#though I'm. also not good at keeping consistent contact i'm bad at responding to messages

[bookwyrminspiration]

tater and i have moved past the emotions and are going down unhinged memory lane for a moment but i WILL say this. kotlcblr in peak pandemic times changed so many people's lives for real. it was THE transitional period. and i may still be here but you and i and everyone all know it's different now... i've talked about it with so many friends. but it was!!!! so much!!! so many things were going on in all of our personal lives and something great was that it was very much a home to a lot of people and like. What We Needed at a time that we needed it, yk? where like. no one was obligated to talk about the things going on in real life but everyone was free to be silly and have fun. and if someone needed some help there was usually someone online to offer it. and then like people do when they grow up & out of something they moved away to bigger and different things with entirely different tones and themes and mediums with wildly bonking back and forth meters of writing quality. JUST LIKE AMPHIBIA i am holding your shoulders like. i am fully aware that the things that i have seen u watch are not nearly as simply animated as this and also that i wouldn't have watched it if not for my little siblings but that show has touched upon something so like. golden. like they Got It, whoever they are.the found family doesn't stay together forever! sometimes u have to grow and change and move away and never speak again but that doesn't mean that the love you had matters any less

It was! It was such an of the moment thing. Both because of the specific people, which is something that applies to this moment of keepblr now, and because of the situations we were all in? Because we were all (or almost all) young and undergoing this massive worldwide stressor with no real control over what our lives looked like--or at least that's how it felt. And so there was all this energy and unrest and comfort seeking that led to such strong involvement and connections with each other.

And then the world started repealing its restrictions and trying to move on (regardless of if it was smart to do or not) and so we had more going on irl again and weren't cooped up seeking connection. And then we were also getting older and so a lot of people joined other fandoms or left tumblr. Which is fine! it's just bittersweet to think about

Which!! Is just like amphibia. As for the style thing, I know I'd get over it and get used to it once I started I just. Haven't started. But everything I've heard about it has been very good! Especially cool to see comparisons to real life. Sometimes people are only part of your life for a brief part of it, and that time has to end and you'll miss it but you have to grow and move on. But it still mattered so so much, even though it ended. Maybe even because it's not like it used to be.

So so many thoughts, this is also making me think about irl friendships and such which is. oof!

#quil's queries #soryasongsaa #long post #thinking about my past best friends #because they're only ever temporary #oak and I were so close as kids until I moved away when I was five #and then I had virginia for a few years. but then I was in the gifted program and they wanted us to become close with /those kids/ #and we kinda drifted. but her mom and my mom were great friends so now I hear little updates about her through them #even though the most our moms do is follow each other on facebook now #i was at her baby brother's ceremony we came over for fry bread we met sitting next to each other on the bus we lived in the same apartment #and then mimi. we were inseparable until we went to different middle schools #where I met abby. we had every single class together in 6th grand and I got her into keeper and that was a /huge/ part of our friendship #but then we went to different high schools. and I was part of a group for a bit but then covid hit and I. did not keep up with anyone #so my partner has been my closest companion since 7th grade #though I'm. also not good at keeping consistent contact i'm bad at responding to messages #anyway. there is my friendship history for u guys I'm being way too open on the internet <3 #those are real names simply because they're common names and they're all very distanced from me now #so I don't think I'm putting anyone at risk

[blorbopolis]

hello! im sorry if you get asked this a lot, but I was curious how you got into doing art ttrpg? and what should an interested artist have in their portfolio? thank you 💖

hi! so i wrote out a big "how to" before re-reading your message and considering you maybe just... asked how it happened for *me*, not necessarily how someone else should do it LOL. so, how it happened for me: i've been actively courting freelance art work since ~2009, and fantasy ttrpg is a natural extension of my interests - my portfolio was already full of world of warcraft fanart by the time ttrpgs & D&D really started having their modern moment. TTRPG is a good low-to-mid level place to find leads, as well, because the barrier for entry is super low for creators, which means a lot MORE projects to go around. (If you want to make a board game, your artist has to know a LOT about packaging, printing, manufacturing, graphic design, etc. if you wrote a D&D module and just want to publish it on itch.io? your artist only needs to know how to send you a decent sized .jpg.) as far as portfolio goes, when i started getting consistent replies to my cold emails, my portfolio had mostly covers and half-pages (ie, narrative illustrations), portraits, and animals. If you want to be more well-rounded you could also include pieces focusing on environments, items, and creatures. Don't include anything unless it's GOOD though. (i am so serious about this - bad work in your portfolio makes the good stuff look like a fluke.) now. if you wanted a "how to" answer, here is 600 words lol. I'm gonna start with the base assumption that your work is already hirable so we can focus on just like, specialization + client acquisition tips. getting a folio up to snuff is a whole other can of beans short version goes like this:

