#I had deadlines to finish like I've got things to do sometimes other then looking after my boyfriends help

[chatonmagique]

My boyfriend is literally sleeping and eating like a baby I don't know what do man, except for forcefeeding him at this point

Like I'm pretty sure his already fatigued body has adapted to the lack of food intake by sleeping an insane amount

[cosmicbrowniebox]

Darling, I

pairing: post ts!kuroo x Artist! gf

wc: I think like 1.2k

a/n:really enjoyed writing this after struggling alot these last two weeks mentally but I hope you guys enjoy this and let me know if you wanna know more about these two for future posts ^_^ also this grammar wise is gonna be so bad because I've been awake since 10pm and its now 1:38 pm and running on fumes

“Yn” Tetsuro called from the doorway just loud enough over the sound of her music playing in the background as she worked on a new piece for the JVA “Huh what’s up” Yn responded not moving from her spot at her desk the drawing tablet flipped on as the only source of light in the room since the sun had already gone down for the night “you should finish up for the night it’s getting late isn’t it?” He asked her, knowing she had been working on the new holiday promotional merchandise for the JVA and had been working on god knows how many things besides that project he had commissioned. 

She nodded checking the time realizing it was already eleven pm “Jeez it’s already this late” she mumbled rolling her stiff neck whenever she got focused on her deadlines and Producing quality work for it she was like a train that never seemed to stop hell even faster than the bullet train sometimes depending how big the art piece is “how far have you gotten?” Tetsuro asked leaning against the doorframe it wasn't enough to completely see her drawing tablet with how she was sitting.

 "I've got the base of it done I think it should be done by later tomorrow if I work all day on it so it can be on time for the deadline" she answered sliding over slightly as she motioned for him to come closer so he could get a better look “it looks amazing Yn I love how you did it and everything just looks so well done” he praised with that smile he always loved her art ever since primary school he always liked to see the things he drew and to read her manga panels in the school paper even when she gave up on drawing for years because she thought it was the right thing to stop because all her friends thought it was weird she put so much time into it until she got back into it for a contest that she entered with a girl who she shared the panels with.

“I'm serious Yn it's already so amazing” he added earning a sheepish smile from his girlfriend “i mean id hope so since it will gonna be shown to a crap ton of teens and others around the country” she responded looking up at him from the corner of her eye before looking back down at the tablet on her table after a moment of watching it deciding to click the save button before shutting down her PC setup in her office “alright let's get to bed its late isn't it” she told him sarcastically as she stood up from her desk chair shooing him out so she could go wash her face before they head to bed 

“Yeah you've been held up in here all day” he quipped back following right behind her already in his pajamas for the night “that's what you say every time” she hummed standing in the doorway of their shared bathroom the faucet running 

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like if we didn't have our careers?” Tetsuro asked watching her almost as if he was watching a painting he must have found breathtaking he liked to say she reminded him of a Renaissance painting sometimes especially when she was doing mundane tasks or working on things “i like to think i would still be in the art type of job but instead i would have pursued being a mangaka y’know?” she answered clicking open her face wash and putting some on her hand as she spoke 

“Or maybe a teacher and I would have gone back to work at Nekoma” she added knowing that ever since she was young it was three things when it came to her art, history, and music she always thought it would be one of those places catching her eye in life.

 never once did she think it would be graphic design though for most of her commissions besides when the JVA commissions her work “what about you?” she asked continuing on with her skincare as he deliberated beside her “probably still doing volleyball maybe or coaching” he answerd she knew in some ways he still wanted to play and go professional like alot of his friends did but he grew to love his job and the life he built but anything would be amazing as long as they were together thats what he always said when one of them felt real discouraged with something they had been trying to pursue in or on a specific project.

“Bet you’d be going pro or something if you kept with it” she said drying her face off from the extra water on her cheeks after a moment setting down the towel as she watched him back for a moment like it was a staring contest or something “eh who knows maybe” he hummed turing on his heel so he could go back into their bedroom “shut off the lights in there” he called out as a reminder knowing she had a habit of forgetting to turn them off at night 

With a small click shutting off the overhead light in the bathroom she followed the hall back to their room knowing he was probably already in bed since it was a long day for them both but its not like long days would truly matter they would always still be by each others side no matter what and know stress was okay and that the other could help to try and lessen that burden 

As she slid in beside him for the night it was like clockwork for her body the tense muscles and aches she had from the day just seemed to melt away beside him because she knew it was safe she knew that she would be safe with him just like she always was ever since junior high

“What would you thin about getting married one of these days yn?” tetsuro asked his chin resting on the top of her head as he held her close she must have seemed so confused with the little huh she made “id do it” she mumbled out as a response before adding “i mean id do anything with you tetsu your like my other half at this point” she added snuggling into him closer she wasnt wrong he really was like her other half the yang to her yin and the sun to her moon 

She knew if he was to ask her it would be an immediate yes it always would be because god would she be a dumbass to say no to the rooster head he was as sweet to her as a bag of sweets he reminded her of home an at this point he was home to her he always had been 

She would always feel at home listening to his heartbeat knowing he was gonna be okay and that nothing bad was gonna happen to him with how bad her anxiety got for no reason sometimes it was always comforting when she would get him all to herself for a bit even if it was just for the night.

[dominiquelucalover]

So Long As You're Happy | Chris Alonso x Animator!Reader

Summary: headcanons of Chris finding our what you do as a side gig even though you've been trying to keep it a secret.

CW: fluff, slight angst, small mention of drug dealing.

A/n: my first request! Omg thank you so much 💛

- when you and Chris first got together, she knew you were an editor and thought that was cool; it's different from her job, so she loves to hear about what you do, how you do it, what it entails, so on and so forth.

- you're also interested in hearing about her work life and what she does on the daily; you're especially listening when she tells you stories about when she was with the k-9 unit.

- however, you haven't been totally honest with her, that is to say you haven't told her about the job you do on the side. it's nothing bad but previous partners have judged you for it before and made you feel as if you were below them for it.

- you do freelance animation on the side, which compared to Chris' job, feels like a childish career choice.

- despite the negative comments you received from partners in the past, you continue to work as an animator because there's so much fun to creating something so special. you're passionate about it and really great at it, so why stop?

