#am i still having ideas well beyond my art skills

[randomyuu]

the way it follows you home, the stories i never told

My guy Vox once again graced us with lovely Goyuu fanfics, and the way it follows you home, the stories i never told, made me go FERAL.

Time travel? Two Gojou Satorus? Double affection for our sunshine Yuuji? Yuuji sandwich? What feels like possible continuation of (you'll whisper, serpent tongue) what you fear you have become???

FUCK.

I need to stop indulging my imagination too much. I should’ve been content with writing long-ass comments but noooooo, my brain goes “you gotta draw it”. DAMMIT VOX, YOU AND YOUR DELICIOUS WRITINGS HHHHHH

So… usually I should’ve picked a favourite scene that is within my drawing capability, but I just… love all three chapters??? So I made a questionable time investment? I can’t stop??? Help???

This is probably the most ambitious fanart project I’ve ever done so far. Fair enough, considering I might combust if I keep these welled-up emotions inside from reading Vox’s Goyuu fics. Fuck.

Fic info:

Title: the way it follows you home, the stories i never told

Author: @voxofthevoid

Pairing: YuuGoGo. Future!Yuuji, Future!Gojou, Teen!Gojou

(idk why I laugh writing YuuGoGo. I’m beyond help)

Currently, it is 3 chapters out of 8. And it’s gonna be NSFW chapter 4 onwards, so don’t forget to read the tags first, folks!

The drawings are under Read More, because I have lots of thoughts surrounding each chapter and drawings. It’ll be hella long if I didn’t hide it here. It was a mess down there. A combination of hours before, during, and after I read said fic. I’d say good luck finding the art among the sea of jumbled words but… you’ll find them easily. Don’t worry about it haha

SPOILERS FOR ALL 3 CHAPTERS! I highly recommend reading those first before diving into these drawings!

Also for the comics, read from right to left please!

From here on, I will be referring to the Future!Gojou as Gojou and the teenage one as Satoru.

Overall, drawing all these is fun! Really fun! This project pushed me quite hard, forcing me to test my limit (because I rarely draw this much back to back). Since this is a combination of drawings and comics, the coloring style will not be consistent. In a way, I want to try some brushes I never get to use, as well as try out my new graphic tablet. Drawing these got me giggling because I was finally able to let loose during line art. It's much easier to do so, and sometimes I just get to reread the fic and giggle to myself for the nth time.

CHAPTER 1:

Whooo. Whooooooooo—

Ok, ok, the premise is just that good. It intrigued me, fascinated me, and I just… oomph. I cannot refuse a Time Travel Yuuji Sandwich. Sign me up.

Honestly, there are two scenes that are just… a bit too clear in my mind when reading this chapter. That would be the one I drew above, and the other is when Yaga called Gojou to come outside of the class. I love, loooove how Vox wrote Satoru’s POV. And when Yuuji fucking giggles?

I lost it.

Can you imagine, drawing Yuuji grins, with shiny stuff, maybe some sunlight, just purely happy and indulging Gojou?

Help me, for I am drowning in my love and adoration for Yuuji.

Page 2 is an experiment on using harsh black as shading (kind of?). I really enjoyed colouring Yuuji, and drawing those buffalo skulls! I wish I can grasp the concept of contrast a bit better tho :v

CHAPTER 2:

This is probably the only chapter where I picture still images instead of comic panels. A bit like those cool chapter covers in mangas. The one I really, really want to draw is the scene with Satoru on the table. Can’t pass the opportunity to highlight Satoru being a brat, albeit a really cool brat.

Cool idea drawing always proves to be a challenge, because of course my artistic skill just so happens to be below the requirement. Thank you, Sketchfab, for the chair and desk’s perspective otherwise I’m screwed lmao

The second scene that I want to draw the most is this:

Gojou is one step away from climbing Yuuji. Also, I have a bit of a problem picturing a man pouting that makes him look crazy instead, so please have Gojou pouting adorably instead. Because, as Yuuji said (with love), Gojou is (also) a brat.

This is possibly my favorite art in this project, after Yuuji's in Chapter 1 page 2. It's clean because I don't have to draw background, and I was having a fun time drawing Yuuji. And Gojou's squishy cheek as well.

Oh, actually, there is a “manga” scene in this chapter. It’s when Yuuji said, “I love Satoru.”

I just—

AAAAAHHHHH YUUJIIIIIII YOU AND VOX ARE GONNA BE THE DEATH OF ME. That secure relationship between Yuuji and Gojou? Satoru’s description of how Yuuji’s smile could blot out the sun??? Not me screaming 💀 I also see bits of hints of possible co-dependency, though I could be reading those wrong, but either way I’m good. Secure and possessive relationships are fun to consume hhhhhh

But yeah. There are too many wholesome Yuuji smiles in this fic, and I… I am not confident enough to draw genuine happiness. It’s too much for me ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

For this chapter, another reason why I chose these two scenes is just because I want to try and draw cover-worthy pictures of Yuuji and Satoru, and Yuuji and Gojou (cough)

CHAPTER 3:

We start the chapter with Nanamin. Ah, Nanamin. I forgot what his teen self looked like and was surprised to see his design again lmao

I want to draw Yuuji and Nanami scene because… I just want to, I guess. I have never drawn him before (Yaga as well) so that's an interesting challenge. I got two ideas on how I want to draw it. One is a bit painting-esque, and the other one is like another chapter cover. In the end, I chose the cover one because I want to emphasise the difference between teen!Nanami and the Nanami from Yuuji’s original timeline, and how the watch feels like a connection between the same (yet not) person. It’s a bittersweet feeling? In a way?

I’m not really good at explaining my intention ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

I love Yuuji’s answer to Nanami's question.

AND FINALLY.

A Yuuji SandwichTM scene.

And oh B O I do I love it. Have I told you I like every chapter? I probably have. But this one? Satoru’s curiosity, Yuuji’s on-brand self-deprecation, and Gojou come strolling down to show more of Yuuji to his mini-self. I want to draw this whole scene, from Gojou finding them, feeding Yuuji snacks, bitch-slapping Satoru into the backroom, to Yuuji growling. Them trying to hide a boner from Yuuji’s growl got me cackling so hard I LOVE IT 😭

I love it all. Please love Yuuji in my stead, Satoru and Satonyan :3

Oh! Also! 40-finger Yuuji sounds really, really cool! I’ll be happy with whatever Vox will give us in future chapters, but 40-finger Yuuji… possible scene with this timeline’s Sukuna… my god. The action! The drama! The bloodshed! One can only hope.

However, as much as I love that whole scene, it’s still too much for me :”) I’m still not yet confident in delivering the humour and action. Also my already-long drawing plan had my brain groaning in protest so I can’t push my luck :'D

When Gojou said "He looks sweet, but he's a bit of a beast", I kept picturing Yuuji staring innocently, but there was an edge to his look. As if the moment Satoru looks away, he will pounce. But in the end I just stick with innocent-looking Yuuji because I accidentally drew his eyes that way and I want to keep it in lol

Since Satoru points out how soft and cuddly Yuuji is, I also want to draw soft Yuuji :v

And the last one… is the last scene. For some reason, I read that both Gojou and Satoru share Yuuji’s lap and was having a frustrating yet fun time figuring out how it’s… physically possible, without having their butts on the ground because they both are not small at all. As I lined the art, I reread it again and… perhaps I read it wrong? Satoru is beside Yuuji, and not on his lap? So yeah, this one might be the least accurate, but hey, at least you can view it as a crack drawing or something :v

AAAANNNDDD I HAVE EXCEEDED TODAY’S BRAIN CAPACITY OF FORMING WORDS

Have I told you I love this fic?

…I probably have.

Have an amazing week (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

#yuu's art #jjk-fic-fanart #jjk ship #jjk-ship #五悠 #goyuu #goyu #5u #gojou x yuuji #speedrun this bad boy of a project in 3 days #from planning #now I can sleep in peace

[voidarchivefiles]

Ancient void practices

I went through some success stories and tagged the ones that entered the void through yoga nidra and lucid dreaming cos these two ancient practices have always fascinated me since they're deeply centred around our state of consciousness and are also known portals to out of body experiences/shifting/the void. Read them if you need some motivation! Also see my recent post on lucid dreaming if you're interested in entering the void through that.