this whole thing only works if you have the ability to honestly self-assess. new work & skills: you should have fresh stuff that's a snapshot of what you can do *right now.* this doesn't mean old work can't stay in your folio if it's still good, but a small, current folio that really hits is WAY better than a bloated old one with irrelevant studies or student work. new artistic peers: as you continue to evolve as a professional, you should have an idea of which other working artists your work is most similar to, in terms of skill/tone/specialties/other relevant skills (3D/graphic design/etc) in order to see how you stack up to your """competition""" for lack of a better word. Additionally those artistic peers have hangout zones (discords or FB groups, etc) where you can talk shop & pass around job leads. research peers' clients: research who those peers are contracting with. See if your work would be a fit for them; if so, find their contact info and put it on your list. Those clients are probably also promoting other similar projects or publishers on their feeds; twitter has a handy "you might also want to follow" list that has other similar accounts you can explore. You can also work backwards from the product to the creator (see any cool battle maps, CCGs, board games, etc? find out who made it and whether they're the ones doing the art hiring.) Additionally, those discords & fb groups I mentioned will have leads (of varying quality) shared around that you should be assessing as they come in. reach out to new batch of clients: cold email. be realistic about who's worth contacting, but don't self-disqualify. that part is a balance. art directors are people with problems to solve, and you need to be able to A. anticipate the problems they need solving, and B. confidently (and honestly) let them know exactly what you can do for them. Attach A FEW, SMALL, RELEVANT jpgs that they can easily download and keep for reference. do not send massive high res attachments, their inboxes are full enough as it is. If you're responding to a specific call, attach relevant pieces or curate a page on your portfolio site specifically for work that would fit the project. If reaching out to clients doesn't result in a lead - *or*, if it takes them 3 months to get back to you, you should spend that time doing your own stuff and bolstering your skills. eventually your portfolio will be good enough that it kicks down doors for you.

you'll notice i never included "be active on social media! post your new work! feed instagram's ad revenue by giving it more content!" in this strategy because it doesn't matter. i'm not professionally active on any social media. we were getting hired before twitter existed and we'll still get hired after it dies. just do make sure you have an online portfolio (your own website >> artstation >>> other free folio builders >>>>>>>>>>>> an instagram feed.) the more times you do this cycle the easier it gets; both because you'll just get good at every step of the process, and because more people will know you and have known you for *longer* so you seem like a safer bet. I'll be honest: it's a ton of rejection lmao. I would get a rejection in my inbox at least once a week - even more than that i'd just get radio silence. But eventually you'll get a yes, and if you're lucky that yes will result in high quality new work you're proud of and can put into your folio (taking you back to step 1 lol.)

the freelance life is (INSHALLAH!!!) behind me since i now have a full time job doing marketing/supporting art for video games. But my portfolio never would've gotten there if i didn't have the experience of going through the freelance meat grinder first. it really taught me how to be an actualized *creative* (who can stand up for her own expertise, think like a project manager, and take creative ownership of / responsibility for my assignments) and not just a hired hand. my team likes that. i think

#not art #ask #freelance artist #not sure i want to tag this for discoverability tumblr thank you #art advice

[sengenweek]

SenGen Week: Day 04 (Correction)

Day 04: January 01

Soulmate au / first date/meeting

-'-

Title: Colorfools.

-'-

A/N: You can see every color, except for the color of your soulmate's eyes. Once you see the eyes of your soulmate, you can finally see the color that has never been available for your sight.