- there have been times when a deadline had to be met and you subsequently had to cancel a date to finish. it was no big deal at first, Chris more than understands how a job can get in the way of other life things, so she's very chill about it.

- it's when a big project you're working on gets messed up and needs to be redone that things get a little tricky for your relationship. you're spending nights alone, not really explaining yourself to Chris and she begins to worry.

- naturally, she comes to your apartment one night to check on you, especially since you didn't answer her earlier text and you usually do.

- she finds you looking drop dead tired and in a frazzled state; wearing you most comfortable outfit, you answer the door and are freaked out to see her there.

- when you ask what she's doing there, she explains how worried she's been about you and comes to the conclusion that you're overworking yourself, which is a lot better than other options that had floated through her mind like you were dealing drugs or something.

- all through this conversation, you're trying to use your body and the door to hide your set up which is in plain view behind you; worried that she'll see it and start asking questions that you've answered before and gotten ridiculed for.

-she sees it though and her interest is peaked and those questions roll off her tongue easily; she asks to come in and you don't want to say no, so you let her in and quietly explain what it is you do and the current project you're working on.

-"that's why I haven't been around a lot because someone else messed up some scenes and I have to redo them and it's just been a lot of work," you ramble off, "and I know this isn't like a 'real job' but I really like it and it's important to me."

-Chris is a little startled by that last part and goes "whoa whoa whoa, who said this wasn't a real job?"

-"well, everyone else I've been with thought it was dumb and childish, which I mean, it can be sometime but that's because I do work on kids' shows from time to time."

-she's at a bit of a loss for words because who the hell would say such a thing to you? you're clearly working your ass off to get this done, working just as hard as you do in your editor position, so what's the difference?

-she pulls you close as she sees you're stressed out and worrying over a lot more than the project; she kisses you head and assures you that she doesn't care about what you do in your spare time, "so long as you're happy doing the work, that's all that matters, babe."

-she makes you take a much needed break from the project and makes you some tea/coffee/favorite beverage, then sits down to cuddle with you, letting you rest your head on her shoulder while she rubs your back comfortingly.

-when you're calmed down and relaxed, you want to get back to work because of the deadline, and she encourages you to go right ahead, but asks to watch for a little bit because she's so interested now. it's super sweet of her and she ends up getting you drink refills and snacks when needed, being the best girlfriend ever.

[letsfaceitimhereforthecultstuff]

okay so i finally finished the first 2 seasons of 9-1-1, it took a lot longer than i'd anticipated due to other things like assignment deadlines and the app not working getting in the way but i did it

so here are the cliff notes (i might make more in depth posts in the future about some episodes because i have THOUGHTS)

cliff notes after the break i meant to add bullet points but i accidentally added a question instead and i don't know how to get rid of it (i'm currently on mobile) 🙃 so imma just use it

if the answer is no I don't need to know

first i gotta get this outta the way ... i'm not liking tommy i've only seen what 2 episodes with him in and i'm so sorry but he's been kinda mean (imma put that down to him being repressed maybe) but i'm hoping he gets a nice redempetion arc and it's not just brushed over because from what i've seen on here he's such a sweet guy but i did not get that from his first two appearances (maybe the writers just weren't expecting him to because a recurring character later)

i'm LOVING athena and bobby's relationship they're such a good fit for eachother i have been blessed to be able to witness it

it hurts so much whenever someone says "you're not their/a dad" to bobby like why would you do that

when did the writers and producers decided they wanted buck to be a queer character because I've been getting vibes already and it's led me to wonder which came first them wanting queer buck or fans wanting queer buck and them responding in kind

i'm enjoying the new dynamics that eddie's addition to the team has brought i love exploring interpersonal dynamics in my TV shows i also love eddie as a character and cannot wait to dive deeper into that man's psyche

speaking of interpersonal dynamics MADDIE!!! the ghost whisperer herslef [buck thinking a ghost called 911 HAD to be a nod to that right?!] anyways i love love love maddie i'm holding out hope for her and chim they've been through a lot and they deserve happiness

speaking of happiness when will they let chim live!?! - i know that's an ironic statement to make considering technically they've let him live twice - but they cannot seem to give this guy a break he's my guy also he's got a set of pipes on him in his flashback ep working at the kareoke bar singing garth brooks I keep thinking I've hit my peek with my love for this character and then they add something that makes me love him even more

if chim only has one fan it's me and if he has no fans then i have passed because that man means so much to me

they've been putting hen through the ringer a little bit too tbh but i appreciate that they're allowing queer people to get a little messy and make stupid mistakes but not villanising them for it and just being like these are things that happen in relationships sometimes you either work through it or you don't

i have been really appreciating how this show deals with queerness in general too its not this big flashy thing like "hey look over here we have some gays for you shiny shiny gays in our show" they just exist they're loveable they're flawed and they also just happen to be queer

okay imma stop before i ramble too much but if you wanna hear my thoughts on anything specific that happend in the first two seasons hit me up i love talking about this show and need more outlets for it

[seospicybin]

Hiiiii! I hope you're doing well! I won't ask this annonymously. You already know I am obsessed with your writing and your stories and I thought maybe it's time to gain some courage and ask you what I've always wanted to ask you, because as a writer myself I want to reach your level (I am totally being delulu rn). I decided to do this through your "Spicy mail" and not through DM, because there are probably more people like me who want to ask you these questions. Don't feel obliged to answer though, I totally understand if you don't feel comfortable answering all of this! 1. When did you start your writing journey?

2. Were you always this good at writing (which I know is probably impossible, I just need to ask lol)? 3. What did you do to develop your writing skills?

4.What's the process of writing like - ideas, reasearch, writing, character development, structurizing the storyline, etc.?

5. How long does it take you to come up with a storyline and how long does it take to write one whole story (including time for research)? 6. How do you plan/schedule your writing time? 7. How many stories can you work on at the same time? 8. Last but not least - Any advice for the beginner writes around here?

Hi, dearest Brielle! I'm doing well and hope you're as well. Oh, please, don’t hesitate to ask my questions, just don't expect some mindblowing answers cause I don't think I'm that good of a writer yet. 🙅🏻‍♀️😂

1. My love for writing began when I was 14 or 15. I did all kinds of writing back then, poems, journals, scripts, I wasn’t sure what I want to write (and I still am) but I love just being creative with my writings and then when I stumbled into the fandom, I was like 'why not combining my two fave things into one?' I hesitated a lot before deciding to start seospicybin but I am glad I dared myself to do it and here I am.

