#seriously y'all go read the zine

[riality-check]

Hi!! I bought the wonderful @lazylittledragon’s Steddie dads zine last night, and in that time I’ve read it twice and loved every second of it. One of the panels (for those of you who have the zine, it’s page 42; for those of you who don’t, it’s a panel of Steve and Eddie sitting on a bed, holding each other, while Steve cries and Eddie says “I’ve got you.”) has lived rent fucking free in my brain, and it’s inspired 1k of whatever the hell this is. 

If you haven’t already bought the zine, do it now, it’s so incredibly worth it!! Anyway, bon appetit.

————————————————————————

Steve doesn’t know why he’s freaking out so much. He’s not the one literally growing a person. He’s been pretty much fine this entire time. He’s held Eddie’s hair back when the morning sickness got bad and he’s bought baby clothes and he’s read so much (even though he can’t read for shit) of those little parenting books they have at the library.

Steve has been fine this entire time. He’s pushed back all his anxiety and every other remotely negative emotion because Eddie needs him. Eddie needs all the reassurance and comfort and joy that Steve can give him regarding this kid, and Steve is more than happy to give it. He’s got a nearly infinite supply.

But right now, on this random afternoon in July, everything that Steve has been holding back so carefully is coming to the surface.

In four months or so, he’s going to be a dad. He’s going to have a little, tiny, helpless baby utterly dependent on him for everything.

And Steve knows he’s going to fuck it up.

God. Steve loves this kid so much already. He thinks about who she’s gonna look like more (he hopes it’s Eddie). He sings to her, even when Eddie laughs and tells him to stop. He wonders how much she’ll cry, what her favorite food is going to be, what her first word will be, where she’ll take her first steps. 

He’s so excited to meet her, and he’s so scared, too.

Because love doesn’t prevent people from fucking things up. Steve doesn’t have a single doubt in his mind that he is going to love this kid. But he’s worried that he’s going to make every mistake in the book.

What if he can’t get her to sleep? What if he can’t get her to eat? He doesn’t even know how to change a diaper!

What if he ends up putting his issues on to her? What if he loves her enough to make her resent him for it? 

(Wouldn’t be the first time.)

What if-

There’s a knock on the door. “Steve?”

Shit.

Steve tries to wipe his eyes and steady his voice before he answers, “Yeah.”

It doesn’t quite work.

“Can I come in? You’ve been gone a little while.”

Steve wipes his eyes some more and sucks all the snot he can back up his nose. He hopes Eddie doesn’t notice. “Sure.”

The door opens, and Eddie stands there for a minute, just looking Steve over. He looks good, he always does, even in a plain black sweatshirt and ratty old jeans.

Steve watches in real time as an expression of sympathy takes over his face.

“Sweetheart,” Eddie says, and yeah, that’s enough for Steve to start crying again.

He curls up and buries his face in his arms and doesn’t look up, not even when Eddie sits next to him on the bed. He puts his arms around him, just holding, and when Steve can feel Eddie’s belly pressed against his leg, he cries harder.

“I’ve got you,” Eddie says.

This is stupid. I’m not the one who should be stressed out.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Eddie asks after a minute. He rubs soothing circles on Steve’s back.

“It’s stupid,” Steve gasps out.

“If you’re crying over it, it’s not stupid,” Eddie says gently.

“It is. I’m not the one doing the work.”

Steve can feel it when Eddie laughs. The gentle shake of his whole body makes Steve stop crying for just a second.

“You’re doing work, Steve.”

“I’m not the one growing a person.”

Eddie pulls back a little and looks at Steve seriously. “Just because you don’t have the parasite doesn’t mean you’re not doing work. You’ve gone shopping and you’ve cooked and you’ve cleaned and you’ve taken care of me. Does that not count as work?”

“No.”

“If we flipped the situation, and I was doing all that, would you still think that?”

Steve hates when Eddie is right.

“You’re allowed to be overwhelmed, Steve.”

Steve sniffles. “You need me, though.”

“I do,” Eddie says. “I’m always going to need you. But you’re allowed to need me, too, okay?”

Steve nods. “Yeah, I know.”

Eddie raises his eyebrows.

“I know!” Steve insists with a wet laugh.

“Okay,” Eddie smiles, and it’s the kind of smile Steve always wants to be the reason for. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“I’m gonna fuck this up.”

Eddie snorts. “So am I. You’re not special.”

