#usually I don't post project concept art but I've learned if I don't do this then it will never be seen ever. so I will start doing this

[courtesycalling]

happy robot girl wednesday to those who celebrate

#my art #original #robot #usually I don't post project concept art but I've learned if I don't do this then it will never be seen ever. so I will start doing this #the realization that people who follow me online don't know I'm a robot artist and have been for years...

[astrojulia]

Hey! Now it's Pisces Season, can you do a post about Pisces too????

They stand out - Their ruler Neptune is connected to the arts and creativity, so their desire to see beauty in the world and to show their own creative abilities often translates into the way they dress and accessorize, imbuing their dreamy gaze in their belongings.

They like to be underestimated - Calm down, it's in a good way. Pisces love a challenge. They say they shy away from a competitive environment, but they enjoy experiences that make them grow and become better, in other words, evolve. Therefore, they are not afraid of a little competition, after all, they are surrounded by the signs of Aquarius and Aries who also love a challenge.

They have a paternal instinct - Pisces like to take care of people like a mother or father. They usually want to have a child, so it's almost like a previous training for them LOL

They will ignore you until the end of times - … That's how Pisces "forgives," leaving everything behind. That's why they choose to forget what happened, but they also want to completely forget the presence of someone or a situation to avoid conflicts. So if you fight with a Pisces, they almost never come back.

They are demanding - Yes! Pisces are the type to always demand more and more. Trust me, my boss is a Pisces (just kidding). Pisces are very demanding in relationships and at work. They are very understanding and supportive partners, they will talk to you about your problems to try to balance between your needs and the needs of the situation, but they won't go easy on you.

They are golden friends - They are very observant and helpful with their friends, spending a lot of their time trying to improve the lives of others, giving help on complex things like big projects and dreams. But before reaching this point, Pisces also test their friendships and do not forget something that happened, even if it was not something that happened directly to them or with the intention of hurting them.

Anxiety prize - Like their water siblings, they have a lot of anxiety. They internalize everything that happens in their lives and try to solve problems before they happen. I believe that emotional intelligence is a gift that all signs should seek (so much so that I even make posts about how to improve it), but water signs are the ones who have to accept that they are far from perfect, after all, what is perfect is not complete. So when they are better with themselves, anxiety is more mental than emotional.

They only believe when they feel - Being the opposite of Virgo, who being an earth sign only believes what they see, Pisces only believe what they feel. They really get involved with something when they feel it, it can be good or bad, but for them, the senses need to be involved. I think a lot about going to churches on this topic, there are churches that look like a wall of stones, others like a sanctuary, and in the end, both were made of bricks, but convey totally different sensations. They need to emotionally engage to deepen their understanding of something, in other words, they would never go back to the first church, even if it has the best priest in the world, but they would go back to the second one to learn more from whoever is there.

They feel they have lived many lives, and many feel they are in the wrong one - There are spiritual lines that say Pisces is the last reincarnation of the soul, but not everyone believes in reincarnation… Pisces is a sign that mixes a lot with others, experiencing the lives of others, and I emphasize that this is also possible with fictional characters. Due to all this psychological concept and Pisces' ease of getting involved with others, it seems that the wisdom of this sign comes from the experiences of other people, thinking that theirs is not good enough.

They think they don't deserve love - I've said that they test people for friendships, but they also do it in love. They seek a lot of security in their relationships, afraid of the end. Yes, even though Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, a mutable water sign, they don't like endings because it means new beginnings… trying everything again is very stressful for them, so they want proof that they are loved. An then.., this becomes a huge self-sabotage.

They don't like drama - Pisces usually love peace and don't like to get involved in unnecessary drama or conflicts okay,some of them love a gossip... They prefer to focus on positive experiences and relationships and may avoid confrontations or negative situations whenever possible. I know everything that is said about the drama of this sign, but they are more dramatic for the pain of others than for themselves, usually leaving their own life under the rug, feeling the needs of the less privileged and thus making drama for them and not for themselves.

They want you to win - Pisces root for their friends, they imagine what is best for the other and want them to feel good. In short, they would have Hufflepuff energy.

They like to have their own space - Pisces value their alone time and may need space to recharge and connect with their inner selves. They can be introverted or introspective and may feel overwhelmed or exhausted when around other people for too long. Like the 12th house, they want to spend time thinking, reflecting, improving, and taking a break to return to their circles of friends.