2. Of course, not. I CRINGE whenever I read my old fics but then I wouldn’t have improved this much if I didn't make mistakes or experiencing failures. It's all about the process and I am still processing ⌛😂

3. Just keep writing. I write everything on my phone notes from my grocery lists, random fic ideas, sentences that I got from romantic epiphany to weird dreams I had last night. I think at one point writing comes naturally to me like on good days, I don't have any problems spitting 1k words. But also it's very important to read as well, find the reference and the writing style you like.

4. It starts with an idea and from there, I start to roughly mapping the plot, the most important thing is I have decided how the story begins and ends. Then I look for the member that fits the story well. Research. Then, I'll start polishing the plot and create a seamless time frame from one scene to the other. Once I figure it all out then I'll list the scenes from beginning to end and start writing. It's actually more complicated in practice iykyk 😭

5. Depends on the story I'm working on. The longest I worked on a fic is one year, it was Hyunjin's Pluto. I had to really shape the story and the characters and I kept changing the plot in the middle. But sometimes, it only took like a week or days. So it depends on how complex the fic idea is.

6. I have a rl job so I write purely as a hobby so I try to always spare two to three hours just to write. Either I succeed on writing 1k words or barely a sentence, I make it as a habit. However, I set a deadline so I don't always procrastinating or slacking off 🙈

7. Two. Sometimes 3. I can barely keep up if it's more than that. My head is always busy thinking of the next fic even though the one I'm working on is not finished yet 😮‍💨

8. Don't be scared to explore wild ideas or doubt if people would read it or not. As long as it's original and you enjoy writing it, just do it. No matter how bizarre or strange or crazy your idea is, believe me, it'll find its own crowd. Remember that you can't fit yourself into everyone's cup of tea. And lastly, don't be hard on yourself.

Hope that answer your curiosity. I'm sorry I'm not as good as you think I am. I'm just a silly fic writer. But hey, I'm always here if you need my help or to ask more questions. Good luck on everything, boo ❤️

[waitingandwishing]

The Clay Girl - Cute in a monster way

(Cross posted on Wattpad and AO3)

Prev - Next Chapter

“Two days until we reach Los Angeles. Plenty of time before our deadline to reach the Underworld.” Grover smiled and Odyssa nodded, yawning as she sipped on her cup of coffee.

“Can I ask a dumb question?” Percy asked.

“It's like you need me to make fun of you.” Annabeth shook her head.

“Shoot.”

“I've never been to Los Angeles before. I'm guessing neither of you have been to Los Angeles. So, how will we have any idea where we're going?” Percy asked and Grover shrugged.

“No idea. But that's like step 37, and we're still on step four. Cross that bridge when we get there.” Grover shrugged.

“Yeah, and is the bridge troll the guy downstairs?” Odyssa asked and Annabeth chuckled softly.

Percy thought for a second before saying, “Follow-up stupid question.”

“Dude.” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“‘And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end.’ Back in Jersey, I told you the Oracle said this quest would fail. And no one's mentioned it since. Seems like something we oughta be taking a little more seriously.”

Grover and Odyssa exchanged glances before the hazel-eyed girl turned to Annabeth, “He’s sort of right, y’know?” She whispered and Annabeth shook her head.

“Doesn’t mean that the quest will fail. Just said that something fails.” Annabeth reminded her and Odyssa nodded, agreeing with Annabeth.

“Hey. Look at that. Are those…” Percy re-directed his attention to the window. Everyone turned their heads to see a couple of centaurs running around the field.

“Centaurs.” Odyssa finished his sentence with a slight smile.

Percy looked around, slightly weirded out that no one could see them. But it wasn’t like it was new for him, no one saw what he saw. “No one even knows they're there.”

“There used to be herds of them everywhere.” Grover reminisced.

“What happened to them?”

“Humans… A few thousand years ago, the god of the wild, Pan, disappeared. And ever since, without Pan to protect the natural world, humans have been trying really hard to chip away at it.” Grover explained.

‘“Sometimes, the worst monsters are human.”’ Odyssa remembered her sister's words. She was right… She was always right… Odyssa fiddled with the buckle of her leather bag once again, if she continued, she was sure it would probably fray.

“The bravest satyrs volunteer to become Searchers, trying to find Pan,” Annabeth said. “None have ever returned.” 

“Your uncle we found in Medusa's, Ferdinand.” Percy realized, “He was a Searcher?”

Grover, not daring to look at anyone, stared out the window with a slight nod. It was hard for him, he was going to be a Searcher… He would’ve been a good Searcher.

Annabeth breathed, “The Oracle didn't say the quest would fail. ‘Fail to save what matters most.’ That could mean a lot of things. That's how prophecies work, that's how fate works.”

“She’s right, it could mean a lot of things. The harder you try to understand, the harder it is to understand.” Odyssa explained, “I’m sure Luke’s told you that trying to figure out why the gods do what they do would drive you mad, right?”

Percy nodded along with what Odyssa and Annabeth said before a security guard came up to the four of them. “Excuse me. Can I see your tickets, please?” He asked.

They all exchanged glances with each other before Annabeth reached into her bag and handed him their tickets. As he read them, his expression got more and more confused, “You're in Cabin 17B?”

Annabeth looked at Odyssa, slightly confused before the guard escorted them away from the breakfast area and to their cabin. A rush of wind breezed through Odyssa’s hair as she saw the wreckage.

There were scratches on the wall, torn-up curtains, and the whole window had been shattered as pieces of glass layered the room. Percy and Odyssa exchanged glances, did he think they did that?

“You wanna explain?” The officer asked.

“Wait. Wait, you think we did this?” Percy asked, slightly confused at how a couple of kids like them could do that much damage.

“Did you?”

“I mean… How? And why?” Percy frowned.

“Sir, when we left to get breakfast, everything was intact.” Grover put a hand on Percy’s shoulder to stop him from doing anything rash, “We don't know how this happened.”

“We got a witness here, says she heard the window smash,” The officer gestured to the woman down the hallway. “-and then heard children's voices.”