“No, like,” Steve struggles for the words. “I’ve never been around kids-”

“Neither have I.”

“-and I don’t even know how to do basic shit-”

“That’s why Joyce is teaching us.”

Steve gives Eddie a look. “I know you’re trying to be reassuring, but can you let me finish?”

“Sorry, sweetheart.” Eddie mimes zipping his mouth closed.

It’s stupid little things like that that make Steve wonder how he got so lucky.

“I’m worried,” Steve swallows. “I’m worried that I’m gonna fuck up this kid enough to be just like me.”

Eddie’s eyebrows pinch together. “Steve. You are nothing like your parents.”

“I know! I know that. I have no doubt about loving this kid. I’m just afraid that - I don’t know.”

“It’s okay,” Eddie assures him. “It’s okay not to know.”

“I’m so afraid that I’m going to be overbearing and end up suffocating her,” Steve whispers.

Eddie stares at him for a good, long moment. Finally, he says, “Are you worried about loving her too much?”

“It sounds stupid when you say it like that,” Steve mutters.

Eddie takes his face in his hands and looks him dead in the eyes. “Not stupid.”

Eddie kisses him, soft and sweet and slow, and Steve kisses him back just as soft, just as sweet, and just as slow.

“You make me feel like the luckiest man on earth every single day,” Eddie says, Steve’s face still in his hands. “This kid is so goddamn lucky to be loved by you.”

Steve can’t help it; he starts crying again. Eddie wraps his arms around him.

“I’ve got you,” he says again.

#ria writes #the brainrot is so strong #steddie #steddie ficlet #steve harrington #eddie munson #fluff #angst #emotional hurt/comfort #seriously y'all go read the zine #it's so good #idk how to tag on tumblr #so i'm just adding shit as i go #stranger things

[paintmosi]

A Greek Tragedy

Y'all I've never done this level of fanart inception before... But @velinxi absolutely captured my heart with their PJO/Hades game au. I've never even played Hades game and haven't read a PJO book in years and years, but I've been a long time Velinxi fan and they sucked me right in with their fantastic art and storytelling. I fell so in love with it that I ended up buying their zine and it absolutely rocked my world. So this is a little love letter to them. Character design credit to Velinxi! Seriously go check out their work it's incredible.

(Yeah I'm rising from the dead after like six months disappearing... No comment lol)

#pjo #percy jackson #hades game #nico di angelo #jason grace #paintmosi #art #artists on tumblr #digital art #illustration #illo #fanart #velinxi #au

[nobodycallsmerae]

I'm just going through the DamiRae fanzine 2021 edition (i just got it yesterday) and like.... IT'S SO WONDERFUL????? Like, Oh my God, its breathtakingly beautiful 🤧💖 the vibrant colors, the artworks, the format is hella amazing and the stories are just too good!! Sjksjsjsks I seriously have no words.... y'all have left me speechless by its tender beauty. One of the things I love about the zine is that its not too flashy..? I mean, its just so soft and tender and wholesome I feel like hugging it >////< 💕 I have nothing else to say except a BIG THANK YOU to the @damiraezine team for this and that you did an amazingly wonderful job and this was the best thing to even happen to me. ❤💖 I wish you all the best for the next edition and now I'm gonna go continue reading it and bless my eyes. 💜💜💜

#damirae #Damian wayne #Raven Roth #damiraezine #Dc

[prince-liest]

fic writer interview!

How many works do you have on AO3?

37, though another one is going up tomorrow because haunted AO3 hours started and I don't want to post it in the middle of the night on a Monday. Also like 4 or 5 more in reserve from zines/bangs. I'm kinda impressed with myself, but also, side-eyeing y'all with fic counts in the 100s. Phenomenal. Effervescent.

What's your total AO3 word count?

257,246

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

In chronological order of first fic on AO3: Percy Jackson, Soul Eater, Steven Universe, My Hero Academia, Dragalia Lost, Avater: the Last Airbender, the Witcher, and Genshin Impact! That's 7 fandoms and I'm not counting Homestuck (I only wrote OC stuff) or D&D (same thing).