They are discreet planners - They can be great at keeping secrets and planning things behind the scenes. What they want, they don't like to reveal to others. You know the phrase "if you tell others, it ruins it and doesn't work," so when they finally take the initiative to take action, they don't put too much of their ideas out there, leaving more of it on paper to plan until they feel it's right.

They never stop thinking - They are deep thinkers who love to reflect on the big questions of life… and sometimes turn everything into a big question. They never stop planning what they will do, as well as being afraid of hurting the feelings of others, they are also afraid of hurting their own feelings, so they are always planning how they will speak and how they will defend themselves when a discussion arises.

They are sensitive - This you will see everywhere, but it's true. They are known for their emotional sensitivity and empathy. They can be highly attuned to the emotions of others and may be deeply affected by the suffering of those around them, therefore, they tend to seek a more spiritual path to understand this universe, to know why they feel so much.

They are possessive - Pisces can be quite possessive when it comes to the people and things they care about. They are loyal and protective of their loved ones and may have difficulty letting go of attachments or relationships that are important to them. The downside is that they don't like this side of them and don't handle this feeling well.

They are self-defenders - They hate it when their wounds are touched, so there are always arguments for a discussion to separate the "me" from the problem to be solved, making the issue that surrounds them sometimes seen in the third person and not in the first person, as if they were talking about someone else. This is their tactic for not getting emotionally involved.

Sources: Astro Elias - The 19 secrets inspiration Template by sorberts on tumblr PSD by wildfireresources on deviantart

#all about astrology #astrojulia #astrology observations #astrology placements #pisces #pisces season #witchblr #astroblr

[olderthannetfic]

It's kind of wild whenever someone mentions the concept of fandom friends to me. I can't imagine anyone in fandom being a friend to anyone else. Fandom is a hobby where you spend a lot of time writing or creating art and then people don't look at it because they didn't like the title or there were too many/not enough tags or whatever, and then the people who do read it only rarely leave kudos and never leave comments. If you're dumb enough to go onto a Discord server you get swarmed by antis describing how they'd like to carve open your stomach as they rape you because you ship the wrong thing, and if you're desperate enough to go on tumblr and post in a fandom tag you get called a pedophile, as is the fate of all queers who interact with right wingers. Where does the friendship part come in? How are you supposed to make friends in an environment where people who type "loved this!!" are unicorns, let alone people who speak multiple sentences that aren't seething contempt?

I feel like this is one of those concepts that doesn't really apply to the modern world. Maybe it's a Web 1.0 versus 2.0 thing?

--

I don't know what to tell you, dude. I've made friends with regular commenters here, and not that long ago either.

Some fandoms are particularly bad, but a lot of the time, it's about being highly visible while having rock-solid, no nonsense oldschool views on fandom. That attracts other people with the same vibe.

That said, my offline fandom friends usually don't share specific fandoms with me. I've dragged Morgan Dawn into watching Beyond Evil, but most of our social time is spent planning fandom history preservation projects. My other friends often like BTS, but they're barely even reading fic at this point. We might swap tips on Korean learning apps or go for Korean food together, and they might keep me updated on all the concert news I don't follow, but we're friends because we like fannish things the same way, not because we like the same fandoms.

[valfeathers]

introducing x, y & z!

(left to right) x y z

shout out to those people in my tags that mentioned i left them out of my big post, you lot inspired me to actually design them! it started out as a bit of fun but i actually wound up getting attached,,, and now i love all three of these bozos

little written descriptions + more art below!!

X - (X-Ray) Toxicologist & science prodigy, X uses her boundless energy & determination to give her best effort to whatever project they’re working on. She’s fond of pranks and is resourceful. They think outside the box and aren’t afraid to bend the rules to get what they want. She keeps her colleague’s spirits up. She has a way of explaining things that makes information accessible to anybody, and she has thought about teaching before. She hopes to secure a job in the science field regardless, with or without the assistance of the House. 

Y - (Yulie)

Wammy’s House’s archivist & an aspiring journalist, Y has a way of obtaining information that otherwise wouldn’t see the light of day. She has a stoic and elusive personality to those who aren’t fortunate enough to really know her, and because of her access to top secret information, she’s learned how to keep potentially life altering secrets. She has information that she will take to the grave. If she decides that she can trust you, she’s an invaluable ally to have. 

