant or entitled or over-confident in that season, he was desperate. he'd been given this unexpected chance and he was throwing everything he had into making it work. body, mind, soul, all of it, wringing himself out in pursuit of this dream. he could feel it slipping away at several points that season... that four race jorge win streak where he led every single lap and it was kind of like? okay, you just can't do anything about that. valentino can't match that, not at this stage of his career. or brno, after which they were level on points and jorge led on countback and it just felt like valentino so obviously had a consistent pace deficit that surely this could only go one way. all these moments where it felt like it might actually be over, in the least dramatic way imaginable. in many ways, this wasn't really a title fight that should ever have been so close - and it's to valentino's credit as a rider, his versatility and willpower, that he was even able to push things as far as he did. but he did know he was hanging on by a thread, and he ended up playing the last hand he felt he had available

obviously, it wasn't really rational calculation that made him do what he did in sepang - though there probably was an element of, y'know, might as well. but he believed he detected a pattern of behaviour in marc - not entirely incorrectly, because it did feel like marc approached his battles with valentino differently - and fashioned himself a conspiracy on the basis of it. he hoped it could change the momentum one last time; he decided to make one final roll of the dice. and then, of course, marc reacted in a way that has ensured valentino will never stop believing in his conspiracy theory. because of course marc did, because of course he never would have taken it lying down. because valentino knew from the moment marc engaged him in that battle at sepang that it was almost certainly all over, because he lost his temper - which usually helps him, except when it doesn't. because they both lost their tempers and ended up just wanting to hurt each other, to prove a point. because that's who they both are

the main point I'm trying to make here is kind of.... it's just how I personally read the sete stuff - yes, these are the same patterns of behaviour, yes, a lot of parallels do obviously present themselves. I've long felt that sete is the single most significant valentino feud to understanding what happened with marc. he's the only other one who valentino was friends with, the only other one valentino felt hurt by on a personal level, the only other one who valentino changed his behaviour towards from one day to the next. and I think under the right circumstances, if you give valentino enough of an excuse and enough of a prize to aim for and have planted enough seeds of suspicion in advance... you can get this situation where the competitive paranoia takes control and he buys into this whole betrayal narrative and he decides he needs to go nuclear. and it also gave him a script to follow - one he knew could work because it had. except of course it could have gone very wrong in 2004 too. what happens if he's so desperately determined to ruin sete that he bins it in phillip island and finds himself only barely ahead in the points going into the title decider? compare that race to phillip island 2009 - obviously, there's a sizeable difference between the level of opposition (especially at that circuit) and the '09 race probably wasn't winnable, but he still ends up eventually deciding to settle for second behind casey because he doesn't want to risk losing the championship to jorge. he's not casey's biggest fan either, but he never came close to losing his head fighting him. it's different. he might do some of his finest riding when he's angry, but where there's anger there's also volatility. and, on occasion, there's also some really bad choices

if 2004 is the moment where he's properly learning to play these games, then 2015 is him falling back on these tools when he really had basically discarded them. it'd been five years since he'd engaged in mind games in earnest (I know him and casey were constantly at it in 2011-12, but whatever the hell that was about, whatever part of their psyches they were appeasing there, it obviously had fuck all to do with on-track competition). that's a long time! there's a 2014 interview where he's asked about his work on the 'mental side' against his rivals:

the first thing he immediately stresses is that there's zero point in doing any of this if you're not fast enough on-track to back it up. if you are fast, sure, you can do some off-track 'work', especially if you know it makes your rivals suffer :) but it won't have the same effect without the on-track performance. so even if we want to say valentino hadn't mellowed post-2012, even if he hadn't grown one jot humbler in his heart of hearts, even if he wasn't swayed by any genuine fondness for marc, he still knew the maths just didn't work out in his favour with his current opponents. he couldn't deploy his favourite tactics against jorge because jorge insisted on spending the entire season either two spots ahead or three spots behind valentino, and the off-track stuff just can't work if you're never sharing space on-track. it could and did work against marc, but he wasn't trying to score psychological victories against marc! certainly not by the time they reached assen and marc was basically out of that title fight. so there wouldn't have been any point in trying to fuck with either of them in that way off-track and, well, it could easily backfire. which is something valentino understood perfectly well until they were 88.9% of the way through the season, and then he changed his mind at what was almost the very last possible moment. which I think speaks to how desperate valentino was to make a mistake like he did at sepang: he felt it was all he had left to try

the other way in which marc comes into this whole thing is that.... I mean, he knew about all this stuff! this is the thing right, maybe he wasn't watching the sepang 2004 press conference as an eleven year old and later going 'huh' but broadly speaking, he will obviously have been aware of how this went down, qatar controversy and all of it. he's sitting right there in that jerez 2015 presser when valentino is asked about sete and in response valentino says sete played 'dirty games'. he's obviously aware of the whole jerez 2005 situation, not least because he copied valentino's overtake in his third ever premier class race. which in turn sete was watching unfold, and is still having thoughts about in 2023:

so it's kind of... y'know, you've got marc, you've got someone who's still very much the heir apparent despite all the drama between him and valentino. if you're sete, do you look at marc and see somebody who valentino hurt in similar ways to what he did to you, or do you look at marc and see another version of valentino? do you see both? it's again that thing of, if you have a problem with some of valentino's more aggressive riding then you will definitely have a problem with marc. because of course marc is the escalation, because valentino generally picked his moments a bit more and adjusted his levels of aggression more to the situation, whereas marc is mostly just Like That. so sure, if you're sete gibernau you can look at marc and see another one of valentino's victims, but at the end of the day you're also going to see his legacy

and this from 2017:

not an original thing to say obviously, half of motogp has said it at one point or another. but. still. meaningful to me!

that tension between 'fellow valentino rival' and 'valentino's successor' is imo inherent to the jerez pass situation, because (along with laguna seca) it's an example of marc actively inserting himself into valentino's legacy. and the thing is, right, these aren't just neutral fun passes that everyone remembers because they looked cool: they're the biggest flashpoints of their respective feuds. marc did to jorge what valentino did to sete - and then he did the most valentino thing imaginable and went to jorge when he must have known jorge would still be furious, making him publicly reject his handshake and starting up a whole lot of discourse™ that would take forever to die down. marc knew immediately how controversial what he did would be and was completely at home in the chaos. it's not just the pass that does valentino proud, it's the shamelessness

while that race might not have had the same repercussions as '05, at the end of the day you do have to remember that those passes have a lot of baggage and controversy attached that marc is also making himself a part of. in the case of laguna, it's valentino addressing livio suppo in the presser because of all the grief suppo and casey had given valentino over the '08 overtake. in the case of the jerez pass, it's sete talking about how alienated he is by this whole approach to riding that marc so completely embodies. and the whole thing has come up quite a few times since 2013, because everyone loves bringing up last corner passes at least once a year when they show up again at jerez

so for instance we have this clip from 2016 (fourth race of the season, vibes still in hell), where the riders are asked whether they'd prefer to be in first, second or third position heading into that final corner. not all too much to say about this one, really. jorge, who it seems has at long last learned his lesson about what to do when you've got a lunatic sitting on your rear wheel headed into the final corner of a race, stresses that he'd protect the inside line - not least because these two fuckers would dive on the inside through the grass if you give them half a chance. also, decent gag from marc! good on him. not always easy for those who have decided they hate him so much so that they refuse to laugh at anything he says

then we have this from 2017 - where sete is in the room - asking four riders who they'd want to arrive at jerez's final corner with. three guys give pretty boring answers, though you'll note in 2017 valentino does actually mention his battle with sete (*gestures with his head in sete's direction*) in the same breath as the one between "marc and jorge". those three boring answers are followed by a great response courtesy of jorge. the question doesn't actually specify, but obviously jorge immediately zeroes in on valentino and marc since they are. you know. the two guys with a history of doing last corner jerez crimes. and they're also two confirmed lunatics, though jorge believes that valentino at least might be a little less reckless now that he's a little older. hey, maybe even marc has become 3% more sensible at the advanced age of 24 (funnily enough, vale when making that overtake in '05 was two years older than marc is in this clip). it's a sweet moment - but, without wanting to belabour the obvious, it's also another way of showing how irrevocably linked both the passes and the blokes executing them are. both valentino and marc are 'hard brakers', to put it lightly. two peas in a pod, from a man who would know

we do also of course get sete reacting to valentino's answer. idk what this facial expression is but I sure am compelled by it (thank u to dani pedrosa for working with sete in 2017 so that we'd get live sete reaction shots. I am very grateful)

okay so those two I included because. well it's just kind of neat and fun that this is a parallel they won't ever escape. linked legacies and all that. but I am actually building up to a point here, and it's to do with how even post-2015, it's not like marc is always overflowing with sympathy and compassion for valentino's other victims. he knows his lore! he will know at least the general details of the sete relationship and how it deteriorated and what valentino did to him afterwards! so let's bring in austria 2017, a time at which the vibes between the two of them aren't actually. catastrophic. exhibit a:

so in this presser, valentino is asked if his overtake on jorge at catalunya '09 is the favourite of his career, and he says it was special because it was the last corner - he can't remember any other examples of him making a last corner overtake in the premier class. at which point marc taps valentino to point out sete:

the expression marc makes in the thumbnail - that's how he looks when he's eagerly waiting for valentino to put two and two together. the thing is, right, this whole feuding business, the way valentino treated his rivals, how he was pretty awful to them... all of it will have been stuff that marc actively enjoyed as a fan. and even post-2015, when marc has experienced some of the very worst valentino has to offer, marc still finds the whole jerez thing pretty funny, not just the overtake but what it meant for the relationship between valentino and sete. he makes valentino aware of sete in the room, because of course he would never forget valentino's greatest hits. like, remember why this exchange is funny: everybody knows this overtake was a super controversial thing and a big source of tension between the two of them and valentino's forgotten about it. and marc's laughing at this!! in 2017!! "after we have a bit problems" and marc thinks it's hilarious!! buddy

one more presser moment, from 2019. just a bit of context here - earlier in the presser they were asked about dani getting a corner named after him at jerez and valentino went 'yeah good for him but I wouldn't want a corner named after me !!' and marc talked about how he'd gotten a corner at aragon named after him the year before. so now, the riders are asked what their favourite bit of the jerez circuit is. the joke here goes a) marc says 'last corner' the way he does because everyone knows he did a terrorism there, b) jack miller says 'you mean jorge lorenzo corner' because everyone knows it's funny marc did a terrorism on jorge there like a day after jorge got the corner named after him, and c) marc says 'it's valentino corner' because everyone knows his move was copying the move valentino did on sete. and... 'valentino corner'... first of all why would you do this to your literal teammate jorge lorenzo... but again the whole reason this exchange is funny is because the premise is that they did the same thing, valentino to sete and marc to jorge. implicitly, it's making the link between the pair of them and how they terrorised their rivals in the same way. still. in 2019

speaking of legacies, there's a moment in the 2016 catalunya presser where valentino is asked how that duel compares to his past duels in 2007 and 2009 at that circuit (notice the blatant and unchallenged sete erasure - 2004 and 2005 were really great but okay). and valentino says he counts it on the same level as the jorge fight - "was three great battles with three great opponents". which, y'know, I really love 2016, I think it's fantastic, but marc makes a mistake on the penultimate lap and denies us the most dramatic of finales. like I think it's completely reasonable and nice for valentino to count it in that same camp as the 2009 duel, but I also think it wouldn't have been crazy or disrespectful or anything if he'd gone 'yeah that was great but not quite the same thing'. this definitely might be reading too much into it (surely not) but given how valentino has since occasionally left marc out of the rivalries list, said he wasn't his toughest rival etc etc, I do think it's kinda notable that during that moment of 'reconciliation', valentino allowed marc to be part of his legacy - even if it's just in a small way. 'great valentino catalunya battles' is a pretty cool group of races to be a part of, y'know? the infamous overtakes, the duels, these are the things people remember. these are the things marc remembered, as valentino's fan - inevitably, it'll mean something to him. it's a legacy he wants to be a part of, by fighting valentino, by emulating valentino, and sometimes valentino lets him and sometimes he'd rather leave marc out in the cold. you'll note that in 2019 he doesn't really engage with the "valentino corner" gag from marc and instead goes with the far more neutral turn 5 as his own pick

in the very very immediate aftermath of sepang (aka december 2015), marc did openly make the comparison between himself and valentino's other rivals:

and it's informed his whole approach since then - it's a big part of why he's tried to be quiet about the drama with valentino over the years. he knows how valentino behaves towards his rivals, he always has. he knows he can't beat valentino off-track... but (beyond his undeniable mental resilience) he's just fortunate enough that with his talent and the way their career windows have overlapped, more often than not he's been able to out-perform valentino on the track. and y'know, it's an interesting element to the whole thing I feel... marc was a fan of valentino's for a lot of reasons - he was very much a fan of the complete package, if you will. including what valentino did to his enemies! it's not like that aspect of vale was some kind of closely guarded secret; it was like a top three valentino rossi talking point for years and years. (part of the subtext of assen 2015 is marc not really enjoying being on the receiving end of one of those classic valentino scam wins, when marc had been intending to do that to valentino.) again, those overtakes of valentino's weren't just famous because they were cool, they were famous because they helped valentino fuck with his rivals. it's not just about emulating his on-track aggression, it's about emulating how valentino did his best to get in his rivals' heads. when we talk about marc 'being a fan' of valentino, then it shouldn't be ignored that this involved marc being a fan of what an absolute and utter asshole valentino was. and like with all things relating to valentino, I'd wager marc has pretty complicated feelings about this. at the end of the day that's also part of his make up as a rider... but it also really burnt him personally...

it's almost like an identification thing, isn't it. if you're marc and you're thinking about valentino's past rivalries, whose shoes are you placing yourself in? in many ways it should be valentino's rivals, because of course some of their experiences mirror marc's. and there's a rare moment in the winter of 2015, when he's still in the process of trying to make sense of everything that's happened, where he does make the connection. but apart from that, he's shied away from it - even when he's criticising valentino, he's generally not framing what valentino did to marc as indicative of some broader character flaw. it's casey and jorge who explicitly make that link, not marc. he's still kind of... idk, separating that out. obviously, marc would far rather be valentino's successor than another one of valentino's victims, even if he hasn't really been given a choice in the matter and has ended up being both. I don't really have any evidence to back this up, but my guess is that deep down he feels like what valentino did to him was different from what he did to those other guys. and in some ways he's right and in some ways he's wrong

unfortunate, isn't it. you're a fan of somebody with a reputation for fucking with his enemies, which is fun and neat and you kinda want to copy how he does it - maybe put your own spin on the whole thing but you're still into the general vibe. you enter the sport at a time when you can still fight your hero, but he's kinda washed and he's too old to be starting new feuds (*bzzzzt!!* incorrect! you are never too old to start feuds) so there's no real danger. and you share a bond you think on some level is different from whatever those other guys had going on, even sete gibernau, whoever tf that is. and then you become real rivals and realise how extremely not enjoyable it is to be losing to him yourself and you really want to show him and maybe you do push it a little far along the way. but it'll be okay. it's all fine... until he decides it's time to destroy you. and on one level you do obviously see the parallels because you're not an idiot... but on the other hand, none of that stuff, none of what he did to those other guys - it wasn't ever going to stop you from being a fan of his. it's the bits he did to you that are the problem. and at the end of the day, you'll never quite be able to let go of the twelve year old boy inside of you who found jerez 2005 really, really cool

anyway

#anitalianfrie #rosquez #// #sg15 #4693 #society if tumblr allowed you to upload more than one video per post >>>> #I hate how speculative the last few paragraphs are. badly sourced psychological analysis but well #this wasn't actually meant to be a sepang 2015 post bUT this was a follow-up post waiting to be written lbr. give me an excuse etc #anyway this post is incredibly incoherent but. shrug. idk how to fix it so whatever #i've seen a few posts here that slightly have the tone of 'oh if only marc had known how valentino behaved towards casey stoner' #listen. he did know. he probably thought it was fantastic. idk what to tell you #you'll note the dec 2015 quote implies casey 'lost' the off-track battle with valentino which I'm not sure casey would be a massive fan of #marc and vale both had a bit of a case of not like other girls about each other and y'know in a way that's still true. just in a sadder way

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

Day 19: "Please Don't" / Adrenaline Crash

@febuwhump prompt: "Please Don't" @badthingshappenbingo prompt: Adrenaline Crash

Fandom: The Bad Batch Characters: Hunter, Omega, Wrecker, Tech, Echo (Did you read Day 5: Rope Burns / Bound & Gagged and Day 12: Semi-Conscious / Over-the-Shoulder Carry? This is a continuation! Follow the links above to catch up on the story so far) Word Count: ~3005 Click here to read on AO3 Also available in Russian (with thanks to @tech-o-mania for the amazing translation!)

Synopsis: Hunter loses control as he hunts down the mercenaries who captured and injured Omega.

Art by the awesome @collophora of my gorgeous Feral Hunter! Thank you so much for this beautiful pic and letting me post it with my fic, everyone go view collophora's original post HERE and tell them how great they are! <3

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Omega swings her legs as she sits on the edge of the table, watching as Tech methodically extracts embedded strands of hessian from the wound on her left wrist. Her right is already swathed in bandages, the bacta gel bringing a soothing numbness that dulls the pulsing pain to a background throb.