“We were just at breakfast, sir. How would a couple of kids like us do that?” Odyssa pointed to the large scratch mark above the bunk bed Grover was originally sleeping on.

“Can you tell me what time you left the cabin?” The officer asked.

“Are we under arrest?” Annabeth asked.

“I don't think you wanna take that tone with me, little girl.” The guard frowned and Odyssa widened her eyes as Annabeth turned to him fully with a glare.

“Are we under arrest?” She asked again, this time more sterner.

⁅¦⌈🪙~Song of a Hero~🪙⌋¦⁆

“So we're just killing time 'till we find out that guy's like a werewolf or something, right?” Percy leaned over and asked Annabeth and Odyssa.

“I dunno, he doesn’t seem like a monster… But I have a sneaking suspicion it’s someone on board.” Odyssa said as she watched the two officers carefully.

“Hard to say,” Grover added.

“Well, if he's not a monster, what's going on here? Why would anyone tear our room apart?” Percy asked though it wasn’t like they had much of an answer.

“They were probably looking for something,” Odyssa said and Percy scrunched his face.

“We don't have anything.”

“The people who think you stole Zeus's master bolt might disagree,” Annabeth said as a train horn went off in the distance.

“Right.” Percy sucked in a breath.

“Well, look, they're not gonna find something we don't have,” Grover said, trying to be positive.

“Either way, we aren't spending the day answering questions in the St. Louis police station. We need to get out of this before we get delayed.” Annabeth said in a low voice as Odyssa spotted the same woman who reported them walking near them.

“D-Do you mind if I sit?” The woman who reported them tapped Annabeth’s shoulder. The woman didn’t wait for an answer as she sat her dog carrier down in the seat beside them.

Percy and Odyssa scooted over, allowing the woman to sit down. They looked at each other, slightly weirded out by the woman’s concern. 

“You poor dears. Your parents aren't here, are they?” She asked and her dog started whining, “Isn't that right, precious? Don't children get scared when they're all alone? It's okay. I'm a mom. I know how scared you must be.”

“Excuse me. Would you mind giving us a little space?” The woman turned to the officer behind her, “I think… I think you're making them nervous.”

The female cop nodded, walking over to her partner as the suspiciously happy woman smiled at them, “I want you to know… I don't actually think that you made that mess back there. I just wanted a moment alone with you. There are some things I need you to understand-”

“You have something on your jacket.” Grover pointed out and Odyssa tugged off her right bracelet. She couldn’t put out her bow and arrow, but she could use one of her knives. “It looks like… It looks like glass.”

Annabeth and Odyssa made eye contact and the hazel-eyed girl nodded. Percy looked at Odyssa as she whispered, “Zontanós.”

Percy’s eyes slightly widened as the right bracelet turned into a silver dagger. She quickly hid it under her sleeve as Grover spoke once again.

“No one smashed out the windows from inside our cabin. Someone smashed them in from the outside.” He realized.

“Hm…” The woman’s smile faded before her dog started to grunt and shake the carrier, “Oh! Yes, sweetheart. I know, I know. You're impatient… But we're almost there.”

The group of four looked at each other, their suspicion growing more and more as the woman stood back up. “This isn't your fault. But sadly, you're going to have to bear the burden of your parents' mistakes today.”

“Listen, lady. I don't know who you are, but I think I know what you are. We've run across a few monsters like you and we've sent them all packing.” Percy said confidently and Odyssa unsheathed her dagger from her sleeve.

Unlike her bow and arrow which didn’t seem to change to mortal standards, the dagger would look like a bracelet like always.

The lady scoffed, “Monsters like me? Well… Of course, they're like me. They were my children.”

Annabeth’s eyes widened as she mouthed, “Echidna” to Odyssa, who nodded and tightened her grip on the dagger in her hand.

“Children?” Percy frowned, “What does that mean?” He looked at Grover, who backed away as far as he could with his back pressed against the window.

“The Mother of Monsters.”

“Echidna,” Annabeth said.

Echidna chuckled softly as the rabid dog in her carrier shook more violently than ever. “Oh!” She shushed it, “Monster. It’s an odd word, considering my grandmother is your great-grandmother, and this has always been a family story. But… To my eye, the demigod is the more dangerous creature.”

The monster in the carrier growled and Echidna sighed, “Disruptive. Violent. If I exist for anything, it is to stand in the way of monsters like you.”

Echidna placed a hand on the carrier, “My little one here. She's just a pup now. Bless her heart. Today… You will be her prey.” She smiled evilly. “Are you afraid yet? Oh. It's alright. Fear is natural. It's also essential to the hunt. Your fear. Your doubt. Your confusion.”

“You must know the adrenaline it gives you, right?” Echidna turned her attention to Odyssa, “A child of Artemis… Well, she’s just going to eat you right up.”

“I’m not looking to be a morning snack.” Odyssa frowned as she raised her dagger higher from her sleeve.

“I needed you to understand what was happening so that she could track the scent. So that she could learn and grow, because… That's what a good mother does for her children. Not that you would know.”

The zipper to the carrier slowly zipped open as Echidna smiled, “You should run now.” She grinned.

A large roar echoed through the train cart as a tentacle wooshed out and stabbed Odyssa in the chest. She gasped before plunging her dagger into its tentacle. Odyssa spotted another one hit Percy before getting thrown to the ground.

“Godammit!” She yelled as she sliced a tentacle off of the monster. “Go!” She yelled and followed after the three of them.

“You! Stop!” The police officers yelled, running after them. Annabeth quickly locked the door behind them as Grover picked a stinger from Percy’s shoulder.

“Percy…” Grover widened his eyes.

“It’s a stinger.” Annabeth realized as she saw Odyssa tugging a stinger from her side as well.

“Amateur move… Should’ve been more prepared.” Odyssa muttered.

“Grover, do you know what kind of monster has one of those?” Annabeth asked, worried for both Percy and Odyssa.

“I don't know. I mean, nothing good probably.” Grover panicked.

“Do you guys feel okay?” Annabeth asked and Percy and Odyssa exchanged looks.

“I’m fine.”

“I think so. Why? Do you think it's poisonous or something?” Percy asked and Odyssa nodded.

“Open this door, right now!”

“That’s what a stinger usually is so I would assume we’ve been poisoned,” Odyssa said as she held her side.