I also have works from Axis Powers: Hetalia and Katekyo Hitman Reborn! on Fanfiction dot hell that none of you will ever see. I definitely posted and deleted a Twilight OC fic once.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Dish Duty | ATLA

The Sword of Damocles is Swinging | MHA

The Ancient Art of Jerkbending | ATLA

Dishabille | MHA

Summer Break | MHA

ATLA is a powerful fandom so I'm not surprised both my ATLA fics made top five. Dishabille's popularity continues to pleasantly surprise me. Damocles is only surprising because it isn't first. I am so proud of Summer Break and that entire Shinsou series, I'm glad it made top 5 and is gonna break 1k kudos soon. <3

(Now get Dog-Tired up there, I fucking love that story. q^q)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

To quote Mido: I do, but not consistently. Q^Q I read them all and I really want to reply to them all, but I very frequently simply to not have the energy. I have it posted on my AO3 profile, though, so hopefully it doesn't hurt anyone's feelings... I have recently been trying to at least answer all new incoming comments and not let the backlog increase! (That said, the backlog is over 100.)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don't tend to do angsty endings (I am a hard lover of angst with a happy ending), but I've written some questionable and bittersweet ones. I think arguably the best contendor for angstiest ending is probably Kindred Spirit. I wrote it to low key revenge myself on @thegc4life for insisting that Shinsou gets a hug (he does! technically!) and it certainly ended ominously.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

As much as I love "Edward Elric gets transported into X universe and proceeds to kick everyone's ass" crossovers, I don't relaly write any. I do enjoy full transplant AUs, though, and the one I recently posted on AO3 is an MHA-at-Hogwards AU called the Birds and the Mares that I wrote for the HP/BNHA Zine!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Deeeeepends on what you mean by 'hate.' :X has gotten two comments (one much politer than the other, haha) complaining about my use of the r-slur in Shinsou's internal narrative in one of the chapters, but one person backpedaled and said they understood the purpose of it while the other (more vehement) one never replied to my explanation. That's all, though!

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yeah. It's never going on my main AO3 (and the one time it did, I orphaned the fic). I have a side account I might post it on once I get over the fact that people who know me also know about the account. It's all 100% PWP of stuff I personally am into, and I have a very specific set of things I'm into, so... idk, feels a little personal! ^^"

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, but I've had people adopt general concepts I used (fabulous!) and steal my RP OCs back in ye olde fantroll days (not at all fabulous! incredibly hurtful, actually). I am vehemently opposed to plagiarism, even of concepts. It feels so gross.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone in the comments mentioned that they are translating Bloodied Hound into Russian and I am SO EXCITED. I desperately want to read it. Of all the languages, it happened to be the only other one I'm decently literate in! I also want to show my grandparents. I really hope the person follows through. <3

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've roleplayed a lot, but I can't see myself ever co-writing a fic. I'm not even sure how it works, to be honest!

What’s your all time favourite ship?

Urgh. Pass. I can't pick one. Perils of a multishipper.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I was going to proudly say "I never post things I don't plan on finishing!" but in reality that is a lie, because Falling Down A Rabbit Hole exists from back in 2015 and is in fact the reason I made that rule for myself. ^^" Honestly, what's there still holds up, but the reality is that I didn't actually come up with a plot, so there's nowhere for it to go.

What are your writing strengths?

Interesting/relatable/funny dialogue, and also writing feelings in a 'show, don't tell!' kind of way that leaves strong impressions with people!

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plotting out long stories with good pacing! People thought Damocles had a plot, apparently? Joke's on you, it was a series of "I wanna see this happen" scenarios that I made Hawks suffer through and subsequently strung together like a haphazard multicolor plastic bead necklace that I told everyone was actually pearls.

That's why all my stories after Damocles are either short or split into a series. Shinsou's Bad Days is my attempt at proper pacing, hence it being so episodic.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I'll do it if I know the language well enough (so, Russian and ASL, I don't trust my casual Japanese), but I'm generally a stickler for making things come off naturally, so I otherwise will instead try to find the closest tonal equivalent in English (such as having Childe call Zhongli "professor" instead of "xiansheng"). Sometimes there just isn't one (like Kazuha calling Beidou 'big sis' but in a way that doesn't sound kiddish and overly casual for him), though, which sucks. :( Language is cool!

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

T. Twilight. QUQ I wish that fic still existed, it was like a single chapter of two multicolored hair OCs befriending Alice Cullen and being cool. I deleted it but I SHOULDN'T HAVE. IT WAS HISTORY.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

This totally changes with each new slew of fics I post. I think currently it is Dog-Tired because despite being unsatisfied with the title, I think the story itself turned out amazing. I also am extremely happy with the entire Shinsou's Bad Days series (including upcoming installments).