Z - (Zen)

The picture of a Wammy’s Letter Holder, young, intelligent, and willing to devote himself to the cause, Z is an aspiring field agent, not unlike F. He possesses unmatched intuition, having this ability to read people that the other members of the team lack. He’s universally known as a human lie detector among Wammy’s Staff. He never showed any interest in becoming a successor, instead choosing to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. His near-perfect test scores and willingness to lend his skills to the Staff allowed him this leniency. 

...

since we don't have a canon timeline for when exactly the detective war happens, i've decided that in my version of events takes place between 1999-2000, 2 years before the events of LABB. these three were all a part of L's generation, so they're 20 at the time of the case

the promised concept art--

i have a little art block so these are all not my usual rendered pieces but i hope i get the gist anyways!

bonus hcs!-

X's goal in life is to have a pet

Y is a smoker, mostly when stressed

Z was friends with A, before A passed away

i'm still working on fleshing out their backgrounds before the case, but i thought i'd introduce the lot of them rn!!

#x y & z #death note #v wammyposting #this is just scratching the surface i'm obsessed with them #wammys kids #wammy boys #death note fanart #i love them all dearly #me getting attached to my hc heavy orphans again

[mollish-art]

What advice would you have for someone looking to start a personal writing saga project on AO3 and/or Tumblr :000 definitely asking for a friend /j

Hooooo boi! I'll tell you what worked for me and hopefully you'll find it useful :)

"Unperson" is the longest and most cohesive project I have ever made publicly, ever. While I've been working on Draka Imperium (my original dragon series) for far longer, it is nowhere near as well thought-out, let alone has a organized set of dedicated content (like Unperson's chapters, audiobook, concept art, and website).

For Unperson specifically, I planned the story out in advance far more than I had done with Draka Imperium previously. This made it easier to have goals in mind for myself (i.e. knowing approximately how many chapters, how many characters, and how many references I would need to create in order to complete the project). Having set goals for myself, it made it far less daunting to actually begin the project, which is always the hardest part.

It also gives you a morale boost when you've completed something, as you know that you've advanced a step towards finishing the project as opposed to just throwing something into an abyss without knowing if you're actually any further to reaching your goal (that is something that caused me to burn out a little with Draka Imperium, which is why I'm re-writing the entire story outline before I create any more art for it).

As for making it successful outside of just completing the project itself, use as many social media platforms as possible. While "Unperson" is hosted on AO3, I've promoted it mostly on Twitter, done this whole Q&A thing on Tumblr, and also posted all of the art and other promotional material on TikTok and deviantArt, as well as created the accompanying material (audiobook and speedpaints) on Youtube. Of course, you don't need to also create all of that side content like I have, but doing so can help to reach audiences outside of your usual bubble.

I've found that creating a website for Unperson to keep all of the primary material and relevant links in one place has been super helpful, both for myself as a creator and for the fanbase. I just used Wix, which is a really easy-to-use website builder that is also free (I'm not sponsored, but I would still recommend them) - I didn't have to learn any coding or anything like that!

The last thing I would advise would be to interact with your audience as much as possible. Respond to comments, promote any fan content that people make, create lots of teaser material for people to interact with and theorize around, etc. I've found that the reason why things like the DSMP have been so successful is because of the sheer amount of community interaction, so I decided to take that approach with my own content creation :) It also just makes it more fun for myself, too!

I hope that you find some of that useful :3

#I hadn't actually thought through this process before #but yeah! #hope it helps!

[maiji]

Something I'm excited about with regards to finishing fight / flight is that now I can finally post a new batch of images to Pixiv! Not just fight / flight, but also other illustrations I finished over the period of time and/or forgot to previously post to the North Bound series there. I really wanted to do one last illustration of these three to close it off. 

I usually wait a day, several days before posting art/comics to other platforms. Partly to spread out the update spam, partly to try to increase visibility, but mostly because 9 times out of 10 if I post things too fast I almost immediately discover some silly mistakes and then I'm crying inside because I'm repeatedly editing, reposting, finding another mistake, repeat etc... and/or I can't edit a post on some platforms and have to delete it all and start over. So I try to pace myself a bit, giving myself a little distance and opportunity to be more aware and mindful. (Sometimes it works. Sometimes I'm like, who cares, no one will notice except me, and move on with my life.)

