Hi! Welcome to my box between the wall studs. Pull up a thimble, stay a while, and please mind the dust bunnies! As the description of this blog suggests, this place is where I'll post about anything and everything relating to G/T, including the occasional doodle.
I'm not sure how often I'll post, but will be sure to do so as often as I have content to share. Mind you that although this is by no means a wholly NSFW blog, I will occasionally touch on heavier-hitting/mature topics in my writing, which will be tagged appropriately (including actual NSFW).
And one more thing, if you are interested in my ongoing story, Breaking Point, but wish to avoid spoilers, rest assured! I will add divides wherever appropriate, and much of the information I divulge about future chapters will be inaccurate or downright untrue, especially as the story continues to evolve.
Merry (Late) Christmas to jeiske in the GtCon Discord Server!
I was this person’s secret Santa, drawing their OC by the same name :D
I was originally going to draw him tinkering with a car, but he was described to me as being sort of like a motor head but for mechs, so I decided to challenge myself and draw D.Va’s mech instead. It’s small enough to show that he’s rather tall, but not *so* tall that he’d cause a ruckus wherever he walks. Overall, I had fun drawing him and I’m very happy with the gift I received in return!
Finally finished that new Piper reference I had talked about! I wanted to lean into some darker colors with fewer standout shapes on her clothes to express more of her background as a former undercover operative. Operation Steel Blizzard won’t be elaborated on for quite a while yet though, unfortunately. For now, all you need to know is there’s a reason why she’s a *former* spy.
I made my own OC meme! :] The goal is to encourage people to think about their characters' word choices in written/spoken dialogue. Blank under the cut!
(the second one is transparent)
Feel free to modify and redistribute any way you'd like, just be honest about the source if asked lol
I honestly have no recollection of saving this template, but found it in my inspiration pile and decided to bust it out since I’m redrawing this character’s reference sheet!
Breaking Point spoiler! New reference sheet for a character I introduced a while back.
Yayy new Alec ref! Now he doesn’t look stiff as a board and his facial proportions look a little less funky. I also redid his colors so they have more contrast, that way he gets less muddled in his own design. I’d been wanting to redraw both Alec and Piper’s reference sheets for some time, but got the extra push to get it done when the G/T Con Discord server opened up secret Santa forms not too long ago. Hopefully I can get Piper’s done as well before the form closes, but we shall see. The semester isn’t quite over yet and I have quite a bit of material to study before finals arrive.
New banner! This is another WIP that had been sitting in my pile for months because the sketch looked off when I first drew it. The old banner had a character in it that isn’t supposed to be active in Piper’s story until much later, and it didn’t make a lot of sense to present said character at the top of my page when people wouldn’t even see much of him until so much time had passed. So this one features Piper’s caretaker, Kyle, as he appears in the most recent chapters of Breaking Point. I’m sure it’ll never change and they’ll be best friends forever :)
Breaking Point spoiler! It's one of the characters I mentioned in Kyle's sketch sheet.
Yayy Sarah! I sketched her out months ago and then couldn't figure out what looked off about her, so this whole sheet was gradually buried beneath other WIPs until a few nights ago when I finally decided to just re-sketch the whole thing with the same pose. I also decided to redo the background template for all of these characters since the old one looked a little clunky.
Sarah and Alec met during their junior years of high school, and they just clicked. Not in a way that would prompt either of them to pursue a relationship, notwithstanding Sarah's 'taken' status at the time. But as friends of one another, completely platonic and happy to be so. As a result, the two of them know a lot about each other and feel comfortable speaking about most anything that ails them, including the tiny menace that recently stumbled into their lives. She can only hope the extra time she must spend at Alec's following Piper's arrival doesn't cause any friction between herself and her husband, Otto, whom she met just after getting into college. He is aware of the kind of relationship Alec and Sarah have, but there is only so much she can do before even Otto gets suspicious.
Juniper sketch sheet! Besides the first drawing I made of her a few years ago, I don't think I've said anything else about her here. Despite that, the amount I've written about her and her species is comparable to everything I have on Piper! A few little lore tidbits:
Grew up in Western Arizona and was going to school right before she transformed. She also worked a job at a burger joint called Donabelle’s, using her (frankly meager) salary to pay off her tuition.
