#this is an oooold ask

[persnickety-doodles]

Spar 👊

#korrasami #persnickety doodles #alicia draws #wip #what are they saying? 🤔 #ok so this was an oooold wip I’ve had in the wip folder #you might remember it from an ask sometime last year #or not #in any case it was done marinating #lok #avatar

[strawbubbysugar]

The last chapter makes me wonder what the specifics of pry/ncess's condition are, because they need to eat and drink, are warm and have a pulse, but they aren't alive anymore, they're also not like Micheal or Afton who are full-on zombies, or Elizabeth who's a possessed animatronic, what are they exactly? What did the process do to them? What are they missing, and what did they gain? If any of these are spoilers feel free to not answer

#ask #bethroned #bethroned spoilers #going through these oooold asks #blows dust off of em

[retellingthehobbit]

I went to read your comic on Ao3 and I noticed you'd started back in 2020. Aside from your clear and beautiful art progression, what can you tell me about the timeline of your comic?

Thank you! And yes, started this webcomic in January of 2020. “I sure hope nothing bad happens in 2020 that will hamper my ability to focus on a large personal project!” — me in January 2020 with all the naivety of youth. Top ten images taken minutes before disaster. This comic is like a deeply personal diary of my mental state, complete with the long empty hiatuses that are sort of like that part of Twilight where months of depression are represented by blank pages.

One of my favorite things about webcomics is how you can often see an artist’s style grow organically over time. I think it’s something that’s getting lost in the age of “Webtoon Originals,” where people are starting to expect webcomics to be produced by an actual production studio with a team of artists behind them and to maintain a consistent highly curated art style throughout. These professionally funded comics are fun, but they do lose the messy personal organic growth that used to separate webcomics from traditional print comics? But i could go on a whole tirade about webtoon haha 😂 !

The Hobbit is partially a story about someone learning how to express themselves. Bilbo starts the story as this stuffy little guy who is repressing a lot his own personality; he ends the story as a skilled artist writing elaborate prosy poetry about his adventures. I deliberately chose to start drawing the comic before I went to college, knowing my art style would change a lot of over that period!

Anyway here's the timeline as I remember it: Pre-development: I was working on sketches of the comic itself as early as 2016. Chapter 1 (A Bedtime Story/Tooks and Bagginses): (Posted on Tumblr in January 2020, on Ao3 later): Published shortly before I went to college. I was drawing in Paint Tool Sai, and hand-writing all the words instead of using a font. I set out to adapt at least the Unexpected Party chapter, but thought I'd probably adapt the entire novel within a year or two. ("It's a webcomic Michael. How long could it take? twelve months?") Chapter 2: (A Very Respectable Hobbit): Posted like a week after Chapter 1. This was when I still thought I could post a ten page chapter every week, haahahahahahahahahaha Fs in the chat.

HIATUS #1: DANCE BREAK: TIME FOR A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. The exact timeline of 2020 is a blur for obvious reasons, but I do remember the updates became very sporadic over this period. Chapter 3-5 (Very Old Friends and An Unexpected Party chapters): there’s a global pandemic. During Spring Break my college abruptly kicks us all off campus and sends us home. I keep looking at the “post dates” on these chapters like what??? Really? I posted that at thAt time? But there was a global pandemic happening and I was so busy and overwhelmed with college???? When did I have the time? I have no memory of drawing these. My memories of all 2020 are so blurry. I think these chapters just manifested spontaneously.

The weekly/biweekly update schedule has been tossed to the wind, never to return. Alas. Chapter 6 (An Enormously Important Dwarf, aka Thorin’s intro): I was back “at college” during our “hybrid” year, so in practice I was extremely isolated. this was posted during a year after the first chapter, in 2021. I would never have found the motivation to continue if I wasn't so excited to draw Thorin! I also joined a "comic club" at my college which was comprised mainly of awkward video calls with like three people. On a weirder note, this chapter was posted a few weeks after the January 6th attempted coup. I was drawing in a a weird headspace.

DANCE BREAK #2: IT’S TIME FOR A YEAR LONG HIATUS:

I've started to often dislike the word “burnout” when it’s applied to art. It implies that the problem is that you were drawing too much or that you can’t find inspiration, when often the problem is much bigger than your art-- it's wider economic anxieties and social circumstances outside your control. It is very hard to think clearly and create things when you are worried about your future, about work, about housing, about a global pandemic, about constant demands on your time, and about being extremely isolated. In hindsight, I wasn’t “burned out”— I was in a situation where I could not think clearly or produce anything. Chapter 7 (The Lonely Mountain): posted a full year after chapter 6. For a while I considered having this be the “last chapter” of the comic!