It's always hard to assess your own work objectively. Projects like North Bound are particularly interesting because of the funny elasticity of time that you have with all the different pieces of it. That some ideas are so old and you're finally getting to them after all these months/years or other people are finally seeing them when you've already long moved on to something else. That different things are at varying stages of conception and sketching and refining and finishing, and so on. Webcomic creators are very familiar with the concept of "webcomic time". I think anyone who works in a field where there's a lag between the initial conceptualization of something and the actual publishing/launching it out into the world know what I mean. Webcomic time maybe even more so because the barriers to entry for webcomics can be wonderfully low and webcomic creators often do SO MUCH in the production so lots of people get to commiserate in this funny space/feeling together. To be honest I think I feel it with North Bound even more than I ever felt it with Now Recharging. The latter I worked on in a relatively regular fashion to hit specific posting schedules, while North Bound really is whenever I can squeeze in the time and motivation and also problem-solve narrative issues.

Looking back, Mirror Most Dark (completed 2017), I Heard A Cicada Cry (completed 2020), Survive (2021) and fight / flight (2024) (see them all here) form a four story set as "this is North Bound Hokushin's formative time before he meets Raizen". But what I really like is that they feel pretty self-contained - more like "this is an interesting little supernatural historical fiction-y series of stories". (Enough so that I actually woke up one night thinking, "Hey, this set of stories would actually make a pretty robust printed book! The 3 comic stories alone come to 108 pages! I wonder how many pages Mirror Most Dark would come to if I re-laid it out as a printed illustrated story... I'd have to redraw the illustrations in black and white to be able to print it more cost-effectively and match the style of the comic stories..." and then I was like no, you already have enough things to work on, and you don't need another box of books sitting in your closet for the next 10+ years.)

Working on these helps me really appreciate the art and craft of storytelling and building out/fleshing out a character, and also pushes me to try so many things I otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to. Mirror Most Dark, the oldest work in this group, still holds up not too badly (though there are a lot of errors and issues, and many things I would change if I were attempting it today...), and some panels and sequences I've been very proud of throughout the stories. When I reread them I do always see little things I'd like to fix, but overall... I made them, I learned from them, they exist, and it was all a very worthwhile experience!

#yu yu hakusho #hokushin #semimaru #tomoe gozen #historical fiction #fancomic #fanfiction #art by maiji/mary huang #yyh north bound

[cosmic-navel-gazin]

"About the Blogger" Meme by @razielim

Haven't seen one of these in forever; I'm being the change I want to see. (You're encouraged to adapt/remove questions or add new ones to better suit yourself.)

Favorite Pseud: Cosmic is the new hotness but my indecisive ass has had a billion! Alas-poor-yorick! is an old one I'm still fond of because my child self really went and saw Hamlet and thought: "YES! THE SKULL OF THE DEAD JESTER! THAT'S WHO I WANNA BE!"

Time Zone: GMT

Star Sign(s): the one that's a COSMIC RAM! 🐏🌠✨

Favorite Holidays: every holiday is always tinged with just a tad of existential dread, a pang reminding me of the time that's already gone by, that I'm one day closer to death , I guess the ones during Spring and Summer, just because of the weather and that the days are longer

Last Meal: Soup and a piece of bread with olive oil (and olives)

Current Favorite Musician: my dear friend who plays the piano^^ (whom I hope never finds out about this blog and reads this or I'll never hear the end of it). Not sure if current, but I've listened to a lot of it regularly so, shout-out to Jordi Savall and his Hespèrion XXI group *gnaws on their many variations of the spanish Folías*

Last Music Listened To: Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In) · Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

Last Movie Watched: Saw X and The Lobster

Last TV Show Watched: The Bear

Last Book/Fic Finished: Can't remember what was the last book so I'm going with: One of only two in existence A Field In England fics on AO3 😳

Last Book/Fic Abandoned: Kafka's The Trial (not abandoned, I just wanted to finish the ones I had started first before continuing because I know this one's gonna hurt for sure)

Currently Reading: Solaris by Stanisław Lem

Books/Shows/Movies/etc. You Want to Get Around To: For Films I have some listed on this ask. For books I got some Strugatskys to get to, some Terry Pratchett, some Kafka, some Horus Heresy, my sister got me Foundation *looks at bookshelf and ignores the dozens of others that have been sitting there for years, waiting for me*

Last Thing Researched for Art/Writing/Hyperfixation: Wild boars! Boarzinhos if you will.

Last Eureka, Breakthrough, or Neat Fact/Concept Learned: Have learned nothing and remain a fool.