“HEY!”

Suddenly, the train started to shake and lights started to flicker. The door shattered as the shadow of a monster came barreling towards them, The four of them ran away as fast as they could.

“This train is making an unplanned stop. Please remain seated for your-”

A roar cut off the PA announcement as the four of them exited the train as quickly as they could, “We’ve gotta get out of here before they find us.” Odyssa panted, “Nekrós.” Her silver dagger turned back into a bracelet.

“Why isn't it still chasing us?” Percy asked.

“Echidna said whatever she was hiding in that carrier, it's young. It won't venture too far from her mother. She's learning to hunt… And this seems like the hunting part.” Annabeth sighed.

“Well, I’ll call that a challenge,” Odyssa said as the group started walking as fast as they could away from the train.

After a while, they made it to the city, stepping on stray puddles and trying to dodge a few people. “We aren't gonna be able to outrun them for very long,” Grover said.

“We don't need to. We just need a safe place to hole up.” Annabeth said.

“Some place safe. Any ideas where we might find one of those?” Percy asked and Annabeth looked at Odyssa with a nod.

“Sure, do.” Odyssa grinned, “A sanctuary dedicated to Athena that was built by one of her demigod children.”

“There is an Athenian temple hidden somewhere in the middle of downtown St. Louis?” Grover frowned and Annabeth nodded.

“Yes. Except it's not all that hidden.” Annabeth pointed to the large structure in front of them.

The St. Louis Arch. Unsurprisingly built by Athena’s demigod child. It made sense, of course. Most of her children grew up to do amazing things. I mean, George Washington was the son of Athene. What did you expect?

“It's 630 feet wide, 630 feet tall, both to within an inch.” Annabeth smiled happily as they approached the structure, “It's got no internal support. Each side is balanced perfectly against the other. The arch is held up by symmetry. It's held up by math. And it's earthquake-proof, so Poseidon can't ruin it.”

Odyssa chuckled at the shade thrown at Percy’s father, “It’s quite impressive. Of course, all of Athena’s children create amazing things.” She grinned and Annabeth smiled at the compliment pointed to her.

“Nice,” Percy muttered.

Annabeth slid between people as she marveled at the entire arch, “This is how you show Athena your love. A monument to the power of perfection.”

“It's a monument to some other stuff, too,” Grover added as he looked around at the pictures and objects placed around. His eyes landed on the animal skull and the musket.

“You're talking about what some humans want this place to be about. I'm talking about what it actually is.” Annabeth said as they walked around the area.

“Whatever.” Grover shook his head, “We're safe here, right?”

“No monsters can enter. Not even Echidna. We're safe.” Annabeth reassured him with a smile.

“Great. Well, since our train exploded, I'm gonna see if there's another one we can get tickets on. We can't stay here forever.” Grover looked at the picture of humans shooting at animals, “Just because we're prey, doesn't mean we need to be helpless.”

“He never liked it when people messed with animals,” Odyssa said.

“Yeah, I know.” Annabeth crossed her arms, “I shouldn't have s-snapped at him, I just…” She sighed, “I know.” 

“Grover would slice someone with Riptide himself if he saw them hurting an animal.” Odyssa said, “But, I get it. This place is pretty cool.”

“So, this is your mom's place?” Percy asked. “Wonder if she's around.” He imitated a posh voice, “Be right down! Just going to the potty!”

Annabeth and Odyssa chuckled softly, “Nice.” Annabeth smiled.

“I have a gift.” Percy smiled, “I guess you were right, by the way. We needed a safe place, and your mom had one waiting. Pretty lucky we happened to be in the right city for it.”

“Luck or fate?” She asked and Percy stayed silent. She sighed, “I know you think it's all just in my head. That… That I tell myself my mother cares because it's easier that way.”

“I didn't say that.” Percy frowned and Odyssa gave him a pointed look to which he gave her a slightly guilty smile. “Look, I've only been a demigod since… Last Saturday. You shouldn't listen to me.”

Annabeth thought carefully before saying, “You know, this is my mother's place, but a temple is a temple. Maybe you could say hi to your dad while we're here.” She turned to Odyssa, who seemed to zone out. “And, your mom while we’re at it.”

Odyssa snapped her head to Annabeth, “No, I’m good.” She said softly.

Percy nodded along with what Odyssa said. “Yeah, I’m good too.”

“Why? What could it hurt?” Annabeth asked.

“Your thing with your mom… I get it. It's different. It works for you. But my father… I don't want anything from him. He's had his chances. Honestly, you guys have done more for me in the past few days.” Percy admitted.

“If she really wanted to, my mother could visit the camp herself,” Odyssa spoke quietly. Her head felt slightly dizzy and her knees felt weak. “I- Fuck-”

She collapsed to the floor on her knees and just as she was about to stand up, Percy fell as well. Annabeth caught both of them. “Woah!”

Odyssa’s ears were ringing as she sweated and panted hard. “Y-yeah that stinger was… D-definitely not for show.” She managed to say through her suddenly pounding head.

“I have an idea, come on, help me.” Annabeth gave Percy to Grover and held Odyssa in her arms. “You can’t die on me now, y’know.” She said and Odyssa nodded with a groan.

“Just feels like that fever I got that one winter. The one where I vomited.” Odyssa managed to smile at the memory.

“Don’t vomit on me,” Annabeth said as they got outside.

Annabeth sat Percy down in the water as Odyssa’s back was against the fountain. People stared at them, slightly confused and concerned at what they were doing.

“The water cured him back at camp,” Annabeth said as she splashed water onto him, “It should work for poison too, right?”

“You know, I think it's- I think it's working. This was a great call.” Percy tried to stand up but immediately fell. His face was pale and his voice was slightly weak. “Or not.”

“Maybe it needs to be naturally running water for Poseidon to be able to heal him?” Annabeth guessed.

“Okay, but if I’m healed, what about Odyssa?” Percy turned to see Odyssa breathing heavily.

Before Annabeth could answer, they all turned their heads to see a car crash into another and the Echidna walk out of the wreckage with a smirk.

“Okay. We need to get back inside.” Annabeth panicked.

“No, we need to keep trying,” Grover argued.

“This isn't working. And she's coming!” Annabeth pointed to the woman slowly walking to them with an evil smirk.