She draws her breath in as a hiss though her teeth at a particularly painful pull, and Tech glances at her to check she is okay. He doesn’t continue until she nods to give him permission to do so.

The com at the engineer’s wrist crackles to life. “Come in, Tech.” It is Wrecker’s voice, low and urgent.

Tech pauses his ministrations to answer the com. “What is it, Wrecker?”

“I need backup.”

The big clone’s voice over the com is deadly serious, none of his usual joviality.

“What is your status?” asks Tech, his voice taking on a more clipped edge.

“It’s Hunter.”

Tech quickly looks up at Echo, and Omega doesn’t miss the alarmed look that passes between them.

“Will you and Omega be alright by yourselves?” Tech asks, putting the tweezers back in the medkit and standing.

Echo nods, resting a hand on Omega’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about us. Go help Wrecker.”

“Help Wrecker with what?” asks Omega, getting to her feet and looking first at Tech, then Echo. “Are they in trouble?”

“You are still in need of treatment,” says Echo firmly, trying for a smile which comes out too tense to be reassuring. “I’m sure Tech will manage without us.” He gestures back to the table. “Sit back up, and I’ll finish your wrists.”

Tech is gathering his equipment, and Omega leans past Echo to see him set his pistol to stun.

“I want to go with Tech,” she protests softly. “I want to check that Hunter and Wrecker are okay.”

Echo and Tech exchange another look. Omega is getting pretty tired of the unspoken conversations they share with their eyes.

“Finish attending to Omega’s wounds,” says Tech eventually. “Then you may follow… carefully.”

*

Hunter’s pistol is in his left hand, balanced on his forearm which is crossed in front of his body, vibroknife held blade outwards. The hum of adrenaline is in his veins, pulse pounding, slowly building to a tense knot of pain at the base of his skull which will surely become a migraine later.

Two more mercenaries up ahead, just out of sight. He can hear them.

Hunter doesn’t have to think about softening his footfalls. The predator’s stealth comes naturally to him.

In moments he is around the corner and the two men are ten paces ahead, weapons out as they scout the corridor.

They don’t know that death shadows their movements.

In his ear, the com pings. Hunter shakes his head, shutting it off irritably. Not now. Whatever his brothers want, it can wait.

He rolls to his toes, picking up speed. Closes the gap in a sprint.

One shot with his pistol. The laser-burn eats through the first man’s skull. The second turns but Hunter is on him, and the vibroknife tears out his throat before he can cry for help.

Hunter pauses for a moment, surveys his work. That makes four of them he has eliminated now. Four of them who harmed his Omega. Four of them who will never threaten her again.

A high-pitched whine, like tinnitus, sets up in his head. He pulls his helmet off, rubbing his ears, trying to chase away the source of the sound.

His helmet is dropped to the floor, forgotten, as he sets off to find the rest of his quarries.

*

Tech tilts his datapad towards Wrecker. “I have picked up the bounty hunters’ com channel. They seem concerned that they cannot raise a number of their companions.”

Wrecker looks up from fitting binders to the two mercenaries he has captured. “Hunter won’t waste any time,” he says gruffly.

“He may have deactivated his com, but I can still track his locator beacon,” says Tech. “Leave these two here. We must catch up to Hunter as soon as we can.”

*

Hunter crouches on the narrow gangway, watching the knot of mercenaries in the hangar below. Five left. Their conversation drifts to him but it is just noise. He can’t make his head understand the words.

It doesn’t matter what they are saying. Hunter will be among them soon, and their words will give way to screams and then they will be dead. He plans to make sure of that.

The migraine closes its vice-like grip on his consciousness and Hunter pulls his bandana off, trying to ease the pressure at his temples. A faint aurora halos his vision, sparkling in the periphery. His back teeth ache.

He creeps along the perforated metal walkway, feeling it sway a little from the suspension cables that keep it aloft. He holsters the pistol, curling the fingers of that hand around the rail instead. His right hand continues to clutch the vibroknife like it is an extension of himself.

Almost directly above them. From here he can drop onto the group, break his fall with one of their bodies, before wreaking his vengeance.

Hunter climbs silently to the railing. Leans over the edge, gravity pulling at his body, braced now on the outside of the walkway.

Ready to drop.

*

Echo spots the pair of bodies before Omega does. He stops her with a hand on her shoulder and ventures forwards cautiously, already knowing what he will find.

He is surprised to see the half-skull of Hunter’s helmet staring up at him from between the fallen mercenaries. He scoops it up and checks the wiring. The com is undamaged. It has been deliberately disabled.

Behind him he hears Omega.

“Tech, come in. Did you find Wrecker and Hunter?”

She has her bandaged hands pressed to her com, trying to raise her brothers. Echo hurries back to her, Hunter’s helmet in hand. Omega’s eyes go wide as she sees it.

“Is Hunter okay?” she asks in a fearful whisper, reaching out to brush the side of the helmet. The fresh bandages across her palms come away stained red.

“Don’t worry,” mutters Echo, “it’s not his blood.”

There is a moment of confusion before the meaning of his words dawns on Omega. She leans past him to peer down the corridor. Two bounty hunters. Not unconscious. Dead.

“Oh,” she says in a small voice. Then, looking up at him with a determined frown, “We need to find Hunter.”

*

Wrecker and Tech press tightly to the door-frame, one on either side of the corridor that has brought them to this hangar. Tech’s datapad says this is where Hunter should be, but all they can see are the clustered mercenaries.

Wrecker is the first one to look up. His hands move in a quick signal sequence, drawing Tech’s attention to their brother in his ambush position.

“Hunter,” breathes Tech. And as though it is a command, Hunter drops.

The chaos is immediate. Hunter is amongst the mercenaries, pistol forgotten, knife indiscriminately biting through cloth and armour into flesh. Panicked cries answer his sudden appearance. Blaster fire greets him.

Tech and Wrecker recognise Hunter’s grunt of pain like it is their own. They take a single moment to share a nod, and then they too join the fray.

Wrecker charges in, shoulder down, crashing into a mercenary and knocking him away from Hunter. Tech skirts the edge of the hanger, diving into a roll to evade a stray blaster bolt. He comes up with his pistol ready, gaze flitting over the knot of combatants before choosing his target. He knows this is the quickest way to end this.

Omega’s voice comes over the com but doesn’t answer. He needs all his considerable wits about him if he wants to take down his younger brother.

He steadies his aim.

He fires at Hunter.

*

Somewhere beyond the roaring in his ears Hunter is dimly aware that he is injured. There is a lingering trace of heat as the laser-burn crawls against his skin, softened from deadly to merely painful by the layer of his armour. It slows him, but he doesn’t let it stop him.

He ducks a wild haymaker meant to knock him to the ground and comes up inside the man’s guard. The mercenary yells as Hunter’s forehead connects with his nose, blood gouting from the broken cartilage, and Hunter winces at the shout pierces his already tender headache.

The migraine is stabbing behind his eyes now, his vision winking in and out in bright flashes. He has to finish this fight soon, or he won’t be able to.

The sudden jolt of a stun blast catches him in the back. He feels the sensation ripple forwards across his chest, electric, followed by numbness. The blast threatens to short out his enhanced senses.

With difficulty he fights the blackness that follows the stun bolt, dragging his awareness back to the fight. Two others still standing. To his surprise, he realises Wrecker is one of them.

Then Hunter feels an attacker leap onto his back. He howls in panic and anger; instinct directs him to dip his body, rolling the assailant over his shoulder. He grabs them and slams them into the floor, a blow designed to stun.

Recognises the helmet. The goggles.

“Tech?” he slurs in confusion.

And, “TECH!” The shout is echoed by Wrecker, scooping up their fallen brother.

The final mercenary takes advantage of the distraction. Two blaster bolts hit into Wrecker’s back, staggering him, and he clutches Tech to his chest protectively. Hunter watches as the bounty hunter retreats, fleeing for the bikes they came in on.

His prey's footsteps are still reverberating at the edge of Hunter’s enhanced hearing when others approach from behind him. He whirls, sees Echo and Omega.

“What happened?” demands Echo, crossing to Hunter. With one hand he pushes Omega behind him, making sure she doesn’t step round and see the Sergeant. Doesn’t see the feral gleam in his eyes, the sharp and dangerous expression of his open-mouthed panting.

“I’ll find him.” Hunter’s voice is a subhuman growl. “I’ll end it.”

*

Omega paces anxiously, glancing towards the farthest exit to the hanger. Tech is conscious but dazed, propped up against a storage crate as Echo checks his pupils. She worries for Hunter, but she has been told to stay put.

Wrecker finishes restraining the still-living mercenaries and rolls his shoulders, easing out the stiffness of the injuries he sustained. His own blaster is loose in his hands, still set to stun.