Favorite Online Fandom Memory: I don't think I've ever been in a Fandom™ per se. It's usually just, sitting in my dark lair and enjoying a thing with a handful of other people. But, if it counts since it's the closest to interacting with Fandom I've had: these past (4?) years on tumblr in general. From the months-long (sometimes years-long) discussions about this or that piece of media and the insightful observations traded, the juicy meta, the joy and privilege of people sending you unfinished pieces of their art and writing through DMs (the trust and intimacy of it all!!!), sending each other memes and posts we think the other might enjoy, the nice messages, etc... all of it really.

Favorite Old Fandom You Wish Would Drag You Back In/Have A Resurgence: Am baby and haven't really experienced this yet.

Favorite Thing You Enjoy That Never Had an Active or Big "Fandom" but You Wish It Did: I literally can't choose because almost everything I love is some flavour of weird-ass-obscure thing! But uhmmm, *flips through enormous tome of interests* : Here! Rule of Rose ! I was starving for psychological horror games after the Silent Hill series and this is the closest I've ever seen to them while also not being just a rip off/clone of SH, and telling its own beautifully tragic story (the combat is broken and there's other issues but everything else, maaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn).

Tempting Project You're Trying to Rein In/Don't Have Time For: I will draw Rumata and Budach's Conversation™ from chapter 8 in full, in comic form, skill to pull it off and do it justice or not, EVEN IF IT KILLS ME!

Tempting Project You're 100% Going to Undertake: It involves sandcastles and the joys of creation... but it needs to *gasp!* actually be written and not just daydreamed about.

Tagging: AAAAAA I DUNNO ANYONE WHO WANTS TO!

#I thought I could do this when you first tagged me but I underestimated how I can't get anything done before an appointment #so I only got to this now #razielim #ask games #ty for the tag gabe <3

[torchickentacos]

long rambling under cut, what I learned from yesterday's art experience

I think i've realized my issue with art inconsistency though!!! I think my issue is that I have no art style and everything i do varies wildly. when i'm pingponging between semirealism, anime, and whatever the fuck else, i don't allow myself the repetition of a single style. I'm not giving myself time to sit down and LEARN a single style. So much of learning art is repetition, and I don't give myself that. I understand a lot of the concepts, which can be transferrable between styles, but ultimately I never sit down and focus on learning one style of proportions or one style of shading.

I think that the semirealism is the one that I feel the most satisfaction from but it's also much harder to get correct, and oftentimes the work outweighs the final product. BUt I also was grinning like a fool when I hit post, and for once in my life I felt that satisfaction of a job well done when oftentimes, I have a habit of half-assing everything I do. Not because I don't care, but I tend to get swept up in ten million things at once and I divide my effort across projects, and ultimately none of them reach full potential or have undivided attention to them. But this time, I saw what my undivided attention can do??? It's not GREAT but it's not bad either!

I think my main takeaways from this are that I should give myself more time and effort to individual projects, and I should try to start moving towards developing a single style instead of my usual 'whatever I make ends up looking like part of a group project by a random selection of a baroque artist, a modern sculpture artist, and a graffiti-ist, and not a single person's effort'. That said, I DO think there's a lot of value in a varied art style and the diversity and flexibility that can bring.

[heavensmortuary]

1, 8, 9 and 14 for the writer ask?

1. Current projects?

My first project is @miragecounty ! Its a speculative fiction southern gothic story I've been casually writing/illustrating for a year. I have new chapters, just havent released it yet (a collection of fairytales, hymns, and another short story). Anyway. It's a collection of short stories from the inhabitants of a small town called Mirage, located in Mirage County, South Carolina. Its a town that fell through the cracks of reality, or maybe, its the most real thing there is.

Honestly I'm still sorting out the lore (which I accidently made convoluted to a sickening degree LMAO) and learning from my past mistakes of what I posted eariler, I'm now just experimenting, and overall having fun. I kinda threw it out there like hey, its now or never right? And bit the bullet. Anyway, yes. I don't know what its entirely supposed to be myself, but it'll untangle itself eventually X) I dearly love this project and its close to my heart.