“Okay, look, we'll take Percy inside, and we'll go to the temple's altar.” Annabeth stood up and grabbed Odyssa’s arm, helping her stand as Grover did the same with Percy.

“Altar? Where is there an altar?” Grover asked.

“The highest point, the best view.”

“Okay, but what good is that even gonna do us?” The satyr asked and Annabeth swallowed.

“We're gonna get to the altar and we're going to ask my mom for help.” She explained.

“I thought we don't ask for help.” Percy frowned.

“We don’t. It’s just a favor that we’ll pay Athena back for later.” Odyssa said as she stumbled around Annabeth’s body.

“Woah! Okay, come on, let's get moving.” Annabeth heaved Odyssa’s arm onto her and helped her walk. Suddenly as she started moving, she turned around.

“Anna?” Odyssa frowned before Annabeth turned to walk faster.

“D-did you guys hear that?” She asked.

“Hear what?” Grover asked.

“Never mind. Come on.” Annabeth said and the four of them walked together to the altar.

They entered the tram and sat down, Percy and Odyssa breathing heavily as he spoke, “What was that back there? What did you hear?”

“She spoke to you…” Odyssa muttered, “Annabeth, what did she say?”

Annabeth turned to see the Echidna standing a little ways above them as the doors to the tram shut close. 

“Was that the Chimera?” Grover asked, his voice shaky. “I think… I think that was the Chimera. How did the Chimera even get inside here? How did any monster get inside here?”

“Annabeth, what happened?” Odyssa placed a hand on her arm. Annabeth’s breathing grew harsh as she clenched her hands tightly.

“We're in a sanctuary. Athena would have had to let her in, but why would she do that?” Grover thought out loud.

“Annabeth!” Percy shouted, snapping her out of her trance. “What did Echidna say to you?”

“She said my impertinence wounded my mother's pride. And that that will be my doom.” Annabeth said and Odyssa breathed harder and harder.

“Medusa’s head.” Odyssa pointed out.

“I embarrassed my mother.”

“But we’re the ones who sent the head to Olympus.” Percy frowned at the unfairness. Was Athena all about justice? “-I signed the note.”

“And I went along with it. It embarrassed her. Now, she's angry.” Annabeth swallowed.

“Just because you embarrassed her doesn’t mean it’s your fault we’re having this problem.” Odyssa reminded her friend, “We’re a team. One person makes a wrong move and we all face the consequences together and that means we work together too.”

“You can barely stand, Odyssa.” Annabeth frowned, “If we’re a team then we die together too.”

“Not on my watch we do.” Odyssa clenched her fist, “We die together, but I preferably like to live.”

“What’re we gonna do?” Grover asked.

“My mother isn't gonna help us when we get to the top to save you and Percy.” Annabeth sighed.

“No, I meant, what are we gonna do about Echidna and Chimera? They're gonna be right behind us.” Grover said and Annabeth shook her head.

The tram came to a stop and the four of them all filed out as quickly as possible, “We're not gonna have much time. They'll be up here any minute. And if my mother isn't going to protect us, then we'll just have to fight it out up here.”

Percy groaned as he leaned onto Grover for support and Odyssa stumbled with Annabeth as she looked at all of the people. “We need to get these people out of here,” Odyssa muttered and Annabeth nodded before turning her head to spot the fire alarm.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“You, Percy, and Odyssa follow them down,” Annabeth said and Odyssa widened her eyes.

“There’s no way in hell am I letting you die up here alone!” Odyssa protested as she stumbled once again.

“W-We're not splitting up.” Grover stuttered as he held onto Odyssa.

“Grover, come on.” Annabeth frowned.

“No. No, no, no, no, no, we're all getting out of here together.” Percy shook his head.

“We won't make it. The Chimera is the demigod-killer.” Annabeth led the three of them to the emergency exit, “Someone has to stay back to slow her down and buy everyone some time.”

“I’m not leaving you like I left Thalia, Annabeth.” Odyssa shook her head. Annabeth paused as she held onto the door.

Odyssa felt Percy snake his hand into hers, holding it tightly and giving it a squeeze of support. She nodded, though her gaze was kept on Annabeth.

“And I can’t let you guys die like she did either.” She said, “Help Percy down the stairs and get him to the river. I’m sure that Odyssa has emergency ambrosia and nectar for one person. Use that on her. And don't stop. Not till you get to Hades, not till you have the bolt, do you hear me?”

“Wait.” Percy called after her, “Take this.”

Odyssa held onto Percy’s hand for support before being flung back into the archway, the door behind her. She looked at Percy with wide eyes as banging on the door from Annabeth and Grover broke the silence.

“Hey! Percy!”

“Odyssa! PLEASE!”

“Don't do this. They'll kill you!”

“Poseidon's never helped me before. He wasn't gonna start now. I would've never made it to Hades. But you can.” He said.

“Hey, Anna?” Odyssa leaned on the door with a smile, “Tell Luke I’m sorry. I guess we won’t be able to get that archery re-match anytime soon…”

“Percy, do you hear me? Odyssa?!”

“You guys can't do this on your own!”

“We’re in it together, you know that right?” Percy asked with a tired smile.

She tugged on her necklace, snapping it back into a bow with a smile. “We’ll be alright, just get over to Hades and maybe you’ll see our souls there.” Odyssa aimed an arrow towards the entrance as the monster appeared with the Echidna by its side.

“This is the end, sweetheart. Don't fight it. You'll just make her angry.” Echidna smiled.

Odyssa pulled back her arrow with a shaky arm as she aimed for it as best as she could with her blurry vision.

[quinloki]

I know you're in the middle of an ask game right now, but I genuinely need some validation of some sort. As a person with multiple WIPs, I need to be told that it's okay for me to also have multiple WIPs.

For some reason, I have gotten it into my head that because I'm doing The Better Mousetrap I cannot start anything else until I've done X amount of chapters for that fic.

But my brain has gone from a creative drought lasting 3 or 4 years to suddenly being very creative. I don't want to lose that creative drive again. It was heartbreaking when I lost it in the first place. I literally wept when all creative desire just died within me.

I want to work on Mousetrap for sure but I also want to work on my Law fic and then I had a brilliant idea for a Benn fic, and I kind of want to collect everything I've come up with for Arlong in one spot. I have an event fic for a group I actually need to work on but I'm feeling guilty for wanting to start them up when I've just barely started Mousetrap.