Tagged by: @touchmycoat (THANK U LOVE <3)

Tagging: anyone who's read this far, LOL. seriously, though, I have a lot of writer moots and I don't have the time to tag them all but PLEASE do this and tag me so I can read it if you are so inclined! <3

#personal #tag memes #my writing

[dramallamadingdang]

Oh, God! Question meme! A really long one! Run! Hide!

Tagged by @ajaysims. *points* It's his fault! His! Not mine! ;)

This is really long, since it's a synthesis of two of these questions memes and I have verbal diarrhea. So, I cut.

Name: Katrina

Nicknames: Most RL people other than my kids and grandkids call me Kat because one syllable is less than three. :) Simmers call me iCad because that's what I chose to call myself when I started participating in the community. Hubby calls me Kitten. Kids call me Ma, usually in exasperated/long-suffering tones. Grandkids call me Mimi because I hate the usual things that grandmothers are called because they're associated with old people. I may be old, but I'm not old, y'know? :)

Zodiac sign: Taurus, but astrology is still bullshit.

Height: A hair less than 6'0/about 182cm. And very underweight due to digestive/metabolic issues mostly because of a malfunctioning liver. (No, not from alcohol. From having had asymptomatic Hepatits C that I most likely got from a blood transfusion in the early 80s, before they screened donated blood for that. It sucks, y'all. Cherish your liver. Baby it. Seriously. Stop with the alcohol. Just stop. Do weed instead.)

Orientation: In experience/practice: A Kinsey 2. In terms of the kind of person who attracts me: People with IQs over 130. I really, truly don't care what you look like, what gender you identify as, or what sex organs you have or don't have. Smart is seriously sexy. So, I'm sapiosexual. :)

Ethnicity: Whitey-white-white, yay! :| Glow-in-the-dark white. I-start-burning-in-the-sun-in-30-seconds white. Damn-near-albino white. Also, mostly of Welsh descent. Only sort of half-second-generation American on one side; my paternal grandma was one of those horrible immigrants who took a job away from a Real American(TM). She was even a somewhat illegal one, for a few months. But she was white and British so I guess that's OK.

(Sorry, as a person married to a man whose mum -- who is awesome -- was born in Mexico and who came here legally with her family when she was 7 and is a citizen but she still gets shit these days because she’s “a Mexican,” I've sorta come to really hate the kind of people who tend to call themselves Real Americans(TM).)

Favorite fruit: Okra, especially when part of aloo bhindi masala, an Indian dish. Okra IS a fruit. Really. Look it up. Also, tomatoes.

Favorite season: Autumn, when everything is dying. MWAHAHAHAHAH!

Favorite book series: Still Sharon Kay Penman's "Welsh trilogy." Also, though not really a series, per se: The Star Trek novels that were published in the 80s. They got mostly stupid after that, but there were some gems that were published in the mid-80s, before The Next Generation was a thing.

Favorite flower: Calla lilies. Usually used in funeral arrangements, along with Easter lilies, yay. Flowers of death! MWAHAHAH!

Favorite scent: Lilacs. Lavender. Honeysuckle. And this "rain" scent scented candle. It's so clean and fresh and not-perfumey, yet it manages to drown out the brine smell that eventually permeates everything when you live close to the shore...

Favorite color: Greens. All shades, although I prefer the yellower shades, especially the darker ones like army green. Also, orange.

Favorite animal: The spotted hyena, but I already extolled their many virtues the last time I did this list, so I'll refrain. Also, elephants.

Coffee, tea, or hot cocoa: Hell no, maybe, and yes please (if it's vegan), respectively.

Average sleep hours: Sleep? What is this word? *just came off a 38-hour work "day" a few hours ago, and I'm too wired to sleep.* YAY SHOWBIZ! :| But generally, when life isn't crazy, usually about 6 hours per 24 hour period. And I'm nocturnal, so those six hours are usually between about 0900 and about 1500. :)

Cat or dog person: Both person. And llama person. And alpaca person. And horse person. And snake person. And spider person.

Favorite fictional characters: Spock. (Well, actually, pretty much the entire original Star Trek crew except, well, Kirk. Whom I hate. With a passion. I really like Abrams-Kirk, though. Oddly enough. So it might just be that I can't stand Shatner...) The Cardassian characters from Star Trek: DS9, but especially Garak. Also, Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien from DS9. Jack O'Neill and Rodney McKay from the Stargate franchise. KITT from the original Knight Rider. And Jayne Cobb from Firefly. (Hi, @eulaliasims!)