My secod story is in the works. It started as a concept art project but I liked it too much to just leave it without a story. I'm not too sure how everything is supposed to go, but generally its about space harpies/angels, the grim reaper, cyber-dystopia biotechnology, malevolent gods, and fish bones. Thats my synopsis ✌😭

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

I change my answer from before. I would say yes

9. Pantser or plotter? Longfic or drabble?

Drabble 100%. I usually write blurbs and stitch them together Frankenstein style until something is cohesive. Im a mix of pantser and plotter. If I don't have a general outline/idea of how the story will be flavored, it'll be yucky in the end, so I gotta be somewhat careful. Once i have a sliver of what I like, thats when all caution goes to the wind. I don't care then

14. At what point do you come up with a title?

It entirely depends on what I'm writing. For Mirage County, it was the first thing I made. For my other project, it still doesnt have one, and I've been chipping at it for 4 years.

#possible cryptid #asks #krakens croaks

[backbracebruin]

I have been sitting on a photography project idea for quite some time, and have been a bit more motivated to pursue it based on encouragement I had been receiving lately from a professor of mine. Since the inception of this project sprang forth from my usually addled brain, a lot more projects like it have cropped up in the art world and on social media. Not just professional photographers, but everyday folks sharing pictures of themselves going about their days and doing the things they normally do. They just happen to be using their disabled bodies.

As my mental and physical disabilities have fluctuated over the years - from rendering me completely non-functional to me having the ability to participate in the world in my own capacity - I've thought about the way the world perceives my abilities. I think a lot about how others are perceived, as well. I have friends and family who have mental disabilities, some with physical; others with both. I notice that there is a grace afforded to those with visible physical disabilities, but that it often comes accompanied by pity and condescension. When you're struggling with a mental disability - or any other "invisible" disability - you're more often met with invalidation or outright denial that you are disabled, because obviously all disabled folks use wheelchairs and walking canes and other clearly apparent assistance devices.

Long before I received my diagnoses and started collecting my SSDI and living off my Medicare, I grew up being very close to family members who have/had apparent visible disabilities. The individual who had the biggest impact on my life, especially in terms of how I grew up knowing to have compassion for people who have different abilities than myself, is my aunt, who is featured in the photo above. The photo depicts her rolling down a pathway in Glacier National Park - one of the hundreds of stops on our four month long cross-country trip back in 2008 - arms outstretched and showing not a care in the world. She is the nexus for not only this project, but for my ongoing learning process of how to treat and think of others and myself.

I'd notice that people would feel entitled to grabbing her wheelchair if she was pushing herself while we traveled and a particularly stubborn curb appeared. I remember the incredulity in one person's voice when I rolled her chair to the driver's side of her car and as she slid in on a special board for transferring, they said, "You can do that? You can drive like that?"

I know many people are either under or ill-informed, and they perhaps do not understand the implications of their words or actions. I'm sure many think that they are being helpful by grabbing someone's chair (for clarity: No, you are not, unless explicitly asked to do so. Otherwise you are grabbing what that person considers an extension of their body). I know that when people have marvel in their tone at a disabled person's ability to do things that they themselves as an able-bodied person can do, it is again, just their woeful ignorance of the lives that we as disabled people lead. I think it’s a safe generalization that, because we are human after all, we have our “good” days and our “bad” days. 

A disable individual's "good" days and "bad" days may look radically different from what we consider the norm. But despite how we may categorize a given day, we still must find ways, however minute, to function in our own microcosm and the world at large.

I have had this post in my drafts for weeks now, unsure of how to summarize this concept and what I might intend to do with it. With the very recent personal news that my own disabilities are going to put me on a different path than even I had accounted for, I'm thinking that I will very seriously try to undertake this endeavor. It will be an outlet for me to continue to explore my passion for photography and my all-consuming desire to meet new people and listen to their stories and understand us all better. Covid is still a large-looming presence, and the state of affairs here in the U.S. and abroad never seems to be getting better. Even so, I think I am going to try to find safe ways to venture out and engage with others and capture how people live their lives and adapt despite whatever "limitations" they have been presented with.

I need to ruminate on this more, obviously. That includes whether I would start a separate blog or Instagram or something for photos. Also how comfortable I feel sharing photos of myself. It kind of feels like I have to? I don't know.

But if anyone has read this far and would like to offer feedback on the idea or even go so far as to discuss potentially participating in this if it comes to fruition, it would be greatly appreciated. Honestly, any input is welcome, and from anyone. I certainly would like to hear from people with disabilities who want to see themselves represented in ways we're not always used to; but also from able-bodied, healthy, and/or non-neurodivergent folks who maybe want to understand experiences outsides their own.