Changing art styles was a thing I was really motivated to do, and was my last “bucket list” item for the comic.

HIATUS #3: I get really busy with junior year of college! I grow more and more disillusioned with Tolkien as I learn more about The Hobbit Law crushing labor unions and worker's rights in New Zealand, and how Amazon takes advantage of that. The Tolkien Estate also releases a statement saying they disapprove of any unauthorized use of Tolkien's works for profit or not, which isn't really legally enforceable but is also just an act of pure contempt XD. Chapter 8 (A Tangled Web): I get sent to the emergency room in an ambulance for Reasons and begin drawing this in the weeks after, as I realize I don't care about the Tolkien Estate or Amazon or Warner Brothers or whatever hollow marketable products they produce under the tolkien brand. I think this is the weakest chapter of the comic, both in writing and art, and in hindisght think the comic works better without it pacing-wise. However!!!! I was drawing it in a weird mental state, so. XD

Also, at this point I am drawing entirely in Photoshop. Chapter 9 (Ash and Smoke): Back at college for senior year— time for dragon! The comic starts updating with something that resembles a "regular schedule!" this year had more and more people on campus in person, and I started to slowly make college friends :). Also, at this point I am the President of the comic club, and we are now meeting in person and rebuilding our comic empire. Chapter 10 (The Heart of the Mountain): Some funky bits of writing I'd like to revise at some point, but I enjoy the art in this chapter. Chapter 11 (Polite Nothings): If I were to do this all again I'd shorten this chapter and combine it with chapter 12. One important note is that originally, I tried to keep all chapters under ten pages. This made it easier to post them to Instagram and Tumblr, because tumblr still had a “ten image limit” at the time. However at some point I realized that was more trouble than it was worth, and really made the pacing difficult/slow as I struggled to split the story into ten page chunks.

A lot of webcomics often fall into what I call a “wheel-spinning” phase, where the author is so focused on finishing smaller updates that they lose the pacing of the larger narrative—- and so the story stalls out. I feel like I dealt with a lot of “wheel-spinning” while I was at college, both in my life and in my comic XD. Chapter 12 (The Quest): My internship company gives me an offer to work full-time, which I accept. in the last semester of my last year of college, I take the most helpful elective class I have ever taken: a class on using 3D models in blender to aid with blocking out illustrations. This is the first chapter where you see one of those backgrounds! From this point on my background art will improve dramatically. I also have lots of internet friends and college friends!

As I grow more confident in my art I also make the decision to change the character designs, something I’d wanted to do for a while. Chapter 13 (The Necromancer): I graduate college! It's time for some Lotte Reiniger art. I stay in my student housing until my lease ends. The art starts to grow more elaborate as I have more time to spend on it. Chapter 14 (Terms and Conditions): my summer is free, so I spend it drawing gay little hobbits. I move up North to live with my grandmother until my work start date. This is the very last “normal-sized” chapter of the comic, where I hold myself to keeping it under 10 pages. I also think this is where my new more elaborate character designs actually start to look a lot better XD.

I was finishing up apartment-hunting at this time, so both Bilbo and I were goin over contract terms. Chapter 15 (Unattached): summer free time!! More gay little hobbits. I move into my New apartment and sleep on an air mattress for a while. I have a lot of time to draw and the art gets far more complex; this chapter was also twice as long as my usual chapters. I am still proud of this chapter, honestly, even though it's gotten less attention than Chapter 16/17-- it's one I'd been excited to draw for a while. A lot of this chapter was drawn on my beautiful powerful beloved air mattress. Air mattress, my beloved. Chapter 16 (the Song of the Lonely Mountain): I start my new job! I get a BED. Lots of exciting things are happening. I was really excited to draw and post this chapter, because it’s one id been dreaming about drawing from the beginning-- it was surreal to see it "posted" because part of me never thought I'd get this far. I even started a tiktok and posted the chapter there, certain that people would enjoy it. However, tiktok basically ignored it, alas! This is why tumblr is the only social media site. Chapter 17: I continue my new job. My roommate surprises me with the news that they will move out at the end of our lease, making me realize that months have somehow passed. I make a post asking for anyone looking for roommates in Milwaukee to contact me via dms (that offer is still open, if you’re looking to move here in early June.) I privately am very confused about why anyone would ever want to leave a comfortable settled home to go off on an adventure and then realize that I am behaving exactly like pre-quest Bilbo Baggins.