Number of blankets you sleep with: I'm in SoCal at the moment. No blankets because I tend to sleep in the warm part of the day. And when I do sleep at night, there's a furnace-like husband and a large, furnace-like dog in the bed with me. Blankets would be overkill.

Dream trip: Still Antarctica. Or space. But Antarctica is more likely at this point. ;)

Blog created: I think it was December of 2013. Maybe November. Ahhhh, those halcyon pre-2016 years...

Number of followers: Right now? 1443. It might change in an hour or so.

Time right now: About 0220 Pacific Time, Wednesday, March 22. One month and one day until my birthday. I expect presents, people! (Nah, I kid. Birthdays after 50 don't mean much. Hell, birthdays after 18 -- or 21, nowadays, I guess -- don't mean much. :) )

Last thing you googled: I was looking for some textures to use for some recolors I'm working on during downtimes at work.

Fave music artist: In terms of non-classical stuff: Queen, always and forever. But I also really like the Barenaked Ladies and other such alternative groups from the 90s as well as 80s New Wave stuff. Also, Metallica. In terms of "classical" stuff: Beethoven, always and forever.

Song stuck in my head: Beethoven's 8th piano sonata, 3rd movement. I was playing it at work today...on my cello. I'm working on arranging the entire sonata for solo cello...starting with the 3rd movement because I do better working on things backward. (Since I'd be willing to bet most people don't know the tune off the top of their head, here's Dubravka Tomsic playing it on youtube, if you're curious.

Last movie I watched: Star Trek Beyond. I liked it better than Into Darkness but not as well as the first Abrams-verse one...

Last TV show I watched: I have Stargate Atlantis paused on my computer screen at the moment. I plan to work on furnishing/decorating the house I put up for download tonight when I'm done with this, and I usually have a TV show playing while I build/decorate stuff in my game. :)

What I’m wearing right now: A pair of black sweatpants and a Telluride Daily Planet T-shirt. (That's the local newspaper at home. :) ) Boring white underwear. My fleece-lined moccasins because my feet are always cold.

The kind of stuff I post: Sims stuff, duh! At least on this blog. :) The other blog has the ranty/political stuff.

Why did I choose my url: Because I like to point and laugh at silly internet drama and because I own llamas, and I added dingdang because dramallama was taken and because of this song.

Gender: According to every one of those silly "What Gender Are You?" online quizzes, I am male, mainly because I'm a self-confident, argumentative, assertive, non-empathetic asshole who doesn't do "feelings." Yet, I have girl plumbing. Go figure. Meh, it's all just social conditioning and expectations, anyway, so...I rebel. I reject gender labeling and their associated roles.

Hogwarts house: I took a quiz once and it said Gryffindor. I've never read Harry Potter or seen any of the movies except one of them during an airplane flight...and I fell asleep during it, so...Yeah, I don't know what it means to be Gryffindor. Don't much care, either.

Pokémon team: Don't know anything about Pokemon, either.

Lucky number: 13 because I am anti-superstition. (Well, except when it comes to white pianos, of course, but I have hard evidence that they are evil, so it’s not superstition. ;) ) Or 42. Take your pick.

Dream job: I once said "Not having one" but then followed it up with "but that's boring." So, I decided to take on some work through June. And you know what? I'm gonna go back to "Not having one." I just need to find some volunteer work to keep me occupied for a few hours a day. Not for 38-hour "days," though. :p

Relationship status: I is married to my second husband. He's cute. And a lot younger than me, woooooooo! First marriage wasn't nearly so fun, though. The only good thing that came of it was my kids.

Pets: Oh, God. Most of them are back home in Colorado (where I have a 39-acre ranch) while I'm here in California, but:

A herd of llamas and alpacas, about 50 total at the moment, but "unpacking" season is approaching, so that number will be going up to about 65 soon. 5 horses 2 nanny goats...which actually belong to a neighbor but they're currently housed on my property, so...they count! 8 dogs 5 cats...although sadly that will probably be going down to four soon because the 18-year-old whose had health problems all her life is currently quite sick and likely won't be getting better. :( Also, there are a ton of barn cats, but they don't really count as pets. A flock of chickens. 1 rooster, the rest hens. 1 California kingsnake 5 tarantulas, various species 8 dragonfly nymphs. I think 2 will become dragonflies this year because I've had them for a few years now...

Last song you listened to: Beethoven's 5th piano concerto, for somewhat sentimental reasons.