#actually disabled #disability #mental illness #neurodivergence #physical disability #mental disability #not sure how else to tag this...? #long post #photography #maybe using some of my own diagnoses? #schizoaffective #tardive dyskinesia #gastroparesis #spoonies unite! #parkinsonism #chronic illness

[sanstropfremir]

I absolutely LOVED reading your kingdom review. You gave me such an insight in things I never even considered, especially since our rankings are so different from each other. The Boyz was my favorite, the narrative was about RTK. How they felt bad for having to compete against their friends but eventually the groups only lifted each other up and it helped TBZ grow into the group they are now through the hardships and mental dilemma, falling into the next challenge right after they reached the top. It should have been more obvious though, I agree, it wasn't really visible for anyone who didn't know. I was wondering how you felt about the dancing in general? my reason for not ranking BTOB high was lack of choreo (and Peniel's verse), same goes for SF9. Mostly because I don't feel the hype when watching, it doesn't keep my focus on the stage. As a baby-performer myself, my goal is to make the viewer curious about what's next. is that the wrong way to look at it? that's what I've always been told, building the tension up and down to create focus. would love to hear your feedback on that! thank you so much for sharing, we need more reviews of people who actually know what they're talking about.

i'm glad that you got some insight from it! like i answered in the previous ask im here to hopefully bring some more depth and understanding for people that care and are curious!

you unintentionally proved my point about tbz’s performance: that is way too complicated! even the most talented solo dancers i can think of would have trouble distilling that down to something readable in 100 seconds, much less a group of like, a dozen people! the introductory stages are meant to show us the character of the group and their abilities in the most concise way possible, it's not the stage to do deep philosophical and emotional introspection. for a full stage? absolutely, go hog wild! but for this stage it was too ambitious and ultimately was ineffective to anyone that isn't a fan of them specifically. 

by dancing in general do you mean like, every group? i put most of my opinions on the dancing where i had them in each of the individual rankings but honestly? unless there is something that really stands out positively or negatively, a lot of ‘average’ kpop dance looks the same to me. i know it’s not, obviously, and if pressed i probably could do a more serious breakdown, but dance is only one element of performance. it has equal weight with all the others in my mind, and therefore i notice when it is either 

very good

does something unique

very bad, or

interferes with another element

which is the same as how i evaluate every element, if that makes sense. 

hmmmm. i thought about this a lot in the shower and turns out i had more opinions that i expected so i'll put them under a cut.

firstly, i don't think lack of choreo should be penalized or considered an ‘incomplete’ performance. at the end of the day, these are bands, and a part of their brand/product they sell is the music. complex choreo does not need to be attached to that to make it a successful performance. also, btob did have choreo. any movement on stage is technically choreography. but this terminology can cause confusion so usually non-dance choreo is referred to as ‘blocking.’ but they also did include the song’s original point choreo at 1.41. the blocking in their performance was well thought out and suited the arrangement, by placing spatial emphasis on each part of the song that needed it. obviously it comes down to personal taste if the performance is ultimately ‘successful,’ because all art is subjective, but just because something isn't as visually complex as something else doesn’t mean it doesn't have the same level of thought. think of it like this: one is a super clean-lined post-post-modern grey/white living room, and the other is a kitsch goth basement. both share interior design principles and have obvious care put into the space, but they are vastly different styles that appeal to different tastes.

part of the job of production designer/AD is to decide what gets emphasis. a question you're always asking yourself is ‘is this important to the story that we’re trying to tell?’ and btob/their AD made a very smart choice with their introductory stage because it says a lot about them and their abilities in a short amount of time. that stage said ‘our foundation is strong, we have the training and experience and confidence to be up here and not rely on visual tricks.’ because they know they physically cannot do the things the 4th gen groups can; they're a decade older and they only have four members, it's just not feasible. something you learn with experience is the power that specific and pointed emphasis holds, which segues into my answer to your last question. i don't necessarily think that ‘building hype’ is the wrong way to perform something, but i do think it is a flawed way to approach creating a performance.