The bodies have been hidden to one side, smeared trails of red marking the route they had been pulled. So much for out of sight, out of mind. Omega curls up over her injured hands, rubbing at her wrists through the bandages. The rope burns itch under the healing bacta gel.

“Tech will be fine,” reports Echo, “but one of us should stay with him. Omega?”

“I’m going after Hunter,” she announces, before she can be asked to play medic. She turns and looks at Echo with her mouth set in an unhappy line.

Echo calmly meets her gaze. “Hunter won’t want you to see him like this,” he says softly.

“Hunter needs me.” She is the embodiment of stubbornness. “I know it.”

Wrecker’s big hand touches her shoulder gently.

“I’ll keep her safe, Echo,” he says, voice strained with an ache of worry. He pushes his helmet back down onto his head, the snarling skull hiding the concern in his eyes.

“Let’s go, kid.”

*

Hunter is exhausted, muscles trembling as he forces them to continue. He has to do this. The image of Omega’s injuries is burned behind his retinas, the scent of her fear cloying. He failed to protect her once. He won’t do so again.

One more mercenary, and the job was done. There would be no-one left to threaten her. And if this group didn’t return, perhaps whoever was hunting them would think twice before sending more agents to kidnap her.

Protect Omega. Blood pounds in his head. Every footstep is a hammer-fall on the anvil of his overwrought senses.

Protect Omega.

A blaster shot hits his right hand. The vibroknife is flung free of his grasp, spinning into the air and embedding in the wall above his head. Hunter startles, the pain in his hand almost enough to stop him from evading the follow-up shot aimed for his heart. He twists at the last moment, the blaster bolt grazing his chest-plate.

Then his feral instincts are back, taking over, shutting down the thoughts that are distracting him and driving him forwards into the fight.

Hunter lunges, closing the distance to his would-be ambusher in a burst of speed that belies his injured state. He doesn’t remember that he has a pistol. Instead he barrels into the man, tackling him to the floor. The two of them roll, fighting for dominance, and Hunter comes out on top. Slugs the man. Pain explodes in his knuckles but he doesn’t stop. Again. And again.

Under the onslaught the mercenary’s face is transforming to a swollen, bloody pulp. He writhes and bucks under Hunter, throwing the sergeant off and scrambling for escape. Hunter leaps after him and they are back to brawling, only it isn’t a brawl. The man is sobbing, arms over his head, trying to shield himself from Hunter’s incoming blows. Pleas dribble with bubbled blood from broken lips. The man weeps for mercy.

Hunter’s onslaught continues. One more mercenary, and the job is done.

Protect Omega. Protect her at all costs.

*

Omega and Wrecker round the corner and Wrecker pulls them up short. Hunter is locked in combat with the final mercenary, the sickening sound of fist hitting flesh and the crepitus of broken bone reaching them across the otherwise empty room.

Omega recoils, watching the scene with fascinated horror. The brutality makes her sick to her stomach, but she can’t look away.

Hunter’s hair is loose, missing the bandana that usually tames it, and hangs lank and sweaty about his face. Blood streaks his fists and spatters his armour. The air is punctuated by his soft grunts and laboured breath, and the moans and whimpers emanating from the figure that is huddled beneath his fury.

Wrecker lays his hand on Omega’s shoulder, trying to coax her away. “Omega,” he says, and his voice quavers. He crouches in front of her, interposing himself between her and the brutal scene, and pushes his helmet back on his head to lock gazes with her.

“What is he doing?” Omega whispers in horror, brown eyes wide as she searches Wrecker’s face for answers.

Wrecker merely shakes his head. “You should get outta here, kid. Head back to the Marauder, wait for the others.”

He stands and turns away from her, dropping the blaster and moving towards Hunter with his hands held up defensively. It is like he is approaching a wild animal, wary of attack.

“Hunter, stop it. Please, vod. He’s down, he surrendered. This isn’t right.”

If Hunter hears him he gives no sign. His punches keep flying, sluggish but solid. His victim lets out a single broken sob.

Omega’s com chirps.

“Omega, are you alright?” It is Tech, his voice weak-sounding as he recovers from concussion.

“We found Hunter,” she whispers, riveted on Wrecker’s careful advance.

Wrecker nears Hunter and his victim, one hand extended. “It’s me, Hunt,” he says, softening the brash edge of his voice. “Time to stop. Okay, vod?”

Hunter doesn’t hear him. Or ignores him. It is hard to tell.

“Is Wrecker able to handle the situation?” asks Tech.

Omega shakes her head. “No,” she says, voice trembling with determination. “But if Wrecker can’t make Hunter stop, I will.”

“Be careful, Omega,” Tech warns her, and she steels herself for what is to come.

She steps past Wrecker, ducks to evade his grasp as he tries to stop her. On shaky legs she closes the distance. Hunter, her Hunter, is a creature she does not recognise. Ruthless, bloodstained, no glimpse of gentleness or mercy.

Hunter leans back, winding up for a huge hit. Omega darts in front of him, catching hold of his fist, levelling her intense brown-eyed stare into the wildfire of his fury.

Omega positions herself directly in front of the exhausted sergeant. Hunter is on his knees, tattooed face glazed in sweat and blood that almost certainly does not belong to him. His shoulders heave as he gulps in great lungfuls of air.

“Don’t,” she says. A plea. A command. “Please don’t.”

For a moment Hunter’s eyes turn glassy and unfocused, pupils trembling with rapid dilations before he eventually blinks and manages to fix his gaze on the girl before him.

“Omega?” he croaks weakly, and staggers to his feet. He sways a little, then replants his feet and braces a hand against her shoulder to steady himself. “You’re meant to be with Tech.”

Unexpectedly, he retches. Omega takes a startled step back as Hunter heaves bile, his whole body trembling. When he is done he wipes his mouth slickly on the back of his hand, glancing round in confusion.

Wrecker steps forwards, caution still written in his posture. “Hey, Hunter,” he says softly, a greeting to his brother as he returns to his senses.

Hunter sags against Omega, his arms going round her in relief, and she can feel the uncontrolled quaking of his body as adrenaline fatigue truly sets in.

Quickly Wrecker steps in to support him, taking some of his weight from Omega. But Omega wraps her arms tightly round Hunter’s waist, pressing her face against his chest, ignoring the scent of blood and blaster-fire as she feels his trembling hand run through her hair.

“I forgive you, Hunter,” she whispers, fingers digging into the cracks of his armour as they both cling to each other with equal ferocity. “I forgive you.”

#febuwhump #febuwhumpday19 #“please don't” #badthingshappenbingo #adrenaline crash #the bad batch #tbb fanfic #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb echo #tbb omega #feral hunter #love me some feral hunter #sorry guys not proofread please excuse any typos/mistakes! #i'll check and correct in the morning #posting on day 19 by the skin of my teeth! five minutes to midnight! #edit: awesome art by collophora #tbb fanart #hunter fanart #collophora #just_thoughts

[autisticgoten]

[Image ID/transcript under the cut]

Goten over the years! These are some concepts for a Super rewrite thing a friend and I have been working on :)

Goten is the main character along with Trunks... To expand on what Toriyama sort-of set up in DBZ, Goten and Trunks are intended to be the new generation full of promise, and take a much more important role in the story and conflicts than Super as it is.

There's a lot here and I've been drawing a lot of concept art regardless so I'm sure I'll expand on some of this stuff later haha. Goten and Trunks' fusion training on Metamor in particular is something I've been having a lot of fun with...

[Image ID.

Image 1: A digital artwork of three full-body depictions of Goten, lined up next to each other against a blank background, at different ages. The first age, labelled '>7' at the top, shows a young Goten in his gi as he appears in Dragon Ball Z, smiling at the viewer. Handwritten notes around him read:

Makeshift gi made by Chi-Chi for his training

No tail... yet (removed at birth)

Chi-Chi & Goten can't cut hair very well so it became a Goku-esque bird's nest

Lives simply and happily with his family, but becomes uncomfortable when he feels like something is being kept from him or he is missing something

Semi-frequent excursions to West City to see the Briefs -- his world is Mt. Paozu and Capsule Corp

Partners-in-crime with Trunks -- though this is actually the phase of life they see each other the least. Their partnership is also less equal at this time with Trunks taking the lead more & Goten deferring to the older kid.