Favorite TV Show: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I love the original series a lot, too, but DS9 surpassed it in my book.

First Fandom: Star Trek, of course. I remember declaring that I would marry Spock when I grew up. I was 3 at the time, in 1967, watching the episode "Amok Time" (in which Spock almost gets married) in its original run. We'd only just gotten a color TV a few months before, so it was REALLY COOL. I also wrote a crapton of fanfic in the 70s/80s and a bit in the 90s. Even published a 'zine in the 80s. It was expensive as hell back then but SO MUCH FUN!

Randomly Tagging People I Don’t Think I’ve Tagged For This Thing Before: @randommindtime (It's what you get for following me!), @yandereplumsim, @elfpuddle, @halousims, @nuttydazesublime, and @kayleigh-83. As always, feel free to ignore for whatever reason. :)

#non sims #meme #ye olde questions meme

[annasellheim]

What is some advice you have for beginning cartoonists?

Hmmm....

1) Read a ton of goddamn comics. Like just devour that shit up. I never paid close attention to the stuff I read because I’m oblivious and not detail oriented, but I pretty much just was able to dive in and make solid (not good mind you, just solid) work straight off the bat because I read comics non stop from 5th grade until now (though, I actually don't read comics nearly as much now that I make them).

2) Feel free to rip off other people to some extent. I learned how to write by doing very Mary Sue- esque fanfic (in my head though, I never wrote that shit down because I thought, and kind of still think, fan fiction is embarrassing) and draw by stealing styles. So, I went through an anime phase where my art was ripping off Tenchi Muyo (the worst anime ever), a Jhonen Vasquez phase, not really coming up with my own style until high school (which constantly changes and evolves and probably always will). And if I see an artist doing something I like I’ll still steal it, just on a smaller scale. I started doing patterns because I saw @gerwulfa doing cool patterns and I went kinda crazy with those (to be fair, through trial and error I figured out a balance I think. But then again last night a friend told me he missed my patters so I might have to step up my game a bit). It’s all trial and error.

3) Don’t spend all your time building an epic world. Seriously, start small, don’t start by trying to do the 15 book series you've been concocting in your head since you were 9. I have a comic like that, I started writing it in college, but I will probably never actually do the entire thing because it’s a really self indulgent project and I only like writing interesting parts. I draw comics of scenes of it all the time, in fact, Safe started as a scene from that comic. But I’ll never actually tackle my space adventure series. But, because I’ve thought about it so obsessively, I’ve learned a lot about writing and character dynamics from rehashing the same series in my head over and over and over.

You should try to do something short. Safe is the longest thing I’ve ever completed, and it’s only 15 pages with a cute drawing at the end to round it out for a zine. I just finished writing my first long form script, and I would have burnt out hard if I had tried doing that first.

4) Get feedback on shit. Seriously, find some people you trust and get feedback. It’ll hurt to hear critiques (especially if they are major critiques, like I was bummed out for a week when I got notes back on my first webcomic script draft) but feedback from good people will make your stuff so much better. I am lucky I’ve surrounded myself with talented friends of a variety of different backgrounds to give me feedback on my work.

5) Comics take work so you have to be perseverant and power through it. It also means you absolutely CANNOT be a perfectionist. You gotta draw a line at some point and be like, “This panel kind of sucks but it’s the best I can do right now so I have to keep moving.” I’m experiencing this a lot right now with the first scene of my webcomic. It’s a battle scene, and my art is stiff as hell so a lot of the drawing are EH but when it feels passable to me I go, “fuck it, this is the best I’ve got. Hopefully the more I do of action scenes the better the art’ll get.”

6) GO MAKE COMICS ALREADY YOU HAVE TO DO THAT IN ORDER TO GET BETTER!!!

A great resource for getting projects done is Jessica Abel’s articles. Her podcast Out On A Wire is also very good. 

If you are more advanced but want some tips on comics and writing I recommend the podcasts Writing Excuses and @dirtyoldladies. Writing Excuses is primarily writers but there’s one cartoonist on there. Dirty Old Ladies is a bunch of cartoonists shooting the shit- it gets kind of advanced but I go through the archive from time to time because they know what they’re talking about.

IF YOU DO MAKE COMICS and decide to post them online I want to see them show them to me!!!! I actually just helped a fan who wanted some feedback on her work, and it was fun. I’m good at crit if any of y'all ever want feedback I’ll give it to you. I have WAY too much free time.