Anyway, if you have doubts about the void, I think a great anchor is leaning into practices that have roots dating back to ancient times and researching them and of course, reading more widely than just Tumblr. When you do this, you'll know that this state isn't something that was invented by Tumblr and has existed since.. forever because well, it's pure consciousness lol. And the void/turiya/samadhi has been known way before Neville's time. From my research, it's the main goal of yoga practitioners as well but they pursue it for the purpose of enlightenment and peace as opposed to manifesting desires.

The rest of this post is a dump of interesting excerpts from my research on yoga, samadhi and turiya and its links to manifesting, reality shifting and the void state. You can also do your own research although there's no need to overdo it :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This extract seems to be talking about reality shifting/manifesting/instant creation. I am curious on where we could learn more about yogis doing this!

Trapped in Your Own World Many yogis have created their own worlds and been trapped in realities like this. I am going into an area which is a twilight zone, but there are many yogis who have created their own world around themselves. A yogi goes into a cave and actually creates his own universe and lives there. This is not a joke. He creates everything that he wants – his own kind of planets, his own kind of earth, his own kind of everything – and lives there very happily. A universe is contained inside the cave. You can create a whole universe in an atom’s space because “here and there” and “this much and that much” are a creation of the mind. There are many yogis like this, but they are no closer to realization than you. He lives in a different world, that is all. He is probably more caught up than you, because he is also the creator. He has learned the art of creation. This does not become an ultimate release. This just becomes a different kind of action, a different way of doing things. An artist draws a new world on a canvas. A yogi actually creates it. The artist’s creation is two-dimensional, whereas the yogi’s is three-dimensional. This is more deceptive. An artist can get so involved in the world he is creating that he starts believing it is true, and it is true for him. A poet believes that whatever he writes is the truth. Similarly, a painter deeply involved in what he is doing believes what he is painting is the truth. When two-dimensional things are like this, if you create three-dimensional things around yourself, you are definitely going to be more caught up with them. Source

To be honest, I have no idea what the difference is between samadhi and turiya in yoga terms. I tried looking into it but it's still not clear to me. If you research into both terms, they come up with very similar definitions.

Yoga nidra and the void (turiya)

By means of Yoga Nidra, skilled practitioners seek to access Turiya, not just when in meditation or absorbed samadhi states, but in all variations of consciousness- encompassing waking, dreaming and deep sleep. They seek lucidity in all states. Yoga Nidra is a powerful practice that guides us beyond mind and in fact turns mind upon itself where its obscuring nature is dissolved to reveal the inner Light that is perennially Bright, with eyes closed or open. Source

What is turiya?

Source: Radiant Rest: Yoga Nidra for Deep Relaxation and Awakened Clarity by Tracee Stanley

Turiya is not a state apart from the grosser states but pervades all levels of reality as superconsciousness. Ramana Maharshi interprets turiya as the natural state that permeates the other states, the only whole reality. The Mandukya Upanishad discusses turiya as pure consciousness, which is indescribable, incomprehensible, and unthinkable by the mind, but ultimately realized as the one true self. Source

The four states of consciousness are jagrat, svapna, shushupti and turiya. Jagrat is waking consciousness, svapna is the dream consciousness, shushupti is the deep sleep consciousness and turiya is higher consciousness which is beyond all previous states. Entering the state of turiya requires inner silence. It can be achieved when the mind is free of mental blocks and bondages with time and space. The goal of yoga and meditation is to achieve turiya, where oneness is felt with the universe. Source

There are three states only, the waking, dream and sleep. Turiya is not a fourth one; it is what underlies these three. But people do not readily understand it. Therefore it is said that this is the fourth state and the only Reality. In fact it is not apart from anything, for it forms the substratum of all happenings; it is the only Truth; it is your very Being. The three states appear as fleeting phenomena on it and then sink into it alone. Therefore they are unreal. Source

#void state #lucid dreaming #yoga nidra #my posts

[aroaceleovaldez]

i mean it when i say we've gotta bring back askblogs. bring back making character chat posts with poor choice text colors over random backgrounds. bring back blogs dedicated to what outfits you think characters would wear.

fandom is an ecosystem, not a numbers game. these types of blogs/posts/etc still exist in concept, because people still want to make them and they're a great way to get your thoughts of an idea out in a simple format, but most people make them on like tiktok or instagram reels and that's where the problem lies. Those videos don't go anywhere. The format doesn't allow for the discussion to spread through the community and they're less likely to be engaged with in general. And to make them most people have to either show their face or figure out editing software, so the barrier to entry is higher (editing) and/or they have to forfeit an amount of privacy.

those types of posts/blogs are the first rung of the ecosystem. they're the perfect environment for younger members of the fandom to begin safely interacting with the larger community and putting their own thoughts and ideas out there. roleplay is the other major spot for that and those communities are diminishing as well, honestly (if you know of an rp forum board site, cherish it. and if you can make one, make one). they allow younger fans to begin engaging with the source material on a different/deeper level, but still at a very low barrier to entry, and begin conversations with other fans, which also helps them build skills which in turn may encourage them to pursue other avenues within the fandom (fic writing, other formats of askblog - which itself usually leads to art, cosplay, also fic writing, etc). Without those places to build those skills, they might feel discouraged from trying to begin when surrounded by curated people who have built their skills up for years.

And those conversations they foster also in turn help the community, by offering ideas to artists or fic writers to extrapolate on or building community jokes. And that text/blog format specifically is extremely beneficial, because it allows younger members of the fandom to remain anonymous and keep their privacy without concerning themselves with having any platform or having anything attached to them (very important for young fans figuring themselves out and navigating online community spaces for the first time, since they can remove themselves from spaces easily if they decide they don't like it and they're protected, rather than PUTTING THEIR FACE ON THE INTERNET). And those posts they make will spread a lot more into the community since they're in a significantly easier format to be reposted (few people are gonna be reposting tons of random short-form videos versus spamming their instagrams with reposts of 10 random fandom images yoinked from tumblr, or reposting to pinterest or something). Like, don't repost art, at the VERY least don't repost without credit, but also I am not ignorant to the fact that my art is not just the first google image result for "pjo pride" and related searches, but also the 4th, the 6th, the 9th, the 10th, the 11th, etc etc., and pops up in the search results before the official ReadRiordan does simply because people reposted my work more (most with credit, thankfully).

For fandom to be a community, it needs to perpetuate itself. There needs to be engagement with one another and conversation. If that bottom rung is cut off, then new fans won't be able to grow into the other niches of the fandom, and the fandom will be solely reliant on the source material and die out extremely quickly, and there won't be a community. There's no conversation! There's no reason to stay beyond the original material! But if you don't have points of entry for new fans, they won't have any way to build the skills needed to move into those niches, or engage with the community in a healthy way.

tl;dr: Bring back askblogs and character-based text post blogs. They are vital to fandom ecosystem.

#fandom #long post // #i know many people jest about tumblr posts being reposted often to other social media #but there's a reason for that! because few other social media these days are primarily text-based! and tumblr is a BLOGGING website! #we're built for sharing random essays! which means we have a LOT of word-heavy stuff #that other platforms can really only have in a different format - usually either image or video - due to character limits #and videos - even short form video - is far less engaged with because it takes more time to interact with #and short form videos of this nature ^ are usually only reposted in like. long-form video format compilations #which are pretty equally if not even less frequently interacted with #because most of those other social media platforms dont have good ways to easily share posts en mass like tumblr's reblog function #so even if those posts do get shared they rarely go far and even if they do they dont stick around #i also personally dont think it's coincidental that general fandom attitude shifts occurred circa 2016-2018 #around the same time as the major shift away from tumblr due to the bans #anyways if you run one of those types of blogs i respect you immensely #you are underappreciated but you fulfill an important ecological niche #also i know rp blogs are still a thing but theyre much more scarce and rp communities in general are drying up

[mycraftingjourney]

Introduction post

I wanted to give a bit of an introduction to why I'm here, what I'm doing and so on.

tl;dr: I like clothes and I'm into sustainability, so I started (visible) mending a few month or so ago. I also crochet, although not as much as I'd like to, and I dabble a bit in embroidery. My goal is to kind of document my journey with these crafts and maybe inspire people to give some of these a try.

I'd also love to talk about all things (visible) mending, crochet, embroidery and fiber arts in general and share the knowledge I have / point people who want to start to some resources that helped me.