-'-

He was lonely, and had nothing better to do that day, so he'd gone to a nice coffee shop downtown just to kill some time outside his house. Being indoors all the time was getting to his nerves. The coffee shop was a nice place, decorated with whites and browns in a second floor, and a big window with view to the outside, but the view was plagued with people and cars; nothing interesting to see. He opened a notebook containing drafts for his next book, as his drink and snack arrived, he was already engrossed in his writing and thanked the waiter absently.

He wrote and scratched several lines, using at least three of his pages when he decided to leave his pencil aside to take a sip of his coffee, looking once more to the window as he munched on a donut. And he noticed something, someone who looked briefly upwards and Gen got a glimpse of their eyes. Their eyes. A color he'd never seen before, a beautiful and mesmerizing shade enlightened by the sunlight. And as soon as the person –a boy, a teen?– had glanced up, his eyes went back to the floor, leaving Gen to observe a very strange mop of hair that stuck up. He was with two other people, a tall young man, and a girl with long hair, but Gen barely paid them any mind, he was stuck on the other teen, the one with odd hairstyle, and such beautiful eyes. He was about to get up from his seat and run to him, run to catch him. But as soon as Gen had seen him, the crowd had engulfed him.

Red. He knew what the color he'd never been able to see was called. Red. Gen saw it, again, in the traffic lights, in the neon signs of Tokyo, in the package of his favorite drink, Cola. Red. In the cover of his notebook, in the ink of his pen, in the drawings of his deck of cards. Gen saw red, the color that was missing from his life; and he loved it. He loved the color that painted his soulmate's eyes. And he regretted the fact that he may never see this person again, may never even hear his voice.

-'-

The girls at school –as well as some boys– seemed to have gained an interest in someone named Asagiri Gen, a sort of magician. One day, one of his classmates read aloud a quiz from one of his 'psicology' books, and Senkuu quickly disregarded it's value, and decided it wasn't really worth the effort to read more from it, so he didn't even looked at it.

That afternoon when the rest of his classmates as well as Taiju and Yuzuriha had left the classroom, he noticed his classmate had left the aforementioned book in there, so he took it to put it away and return it the next day, he lifted the book and saw it's cover which portrayed Asagiri Gen himself in the front. Asagiri Gen. A magician. A 'writer'. The complete opposite of him. He saw the deep blue of his eyes. He saw it in the night sky, in his father's tie, in the sea, in the wallpaper of his computer, in his jeans. He saw the color he'd never seen before, and got excited –happy, even–. So he thanked Asagiri Gen for putting his face in his trashy book, and left it at that. There was no need for Senkuu to do anything else about this.

And that was a filthy lie, because he tamed his hair down, wore a hat and glasses to attend one of his shows, he sat on the back row, hidden. Asagiri Gen's magic show was no big thing, he used every old trick in the book with a little personal twist. His smile was big and false. Like his show, Asagiri Gen seemed to be an act. Senkuu wondered what he'd be like in reality. So every now and again, he would read one of his trashy books, aimed towards the public to produce sales, and once or twice, assisted to his shows. Never once did he make contact.

-'-

'AD 5738, April 1st'

Whoever carved that was totally insane. Whoever carved that, had kept track of time while being petrified. Whoever carved that, was awesome. And Shishio Tsukasa feared this person. This Ishigami Senkuu person had to be someone worth knowing. He was hopeful to find him alive, despite having heard Tsukasa say he'd killed him with his own hands. He was quickly despached to go find the village of primitive people and the smell of ramen invaded Gen's nostrils.

'Ishigami Senkuu must have lived, then' was his first thought.

He snuck around the people and snatched a bowl, being his usual confident self even as he got surrounded by three of them, aiming very sharp spears –and knives– at him.

"I thought I'd seen your face somewhere before, Asagiri Gen"

He turns to look at the one he can only asume, is Ishigami Senkuu, and his heart beats so wildly in his ribcage he'd swear it would burst it open. He only ever saw them once, he only ever saw him once, but Gen would recognize that shade of scarlet, that weird mop of hair, anywhere. It took all of his self-control to keep his façade. The young man didn't seem fazed at all, he put Gen to work and got information out of him, not that he was going to keep it a secret anyhow.