The second age is labelled '11', and shows a visibly older Goten, over a head taller than the last age. He is dressed in the outfit he wears for most of Dragon Ball Super, and now as a tail hanging by his side. He is smiling at the viewer and holding up a peace sign. Handwritten notes around him read:

Super timeline starts

Grew back tail from the stress of Beerus's threats (along with Trunks) -- they were so excited their parents didn't remove them again (so long as the moon stays destroyed)

Struggles with loneliness when Gohan marries Videl & moves out, and visits him regularly, often without warning

Motivated to train more seriously with Goku -- wants to protect Earth and his family

The third age is labelled '14-15', and is also visibly older. He is wearing his outfit from the 'Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero' movie and has a sheepish smile on his face while waving at the viewer. His tail is curled up by his side. Handwritten notes around him read:

Now attending Blue Hal School with Trunks -- they are getting a lot closer

Getting very serious abt training -- now doing fusion training on Metamor with Trunks

Increasingly feeling the toll of Earth's safety beginning to be entrusted to him

Gets along very well with most ppl at school but struggles to form deeper connections -- a bit of a social drifter

In his spare time, video games are starting to be a major form of escapism

More assertive around people he knows well, but struggles with acquaintances

Realises he's bi :)

Image 2: A digital artwork of three more full-body depictions of Goten, continuing on from the last image. The first age is labelled '16-17' and shows an older Goten in his school uniform from the latest manga arc of Dragon Ball Super, holding his school bag with his other hand on his waist, smiling confidently at the viewer. His tail curls inward towards his legs. Handwritten notes around him read:

More involved in the community -- operating as a hero with Trunks, forming deeper bonds at school

Keeps himself busy with a variety of extracurriculars, parties, casual dates, and odd jobs for cash

Learns instant transmission!

Still goes with the flow but now more confident in his independence

Some of his activities take him away from Trunks but even apart they are close -- always texting

Official video game addict

Training is still very important to him but just one factor of his schedule & interests

The next age is labelled '19'. Goten is dressed in a loose-fitting purple shirt with Sonic the Hedgehog on it, with a black undershirt under it, loose yellow pants, and large black boots with red soles. He is stretching his arms and looking to the left with a dazed expression, and his tail is wrapped around his left leg. Handwritten notes around him read:

Has moved out & is living with Trunks in a bid for independence

Attempted uni for a semester, quit, still doing odd jobs -- a tiny bit directionless

No longer operating regularly as a hero but sometimes helps Gohan

Dedicated to training as a lifestyle, much like Goku, but does a lot of other things

He and Trunks are attempting to be financially indepedent

Sometimes suffers burnout

Apartment is in Central City, but frequently visits home and Gohan with instant transmission.

The next age is labelled '22+', and shows Goten in a gi very similar to Goku's during DBZ, complete with the 悟 ('go') kanji, with chunky blue boots. He is smiling broadly at the viewer, and has hair similar to Goku's except much longer -- going down past his chin. Handwritten notes around him read:

Runs a martial arts/swordsmanship school with Trunks!

Still messes around with odd jobs but the school is his main focus

Also runs community programs through the school

He and Trunks are two of the major Z Fighters on call in case of emergency

Image 3: The last two images put together, except without the handwritten notes.

End ID.]

#myth's art #original #goten #super rewritten #dragon ball #son goten #dragon ball z #dragon ball super #dbz #dbs #concept art

[acheronist]

how did you start learning tattooing? what made you want to try it?

ohh... hm. Well. Okay to be so honest and short and easy with you I was really depressed and having my quarter life crisis and so I picked it up as a way to try and get myself back on track with like. being alive + doing something semi-meaningful with my life lol

here's the longer detail stuff that I fear is a bit too tenderhearted to just have out in the open

💌

near the end of last year (november-ish) I was yapping with a friend of mine from art school who ended up getting into tattooing after we had graduated, and explaining that i didn't like how publishing illustration was treating me and i felt like i was spinning my wheels and going nowhere. so she really encouraged me to give tattooing a shot? because I needed to do something different and she thought my art style could be really well suited for tattooing... and ofc i've been tangentially aware of tattoo culture but i was always kind of too scared that I wasn't like........ GOOD OR COOL ENOUGH? FOR IT? it seemed very intense and like there wasn't going to be room for me yknow. but anyways after talking with my friend i started doing a lot of research about like.. the history of tattoo culture and how techniques developed over the centuries and what are the popular styles now and what modern health/safety expectations of tat artists are now etc. just kind of taking it all in. following a lot of artists on social media etc and talking to my friend about what her apprenticeship entailed... but I bought myself a shitty cheap tattoo kit online in december and spent most of december-february just trying to teach myself how to handle a rotary pen machine and get a feel for it? and basically spent all of my time either playing around with my machine and fake practice skins or drawing or researching about tattoo history. and then in february/march I redid my whole portfolio with some neo trad designs + my other illust work and started visiting some local shops and basically just begging for 15 minutes to talk to someone in the industry and figure out if I was hopeless or not lmaooo. I went to about five shops and got soundly rejected / turned down from all of them, so I was really taking it as a sign that I should give up? but then the last shop I was going to try was like. idk it felt different and way more optimistic than everywhere else I'd tried at.... the artists on break at the time all took a chance to look thru my portfolio and talk to me, the shop owner is an angel, and so we went from "can I just ask for your professional opinion on if I suck at this or not" to getting introduced to everyone as they were working like "this is isabel she's gonna be our new apprentice!😊" which was!!!!!! CRAZY.

and so it took about two weeks after that before one of the more experienced artists in the shop was like 🙄 Fine I will teach another fucking apprentice I guess. Whatever. and I was like oh no he hates me. (turns out there's some shop lore about how awful the last apprentice was and everyone was kind of waiting to see if I'd turn out the same way) so I've just been working really hard ever since to prove I'm serious and now I'm everyone's favorite little idiot in my shop eheheh

but yeah! so I've been apprenticing officially in my shop since the end of march!!! just learning and trying to be helpful for my artists and trying to take it on the chin that I'm brand new and still learning and have a long way to go yet without getting miserable about it... but I feel very optimistic and way better now than I did in december, and everyone in my shop is soooo so kind and encouraging of my progress it really does feel like... Oh there is hope for me after all!

but yeah anyways. I just wanted to have an archive of my work as I progress and improve? so now everyone who follows my stupid ass blog has to bear witness to me being slightly bad at tattooing for months yet xoxoxo

#🩸 #this response is so long. sorry if you dont give a fuck LOL

[nanistar]

Any advice on how to draw backgrounds? Gotten to the point in my art where im semi confident in drawing poses and expressions but backgrounds?? girl help i can only somewhat draw a tree

oh hell yeah i love backgrounds, ive been working on more interiors lately (when not overburdened by sbc work lol) but im assuming you're asking about nature so that's how im going to answer it as okay so: -first of all find yourself a good TEXTURED blending/smudging brush because it will save your life. i use these rock texture brushes from This Studio Ghibli pack, it's $6 and i HIGHLY recommend the whole pack because it's the main one i use for most of my bg foliage/grass ect and i love it dearly

-find references either in irl photos or other artist's work. if using another artist's work watch their speedpaints or look at what you like about their art style and techniques and steal it. im serious. obviously don't trace it and pass it off as something of your own but look at how they do the aspects you struggle with, and try to incorporate that

for me, that struggle is forest foliage because i have a hard time filling out the spaces without everything looking like same colored blobs, so i looked at how my buddy hannah mudshadow does bgs because she's really good at filling out a scene and making it look natural, and i noticed she uses a lot of abstract shapes instead of trying to render every leaf, so rather than doing my base work for bushes/trees with a leaf brush, i use a chunky scatter brush now and it looks really good, and then i can go and add some leaf brushes on top of that for more definition in areas that might catch light ect so that will give it the thick, bushy .. bush look without looking crowded or too shaped

-nature is messy as hell and things are never going to be perfectly shaped and toned unless you're drawing perfectly managed hedges or something. got some dirt brown on your green bush? those are dead leaves now. accidental weird texture on your tree? the bark is gone there, something ate it. bushes and trees have dead branches that just hang out there in them, grass grows long and sometimes a deer or whatever doesn't eat the whole patch so there's long uneven sprigs sticking up. petals fall off flowers. trees have huge webs of branches

-don't try to detail everything. make things further away more abstract and messy to give the illusion of detail. throw a gradient over it for some slight tone variation or something so it;s not completely flat but ppl are going to look at your subject and see the rest of it with the corner of their eyes, so you don;t need to fully render every flower in the field. here's some examples of that

the cactuses in the far BG are just V and Y shapes, the joshua tree in the middle distance is dark with some light blobs right on the edge where the needles would catch light.

this is from 2021 so be nice to me but as the flowers go back in the distance, i stop rendering their petals and start doing blue dots with white dots, and then even further away i just sorta blend blue and green together to give the illusion of a field of flowers.

-i dont know what your style is, but i personally hate using a ton of layers and tend to merge them as i go, but for the most part i draw every panel of SBC bg on the same 1 layer, going back to front (start with sky, mountain, bg grass, foreground grass and cactus, then go back and scatter foliage as necessary) and it keeps my stuff loser and i tend to get less precious about making things look perfect. i also work very fast because i am unironically really lazy at art and am desperate for shortcuts.