I've been into fashion/clothes and styling them on and off for a big part of my life. A few years ago, I also got into sustainability, learning about how buying new fast fashion damages our planet and exploits other human beings, and what may be good alternatives.

This path, inevatibly, lead down to getting curious about mending. I learned basic sewing skills when I was a child, but I never altered any clothes and apart from a few tiny things never mended anything.

However, this year, I wanted to change that. I've heard about visible mending before and I really liked it. I had a pair of jeans when I was a teenager that was patched (by someone else) that was my favourite pair. Unfortunately, I managed to ruin it beyond repair and also grew out of it, but this stuck with me. I always liked to express myself creatively, and in recent years, what I wear has become a big part of that. The idea that by visibly mending my clothes I express my passion for sustainability feels really good (and punk!) to me. The idea of altering clothes that I don't currently love but could love if something about them was changed is also a nice one.

I only darned my first sock a few months ago. My goal with this blog is to share this first darn as well as the progress I make, because I want to encourage other people. You don't have to make perfect mends to be sustainable. On the contrary, mend imperfectly, mend messy, but DO MEND. Even if you'll have to redo it at one point, when you have more skill, even if you don't end up redoing it and instead use that piece of clothing for something else, you still gave it another wear, or two, or three (or fifty) - and that's what this is all about.

I tend to be an extreme perfectionist and it's hard for me to deal with a situation where I'm not perfect at a first try. Surprise surprise, I am not when it comes to mending, or embroidery, or crochet, or anything at all really. But I'm trying to let that go and concentrate on what I achieve rather than what I did "wrong" or imperfectly. I want to share my messy bits and the things I'm proud of, and I want to update how the mends I did held up. As i mentioned above, I hope that maybe I'll inspire some people to pick up a needle as well. Even if you "only" fix that button or a ripped up seam. Every mend counts!

When I get into altering or even making clothes, I will share those projects too, but that will have to wait a bit since I don't currently have any space to put up my sewing machine and I do simply not have the energy nor patience to hand sew bigger things.

Apart from mending I also crochet. Talking more about that feels like a bit of an overkill here, I'll make a new post for that.

Recently I also started to embroider, with the idea of using embroidery in my (visible) mending and to embellish clothes. Here again I decided on a project where I just start and don't try to be perfect from the beginning on, I'll share more about that as well as my crochet project(s) soon.

I think this should be enough for the moment with the introduction. One thing about me, as you probably got by now, is that I'm really bad at being brief with my writing. I have no idea how often I will manage to make posts on here due to work and life, but I will try to do them quiet regularly, as well as sharing things I see that might be helpful / interesting / that inspire me. I also think I'll probably only write more for bigger projects but also just share stuff I'm working on / finished recently.

Maybe I'll also share other DIYs that are not really crafts/fiber arts related but I think are cool.

This isn't my main blog (thats @merryfromthestars), so if I follow I follow from there.

I'm also always open to questions, discussions etc. so just send me an ask or dm if you want! Just, I might take a moment to answer them, because life and work :) I'm excited to see where this journey takes me, and I hope some people will come along and maybe get inspired.

#sewing #diy #crochet #fiber art #fiber arts #long post #embroidery #sustainability #sustainable fashion #crochetblr #mending #visible mending #personal #solarpunk

[thefloatingstone]

How do I give my anime designs more character? I don’t want them to look bland, especially not the girls!

I had a whole different argument here and suddenly realised I was answering a question you didn't ask. I'm sick at the moment so my brain isn't working the best so forgive me if my answers seems a bit all over the place.

Most importantly, and something i think a LOT of modern anime does badly these days, is to not be afraid to PUSH the expressions of your anime girls.

if you'll forgive the mini-rant; modern anime has a really bad habit of not allowing female characters to have "ugly" expressions. Or when they do, they make them simplified emojis or make the one second of extreme emotion SO extreme it becomes completely off putting. Especially as there will be a tendency to only push an extreme expression in one single episode during a "dramatic scene".

This results in most girls in modern anime looking more like the limited expression range of a Vtuber than actual characters. There ARE exceptions, but this is a MASSIVE issue which was not the case in the 80s or 90s and only really started becoming more common around the mid 2000s.

Comparison examples! (you know I love those). I am using still images instead of gifs so the animation doesn't mask the drawing. But I'll show some animated gifs later in this ask

This extends beyond just facial expressions tho. Or rather... it doesn't.

Most modern anime shows will have the characters pull expressions in their face, but have their bodies relatively static, even in extreme emotions. If you compare the two screenshots above, the more modern example has a more extreme push to her eyes, but in the Dirty pair screenshot, not only is Kei's mouth open very wide, but her head is tilted backwards and to the side, her shoulders are drawn up, and she gives the impression even in a still image that she is in the middle of a physical reaction to something which annoyed her. Similarly, Yuri down there is also annoyed, and even though we only really see her eyes, you can tell she's hunched over and seething. In the modern anime screenshot she's just.... got the default "these are my angry eyes!" face with nothing really happening elsewhere.

Her shoulders I guess are kind of drawn up but so barely you wouldn't be blamed to think they always look like that.

And this comes to the second point.

DRAW FROM LIFE AND/OR PHOTOS.

There is NOTHING wrong using a pose doll to figure out a challenging pose. I have used pose dolls when I am unsure how a certain pose looks from a specific angle. But looking at real life, whether photos or if you can, life drawing, will be your biggest tool in figuring out how to breathe more life into your poses and art.

Now, to answer the ACTUAL question you asked about design;

I have to admit that character design is not a strength of mine. I have little to no practice with it myself and when I design OCs I end up not liking them or not enjoying their designs. I feel someone far more skilled at the design part of design might have better input, but I can tell you what I know just from observation;

The first BIG advice is; do not confuse interesting design with clutter.

This doesn't mean strip down your character design to look like a Y/N drawing, but more have every element you introduce into your design be there with some kind of thought in mind as to how it applies to the character and who they are as a person. This is a mistake I often see made with characters both OCs as well as professionally. Where character designers seem to think adding MORE to a design will make a character more interesting to look at. (PreCure has this problem a LOT)

Giving your character too many details without some kind of larger unification or idea, makes them harder to envision for people, because there's too much visual noise.

If I tell you to think of Link from Legend of Zelda, it doesn't matter WHICH Link you picture 9although at the moment it's most likely TotK or BotW Link), Link has unified design elements which means regardless of how detailed or cluttered his outfit becomes, we all know what Link looks like;

1: Blonde hair on the longer side usually, with fringe and side bangs 2: blue diamond shaped eyes, pointed ears, light skin 3: wears some variation of green. Can dress in other colours but Green is an identifying colour. Even in ToTK and BotW where he is most often shown in blue, Green is still the vast majority of the outfits and gear he will wear 4: boots and light coloured tights/pants 5: Twink

You don't need to look at a picture of Link to know this is what Link looks like. Other details like his earring, belts, gloves, bracers, undershirt etc are all there and enhance these elements and distinguish one Link from another exist, but they are not the unifying elements to Link's character design.

On top of this, all of Link's character design make SENSE for his character, what he does, where he comes from etc.

He is a Hylian so he has pointed ears and is generally elf-like in appearance. He spends most of his time in European forests so he dresses in green. When he wears other colours it usually corresponds to where he is currently traveling. He carries a sword and shield so he has a belt with scabbard. He carries an entire pantry worth of food with him, so he has various satchels and bags on his person (but not too many or the design becomes cluttered). He wears light protective gear to show he gets into fights but they are usually not heavy in nature because Link is nimble and relies heavily on movement.

This doesn't tell us anything about his personality because Link doesn't really have one, but it's a very strong character design all the same and informs us what kind of character he is and what sort of life he leads as well as what sort of background he might have (He is a skilled adventurer. Not a rich sheltered boy who has never been outside of a city before or something of the like).

Now I'm gonna compare him to the character design of a Mass Effect character which I don't THINK you'd have played since your profile says you're a teen and the game is rated M 👀 (or you might have, idk I'm not your mom) but ANYWAY! Looking at a character design which tells us about their PERSONALITY as well as way of living.

I'm not going to use any of the aliens as examples because then you have to bring in the subject of alien species into the equation and how they stand apart from the various other members of their species and etc etc. So we'll talk about a human character.

So... this is Jack

Although you may think her tattoos make her design cluttered, they don't because you don't really need to know what every individual tattoo looks like. You just know "Jack is covered in Tattoos".