i think that ‘hype’ is flawed concept at its core, and one that focuses on the idea that there’s always being something more, something next, beyond the work itself. now there’s nothing wrong with playing with tension within the internal structure of a piece, that's exactly how constructing a narrative happens. however, the flaws come once we extrapolate beyond the boundaries of that individual work. the idea of ‘whats next’ implies that you have to constantly be promoting, have a sequel coming, building hype etc so people will keep engaged with your work. which is deeply capitalistic in nature and operates on the assumption that art exists purely as a product to be sold. and in order to keep selling you need to keep making a bigger and better and more spectacular product. and this is not the case at all. marketability is not the essence of art, it merely a factor of creating it under this insufferable system. kpop in particular suffers from this because the industry is specifically fabricated to produce capitol. we can have discussions all day about idols and their artistic integrity but at the end of that day, they are all cogs working with a system that was specifically made up by essentially one person to be culturally exported and to just print buckets of money. so in following that train of thought, there is a constant attitude of bigger and better because shock value (whether positive or negative) gets social media attention and therefore it sells. and it has become exponentially easier (and also seemingly required) to make things that are bigger and better than ever before. i remember being blown away by the projection floor at the sochi 2014 olympics because something of that scale and complexity would never have been possible without literally having the funding of the olympics. now that technology is easily accessible to anyone with an amazon account and the time to learn how isadora works. in comparison, it took 2400 YEARS for just the job of a ‘theatre designer’ to be even become a job at all.

because of kpop’s fan culture it is especially prone to ‘hype’ behaviour. in general with the accessibility of the internet and social media, everything has turned into a competition, and who can generate the most buzz ‘wins’. but ultimately that has taken away the general public’s ability to recognize that you can enjoy something quietly and you can enjoy something slowly. that the enjoyment of something doesn’t need to be all exclamation marks and keysmashes and trending hashtags on twitter. there is value in a work engaging in an emotion within you that is not just excitement. most of the artists and companies that i consume the work of i don’t do so because their work makes me excited, i do so because i liked the experience of engaging with that work. several years ago i saw the eternal tides by legend lin dance theatre, which you can watch a really short clip of here. that is not slow motion, that is actually how slow the dancers are moving. and 90% of the show is performed like that. and its two hours long. and it was one of the most incredible performances i've ever seen. if i ever get the chance I will go see another one of their shows again, not because i care about how they can top that experience i had, but because i know they can produce that experience, and that is enough to make me want to seek them out again. the speed of the internet has also loosened the general public’s understanding of just exactly how long creating a performance work can take. the lead dancer in the eternal tides was with the company for eight years before she and the piece were ready enough to be performed. large scale operas, musicals, and plays often have a year or more of pre-production before they even get to rehearsal. smaller theatre companies workshop new pieces for years at a time. performance is hard and it takes time. you can eliminate some of that with sheer amounts of money and people, which is what the kpop industry has done, but it speeds up the cycle of consumption to a degree that is not sustainable, especially for companies and creators who do not have that kind of access. performers and performance makers often don't put enough trust in their audiences. if they like what they see, they will come back. they dont need to be constantly bombarded with content at all times.

now that i’ve said a bit about why i think hype is a flawed concept, let's bring it back to kingdom. sf9 did something very interesting with their stage in that they actively chose to limit their dance time. and this plays very well off the performance film stage that taeyang did a couple of weeks ago. taeyang is talented and confident (for good reason), and his solo was incredible. but when it came to the intro stage, instead of trying to one-up the solo stage, the group instead said ‘well people are going to be looking at us because taeyang is insanely talented, so let's show them that we ALL have the confidence and the attitude to be up here.’ no need for flashy theatrics, they had the foresight to do something that would make them stand out from the rest of the groups. even if i was just casually watching the stages without doing any analysis on them (like i did for rtk), i would still be able to distinguish them because they had the stones to stand around for half their stage time. now i recognize them and would like to see what else they can do. same principle as what btob and also what ikon did. there is a fine line between anticipation and hype that gets equated in media consumption nowadays, but the two are not the same.

i think the tldr on this is that you dont need to ‘build hype’ or ‘go all out’ to make an interesting work. just focus on telling the narrative that you want to tell, and the people that recognize that will come. i could have a lot more things to say about peoples shrinking attention spans and the constant stream of information that we consume on a daily basis that devalues the labour done by artists in the eyes of the public and promotes hustle culture that is burning out and damaging creators at a rate that is both exponential and frightening, but that’s probably for another time, because this is SO LONG

#kingdom #kpop questions #this was a very interesting ask thank you anon! #the consumption and production of art is fascinating and also as an artist it gives me a fucking headache #many thoughts head too full #i hope this provided you with some more insight anon #none of your opinions are wrong i just have different ones and thats ok! i love discussions like this #Anonymous #kpop analysis #text #general design questions #kingdom review responses #answers #kingdom asks