-oh yeah one more thing. assuming you draw cats, cats are SOOOOOO small in comparison to literally everything. as warrior artists i think our perspective gets a but confused sometimes (i am certainly guilty of this too!) and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this because sometimes that's just how you have to build your scenes, but it really makes me laugh when i see scenes of like, rusty jumping off his fence to go into the woods, but the fence is only a bit taller than him. so try to remember things are huge and cats are small as hell

na'ni's a huge cat, all things considered but look at her compared to my small aloe plant

or the cedar tree in my front yard.

absolutely microscopic. don't look at my slippers.

so yeah. i hope this helps, it's not so much a tutorial because i don't think i'm the best person for tutorials because honestly i dont know much and this is all stuff i've picked up on, like i dont know shit about composition or values or color theory but this is important stuff to keep in mind about the environments themselves. don't worry too hard about colors at first because you can always change it by adjusting your curves n stuff. or slap a filter on that bad boy. or dont. also pay attention to your horizon line because it helps angle the rest of your piece. but look up tutorials for that because i only started learning about it like a week ago

#mine #art advice #idk man #ppl feel free to add on to this #nani irl

[fumiko-matsubara]

Heyy — I absolutely LOVE your art!! I’m kinda sad that there is not enough Rio Nakamura fanart in the Internet but you saved me. Are you willing to draw her again? Maybe with karma ? And I always thought about Shuu x Rio what is your opinion on that?

OH THANK YOU!! I draw Nakamura fairly often enough, usually when I'm on the verge of suffering from art block. She's fun and easy to draw and to think about. So, don't worry ❤💕

I might draw her with Karma too. The two hazards to mankind is a dynamic I've definitely thought about time and time again. Let's see if I'll find myself in the mood to draw them in the future 🤔

And about GakuRio... um

I'm sorry. I'm sure you'd want to know what my genuine thoughts about them are but I really just cant.

Nakamura being a sapphic bi who's only into feminine men (Nagisa) and all women is a semi-canon headcanon that is deeply ingrained in my brain, that the mere thought of her being with any guy outside that very specific category is something I just couldn't take seriously 😭

Not that I have anything against people who do ship her with other guys, that is. Y'all do you and I respect that. I'm just not willing to get anywhere near that lane.

It's just that this tweet has done serious damage to my brain and I can't go back 😭

Even with Chiba, despite the amount of Bakamura content I've posted over the years, my body just fully rejects the mere idea of viewing the way I write out their dynamic in a romantic lense 😭 There were like two instances when I drew them in a romance shoujo-manga manner and you easily can tell how UNSERIOUS I am with them lmao

#in my head #Nakamura and Jessica are problematic GFs who are having a blast terrorizing everyone in their campus 😂 #no but seriously #nakamura hates boring men (same) yet finds nagisa interesting and has made several advances towards other girls (yada and princess leah) #She's the number one (1) perpetrator when having nagisa crossdress then turns out later she was fr crushing on him #like??? #it all points to one direction and I seriously can't ignore it I'm sorry 😭😭 #ask box #ask anon #ask answered #thank you for asking 💜💜 #assassination classroom #nakamura rio

[scr3amingqueen]

I like ur art :3 if u take requests, can u draw sikorsky?

Hello! I’m actually very nervous to take requests since I don’t know if people are gonna like how I sometimes interpret that request visually. Additionally, if I did get requests, I was worried about how many, and how fast I would have to churn them out. I’m still in college and currently working on my thesis over the summer and while I love making art for people, I need to be very careful of burnout and artist block.

If people do want to make requests, feel free! I just want to preface that I don’t know how fast they’ll be done, but I can say that they will be completed. The reason I’m able to be semi consistent right now is that since school is out, I took a mental health month before I get back to working on my thesis part time. I’m in a 3D computer art major and that stuff takes a lot of time to make.

I also want to monetize my art at some point with commissions but I’m a little nervous to put myself out there and I’m not super sure how to go about doing it (and if anyone has tips, please let me know)! If you do have a serious art inquiry, please be sure to send a message my way! I never want to be too expensive for people because while I do value my time and effort, I also love being able to share my creations with others.

And if there’s any interest in seeing any of my 3D art or if you want to commission me for any of that stuff, I’d be honored!

Alright that’s enough of my rambling! I did make a quick profile image of Sikorsky after he possibly…took care of somebody. He’s a bad man who likes to bad things but I’m happy to make art of a lot of Baki characters regardless.

I hope you like it!

#baki hanma #baki son of ogre #baki the grappler #drawing prompt #art #baki headcanons #yandere baki #drawing digital #procreate #sikorsky #request #requests open #art requests #baki request #First request I think?

[puppyluver256]

Iiiiiit's that time agaaaiiiin, time to look back at the art I've done over the year hehe :3 I was so desperate to get that Taion pic done tonight so I could include it cuz I really like how the Mondo turned out o:

January - BIG SHOT | I'm gonna go over these and try to remember why I put them in here, so here's the first one. Uhhh, I think I was just really proud of how Spamton Neo came out, 'specially for my first attempt at drawing either form of Spamton seriously, as well as...whatever that technique's called where something in the front (ie. the Fun Gang/Sh-- Squad/Lancer Fan Club here) gets blurred to keep your focus on the Main Subject, that turned out well too c: February - On Wings of Golden Skies | I'm not the best at drawing complex birds, especially big complex birds, so Ho-oh looking as good as they do makes me happy considering my second main-series game was Gold, even if I was more of a Crystal player eventually. That and Bell Tower looks nice too :D March - Wave o' Babies | Oh boy. For something semi-serious made off the back of a dumb method of attacking one of the titular Teen Girl Squad gals, this was fuuuuunnn and cathartic. April - Winter Delight | Had some fun figuring out how to shade snow with my insistence on keeping my brush use more varied now :3 Also, was good practice for drawing black people with more realistic black features, just the lips here as lightened palms are kind of hard to see underneath mittens hehe. May - Frigid Coffin | Ice effects. 'Nuff said. Also Lief is cool, no pun intended c: June - Macaroni and Bees | Love how the honey turned out! Both in this art and in real life! Please try honey in your macaroni, it's Nice, also barbecue sauce but maybe not at the same time until you've figured out whether or not you like both. July - In Pursuit of Power | I'll be honest, I included this one solely because of the art theft fiasco, all to give said thief one last symbolic middle finger >:3c August - I Shall Not Bow | Textless version featured in this review preview, this one was chosen both due to how important the message was to me and also how I was pretty proud of how yahweh's stupid face turned out. September - Overcoming the Odds | Backgrounds, man. I keep improving with backgrounds and this one's a good example in my eyes. October - Team Snakemouth | I just like them okay!! :D November - If only I could hug you back | ...idk, I really don't remember why I picked this one, selfshipping ahoy? XD December - Hazy Figure | Taion best lad. Also, like I said at the start, I just REALLY like how the Mondo look here. Yeah, it's copy-paste of a single piece and motion blur, but it works so well!!

All characters featured belong to their respective creators, more information in the links above. All artwork featured © PuppyLuver Studios

#year in review #year in review 2023 #jess drew the thing

[yunxminho]

Name: Yun Minho

Nickname: Milo

Age: 24

Birthday: June 20th

Occupation: Free Lance Artist / Employee at Crafty Hands

Sexuality: Bisexual

Residence: Mountainside

Languages: Korean, English

FC: Lee Seung Gyu

Appearance:

Height: 6’3 - 194 cm

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Tattoos/Piercings: None

Scars: Some on his thighs that he refuses to explain

Aesthetic:

If Milo could be a walking cherry blossom, he would be

Light colors, baggy clothes, sweaters that cover his hands, the color lavender, and mint, along those lines

Sometimes he wears glasses, sometimes he wears contacts, sometimes he goes balls to the walls and flies blind

Personality:

Gentle, Clever, Imaginative

Shy, Easily-Confused, Spineless

Bio: TW depression, suicidal thoughts

Minho was born near Incheon, South Korea but his family moved to the US when he was eight.

He learned to speak both Korean and English growing up because his parents wanted to give him the ability to communicate with his family that still lived in Korea and give him the option to return in the future if he wanted

Once they moved, his parents started calling him Milo after watching his name get butchered in school, and kids making fun of him

From day one, Milo was a brilliant kid. He was able to skip two grades going into elementary school, which his parents loved

It left him a bit isolated as the other kids were often ruthless and exclusionary, except for a group of kids who were actually kind of mean to him

He was not much for the bullying the kids committed, but he didn't do much more than stand in the back and watch. No matter how much he wanted them all to stop, he wanted to not be the target of the bullying even more.

This continued throughout school, though Milo distanced himself from the original group of kids once he realized they were actually quite mean to him, only to fall into an arguably worse group in high school

His parents noticed how withdrawn he was becoming, though they watched him for a little longer to see if he'd pull himself out of it - he didn't

By sophomore year, Milo was exhausted and spent most of his days wondering about what it would be like to die

His parents freaked out when they caught him drawing little comics strips that animated these inner thoughts and sent him to a private school for the rest of high school

Milo didn't think it would help, but he actually started to make friends, and find things he was interested in, and things started getting a bit better.