So just looking at her, you can pretty much instantly pin down her personality. That being; she will most likely fucking stab you if you say one thing to annoy her.

She's like a punk on steroids. Shaved head, heavy make up, COVERED in tattoos, both ears capped in some futuristic piercings, some or other heavy duty uniform except she decided she'd rather walk around fucking topless and boots that could crush a man's skull.

Everything about her design screams "don't fuck with me I am VERY unhinged and will kill a man for less than the $4 in his pocket".

Jacks' entire personality is on display in her design. And the design as a whole present a single concept of who she is as a person, while ALSO tying into her backstory and lifestyle. (escaped prisoner from high security facility, still wearing the prison uniform, has been in an unknown number of gangs, has an extremely casual approach to sex and sexuality, uses her intimidation as a first line of defense to prevent people from getting close to her indicating a painful past)

And then you compare her to her design in the following game

This is a great design because it not only informs you on Jack's personality, but also her GROWTH AS A CHARACTER.

Her design is, at least compared to her first appearance, softer. She's grown her hair long enough to tie it into a ponytail, making her appear more feminine. But she still shaves the sides so you know she can still shank you if she wants.

Her outfit is still VERY revealing but she's also dressed borderline decently. She is not as defensive any more and could probably even walk around in normal society without getting a ticket (and then shooting the cop in response).

However even covered up, she's wearing a leather studded jacket, and she is still displaying her tattoos on her chest and hands proudly. She's still the same person... just less likely to murder you (although the option is still there if needed).

Now compare these character designs to some others which I would count as being "too busy" and tell me if these designs tell you ANYTHING about what kind of personalities these characters might have, what kind of lifestyle to they live, what do their environments and world looks like, or what it says about them

Fun fact; that last one is NOT a magical girl, but is in fact an alchemist who is living in a slowly dying world whose resources are being depleted and the future looks grim and hopeless as humanity tries to navigate this slow apocalypse.

I have no idea if any of that made sense or is useful in any way, but hopefully you get what I mean?

Look at real life. Don't rely on just referencing other anime and pose dolls. Don't clutter a character design with details that don't mean anything. make the parts of your character design you use have meaning or purpose. Even if that purpose is just "to give them a silhouette different to the other characters so she's easy to identify by sight"

#C-Puff answers #long post

[lotsadeer]

I'd love to hear more of your ideas for the AU, if you wanna share? 👀

So my first question anon is how much do you know about Cirque du Soleil because that will inform how much you understand the idea of this au and its intensity as a theatre/circus au

For the people in the audience who know not the joys of a Cirque du Soleil show, consider a classic circus. It is entertainment, it is a close knit company of actors and performers and stage hands travelling for months on end, it is a family. They seek to thrill and awe an audience with their skills, their ability to draw gasps and fear and applause and joy in equal measure through the movements of their bodies in the center ring.

Now consider a theatre company, a typical playhouse. It is entertainment, it is a close knit company of actors and performers and stage hands in the confined space of a theatre for months on end, it is a family. They seek to tell a story to an audience, to draw them in and live the tale unfolding on stage through their way with spoken word and body language.

Now find yourself the masters of these crafts. The créme de la créme of clowns and tragedians. Of acrobats and ballet dancers. Of stage hands and technical engineers. Of choreographers and writers.

And you create a performance that is a showcase in the mastery of the theatrical arts. A travelling show like no other that will make the audience laugh and cry in equal measure. That takes the idea of a circus to the absolute limits, and then pushes past them.

You create Cirque du Soleil.

I have, tragically, never seen a Cirque du Soleil show in person. Someday I will! But many performances are available on their YouTube if folks want to go watch to get a proper idea of what I'm attempting to convey.

These shows have moving stages, practical effects, puppetry, pyrotechnics in some cases! Many of the performers are basically olympic level athletes as well as phenomenal actors. The mastery of mime work and traditional theatrical clowns is inspiring. The stories told through the performances are beautiful and moving in ways I cannot always properly describe.

I am forever grateful to my highschool Theatre Tech teacher for introducing me to Cirque du Soleil. Babby theatre nerd me's dream was to be a stage hand for Cirque du Soleil. I dont think I could handle the stress these days, but I can appreciate it from afar.

claps my hands together

So! Now that you understand the bedrock of this AU, lets talk about Treebark.

This is in its infancy and I am still noodling with how I want to do this, but right now...

So my thoughts are that Martyn is a tech hand originally but Grian convinces him to understudy for The Hand. Ren is one of the leads for The Death of the Red King part of the massive story performance.

The original person to play The Hand has to drop from the performance shortly before its set to start touring. So they have to very quickly make sure Martyn is up to snuff (and he is, he's done bit parts before and can act, and they wouldnt have hired him if he wasnt good at the necessary acrobatics).

And Martyn doesnt know Ren terribly well. Like they know each other. Like any circus, Cirque performers are a relatively close knit company. But Martyn doesnt KNOW know him. And this is their first time performing together.

And I havent thought PAST that beyond your typical theatre au tropes where their relationship develops off stage and it intensifies the on stage performance and then add in the circus au where during a performance one of them gets seriously hurt (Ren) and what comes from that. and the drama of everything behind the scenes which culminates in intensity on stage because character bleed is a THING even in acting and theatre.

Also something something audience participation is a thing in Cirque shows

#mcyt shenanigans #I need a tag for this sksks #right now we'll call it #treebark circus #I will make a better name #probably whatever treebark is in french so itll be cirque du (treebark) #or something #treebark

[raindrop-on-a-spiderweb]

Hi, i just read the message you posted on august and i felt like i really had to tell you some things so i took the courage to sent you this even though it’s just an anonymous ask. First of all i apologize for any mistakes in my writting, english is my second language and while i am good at reading comprehension i lack skill in all other areas, but i just had to tell you that i started sobbing incontrolably the moment i read the message.

Prior to that moment i really had no idea i could feel this sad at the pain of someone so far, that i knew nothing about, never even shared a word with. The first of your works i read was "Beyond Breakbone Ridge " back when i was in highschool, which is still one of my favorites by the way, at that moment in my life i felt alienated from every single person around me, like i was just living in a world where it didn't matter how much i struggled to find a place, i would always live in the margins. The hurt you described, your characters and places felt so alive to me! Reading your histories helped me cope with the my own desires and understand myself better at a moment where i thought i could only live by the acceptance of others. I never really had the courage to give you a comment or reach out about how much your art meant to me, i see now how silly this was. Many things have changed since then, my own life got so much better and i found wonderful people to share moments with, but everytime life got hard i would always go back to those stories that were so dear to me. Today was one of those days, feeling empty and like i was chasing things that would never happen i went to your tumblr hoping for an update or something like that, instead i believe i got a wake up call from life, a reminder to tell all the people i care about how important they are.

I believe every single person in this world is loved in ways they can’t even comprehend, the real problem is that often the other side can’t see that either until it’s too late. You and your stories are very dear to me and to other people, i hope you will never forget that.

Anon I can't express how touched I am at your words and how grateful I am that you took the courage to send it. Your English is perfect so don't worry about that a bit.

When I was in high school, I felt the same emptiness and I know the ache and alienation. Like that Marina song, "Waiting for my life to start, but every day it never comes, permanently at square one." It's such a terrible situation to be in, in your vulnerable teens. I'm glad you were able to relate to it, and even happier you are now in a better place. My dad always told me to never care about what people think about you–and it's a hard lesson to learn, but I'm glad you learned it. It's important to carry for the rest of your life.

I think we live in a world where it's OK to be a rebel without a cause until a disaster happens, or loved one loses their life and reality comes crashing down. Life really is so fleeting and precious.

There really are people who have really affected our lives, who we don't know but know in a different way, in the way that we follow them and read their thoughts and feel connected to them but have never spoken to them, and I have felt the same way for some people I have always followed and whose art meant the world to me as well, so I understand that too very personally.

It's always okay if you don't want to comment or reach out, I know how awkward and daunting it is! Knowing that my works have given you such comfort is the most wonderful thing I could ever ask for. And it's equally wonderful for me that you reached out and told me. The world really is very bright and it may take a lot to realize it, but the same sun shines on you and me too. It doesn't matter if a gray cloud passes in front of it, the sunlight is always there. I'm glad you got thru that dark place and are surrounded by people who love you. Be sure to love them every moment because there's no telling when that moment will be the last.