Constantly radiates heat. She considers this one of the few boons of her curse, as she could never stand even the slightest chill when she was a human.
Perpetually hungry, but doesn't often say so to avoid freaking people out.
Chronically touch-starved and *very* physically affectionate, which is rather unfortunate since she's also terrified of intimacy. She carried this burden as a human too, but becoming a gargan amplified both feelings.
Small B sketch sheet! This took a little while to make, even with how little there is. Time's been tough to come by lately, but sketching and writing here and there has helped me keep my head.
Life updates past the break!
Howdy! It's been a little while, huh. I know I said I'd only post as often as I have new content to share, but even still, I feel it polite to apologize for the lack of new content being sent here. Scrolling back through this stuff and looking at past interactions is fun for me, despite what my recent lack of activity might suggest. Part of the reason why I haven't been active is that I'm still a bit self-conscious of the subject matter, and part because I'm just not great at posting consistently even when I *do* have new things to share. But, by far the greatest obstacle to me in recent months has been life in general. Things have been ramping up beyond the screen, and they are by no means slowing down even as I type this.
To put it simply, I lived the past year-and-a-half to the fullest, and am now in school again. Time sure flies when you're having fun!
As you can probably imagine, returning to an academic environment after avoiding it for so long has been a little stressful. Excess pressure compels me to write and draw to decompress, meaning I have a small backlog of drafts I've been working on as personal projects for the past few weeks between batches of homework (mostly chemistry homework [good gosh the chemistry homework]). I'll probably touch on those more down the line, but as the semester's end looms, I cannot say when for certain, only that I want to post here again. There is one thing that I will for sure write about here that I mentioned right before vanishing though, so I'll try to type that up between classes to keep myself awake.
But yea! Thank you for reading, and I look forward to interacting with you all again.
Remember that list of assorted Piper quirks? Well, I've been meaning to get back to writing Kyle again, so here's a list of little details about the big, buggy lad!
Was a super outgoing kid contrary to his current demeanor.
Played every Pokemon game up to Sun and Moon as a kid, including Red on his Mom's Gameboy. His teams always included Scyther.
Can't see past the tip of his nose without glasses.
His favorite bug of all time, which is also the one that got him interested in entomology to begin with, is the humble ant. More specifically, fire ants.
Caffeine makes him feel fatigued and sleepy.
Miraculously has a small friend group. He was introduced to it by the only friend he ever made all the way back in elementary school, but he barely ever hangs out with any of them unless prompted.
Doesn't like sugar/sweets.
Despite being a medical entomologist, he has managed to avoid being stung or bitten by anything more painful than a fire ant.
Maintains a garden of berries and flowers along the back and side of his house purely to attract more bugs.
Has put a lot of effort in maintaining steady, gentle hands. He must to properly do his job, which involves handling a lot of extremely delicate specimens.
Major Breaking Point spoilers after the divide!
That final fact may also be one of the reasons why Kyle latches onto Piper so hard, because his ability to hold back is a defense mechanism he's developed since very early in his life. He's always loved holding and studying invertebrates, and as mentioned before, he used to be super open about it. Excited, even, about showing his interest to everyone that would pay attention, because who wouldn't find bugs as cool as he did? Could they not see how beautifully lethal the dragonfly's design is, how the beetle's carapace glistens like a sparkling emerald? He'd proudly present his finds to anyone he could, which most often was another kid on the playground during recess. In doing this, he identified two core problems. One, sometimes he would get too excited and squish or otherwise injure his find. Two, this same excitement seemed to scare people away. So after countless uneasy pep-talks from adults without ever making a single friend, he came to a conclusion.
People, like insects, were easily overwhelmed. The only way he could possibly connect with either would be to first restrain himself, and the safest way to do so was to reduce contact. To listen and observe while minimizing his own personal input, lest they get too close and see or feel something they don't like.
Fast forward fifteen years, and this mindset has led him into a friend group as 'the quiet one' when he desperately wishes to be something more to someone else. Someone that he can be open with, that he can express his excitement around without fear of causing harm. At the very least, someone he could handshake without the nagging feeling that he was somehow doing something wrong.