Chapter 18: the chapter I am working on now!!! Another chapter I have been excited to draw forever!! It’ll feature studio-Ghibli-inspired backgrounds, exciting landscape art, and so much fun! I’ve also started a Patreon where, if you want to see “one page a week” instead of “twenty pages every Mystery number of Months” you can subscribe there. (The first page of Chapter 18 has already been posted!)

But yeah! The TL:DR:

I think the moral of all this (to me) is that it’s hard to make art if you’re just not in a position to do it, and you have to allow yourself time to grow and change as a person XD. Sometimes you need to spend a few years thinking and getting better before you're ready to go on an Adventure. I started this comic when I was very Young and Naive to the Ways of the World. The quality (and dips in quality) reflect my wildly fluctuating mental/emotional states while trying to draw each chapter in the midst of a global pandemic. My art has improved a lot lately, and I think a large part of it is really just being in a situation where I *can* improve— having a decent job, not being in the middle of a global pandemic with no vaccine in sight, not needing to live in constant fever-pitch anxiety, having friends, etc etc. I am completely different person now than I was while drawing chapter 1.

Not to be dramatic, but I think you can see there’s a lot more joy in the recent chapters than there is in some of the older ones. It's weird to look at your art and realize you've gotten happier. XD

#thanks for the ask!!! #and sorry it took so long to respond #I am Treebeard-core when it comes to responding to asks #just like I am Treebeard-core when it comes to posting this comic #it takes a very loong time to say anything in oooold entish #and we never say anyythiiiiing #unlesssss #it is worth taking #a long #time #to say #the hobbit #the hobbit comic #retelling the hobbit #lotr #lord of the rings

[itsthemysteryofthedroods]

My theory on why halligan kept eating after getting told that it was human flesh is that he just straight up didn't hear lord sinclair say it. It took me years and a lot of psychological help to be able to understand speech in a place with a lot of background noise and I don't think halligan ever received any kind of psychological help. So he just heard clinking and eating noises and kept eating because not nd people get upset if you do something out of the ordinary he might have guessed that the murder cannibals serve human meat, but that's just halligan being halligan. Why am I still thinking about this game.

This is actually a really interesting take on the scene. For the most part, I have always believed that he was already a bit brainwashed prior to eating the meat and they were just sealing the deal (this is our first time seeing Halligan after what just happened in the forest when he passed out if I recall correctly)

You're thinking about this game because you like it and it's a great game. <3

#motd theory #motd ask #anon ask #asks #my asks #brent halligan #the mystery of the druids #mystery of the druids #MOTD #Lord Sinclair #Neurodivergent Brent Halligan #oooold ask

[ponds-of-ink]

Hey it's me, I know it's been a while since we crossed paths but- I was wondering if I could draw your Bill afton sr interacting with mine? ( it's all right if not.)

Oh, hey! Good to see you again. Hope life’s been treating you well.

Bill Sr. interacting with another Bill Sr.? 👀

You have my full intrigue. Please draw this when you can.

#bill afton #bill afton sr. #ask answered #in fact #I have an oooold art piece that might be a decent reference for him

[theokusgallery]

What is your pfp?

It's my persona (how I draw myself) ! It's got elements from a few different things; it's mainly Sunny from OMORI with vampire elements from School for Little Vampires, the ink stain on the cheek and gloves from Ink!Sans (UTMV), and Phoenix Wright's necklace (and badge on the left side of the hoodie but it's not visible).

This drawing/design is outdated (mainly because I need to add a spider/web motif, I swapped that black hoodie for a light blue/green one recently, and swapped the grey earmuffs for white ones) but I like that drawing a lot. I'll probably change it once I finish the new design but it won't be much different.

#drawing #ask #powercoreact #rant #this drawing is oooold. i need to make a new one.

[ask-cueball]

"We visit sometimes. Not that anyone needs to know."

@mintydeluxes-blog

#orbot and cubot #sonic the hedgehog #orbot #ergo #tribot #ask cueball #mintydeluxes blog #((omg tribot canon)) #((she floats around the networks. vibin)) #((got some oooold asks im finally getting out)) #art #comics #answered

[setewbro]

Sometimes I think about how some specialists suggest capitalism might be the only option... and then sometimes I remember a survival guide I read, which said "even If sea water is your only option, don't drink it!"

This is funny because capitalism being the only option is just untrue jdjfjdjdj There are literally socialist states that still exist today, Cuba being one example...

Lately I've been distancing myself from a purely anticapitalist stance, because it doesn't give you something to strive for and I think it's easy to get trapped in capitalism realism, where even if you are anticapitalist, you cannot imagine the end of it. Which is why I'm slowly studying Marxism-Leninism to see if I vibe with it. I don't want to be just against something, I want to have some perspective of a good future.