Knowing that someone far away cares about me makes that sun shine, and I will never forget your message. God bless you and all my readers to the deepest depths of my heart.

#asks #personal #I did update AIS but forgot to post it to the tumblr!! #if you were looking for an update

[freetheshit-outofyou]

Hi Sir.

First, thank you for your years of service.

But thank you also for your intelligent, interesting, often funny, always thought provoking Tumblr!

(My own Tumblr is, um, less high minded.)

We may be very different men in some ways, but your ideas on government, self defense, outdoor recreation, food, nature, married life, and most other subjects are right on, Sir!

On marriage, I happen to have a husband, not a wife, but I think for both of us the experience is an amazing journey of discovery and adaptation.

On self defense, I was never in the military. Honestly I don't know what half the weapons you post are. I just try to do a little karate, and lately a little kobudo in my "old age." (59, the oldest I've ever been!) But I marvel at your evident skill and breadth of knowledge. The whole point of being able to fight, after all, is to attain peace.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts online, Sir!

Just when I’m sure the Human race is beyond recovery someone pops up and reminds me there are still good damned people on this blue sphere we call home. @hoss-sc, First and foremost, thank you for your kind words, with that said I have been accused of a great many things, High Minded is not one of them, but I'll take what I can get. Thank you, it is my honor to have served, I found more than I’ve lost and it changed my perspective on so much. It is true we are different men but as I have found, people as individuals, devoid of the separations and segregation that are placed on us by society and governments see more eye to eye than we know. When you understand that the very people, organizations and governments that keep putting us in little boxes are the very one’s fanning the flames of hate and distrust. Reminds me of this scene from Men In Black.

I don't have much need of those little boxes, those categories that we are yoked with. I chose who I like, or dislike, based on who they are not who I'm told they are. As I have said many times on here I don't care where a person comes from, who they bend a knee to, who they sleep with or what color they are. My baseline qualifier is what kind of Human they are. I have never had one of those artificial sub-categories clarify a person for me, only time and actions can so that. The chaff will always separate from the Wheat given enough time to do so.

I am pleased you and I have much more in common than not. I think every Human has Rights that exist before the laws of men. I think life outside teaches more practical lessons than and room and 4 walls can. I think Governments should be small and people should be allowed to be free. Hoss, I’m glad you have found your love and your happiness, damnit it is a rare thing in this age of instant gratifications and disposable relationships. With that said I have been married 3 times, the first one left me while I was deployed, the second one stabbed me and the one I spent all those years looking for, well, we’ve been together 17 years this July. I don’t care if one is in a same sex relationship or an opposite sex relationship, who people sleep with has very little to do with me or what I think of them. I’m sure you and I could have long conversations about the boxes society has created to keep people both locked up and hidden in. Self-defense, Man this hits me to my core. EVERY HUMAN HAS THE RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE!! Self-defense is the cornerstone to living a life free from oppression either from thugs and criminals or oppressive governments. I think everyone should learn a form of unarmed self-defense and learn to use firearms because deferring your safety and the safety of those you love to someone less concerned about your survival just isn’t the greatest option. I taught unarmed self-defense for 10 years and I have taught armed defense for close to 30 years, each one is an important aspect in our personal responsibility to not live in victimhood. A few years back I started training in Filipino martial arts (kali, escrima, arnis) with a guy out at NAS Fallon, it is so different from the traditional Jiu Jitsu I started with in the 90’s and the Gracie style of Jiu Jitsu I did for many many years and the same style my kids do now. I trained at if for a little over a year before the guy got orders and I haven’t found an instructor since, small town blues. I cannot accurately express how important I feel self-defense is. But, as you know, as we get on in the years all the shit we did to our bodies in our younger more rambunctious years starts to slow us down. I’ll be 53 in June and all those “Oh shit, I survived that!” moments remind me that I am not quite a spry as I once was, but I’m also not dead. I will never be as fast or agile as I was at 20 or 30 or even 40 but I will never go down without a fight, it’s just not in my DNA. Thank you again, I mean that from the deepest places in my soul. “The ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them” ― Miyamoto Musashi, A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy

[bvannn]

Weekly Update March 1, 2024

I’m not doing the best this week but I’m also not doing the worst. I’ve not been sleeping well and I think it’s culminating today so slightly early update post just in case I fall asleep early tonight. I’ve had on and off moodiness and flareups but not a whole lot of surgery sickness, hoping next week will be the same. I think this week was a lot of semester stress, which makes it hard to take care of myself. I just ate three applesauces and next week is spring break, so I should have a bit of breathing room for more art stuff. Just in time for my art block to maybe be giving way. All I gotta do is get caught up on sleep, which I’ll try to start tonight.

So I’ve been trying to put more brain power into actual Oc story writing stuff this week. I have the little comic I’m working on in the background and that’s going a bit slower than I’d like but I’m still making progress and reviewing over it there’s fewer older pages needing redo than I’d thought. I’m also now officially through the second act of the episode/chapter/ w/e, so the third should move smoothly. Scenes are flowing nicer than I thought they would, generally going pretty good.

I also finally think my animation art block is giving way. Clip studio is good for flowier animation so I’d like to combine it with flash for any actual big animation projects I try to pick up but on it’s own it’s fine for smaller ones. I might do some more sketch style test animations for unfamiliar movements, and eventually I’ll need to do a test for one with lineart and color layers. The interface is not user friendly at all but I did figure out how to do it the way I had wanted. Not planning on doing any shaded animations though, shading will have to be done with after effects somehow. I’ll round up ideas for test animations tonight because I’m very headfoggy today so I doubt I’ll be able to throw music together.

I’ll definitely do a quick little gif for the bigger song I finished, I’ll try to get going on the next one, but for the time being I might finish up some half baked covers. I’ve fiddled with vocaloid more now, have two half finished vocal parts I’m using to test out how the English and Japanese banks work with English songs. Japanese bank is working better than I thought, but it’s annoying having to play with the dynamic and exciter settings for certain consonants, and the limited vowel selection also sucks, but it’s not like the English banks have basically the same issues too. I just need to play with settings a bit more, finish writing out the vocal parts (should basically be copy paste at this point, I’m already through one chorus of each), and throw together instrumentals to go with them, but I picked songs with simple instrumentals anyway, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get a skeletal structure ready, then I can fill it in with piano or violin because I can’t go two songs without either I’m addicted.

Music comic and animation are the main things I did this week but I am slowly getting my updated commission sheet together. I’ll probably start timing myself on smaller songs so I can try to add music options properly. Animation comms would be nice too but that’ll definitely be a ways off.

I did make unexpected progress writing an epithet TTRPG campaign, it’s like mostly structured, but maps minis and some encounters still need to get written. I might sit down to do that over break. I’m more certain now that I’ll need to take people online as players but I’ll wait until I’m closer to run before I make a google form for that

I’m going to try to either spend tonight with friends or go to bed early or both. I’m a bit worried about my body because flareups have been getting bad but tomorrow I don’t have to move my legs at all beyond doing laundry so I should be fine. If plans for both fall through I’ll either watch a movie or cartoon (I don’t do very often but if I indulge in media I can improve my writing skills) or draw or both. Tomorrow is walled off for homework though I don’t think I’ll be able to do much else.