So imagine how lucky he feels when Piper, the witty little marvel of science with the resilience to survive seemingly anything and the strength to resist absolutely nothing, falls right into his grasp.
Oh my goodness, I completely forgot to talk about Gen V and The Boys! How on Earth could I, a fan of both series even with the g/t aspects aside, forget to talk about them on a g/t account?! Absolutely blasphemous!
Anyway, spoilers for both Gen V and The Boys after the divide. Both shows are meant for mature audiences, so please only view them (and my commentary in turn) if you're 18+.
Ok, so I was completely jazzed to see some g/t in mainstream media of COURSE, and its inclusion (mostly in Gen V) added to how much the series lured me in, great writing aside (excluding S4 of The Boys). And while normally I would be put off by the writer's use of shrinking characters as overly sexual/drug-obsessed caricatures, it's The Boys. No one is spared. I think a lot of people forget how much of it is supposed to be over-the-top satirizations of how people would actually behave in a super-abled society. Plus, that just straight up ignores Emma's existence.
It's mind-boggling to me that Emma didn't just emerge directly from this community. I mean, come on! Size shifter? Check. Tragic, harmful means of and reasoning behind using her abilities? Check. Turns out she might also change size based on her emotions?! Can you get any more on the nose?!
Don't even get me started on her initial meeting with Sam. Oh my goodness gracious I had an absolute field day with those scenes! I was almost equal parts giddy to how much I wanted to implode during the other bit with Emma and that one guy (if you know you know; I'd sooner stick my tongue in a wasp hive than watch those parts again with fresh eyes).
Really *really* hoping that the writers are able to pick up the pieces of season 4 and finish the series off nicely in season 5. I'm hearing a surprising number of people saying season 4 was good, but I personally couldn't disagree more. My boyfriend and I have theorized that it could be due to the writer's strike that so many characters had suddenly lost the plot or stagnated, but who knows. If nothing else, I can appreciate the fresh pieces of g/t media to sate my unending hunger with ;.)
Finished Kyle’s sketch page! Breaking Point spoilers ahead!
As you could also see from the top left corner, there are two more characters that I have yet to mention by name! Grey is the third caretaker that I’d mentioned before the Scuttle post, and Sarah is someone else entirely (ooooo intrigue!) They’ll get their own sketch pages eventually, but that won’t be for a while yet. I was just so excited about Alec’s part of the story that his existence was divulged really early. My bad!
I think the hardest part of this sheet by comparison to Alec’s is how much more touchy Kyle is since him constantly grabbing Piper means I have a lot of hands to draw. Hands are.. kind of difficult, I think! But my *gosh* do I feel great about drawing them properly when they turn out. I’m especially happy with Kyle’s pointing hand in the lower right sketch, because I tend to avoid lateral/medial views of the hands a *lot,* and I think that one turned out pretty good!
Also don’t mind the sketch with really scratchy shading, I got carried away in the zone ;.)
Humans are dangerous. Just as their brilliant minds bring the stars to their fingertips, so too does it place fiery brimstone at their heels. If you are able to comprehend these words, then you too know this fact better than any wild beast will ever be able to understand, even more so for occupants of human-adjacent vessels irreparably warped by man's cruel, clever hands. We of the lesser race, of the smaller, weaker kind, are of particular interest to them, and must thusly avoid them at all cost. But without the knowledge to do so, the sole asset placing us on any semblance of equal footing with the enemy is squandered, our lives forfeit to fear and terror. That is why this guide exists: to give the weak every possible avenue to avoid the strong, to create escapes where there previously seemed none. Because though the human threat is strong and witty, we need only to look to the masters that have survived their reign for thousands of years to scuttle free.
At long last, I present to you every last bit of information I have on Piper's bug-based martial art form, Scuttle! It's a work-in-progress that is highly subject to change, so I'm really interested to hear other people's questions, critiques and additions. Please don't be shy!