To match your ask, I'm thinking about the Atacama Desert in Chile. Extremely dry and close to the ocean, but don't worry! You don't have to drink sea water, you can use fog collecting nets to turn the mist (the famous Camanchaca) into water 😉

#asks #politics #did I just turn this ask into infodumping time #ANYWAY LIKE YHE ANIMALS LIKE THE BIRDS AND STUFF THEY DRINK THE DROPLETS FROM THE MIST #THAT GET STUCK ON THE CACTUS #and I think the fog catching is an old oooold technology

[murphychips]

Feliz cumpleaños?

sí

#ask #dfsghjdgshfjfds #max im so oooold

[handgiven]

today, emmanuel lay upon a grassy meadow for a couple of hours, listening to the earth. after that he went to fix up a bird feeder that got broken. a wayward sparrow will stop to feast there shortly. also, he put salt upon an old lady's walkway, lest it freeze. also, he started drying some slices of apple to hand out to his friends.

#ooc tbt #i did so much writing today. kinda took it easy on my essay but poured some love into my oooold drafted ask replies

[rosieblogstuff]

For the ask game: 🌈 and/or ❄️

🌈 Share something soft/fluffy from your WIP.

Fluffy is just... not my forte, I guess. I think I've posted all the actual fluffy I've written! How about a kinda amusing dialogue?

Riley pulled the car door shut. “What happened to your phone anyway?” “Mac happened.” Jack turned back around and started the car. “Don’t worry. Won’t be too much longer. I know a nice safehouse about 2, maybe 3 hours from here.” “And it’s still open?” “Probably.” “And it’ll have a computer?” “Well…” Riley sighed and leaned back against the seat. “It will at least have a phone tethered to a wall, right?” “That I can pretty much guarantee.” “I’m gonna use it to order a phone and a laptop,” she muttered, wadding her jacket into a different lump and pressing it against the window. At least she’d be well rested.

#ask games #wip asks #this one isn't really upcoming #although there's a few thousand words there #it's an oooold one #macgyver 2016

[latetaektalk]

do you know what I'm guessing? that there really isn't any bet, and jeongguk made an arrangement with taehyung for sure. she rejected him the first time, so he decided to act strategically and did not want to take risks. I am dying I am waiting for the new part, I hope you yourself have the same desire and inspiration to continue it! 💋

SFGF i will not deny or confirm anything because god knows i dont wanna spoil anything, but i will say this theory has been proposed a couple times!!! who knows at this point!! both oc and jungkok are so messy, anything could be possible almost haha

but thank you so much for being so excited for the next part!! 💕💕

#answering some oooold asks #its been soo hard to answer all of the new and old asks in a timely fashion #but im trying #even if its moooonths (in this case a year or two even rip 💀) too late #hope im forgiven 😭 #fic: love to hate you #linh.ask #linh.anon

[leggyre]

did you make other little animations like the one with the small bird walking or the little guy going "blablabla" or being scared? Those were pretty cool

i do have a few things yeah!! not the best animation work around just little tests and ideas for fun

theres some walk cycles and lilac w copy abilities

you might have seen those idk you didnt mention but juust in case: more bird and more talkies

the one with the most to it, a lil thingy i made bc i thought abt how funny the idea of an omori speedrun is (emotional trauma any%)

theres a lot of bouncing things heres the most interesting one of them

lil funny fact i use gifcam to make all of these because it takes like no time at all lmao theyre just fun stuff not rly meant to be high quality

#ask the leg #gifs #sorry if the whiteness burns ur eyes these r oooold

[just-french-me-up]

I'm curious whats your biggest fear?

I work with middle schoolers for a living. Fear means nothing to me anymore

#answered #sorry this is an oooold ask #like you know those posts that are like groups of teenagers make me nervous? #bro #that's my life #EVERYDAY #BY CHOICE #those guys do things... you have no idea

[barbieaiden]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!!!

I hope you have an amazing, pirate-filled birthday, and you get to eat your favorite foods, and snuggle with your pets if you have any! <333

thank you!! hopefully my hamster wakes up at a reasonable time today lmao

#she's getting oooold #ask

[sergeantpixie]

🧠 elena gilbert obvi

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

anon, you get me. 😘

I have a lot of Elena headcanons, naturally, but i think one of my favorites is that she played the piano growing up and that her dad had a large record collection that they used to listen to together. she really loves music but she kind of stopped playing after her parents died.

#asks #ask games #anonymous #elena gilbert #i can’t remember if this is in any of my published fics currently but it will be in some in the future #this is an oooold headcanon lol #it’s based off of nothing but the fact that nina dobrev has the hands to play piano lmao