#weekly update

[bravevolunteer]

headcanon + drawing

SEND IN HEADCANON + A WORD / PHRASE FOR A RELEVANT HEADCANON ABOUT MY MUSE.

michael has kept up art as a hobby since he was pretty young, some of the earliest examples of enjoying this were actually based on his father's and henry's animatronics: as a kid, he used to be pretty fascinated with them, draw a bunch of them, bursting with excitement to show either of them his 'ideas,' whether it was new designs he liked to make up or collections of silly little comics. he grew more embarrassed by this the older he got, and stopped showing people his drawings, but kept up with it consistently!

he expanded the subjects of course, still keeping the cartoonish vibe but more so filling sketchbooks with lots of miscellaneous doodles. he would do this especially when he was stuck at the restaurant without any of his friends to mess around with, sketching the animatronics, decorations, and people. he keeps doing short comic-like work ( i point to the silly stylized stick figure ) and often incorporates humor, but he also ends up improving technical skills a lot too. though he doesn't deliberately practice this as much as most would recommend, he can do portraiture and anatomy pretty well ( his strengths there being the fact that he uses very loose and open strokes, so while the technical choices aren't PERFECT, his more realistic work still comes off as stylized and interesting ). he is stupidly good at animatronic and robot parts definitely from the amount of practice he's had just observing them.

he mainly uses just... pencils and pens— anything he can get his hands on rather than seeking out specific materials.

he's not a painter— michael just figures he wouldn't be any good at it, though that's more so the way he's thinking about it. he thinks he doesn't exactly have the drive to sit down for hours and meticulously craft a "real painting" ( in the heaviest of quotes ), personally i think he'd really benefit from quick-paced messy painting as an outlet.

in a similar vein, he doesn't really consider himself much of an artist because of the stereotypical connotations of the word— michael doesn't think he's really making anything worthwhile, which is why it surprises him so much when people are impressed and/or think he could pursue something creative. i am once again saying i think his art teacher was the only one he really got along with and who made him think beyond a one dimensional definition of art.

also just look at his canon doodles wahhh

#visual art major gets too caught up in talking about the technicalities #when i just wanted to be like 'he has a hobby he genuinely enjoys that he sticks to through all those years god bless' #like.. it comes and goes if he's having a particularly bad time and. unfortunately i'm not sure if he would have #achieved actually pursuing it *because* of that .. but he never really gives it up either #still does his silly little art even when he's ourple good for him #⁂ ･ﾟ: none of us belong‚ everything i do is wrong‚ and soon there will be nobody left around ➛ headcanons #deathsbecome

[jade-everstone]

Art Goals for 2024

This post is a mirror of a post on my website (here)

It’s a few days into the new year. While the feelings of uncertainty from 2023 still lingers, I set myself a handful of goals going forward to give myself some sense of direction, 8 in fact, though I’ll mostly be focusing on my art-related goals here.

Technical improvement isn’t a major focus this year (I mean, I just did 4+ years of that lol). I think it’s time to focus on more external factors of art, like gaining some stability, pouring more focus into doing it part-time while maintaining the personal side. As well as strengthening skills not directly related to illustration. It’s something that’s fell to the wayside until senior year of college, and now that I’m out of school I think at least for this year I can let these factors overtake direct art improvement.

-

Finish PC-Mania!

My short webseries! This was launched as part of my senior thesis, but has had multiple hiccups in terms of production. This year I want to smooth out those bumps & be able to wrap it up by the end of this year. The reason I say by the end of this year? My drafts are roughly 40 pages, and even with my other plans for this year I’ll have more time on my hands to focus on comics. So I’m pretty confident I can wrap it up regardless of how it happens.

-

Launch Support Streams related to my art

This one was inevitable. Even if it’s a goal of part time vs. full time, I want to be able to do art as a career. Meaning I have to have some form of income to be able to continue doing it comfortably. This one will need time to sort-out though since there are hurtles; Notably my overall lack of reach, as well as inflation times.

Lack of reach is likely due to struggling with consistent posting (even reposts & WIPs slip by me), not wanting to completely bend my practices to algorithms, and migrating between platforms. So that one may be harder to sort-out while keeping it fair to my self & my limits. Inflation is tricky. Art is a luxury afterall, and when the cost of living has skyrocketed across the board I don’t blame people for choosing food and rent over art. I’m likely going to keep it to one-time payments & tip jars indefinitely since I don’t want to launch subscriptions in a time where people looking to cancel them to make ends meet. Plus, with my issues with consistent posting, I’m not in a position to be doing subscription-based works & would also like to better sort out my boundaries before even considering (ie: I don’t want anything that could potentially lead to people feeling entitled to my attention).

I still want to try pushing for commissions & freelance, even with a lack of success over the past few years. Though I also want to look more into online shops & tabling since last year, all of the money I made from art was from IRL sales. So it’s a matter finding those events that are original-art & zine friendly (I’m uninterested in monetizing fanart beyond commissions. Fanart to me = Personal art & I’d like to keep it that way). As well as researching more into online shops as a means to get things out there outside of the convention space.

-

Better-establish OC Lore & Worlds

This one is likely gonna be harder than it sounds. Because on one hand I am excited about these project, but I’ve always struggled with getting ideas-to-paper. While I don’t want to claim much since I don’t have an official diagnosis as of writing, I’m very sure I have ADHD meaning getting down schedules, and getting projects done before I jump to another interest has been a long-term struggle. It’s part of what hampered PC-Mania & reach, and hampers my ability to put more info about the projects I’m working on & are excited about (hell last year, I think I ended up drawing Io way more than art for said projects…).

I don’t know if there’s any “ADHD-friendly guides to maintaining projects before you forget them” out there (I’d argue most project guides & tips I’ve seen don’t consider it), so I’m pretty sure I’m on my own in this department. Currently I’m thinking about leveraging my website for this since it’s meant to be a work archive as is, and even if progress is inconsistent it’ll at least give me a central hub to link back to.

If you are curious, the main one I want to establish is Doverhill! It’s where a PC-Mania takes place for reference, and it’s set in modern times in the fictional town of Doverhill MA. Perfectly normal, except for the occasional paranormal encounter. The main cast that has to deal with them are a group of friends & neighbors who live in an apartment complex together. Story-wise it’s an episodic comedy about the sheer absurdity that is life. Even if it’s not a hard world-building project, it deserves a central hub to link back to.

The other one I’m debating on is Fang and Iron, a dark-sci-fantasy world building project about demon-hunting androids. But I think it needs more time in the oven, and I don’t plan on making it a main focus for a long time.

-

Learn Blender for making assets & Blocking

I’ve thought about the other skills I’d like to strengthen & learn for future projects, notably writing skills, drawing mecha, desktop publishing software, and 3D. But I picked learning 3D, since I feel like this one will have a ton of versatility in terms of making references for myself. If you’re wondering using 3D assets for references is extremely common, especially within the world of comics where you need to re-draw backgrounds and props. So having knowledge on how to block out scenes in blender will help massively in the long run, especially when my schedule starts filling up again.

(now I just need to finish that donut)

-

Shorter Comic Project?

I’m considering this one optional, but if I can squeeze in another smaller 8-16pg comic or zine along the lines of 9:15 Slushie I’d like to. I have an Idea I want to do for it (an idea that existed before 9:15 slushie did!) so the next step is carving out time to make it happen

Those are my main art goals of 2024. For the other 3 main resolutions of mine, I’ll list a short summary of those instead:

Get a job alongside art (I’ll need it. Bills be upon me + even with help from family members, I’d like to transition into being self-sustaining & be able to front the costs for my supplies & projects going forward)

Get my Drivers License (Also needed, especially if I want to continue tabling & other hobbies, and for getting to whatever job I end up at)

Get better at IIDX (and by extension BMS) so I can say I suck at normal 7’s vs normal 4’s lol (my only “hobby” goal of this year. I’ve wanted to get into IIDX for a long time too, so since I’m planning on getting my license & income anyways, I’ll see if I can squeeze this one in)

#rambles #2024 #art goals #new years resolution

[netscapenavigaytor]

still was thinking abt that roblox thing and Why it bothered me so much when objectively there shouldnt be anything wrong with stuff being "better". and why i find myself gravitating towards old school internet culture and stuff lost and forgotten in the vestiges of the 'net. and like. i think i know now

everything is so clean and perfect and well made on the internet now that there isn't much of a place left for klutzy amateurish imperfect creations anymore. you have to be Really Good at creating things or you become an object of ridicule. it does not matter what effort or sincerity goes into something if it is poorly made. everything must be marketable forever.

and that is not to say that the internet used to be Nicer god knows it has never been "nice", "cringe culture" has existed for ages. but the bar has raised so high now. there are 14 year olds making beautiful art and animations i could NOT compare to even though i've practiced my whole life. and they Have To because you cant just make wonky ms paint cat drawings, those just dont cut it anymore.

and i think thats what people are really nostalgic for, not the sparkledogs and cascada songs themselves but what they REPRESENTED. the idea that you didnt need so much polish, that you could just Have Fun and people would have fun with you. and messy and wonky and childish and "bad" stuff still exists and is being made with genuine heart, but its easier to think theres something special and Different about the stuff youre nostalgic for so you can feel like youre Above the "new cringe." (i don't even think i'm totally beyond this mindset, myself, as much as i'd like to think i am)

and i don't know really who there is to blame, if there is a fair culprit. advertisers of course is the easy answer but that's not all of it, no one's really capitalizing on warrior cats amvs or whatever like that. i think maybe there's no one truly at fault, the classic internet grew up and honed their skills and no one MEANT to chase out the amateurs and children, they just continued to make the things they loved but were better at it now and could set their ambitions higher, so much better that in order to keep up everyone else had to jump straight into creating at a professional level.