Once Milo got into college, UCLA, he practically disappeared. He didn't tell most people where he was going or why, and it was deeply freeing

Milo spent a lot of time discovering himself and who he wanted to be while at school and it softened him up quite a bit, while also building his confidence. Gone were the days of oversized hoodies so people wouldn't see him, and in were the baby pink sweaters that make him happy.

In college, he spent many parties slightly tipsy and exploring who and what he was interested in. He even had a semi-serious bf who helped him sort out what he needed to know about himself and made him realize he was capable of being loved

He started going to the gym more often to gain some confidence in himself, and now he's addicted

As soon as he graduated, Milo began looking for the next thing. His parents had moved from California to the east coast, and he didn't want to follow them. His parents are in New York, which was more of a city than he wanted to be in, so he began looking around.

A friend from his second high school reconnected with Milo around this time and told him about Fairford, so Milo decided to try it out

He's been here for two years now, still figuring himself out while designing his art brand

Connections:

Friends: You can’t go wrong with some pals

Enemies: Milo probably wouldn’t have started shit, but he is an easy target

Romance: He’s bi, he’s shy, and he will not make the first move. If he gets flirted with, he turns red from the tips of his ears all the way to his toes. Though, he’s a flirty, giggly drunk. Do with that what you will.

Shop Patrons: He works a lot of hours at Crafty Hands, running into him there is highly likely

Comfort Zone: Milo is bad about breaking from his routine, he will go where asked, but he has to be asked

The Flirt: Could be a joke or for real, Milo won’t know he’s being flirted with, let alone know if it’s for realizes. Once he does, he’s a cherry tomato at all times.

Gym Buddy: You’d never know it looking at him, but Milo is built. He usually goes to the gym alone, but maybe they made friends at the gym, or they think they can help him out. || Milo, Nat, JJ. Tyson

Fuck Buddies: This one is self-explanatory, let's be real

#bio #fairfordintro

[eyndr-stories]

YOU!!! I WAS DISTRACTED BY SPACE GAME BUT

1. Your first OC ever?

4. A character you rarely talk about?

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess (i bet i can guess something for that one kldgj)

ME!!!!! >:3

1 - I think my first ever OC that i can remember was this little dinosaur fella I would draw all the time in paper margins way back in middle school, I don't actually have any pics on my computer but I doodled him real quick for ya

Binosaur cause his head is just the letter B fdkjgjhgfdkfdg

4 - Lianel!!!!! I don't think I've ever shared them anywhere?? I made them back in highschool (hence the old signature, I went by a different name back then), I actually made a short little comic of them exploring this ruined world that I can't find >:( It's hiding in a sketchbook somewhere i hope and I just haven't scanned it. But anyhoo! Lianel is on the run for space crimes!! Jury's out on whether or not they actually committed said crimes or were framed though. They found their ancient armor from the ruins of a resistance organization that died out a long time ago, but when you're on the run you take what you can get. They've got a funky staff that an even funkier little magic blob lives in, so long as Lianel takes them on adventures, since the little blob can't travel on their own. In return the blob lets Lianel use some of their magic when they get into trouble. I don't think I ever named the blob??????????

13 - Hehohoho!!!!! >:D This is Calcifur!!! They look small and unassuming but they will steal your wallet fhgjhkgfjklhgf

Cal loves being gay and doing crimes, especially graffiti in places they're not supposed to, although after they met Lato they toned it down a lot and now stick to mostly silly pranks. Calcifur is one of the main three fellas I used to draw a whooooole lot before I fell out of doing art for a good while, and i will definitely be using this as an excuse to talk about them gjhfijhgfd but first, more about Calcifur! Cal's skin glows and changes color with their mood, (neutrally they're blue) and they've got a nifty pair of headphones that can transform into a stylish neck kerchief. They can speak, but can only be heard by people they want to hear them. And now the trio!

MY MAIN BLORBOS..... I LOVE THEM

Ok so the other two are Lato and Cube (bet you can't guess who's who lmao) Lato is my fluffy puff ball sweet boy, friendliest fella you'll ever meet. He's naturally very curious and aims to be pals with everyone he meets. He's semi aware of his being an artistic creation, though he's pretty chill about it. Cube on the other hand, is fully aware and somewhat peeved at me about it jhgdkhgdjkjhgfd Cube is a straightforward know it all with a short temper and vast knowledge. Originally I made him to be a companion to Lato, to keep him company in the void (since I was very bad about never drawing any sort of backgrounds lmao) and to answer Lato's many ceaseless questions for me. He often shows up doodled in the margins of whatever I'm working on to make snide jokes about something or other or yell at me to stay focused. Now a days the three live together in a nice house out in the forest and have fun domestic style shenanigans. I could talk about these three for a thousand years so I'll stop here because this whole ask has already gotten slightly out of hand kgfdhlkdjgfhgj

43 - (Looks at my crew of just the silliest lil guys. Jokesters and pranksters abound) Idk can't think of anything

dkhfjhlgdgljgfh I do really like silly characters, and characters with more simple designs that are easier for me to doodle here and there without taking too much time or energy. Cube is VERY popular in my notes and sketchbooks. Funny enough a lot of sillier characters are more recent creations, characters I made in highschool and earlier had more tragic / serious backstories. Oh, I also draw a LOT of little creatures, just strange monster things. Not sure if they count as OCs, most aren't even named or I only drew once or twice, but I do love me a creature

#oh whoops I've been making this post for. over an hour djhkfghfdjfdg #those image IDs man #but if i dont do them right away i forget about em #anyhoo thanks for the questions :D my brain blorbos. i love them dearly #holding them out in the palms of my hands #waugh i want to draw my main trio now but it is past bedtime kfdjgkgjhfdf #eyndr does art #OCs #♥️mutual shenanigans♥️ #♥️kibbits♥️ #grah tags idk i'll come back and fix tags later i gotta go to bed before Moon gets my ass jhgfhkgfjd #paper airplanes #oc cube #oc lato #oc calcifur #oc lianel #oc binosaur

[numerowah]

So, in your AU, even Wario gets to wear a princess dress? ;) Despite the swapped roles, everyone is the same gender as they are in canon?

Everyone's the same gender as canon, yeah! Just their roles that got switched up.

Wario does have a dress I'm workshopping, yeah >:]! With Mario, Luigi, and Waluigi I feel they're much more in-tune to wearing dresses, y'know? Mario Odyssey gave Mario a wedding dress, Luigi swaps clothes with Peach in Super Mario Adventures [I have the book with this in it it's great. This is also the main driving force of why my au exists and why Luigi swaps with Peach specifically!] as well as Superstar Saga. And then Waluigi just has the vibe and I think he'd look great in any kind of dress.

Wario is the odd one out since like. Lack of a better term, he's the manliest outta them, right? He's described that way somewhere, anyway. So while I definitely think he'd also look nice in a dress, I think he's less receptive to it than the others, so the outfit I initially gave and still have for him is this:

ALSO! Since he spent. a WHILE. as a cat, I decided to give him funny ears and fangs. Maybe the curse is still there in some capacity and if he gets really worked up, it flares up and he turns back into a cat. idk hehee. He gives Shokora one of the earrings because he trusts her to not lose it, he wants to keep her safe [i hc the jewelry+crown has a protection charm or at least a curse reversal thing to them], and I think it's cute that Wario of all people would share something so valuable, monetarily and sentimentally. also i gave him a tooth gap and stubble. i thought it'd be cute and i was right, sue me

ALSO ALSO! I used to think Shokora's True Form was wearing overalls, or at least shorts. We don't get official art of her true form [i think that's a crime] so we only have the pixel art. I recognize my mistake now, but my misunderstanding is also a reason Princess Wario doesn't currently have a dress designed. That, and I need to figure out a motif.

Waluigi has space as a princess like Rosalina, and plants in general, leaning more on vines. Luigi has rights to any shroom-themed apparel, and most of his outfits are thunder or rain themed thanks to Thunderhand. Mario has plants from Daisy, and fire of his own right. Since fire flowers are a combo of both, that's his main theming as of right now. While Peach's outfits don't have a shroom look to 'em, she definitely has her niche of pink.

Wario could def have a theme of wealth, but that's a bit hard to convey when I don't want to just cover him in gold and call it that, it feels too easy. And Shokora, due to her human form[s] only being shown in a newspaper and at the very end of the game, doesn't have a lot either, if anything. Her official art doesn't give me a particular theme to her, other than that she also wears pink, albeit a different shade [I do have that as a semi-joke, semi-serious reason Shokora doesn't like Peach in the AU. That blondie totally snagged her style!]