Do I shelve them until I've got more chapters of Mousetrap or can I genuinely create to my heart's content because it frees my soul?

And this whole thing sounds stupid because I know the answer is create what you want, when you want, but I don't know. I don't know why I'm getting in my own way.

100% create when you want - what you want - HOW you want.

Look, you came to the right place. I have like 14 incomplete WIPs I skip between, I've start THREE OTHERS that the only reason I haven't posted is because I, personally, don't want to yet.

but I go where the words take me, and if my focus decides to focus on another title even now, then that's what I'm going to do.

there's no deadlines, there's no marketing team breathing down my neck, there's nothing but what I want to do and the energy I have to do it.

I get worrying about it though. I tried to limit myself when I started. "Don't do Y until I finish X" but when I couldn't stomach trying to force it I let the gates open wide and I haven't regretted it since.

Any complaints about how long it's taking me to get around to another title is someone else's problem. I gotta put my drive and my focus first or I'm just going to toss it all in.

No one wants that. Not for me, and not for you. Piss on anyone who complains and write what you want, post it when you want - sitting on chapters usually drives me bonkers, but sometimes it doesn't.

I gotta bend how I bend.

In the end it'll all work out, and that's the important part.

[call-me-strega]

Not at ALL pressure to do this, just curious, but do you think you will work on the next HBSD chapter now or wait a bit and write other things? Or even just relax and have a break. Any of the options are great

I lowkey have a formula. After finishing a chapter I go to my overall outline and look at what I had planned for the next chapter. Then, I write a rough, more detailed script of specific scenes to follow. After that, I usually give myself a bit of time to consider how I want to write, the tone, the impact I want to convey, you know setting small goals. And then when I have free time and inspo I'll write a couple of scenes in one sitting. I work on each scene in small portions as I get the chance and then I work on revising and editing before posting. Sometimes I work on other stuff bc I don't have ideas or motivation for HBSD right away. If I'm doing any extras, like the memes, I try to have those done before posting.

Rn I'm in the planning/storyboarding phase for chapter 6. I do plan to work on a couple other smaller things so I don't get bored with myself or work myself into a rut. I also factor in my coursework since I'm in college rn too. Chapters usually end up being months apart bc I don't follow a specific schedule. Coincidentally, new chapters usually align with holidays bc I have more free time around those times. I do try to keep rough deadlines though. I've got chapters 6 and 7 planned out so the current goal is either Thanksgiving or winter break depending on how other life stuff pans out.

[wisteriasakana]

Sprite template: Guildmaker7

Pink Pro Update!

The Yuri Game Jam is over, and it still feels strange to me to have submitted well in advance (Then I remembered that the deadline was pushed back by like a week, so I would have submitted just in time, but details-). Deciding to post a demo rather than the whole game turned out to be a good choice for my peace of mind.

Now, I should make a pretty and tidy (One of the two adjectives might be wrong) update, but first I want to present you a flashback from a few days ago:

---Flashback---

*Soe enters *Soe sees real money *Soe implodes *Soe waits a couple of days to see if it was a misclick - Yes, even the confirmation one *Soe realizes *Soe implodes again *Soe's mass is not enough to generate a gravitational collapse, so there's no black hole but just an amazed fish

Person who decided to offer me a hot chocolate, thank you. I still find it hard to believe, but I thank you very much! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

---Flashback End---

So, it was said. Pink Pro. The update, yes.

Changes and additions

Since I have more time and can do things more slowly, I decided to fix a few things that I wasn't sure about.

For example, Sus's house. You can't visit it in the demo, and in a second time I'll show you a "before-after", but trust me when I say that the first version was absolutely plain and uninspiring - It's even more comical when you consider that it's reiterated how rich Sus is and how her house is ridiculously big. Now I am much more satisfied! It's certainly not the most beautiful map I've ever made, but I find it does its honest job much better than the previous one.

Among other differently useful things I decided to add there is the change of NPCs inside the Pink Jewel and the Magnolia Jane after some time.

Given that time is actually passing (I mean, something is likely to happen in the evening, right?), it seemed silly to me for the customers to be walking around the shops for 12 hours.

It doesn't impact the plot at all, but I think it gives the setting a bit more three-dimensionality.

(Yes, I also entertained the idea of changing customers with each finished order, but my imagination for NPC dialogue is very poor, I don't want to suffer).

Characters' expressions

When I made the expressions, I got a bit carried away, so now Chantal has many more than I had planned. However, this means that I didn't do some expressions that I should have done and that I came up with others-

According to my fantastic to-do list, the expressions that are missing are: 4 for Chantal, 2 for Janet (Yes, Janet has more than two expressions!), 1 for Margrit, 3 for Kenicea and Silsdia, 2 for Saster, Byma and Nicopte (Yes, she also has expressions!), 4 for Sus, Zora and Deilela. The last three might have one less, depending on how they look best.

My relationship with doing expressions is: sometimes, I get on and do them all in less than an hour, without any problem. Other times, for reasons unknown, I spend an hour doing one, which also turns out ugly.

In this case, however, it is not a matter of procrastination - I often literally just forget to do them. (๑꒪▿꒪)*

Other ideas

Since I have more time, I was thinking about adding another, simpler CG - Just coloured lineart on a unicolour background.

On the other hand, I decided to scrap a small idea I had planned to do if I had more time / for a possible update: Chantal's sweets designs.

I would like to show off her "eye-catching" style more concretely, but when I tried to draw them, I realized that was definitely not the case (Let's say, like, no one in the world would have realized that the Île flottante was an Île flottante and not an ugly sponge).

The options, then, are three:

One day I'll be able to draw better and I'll put pretty pictures for all the recipes;

One day I'll go begging for people who can draw pretty food;

Imagination is a wonderful gift, imagine these beautiful recipes in your mind ♡♡♡

Cutscenes

As for the cutscenes, however, I am exactly halfway through, at the third order. I therefore have to finish the third order, do the fourth and fifth, the final climax and the epilogue.

To reassure you, as already mentioned, in the midst of all this there are also Important Scenes, and those have all been done.

And that's it for Pink Pro!