i don't think i really have an ultimate point to this post. i'm just kind of rambling my thoughts here and i dont know if there's really a "solution" because in the end it feels ridiculous to say "polished content is the problem" especially because i DONT dislike stuff thats Well Made by any means and myself generally aspire to make stuff that's "good".

but the internet has definitely shifted in a way that does not really feel like "home" to me anymore, even if it's foolish to say it was EVER home to begin with

#error 0 #long post #idle rambling... did not mean for this post to get as long as it did #i have other thoughts about the culture around scenecore/nostalgiacore/etc. but #thats its own thing and honestly i probably already made a post abt it and forgot #am i even making sense here. is this gibberish

[asterhaze]

This or That

As always, thank you @doublegoblin for the tag.

historical or futuristic

When I read historical fiction and don't understand things, I feel uneducated. When I read futuristic fiction and I don't understand things, I can pretend like it's because I'm from the past and, while technically still a stupid little dumb dumb, pretend like I'd be just as smart if I was born in that futuristic world. I would read more books and get more smarter-er but non-fiction is so...non-fiction.

the opening or closing chapter

I get just as sad writing a closing chapter as I do reading one. I really want to live with my characters forever and writing the end of a story feels like I'm writing the obituary for an entire world. Writing the opening is much more exciting and less like giving birth to a whole new world or story and much more like writing a death warrant that I don't have to carry out.

light+fluffy or dark+gritty

I already live a light and fluffy life. My spouse and I are so gloriously in love that it would make Aphrodite weep tears of joy. My theyfriend is very much the light of my life and the sun can kiss my ass. Both of them are total ABSOLUTE fools that like me despite my total jackassery and idiocy. I love them both but I am absolutely bamboozled that they think I'm worth anything other than a soggy donut.

So give me the truly dark so I can hold the light closer to me. Give me the truly gritty so I am reminded that I am lucky for the fluff.

animal companion or found family

I don't typically like either of these but I find found family to be something I tolerate better when done well. I will also die with the animal companion if they, well, die. I only have so many lives left.

horror or romance

I genuinely love horror more than any other genre in any media. Horror brings me comfort. Bad things happen to good people for reasons beyond their control. People make tiny mistakes that have horrific cosmic consequences. However, I am not immune to a love story where Jeremy sacrifices his mind, heart, and soul to an eldritch horror that turns insides into outsides at the bottom of a blood ocean just to get a real good smooch from Timothy.

hard magic system or soft magic system

I actually don't like magic in stories and if I'm going to read magic, I want it to be very structured so I can pretend it's just "how science works here" or something along those lines. However, I love supernatural creatures and I'm not skilled enough to have a particularly hard magic system without too much exposition or explanation. I usually get around this by having a character that is just as disinterested in magic as I am and classifies at as "[insert supernatural creature type] nonsense".

standalone or series

My favorite books are standalones so I have to pick this one despite not caring too much either way. The thing I hate most of all is a standalone that ends too soon and rushes the plot along.

one project at a time or always juggling 2+

This might be a lie since I find myself currently in a loophole. I usually have multiple ideas going, might scribble the important bits down, but as far as working on a project I try to just do one at a time. Not this time! Masterpiece is the first in a 3 (hopefully) book series. All three are highly connected with subplots culminating in the conclusion. In order to make sure that I don't forget something drastically important, I am writing all of these books at the same time because I hate myself. So technically 3 projects? Maybe?

I've had a blast doing this so I fear this won't be the only multi-project endeavor in my future.

one award winner or one bestseller

I think I've answered this before but I will again. While awards and bestsellers are a dream for a lot of writers I know, it's not one of mine. I'd love for as many people as possible to read my work and enjoy it. I'd enjoy making money off of my art. But really, truly and deep down, I want something much simpler.

I want someone to finish reading something of mine and think 'This is my favorite thing I have ever read.' It doesn't have to be the best thing they've ever read, it doesn't have to be the most profound, just their favorite. Even if it's just for a moment.

fantasy or sci-fi

Please give your fantasy to someone who will appreciate it. Sci-fi is the way to my heart and horror is how you get to stay there.

character description or setting description

My characters are hot and my settings are horrifying. Describing character reactions to the disgusting situations I put them in brings me great joy.

first draft or final draft

Both are near and dear to my heart but I cannot stress to you enough how awful all of my first drafts are. They are genuinely a soul of what I'd like to make. Everything has to be reworked. The second draft is actually where I give the soul everything it needs. After a second draft the rest is just minor editing, moving points around, figuring out when things should end, etc.

I think I enjoy the journey more than I enjoy the final draft. But the final draft is the ultimate goal point.

love triangle in everything or no romantic arcs

I can't stand reading or watching romance. It's like everyone got together and decided "Let's just never communicate a single thing and have no consequences for how unbelievably stupid the main character and their partner(s) are." Most romance is so full of toxicity and red flags I wonder if the writers for this genre of media are colorblind. Love triangles are a competition of which two points of the triangle or horseshoe will put up with MCs nonsense for the sake of brain chemicals.

It is 100% my neurodivergence. I enjoy writing a romantic arc that no one likes to read because my characters communicate, solve issues before they start, and choose to work with each other and love each other despite (and sometimes because of) their issues. I expect this in my relationships but it doesn't fit the genre expectations.

constant sandstorm or rainstorm

My spouse has narcolepsy so if it rained constantly, they would never wake up.

#writeblr #writing #writers of tumblr #writing advice #writers #writerblr #write #writblr #writing community #seriously feel free to tag me

[feralmoonlight]

I'm loving the Lincoln idea cuz I think Slueth jesters has swallowed me whole as well 🤣

I understand that Moon in this situation is undecided. But I would like to know if the reason they do doordash is for fazbear or if it's to try and survive in the real world and that is currently the only way they can reliably make money?

Also I can definitely see Moon being the type to find whatever Y/N's job is to be extremely interesting (even if he will never admit it) and try to do whatever Y/N does for a job. Like if they are a digital artist of some kind- Moon tries to make digital paintings that he tries to keep away from Sun ect.

IF ONLY MOON WAS PROGRAMED FOR MORE THAN CHILDRENS DRAWINGS But that's cute as hell, oh my god. I could see him starting out with the default level of skill from the daycare days and just... This is not working. This isn't right. How do humans turn into printers??? what the fuck?????? So he'd end up both frustrated and also determined if he tried to copy that. Sun treats it like it's just adult arts and crafts but Moon being more like... Less active with the kids in that regard from back then just sees it as a normal hobby activity and it being something HE could do to help make money possibly instead of being just as shielded off from the world as YN would be (though not by choice, but he still can't really be trusted around humans safely) he doesn't have that many options. THOUGH this actually does kind of circle back to a headcanon I was debating pulling in for... technically 2 things I'm working on, but more for Sun cause he's more active with arts and crafts, of him having his own actual painting stuff that he works on in private during the hours the daycare is closed and painting pictures based on the descriptions the kids give him of the outside world, and also the images he's seen on their clothing so it would be a kind of surreal style of cartoony trees and more realistic ones, not totally gathering the concept that they're not both real, but also things from the Fazbear approved kids library of books for story/naptime they'd have with the varying art styles. Kinda sad before he gets to see the actual outside world and realizes he really doesn't understand how anything beyond the pizzaplex looks. Same for Moon though, cause even though he's got more free range of the whole place, he wouldn't have seen the world outside the shutters like the other animatronics can during the day so I AM REALLY digging the concept of them becoming artists in their other spare time. THOUGH cicrling around again, I don't see them still being "employed" by the Faz, this probably taking place a bit later after the plex initially burns to the ground and they end up as sort of a refurbished piece (stares at copper cogs longingly) that either slipped away from whoever restored them for (pick a shitty reason) or they're now working 'for' the person that refurb'd them that's still in that stage of treating them like a tool and not like a person which would also push Sun's anxiety and Moon's distaste for people into a more focal point (and also leave room for them to decide they're done with that guy and just... dip and try and move in with YN) for future plot~ (unrelated I have been eating up Sleuth Jesters this week piece by peace and it's giving me life~ I'm not all the way through yet though)

#AU Hoard #Doordash AU

[bluest-planet]

Fuck it this is gonna be a fashion blog too because im OBSESSED.