His more masc outfit works well enough as a placeholder for now, and honestly I think when i DO finish his dress, he'll still have this outfit, just updated to fit his themes. I really like designing dresses, and I feel they allow for more symbolism or, like, character to be shown, y'know? Like, most of Princess Waluigi's outfits are flowy, which while it def shows the spaciness, i think it also conveys how distant he's made himself to be over the years. Through all the designs I've went through with Mario, they've all had striking colors and lots of frills, both to show who he swapped with and also how outgoing and happy he is. I make sure Luigi's main dress is REALLY puffy, both because it draws on clouds and so it looks like he's swimming in his clothing, like it's too big for him and he has a ways to go before he comes into his own.

So I wanna make sure I do as good of a job with Princess Wario. Hey, after all it's Wario! Only the best for him! Definitely has to show off his toughness, since I do think that's incredibly important to Wario as a character.

#i know i could probably just slap him in any yellow dress with royal purple or gold accents and it'd fit him well enough and all #BUT! i go big or go home #I think Shokora is the one with the most thought in HER outfit #I say to myself Rosalina has the least but honestly she has a fair bit in her color scheme and the fact i give her bell bottoms so #asks #unrelated but did you know he doesn't have perfect vision #i need to find where it is but i remember reading something that he's like 20/40 or something. so i guess it could be false but still #so mayhaps i can give him glasses sometime

[iagreewithlilithsrightsnwrongs]

i have a very nice liliava scene on my college au. on their second year, students have to choose between three mediums to study for the next 3 years. beatrice, ava, n lilith all chose painting (which is the one i chose irl btw!! this au is based on my experiences in my uni). this is fine for bea n ava who have a slow but growing friendship. lilith n ava however cant seem to get along too well, since lilith is very standoffish n cant stand ava’s carefree attitude towards her uni work.

lilith is serious. she comes from a successful family of painters, very rich and very strict. lilith actually does like painting, always has even before knowing her family business, but it turns from a hobby to a duty the moment she can speak. she needs to be a painter, she needs to master in arts, if not painting then maybe sculpture, none of that modern contemporary nonsense, the classier the better. lilith goes to the same art college her parents went to, which is in porto, potugal. the teaching is sufficient and the curriculum is acceptable, n so both parents aim for lilith to go to this uni n then master in painting in another country, possible in paris or italy, depending on how well lilith does with this one. 

lilith is cold, objective, and solely focused on her work. shes intense but manages to hide it well from the teachers as to not scare them off. she doesnt care for the students tho, they can think whatever they want. she knows who she is and who she is going to be. none of them can compare to her and this is just fact.

ava, however, only went to portugal since its her hometown n she thought it’d be sweet to study art there. shes carefree, and she goes with the flow. doesnt have grand plans, just wants to learn all abt art and meet new people and go out, live her life. lilith doesnt get that, cant get that, n so they clash n fight a lot. they have drawing class together and it is painful for everyone involved.

they do share on moment of peace during their first year drawing class, but it is brief. the moment i want to talk abt is in their second year, painting class.

their painting classroom, an atelier, is open at all times, even at saturday. ava was catching up on one painting while some classmates were hanging out n making a LOT of noise. she was kinda fed up, but just focused on finishing the painting. she takes a lil break, gets up, walks around n checks out the other’s paintings. she sits pretty close to the door, so when her classmates runs off out the door, they clash with her easel, and the painting crashes on the floor. all ava’s prayers of it being unscathed are not answered. while it fell, it scrapped along a lil table where she keeps her supplies, one everyone has, and now her painting has a long wide stroke of paint all over it. hours of work, gone. paint wasted, hours wasted. 

ava tries to remain calm n positive. she does not want to have a fainting spell or worse cry in a place any of her classmates can walk into. she puts the painting back in place and thats when she cries. she has the sudden urge to just rip it out, destroy it, n that just makes both her arms tingle n go numb, so now she’s upset abt that. she also can’t breathe properly n she’s sobbing quite loudly, sat on her stool, head on her knees, arms pathetically dead on either side of her, unmoving. thats when lilith walks in.

now. lilith isn’t actually heartless. she just doesnt have time for friendships built on actual love n care n shit, that shit doesnt help. but... as she gingerly walks in and circles around to look at ava, shes confused n a lil bit concerned. then she looks up n sees the painting and audibly gasps. ava looks up, sees lilith, they make eye contact, n lilith watches ava’s already red, blotchy, swollen, tear riddled face crumple n sob even harder. ava is so embarrassed she wants to disappear. apparently that means she has to faint so she tries to warn lilith but lilith just ends up with an armful of semi conscious ava. lilith is fucking panicking, ava is disgusting n limp n a mess and its only 11 am on a wednesday she didnt ask for this. 

still, smth in her snaps n she puts on her best soothing voice (aka beatrice voice) n tries to calm ava down (aka acting like beatrice). it doesnt work, it only makes ava more confused so she just curses n says “for fucks sake dont faint please, i’ll help you fix it. cant do it with u out like a light now can i”. that manages to calm ava down. after some breathing exercises, and some weird awkward head petting, ava is fine. mostly. 

they both look at the mess of a painting n ava just half screams half sighs n goes “welp!” with fake cheerfulness. that bugs lilith for reasons yet unknown, but she does help them both up n does damage control. “we’ll tell the teacher, hes reasonable n for all ur faults u are a very fast painter so. it’ll be fine. we just wipe off what we can n then... well maybe you should not touch it for a bit. yknow. distance yourself from it. or whatever” 

its the first time ava sees lilith so painfully awkward but earnest, making zero eye contact, but nodding seriously to the painting as if it was her own problem n not ava’s. lilith cares. for ava. and even tho her face is still very wet, she’s smiling so wide right now. it will be okay. it’s fine. she’s got this (we got this).

#warrior nun #warrior nun au #warrior nun college au #liliava #ava silva #sister lilith #ava x lilith #oh hey im writing

[torchickentacos]

5 Things I’ve learned about digital art in one year of doing it (plus my favorite pieces I’ve done at the end)

In no way am I saying these as rules, just things I’ve found have helped me improve. It was last august/september that I got my surface pro and decided to try krita, and here’s what I’ve learned from it! Again, not rules. Also, I’m not saying this as someone who thinks they’re super good at digital art- it’s a hobby that I have gotten better at but next year I’ll have even more things I’ve improved!

1.) OPACITY IS YOUR FRIEND. Learning the opacity setting for things like shadows is amazing. In some programs you can use opacity in individual layers and not just tools, which is even better if you don’t want that stripey layery look. 

2.) mess with the different brushes. Seems obvious but hear me out. I tend to use the same 5 tools, and that’s fine for sketches and lazy stuff but when I’m going for a more serious piece it’s good to try and figure out which brush will give you the effect you want. When I started, I thought, ‘there is no way I’ll ever use 2435 of these’. Since then, I’ve used most of them. 

3.) your neck, back, and wrists will hurt. Especially if you have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, but that’s more a me problem. Invest in ibuprofen (I prefer naproxen though), those microwaveable neck beanbag things, and wrist braces or compression gloves if you tend to work all day like I do some days. I personally work with my screen up and tilted instead of flat because it helps my neck more, but just find a position that’s comfortable for you even if others think it’s weird. I personally get weird looks for drawing semi-vertically, but you do whatever you have to do for your neck to keep working. Necks that operate are generally something worth preserving. 

4.) something I learned just yesterday or the day before, thanks to @householdpowerhouse - clipping masks are worth messing around with and figuring out. The more advanced settings still scare me, but I’ve already shaved HOURS of erasing edges off because of clipping masks. They’re a godsend. 

5.) there are no rules. Suggestions, sure. Guidelines, yeah. But no rules. You’ll see these tiktoks telling you how to draw stuff, and unless you want to emulate that art style, take it with a grain of salt. It’s AMAZING to study other people’s art- their preferred brushes and styles-but at the end of the day, following rules about digital art is going to possibly stifle you from finding your own style- something I’m still trying to do. I have four-ish different art styles I mess with because I don’t have mine yet, but those all developed through me experimenting and messing around rather than doing what someone on tiktok told me to do. 

Finally, tools are there to be used. It’s not cheating if it makes your life and your art easier. It’s kind of like other tools in life- I use a cane for my joints, for example. That’s not cheating, it’s a tool that’s there for me when I need it and it makes my life easier. 

Ok, time for me to round up my favorite pieces I’ve done!

Not fully happy with this one (Suki from ATLA) but I was super proud when I finished it so it deserves a spot here. This was the piece where I realized I had talent. Maybe not as much as other people but THIS was the moment I realized this was somethign I really enjoyed and got a lot of happiness out of. 

And finally, a wip I never finished but still LOVE.

#taylor's tag #digital art