"All I have to do is make a false report. 'It was only a primitive village.' 'Senkuu is dead.' With that, I can save you, Senkuu-chan"

'^I can save you^ I don't want you to die'

He hoped Senkuu had gotten the message, since he didn't show any reaction to seeing him. And Gen knew he'd never mistake his soulmate.

'But. Soulmate or not, you're amazing, and I want you to live.'

-'-

He didn't know if Gen was avoiding the subject on purpose, but he supposed it wasn't good to just dodge the situation forever. The matter of being soulmates had to be adressed eventually.

"Senkuu-chan~!" Ah, yes, speaking of the devil.

He turns to look at Gen, smiling brightly, the scar on his cheek making his grin far more devious than it should be.

"What are you doing up so late at night?" he questions.

"I could ask you the same, Gen"

"Insomnia~! Your turn~!"

"Stargazing" he grins.

"You like the stars?"

"Yeah, they're a good way to know your location, and the time at night. Although, after so many years, they shifted in their place. They're not where I remember them being"

"Everything has changed" he mumbles nostalgic.

"It's not so bad. With consistent and sustained effort we can bring it back to being more or less where everything was. It'll take years, perhaps even decades, though"

"Ah, yes. You'll work everyone to exhaustion"

"You damn right, I will" he beams.

Gen can only sigh, a tiny smile tugging on his lips.

-'-

An observatory. Gen really surprised him this time. 'He must've remembered when we spoke of the stars' he mused. He really should speak to him now, he knew jackshit about these kinda feelings, but he was sure this was more than just a gift for his birthday, the words the mentalist spoke were far too much of a hint.

As if being summoned by his thoughts –again– the mentalist burst throught the entrance on the floor elegance in his movements.

"Stargazing?" he asked.

"Yes and no. I'm trying to find where the stars are now"

There's a map on the floor, notes and constellations drawn into it. Gen takes a sit right next to him.

"And how is that going?"

"My hand hurts from scribbling so much" he sighes.

The mentalist takes his right hand gingerly, tracing circles and triangles and squares into his open palm, lips pursed –almost pouting–, inspecting it as if it were an antient text.

"Don't tell me you read palms too, mentalist" he jokes.

"Why, yes I do~!" Gen answers gaze never leaving his hand.

"Oh really? And what does my future say?"

"You have a tewible luck. As always"

"Mmm"

Senkuu changes the position of their hands, now he's the one tracing figures on Gen's palm, making him chuckle.

"What does my future say, Senkuu-chan~?" he asks amused.

"It says... You will be kissed shortly"

"Eh? Kissed?"

Senkuu leaned –eyes open– and placed a chaste kiss on Gen's lips. And Gen looks cute when he gets paralized and blushing, his eyes three times larger than a moment ago.

"Thank you, for my birthday present. And for the color blue. It's beautiful"

Gen tries to speak a few times, but he only manages to look like a fish, so he gives up, and buries his face on his sleeved hands.

"Never seen you so flustered before. How cute" Senkuu chuckles.

"You're so mean~!" he pouts.

"Sorry. But it seemed like we avoided the subject for too long"

He spreads his fingers, letting only one bright iris to be discerned.

"I suppose you're right" he agrees. "You knew since the modern days who I was"

"I saw your face in one of your trashy books"

"Heh. I saw you once from inside a coffee shop"

"Really?"

"Yes. It was only a fleeting moment when you looked up" he explained sheepishly. "I wanted to go after you then, but you got lost in the crowd. I think you were with Taiju-chan and Yuzuriha-chan"

"Heh, I probably was"

"I like it. Red, I mean"

"I wonder if everyone just loves the color they'd never seen before"

"Probably most people do" he smiles, finally revealing his face.

And Senkuu takes the chance to steal another kiss. This time Gen responds, draping his arms on Senkuu's neck, the other pulls Gen closer by his waist.

Scarlet and cobalt meet, they suit each other quite beautifully.

-'-

A/N: So, I posted day one again for mistake. Kids, don't go operating heavy machinery when you're sleep deprived, just sayin', ya could get something wrong. Also on:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13464121/4/SenGen-Week-2019-2020

#i deleted the other submission hope thats alright #day four #soulmates #first meeting #sengenweek #sengen week #sengen #submission