First and foremost, Scuttle is not a guide on how to kill humans. As far as Scuttle is concerned, killing a human is completely impossible and any attempts to do so are suicidal. Rather, it is a guide on how to avoid them by any means necessary and reasonably executed by a tiny (1-5") humanoid that is surviving on their own. It does this by categorizing bug-inspired techniques, also known as bugforms, into a simple 3-part plan on what to do in the presence of a human, each of which is only to be progressed to if the previous part fails:
1- Don't Get Caught (Wings)
2- Run Away (Legs)
3- Strike Back (Sting)
Wings has everything one needs to know about staying out of sight, Legs on creating distance once they've been sighted, and Sting on freeing oneself from a human's grasp should they find themselves there. Every Scuttle part after 1 exists to get the scuttler back to part 1 as smoothly as possible, so a seasoned scuttler would seldom (if ever) see past it under ideal circumstances. That being said, reality is often disappointing, so parts 2 and 3 should be studied closely regardless.
Scuttle also uses a set of highly versatile tools in the vast majority of its techniques. These are called the dreipoints, and there is so much info on them that they will be getting their own section right under this one.
Dreipoints
The dreipoints are a set of two needles, one with one point, the other with two, called the einpoint and zweipoint (or just ein and zwei) respectively. Their primary purpose is to grant the wielder the tiniest bit of extra breathing room during scuttles so that the scuttler has that much more time to react. They accomplish this by creating distance from the human threat while simultaneously granting extra mobility to the wielder, greatly increasing chances of survival so long as they are held on the scuttler's person.
Note that they are referred to as tools rather than weapons, and that a scuttler should always aim to have just one of each point rather than any more of one type. You won't avoid being crushed under a boot by doubling your einpoints, just as you wont inflict any more damage to someone a hundred times your size by stabbing them with two zweipoints. Carrying any more than one set of dreipoints stifles mobility, and should therefore be avoided.
While it is important to the full techniques of Scuttle that scuttlers have one einpoint and zweipoint, both are not required to utilize some of the bugforms to be discussed. This art form is nothing if not accommodating after all, which is also why dreipoints can reasonably come in many different shapes and sizes. Some suitable materials include:
Wood- Best resorted to if none of the other materials can be found. easily worked into a sharp point, but doesn't work well for much past that due to material weakness and roughness.
Chitin- Refers to points made of bug parts such as stingers and mandibles. Naturally sharp and can be poisonous, but not easily obtained.
Metal- Metal points must be scavenged, and are usually found in the form of knitting or medical needles, or even nails and screws. Durable, potentially poisonous, and extremely sharp. These points are ideal.
Glass- Must be scavenged in the form of broken glass. Material's natural sharpness makes this a fantastic choice for defensive use, but is otherwise so brittle that it isn't terribly useful as part of climbing tools.
Other materials such as plastic or paper could also be used if circumstances prevent the use of aforementioned resources.
To maximize mobility, neither dreipoint should be any longer than 3/4 of the scuttler's height. Longer points can be worked with, but they become more unwieldy with length. Similarly, certain wide points like screws and nails can become cumbersome. Do not hesitate to drop your dreipoints during a scuttle to free up extra movement. The ultimate goal is escaping the human, not defeating it.
Certain point types provide their own advantages to scuttlers in distress. Scavenged einpoints have an especially wide selection by comparison to zweipoints, a few of which will be listed here.
Einpoints
Screw
Nail
Sewing Pin
Sewing Needle
Suture Needle
Fish Hook
Thumbtack
Specimen Needle
Hypodermic Needle
Dart Tip
Zweipoints
Porcupine Quill
Sharpened Feather Quill
Medical Transfer Needle
Double-Ended Upholstery Needle
Shaved Specimen Needle
Ideally, the dreipoints will only be used as tool handles or climbing sticks. Worst case scenario, they are for escaping from humans. A sting from a distance allows the most probable means of escape to smalluns that may find themselves in a bind, and the dreipoints exist to create the opening and get them away, but only when wielded in capable hands. This is where bugforms come into play.
Bugforms by Part
As previously mentioned, each part contains several bugforms to guide scuttlers back out of a human's sight. Each will be discussed here, but a more detailed exploration of them must be done through their own individual posts lest this one get too long.
Wings
Roach- Hiding your existence. Unlike walking stick, roach focuses on the best means of hiding deep within the recesses of a home and staying totally hidden while minimizing any risk of ever being found. It also emphasizes resilience, strength, and endurance training. In other words, roach is the techniques used to set up your body and dojo to train in the other ways of Scuttle.