I've had this idea on the back burner of my brain for a while now and drawing my magican/ouji inspired Klarion designs have really itched the spot in my brain enough for me to talk fashion more. Hope y'all dont mind me posting in the Klarion tag for this- I promise smth will come outta it. Long story short tho- I really, really want to make a Klarion themed coat with red (possibly blue and gold? Mostly black and red palette) embroidery and diamond patterning.

If u wanna read more about it (and me being a bit sappy) click for more!

Okay! If you've clicked to read this! Than many kudos to you for listening to crazed Blue's ramblings about fashion when ive only just made a pair of barely recognize mock-up pants like,,, yesterday and I'm still feeling proud of myself for it.

Quick rundown- I'm super into fashion, specifically Ouji fashion, sustainability, traditional latine/mexican embroidery/textile work, and occasionally street fashion. I have a sewing machine, ive patched up more than enough ripped pants, hemmed pants/shirts, and patches in my life. Small things really.

But recently, I've always had the idea of making very personalized/one of a kind type of jackets. I've done this to my own jean jackets to embroider stars, add decorative paneling and the like! Love it. My latest passion project though and important thing here is my 'Robin' themed jacket.

I took a white jean jacket from the thrift store, dyed it green, bought tones of sequins and shiny fabric to add to it. I'm currently in the painstaking process of sewing in one sequin at a time along my cuffs. Then I gotta embroider the R on the chest with gold n black thread. After that I'm gonna add red/gold/green diamond (or checkered, havent decided? Checks are easier but is it circus-y enough?) Along the back pannel. I might also embroider some stars, stripes, or wings as finishing touches. This has honestly kinda cost me lol, which is why ive been working on for almost a year now but just started w the bedazzlement. If I was gonna sell it (never im in love w it already but if i was) it be well over 100$ for the amount of love and labour ive put into it (my fingers have been pricked so many times lol.)

HOWEVER,,, I'm so in love with this process and I am just DYING to do this again. And all this fashion art for me just makes me love my hobbies so much. So, if I get the chance id love to try my hand at a Klarion inspired long coat next. More dramatic with flare!! An old coat, either black or smth I will dye black. If I go my Klarion magician/ouji designs Id love to do similar diamond patterning on panels or double lined on the inside, with celestial embroidery and new buttons. If i go with more yj themed Klarion- I WOULD LOVE to do long sleeves with red inner lining or cuffs to do smth nice and sleek but regal.

Of course, I'd have to buy all this and massively improve my sewing skills beyond minor application to actual fabrication. But im deadset on making a Klarion themed jacket next. I'll also be posting about the progress on my Robin Jacket soon too!! This was all an excuse to really just talk and hype myself up bc I feel like a quiet textile nerd stitching alone in my quiet little corner. Also bc, i may not be the best artist, but drawing Klarion a lot recently has really helped invigorate me to get outta depressive art funk and be excited about creating again- even if hes just my fashion model at this point to me, lol.

If you've read this far- wow, thank you! I'm very impressed w all the hardwork and earnestness of all the creators and enjoyers in the Klarion tag! I'd never thought a character tag for some niche DC Tumblrsexyman witchboy would make me so happy to engage with from time to time. The few comments ive gotten for my Klarion art has been to uplifting and encouraging to keep doing what I love. Stay cool out there! Thanks for reading this- uh? Blurb?? Means a lot.

#klarion #klarion the witch boy #Interstellar Fashion Runway #<- new fashion tag maybe #blue speaks #blue thinks

[railroad-migraine]

Hi, love!

I'm in a wonky mood with my writing/Tumblr, so I'm asking a few pages the same question.

How did you get started? (My page is still a lot of my own stuff because I'm not super comfortable putting HCs up for just general terror. Despite the fact that I know the fandom is nice!)

Hiya darling! I chose (a) fandom(s) that I enjoyed, posted a couple "hey I'm writing for this, send in requests" posts with tags appropriate to what I wanted to do and voila - here I am today!

I started because fanfiction helps me focus on what I want my writing to be like! It warms up my creative muscles when wanting to expand upon my original projects. It explores the familiar instead of coming up with lore and such over time, and from that I can extract writing skills and characterisations and mould them into something exclusively mine :)

I put more under a Read More because I tend to ramble! It's pretty much my big thoughts™ as a fanfic writer, but don't feel pressured to read it ❤️

So this blog is still relatively new (just turned one year old aka baby). I had been using Tumblr for probably around five years without an actual account which is in itself quite embarrassing for me lol. Whenever I'd join a new fandom, I would binge the (fave character) x reader tag, and also occasionally check out writing prompts, OC ideas and rare OCxReader tags.

How did I start up though? It was early 2020 that I got into Critical Role, stared watching Campaign 2 and anticipating EXU1. What I noticed was that while the CRxReader side of the fandom was so well and lovingly written, at the time it was quiet. There weren't many blogs, and at one point it was rare for me to find a post I hadn't already come across. So I decided I wanted to contribute to the fandom and write what I would like to read!

I have been a creative writer pretty much all my life, in recent years being recognised for my plays, poetry, and short stories. I have mentioned this before, but I am writing a book in the form of anthologies because I love the short story genre and it is less intimidating than writing a novel from scratch (which I also intend to do in the future).

Writing original worlds and characters is so so rewarding simply because it is your own. You are, to put it bluntly, a divine being pulling threads and weaving them into something unique and yours. But the process can also be draining and annoying and sometimes you're itching to write something comfortable that (in my experience) requires less dedication or wordlbuilding thought.

From my point of view, fanfiction is a hobby. Just like how I do art and hike and cook and train and act, it is something I enjoy and get pleasure from whenever I have the time for it. It's an overused phrase, but practice makes perfect, and fanfic is a great way to both do some writing practice and indulge in your favourite characters.

I am in so many fandoms I couldn't begin to list them all off without boring you guys. Normally, my interest drifts in and out, in between and beyond them. I love Lord of the Rings, but don't see myself writing for it because it's too precious to my childhood. I adore Skyrim, but most of the main characters lack the complexity I want when being sappy and romantic. I adored watching Stranger Things, but I prefer writing about high fantasy instead of urban fantasy/scifi/horror. I love to replay Dragon Age annually, but I lose interest very quickly after indulging in it.

The Witcher is fantastic, and I love dipping in and out of the fandom, but for some reason Critical Role has suited me down to the ground without pause and has been what most of my produced content has been about. It's probably to do with my love for DnD, the broad range of archetypes, deep and personal exploration of characters, and the immense amount of content on offer at my fingertips. Either way, it's been two years and I haven't gotten bored of it yet.

To summarise everything: do what's comfortable for you! I originally wanted to help contribute to a relatively quiet and small fandom, and help my writing skills even when taking breaks from my book. Two birds, one stone.

I'd recommend separating your original stuff from your fanfiction, simply because when they begin to overlap it gets complicated and hard to understand what is truly your own and what are fan musings. I don't want my hard work and worldbuilding to be compared to the world or characters belonging to someone else. FanficWriter!Poet (me as @railroad-migraine) is different to Playwright/Novelist!Poet (me hoping to publish in the next few years).

This is one reason why I don't share my OCs with fandoms. I don't discuss who I imagine "I" would be in a fandom, how I'd look, who I'd interact with or date. Because my OCs may find a place in my own story and world, somewhere not influenced or owned by someone else. It is a personal thing for my eyes only and my creativity to develop later. I don't want to share them until they've found their place in my canon universe. I do love hearing about other people's OCs though, do not misinterpret what I mean. I just personally don't want my characters to associate with a fandom I might not be part of forever. Hence why I write Reader Inserts!

Write what makes you happy (as long as it's not harmful), not what others in the fandom want. Be brave, do not feel pressured, and take your time or step back when you want to. You are in control of your creativity, interests, hobbies and blog. Requesters are only that - requesting. You don't owe them anything.

If you read till the end, kudos to you haha. Have an epic day, you x

#mod poet #writing #rosegrlwrites #ask #asks #fanfic writer #fanfic writing #writing tips