Walking Stick- Hiding in plain sight. Especially useful to scuttlers stuck in precarious positions, such as high up on a shelf, or suspended from a cord.
Cricket- Pass without trace on ground level. Involves means of identifying and utilizing escape routes, creating escape routes if they aren't available, and further minimizing traces of your existence.
Moth- Pass without trace vertically. Just as a moth leaves traces of itself in dust form, a scuttler is bound to leave traces of their struggle to climb no matter what method they use unless they are able to utilize the cricket to ascend. As such, moth mostly explores different means of climbing using the dreipoints while leaving little evidence of doing so.
Also, just as an insect's wings won't work while wet, a scuttler's ability to flea is severely hindered in water. Avoid it whenever possible, but utilize each part as appropriate either way.
Legs
Fly- Embodies observation and reaction. It's best if you see your enemy before they see you, so you have to be the one with a more observant eye. Also explores the reaction- If you've been spotted, you can't afford to hesitate. Run away, and be ready to react to anything they may do next.
Centipede- Running from the ground. Also includes quick means of escape if it involves shoving yourself into a tight space.
Grasshopper- Running from a height. Includes what to do if you're spotted in the situations mentioned in walking stick.
Click Beetle- Explains recovery if one should falter in their escape, but hasn't yet progressed to Sting.
Sting
Mantis- The art of deception during combat, and how to react offensively rather than defensively as in the case of the fly.
Stag Beetle- Grounded struggles and how to effectively use what little strength you have to escape. Though personal strength is the main focus of stag beetle techniques, it also goes over how to channel that strength into the very tips of one's dreipoints.
Wasp- Ungrounded struggles and how to maneuver the dreipoints to most effectively get the target away from oneself.
Assassin Bug- Active dirty tactics such as the use of poisons and blinding sprays.
Spider- Passive dirty tactics. This includes preemptive placement of traps, and using the terrain to further harm the enemy.
So yea! That's what I've got so far. Scuttle also has a sub discipline called Slink that focuses on outdoor survival, but that one is entirely too underdeveloped for me to show at the moment. And like I said before, please don't hesitate to comment! I'd love to hear other people's opinions on this idea.
I've been spending some time writing and re-reading Breaking Point since, heaven help me, chapter 4 is published and chapter 5 is in the works. In the process, I've spackled a few minor plot holes and dialed back on the exposition to generate a little more tension and give me some opportunities to have our current active characters learn about each other organically. It has been interesting to look back on my earlier chapters since there are months between each wave of motivation, which causes little changes in my writing style and workflow between each one, aheha.
Also, I've almost finished a sketch sheet for Piper's current caretaker, Kyle! He's a nerdy weirdo that likes bugs and lacks basic social skills, so he replaces them with info dumps about his favorite crawlies (just like me for real). 'Tis a lonely but productive existence he leads until Piper crashes into his life, and though he won't show it beyond the cold lenses of his eyes, he can barely contain his excitement at seeing what the future could hold for the two of them.
Here's a sneak peak of the sketch sheet, the full version of which will include some more info about him:
There is one more caretaker that I have yet to draw or even speak of, but he will have to wait for a later date. I said I would talk more about Scuttle ages ago, and I've made you all wait long enough!
I modeled my farmer after B with no plans to come up with any g/t-related lore at all. I just wanted to play through the latest update with a new look since all my other farmers look pretty much the same. Then one day during my first year in fall or winter, I speak to Elliot, prompting this line of dialogue:
This one simple little line sent sparks through my brain. I started typing up an AU explaining how B got the farm in place of Grandpa's niece/nephew, how she runs it and why, and how she interacts with the townsfolk. Expect a few text posts like this one here and there with lore drabbles, hehe.
By the by, I apologize for taking so long on the asks yall sent in! I have the answers written and planned, just haven't drawn them yet. I will get at least two of them done within the next two weeks. I'm thrilled that people are interested in my little guys, and I thank you for your questions!
And one more thing, chapter 3 of Breaking Point has been posted to Wattpad, and chapter 4 is in the works. Wish me luck ;.)