Yes, of course, it's because I'm also working on something else - I can't concentrate on the same thing for more than two days in a row if I don't have at least one side project.

I'll talk about that, though, in the next few days - The devlog on Candy Apple has become the devlog on Candy Apple and Red Riding Hood and the Little Bad Wolf, just as the projects on Three Yellow Quartzes will need a separate devlog.

Thanks for listening, and see you next time!

[davidmariottecomics]

You Can Always Restart

Ahoy hoy!

I've mentioned a few times over the past couple of weeks (mostly in the "What I enjoyed" section) that I've been reading David M. Willis' Dumbing of Age. I'm all caught up on over a decade of webcomics! Woo! There are a lot of reasons that I like it. I find the characters compelling. I'm a big sucker for slice-of-life type stuff that occasionally gets spicy and that tracks multiple groups of folks all just kinda living their lives and the ways they intersect with comedic and dramatic effect. Lots of Beast Wars references and acknowledgement of how great IDW TF comics are (and the occasional nod to TMNT and Sonic and stuff too). A cartoonist with the initials DMW when I'm DWM. It's great! 

But now that I am somehow caught up, I've also decided to check out their earlier comics. I've just finished the original run of Roomies! now. Roomies is a proto-Dumbing of Age in a lot of ways and that's a big part of what has inspired this week's blog about revisiting and revising your old work. 

You Can (Always) Redo

Yes, that is a riff on the Rebuild of Evangelion titles which are also a pretty good example of what I'm talking about today. 

Sometimes, as a creator, you have a good idea. Sometimes, you have a great idea. And sometimes, you do not have the ability to properly execute your big idea. There are a million reasons for it, right?

Just to look at Evangelion. The original TV series, somewhat infamously, always had a very small staff working on it, was running up against tight deadlines the entire run of the production, had various curveballs thrown at it by both the creator and the studio that would significantly change the overall plot and focus of individual episodes while in production, and ends in a couple of really weird episodes that may or may not have had budget problems and/or time problems of being created in a major crunch. The last couple episodes weren't too well received, and so the ending got rewritten in a pair of films. And then a few years later, Hideaki Anno and Gainax decided to do the whole thing again over almost 15 years with the Rebuild movies.Plus manga and light novel adaptations/reimaginings. Plus this that and the other thing (not to mention Anno's Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider, which are a similar, but different thing).

All of these versions tackle the same basic material, but due to different sized budgets and teams and Anno's shifting interests and feelings as a person, they can get pretty different. One of the things I really like about it is seeing how each iteration and even just escalations within each version feel like they're usually trending toward something truer to who Anno is at the moment of creation (even if I think most of the endings are bad). 

If you have an idea you like, roll with it. Chances are, you've got something, otherwise why would you be interested in the first place. But in recognizing your limitations--be they budget or time or skill or editorial interference or whatever--know that you can also keep an idea in your back pocket to try it again, but better. 

The Walkyverse If you haven't taken the time to read all of Willis' webcomics, that's probably fine. They've been at it for like 25 years at this point, so it's a lot to catch up on. The long and short is there was an initial series: Roomies! about college roommates. That ended and some plotlines were refocused/retconned into a new series, It's Walky! That then spun-off into two other series: Joyce and Walky! and Shortpacked! And a ways into all of this, David looped back around to the initial concept of a story about college freshmen trying to acclimate to their new circumstances (and being semi-autobiographic, but now with the clarity of hindsight) and started Dumbing of Age. Most of the cast are folks from the various previous series, but reimagined and tweaked to fit the college plot. Some personality traits remain pretty true. Some ideas that just got touched on waaaaaaaay back in Roomies! are refined and actually executed deftly. 

There aren't a lot of ideas I had when I was young that I revisit and see if I can't make work better now with my expertise and skills, but there are definitely some things that I've poked at here and there. And for some of my more recent ideas, there've been lots of things I've revisited. Sometimes it's a concept that I feel like I'm getting to the 95 yard line on but can't quite get across to the goal, and so I see if I can't run a different play and break it. Sometimes it's a particular script that I look at and even if it is recent, I feel isn't terribly representative of how I write. But when I go through these things, I always try to make it a new doc so I can still go back to the old and see just how and what I've refined that might make it's way back or that might make itself into yet another revision. 

I think there's sometimes an assumption that live performance is the only medium in which you get a different variation of a work every time. But you can absolutely revisit your older comics works and ideas and find some new angle on them or reason to bring back something that never quite clicked when you did it in the past. 

Wrap It Up 

In some ways, you can even do this in licensed or corporate comics. Brian Cronin has a fun series over at CBR called Wrap it Up! Each entry looks at two comic series wherein the plotline of one series ultimately had to be resolved in another. I think the most recent--at time of writing--was about Adam Warlock's series getting canceled and some of those plots getting resolved in Hulk. I bring this up because while obviously starting from scratch is an option, sometimes you'll be given a chance to finish your story in another way: be it a different series or a one-shot or OGN. I've even occasionally seen stories more-or-less wrapped up across universes by using similar characters (I swear one of the Wrap it Ups is about a Namor story that gets "resolved" in Aquaman because it was easier to do a light retelling and then resolve the story there than it was to get new Namor stuff going at Marvel). 

A good idea shouldn't go to waste, and there's often going to be some way to circle back around to it. It's just a matter of keeping those ideas in sight so they don't get lost. 

And, as an extra little note: I have said before, when I'm scripting, I tend to practice bad habits. I do a lot of one-and-dones where I take a single pass and then have someone else read it and only make revisions after I've had someone else do a pass. I also do a lot of batch scripting with rewrites--which is where I will write say the first 5-10 pages of the script, leave it for a bit, plot out the back half, reread that first section and do my first round of rewrites, then finish the script having sometimes almost completely rewritten the first batch of pages. Unless something is actually egregious, I tend to believe you shouldn't revise until you've finished a draft and can see the thing in it's entirely. And, no, you probably shouldn't just get stuck revisiting and rewriting the same script or redrawing the same page again and again until you get it right. But maybe down the line, you'll get the chance to truly do it all over again, the way that reflects you now.  

What I enjoyed this week: Blank Check (Podcast), Craig of the Creek (Cartoon), Honkai Star Rail (Video game), My Adventures with Superman (Cartoon), The Broken Room by Peter Clines (Book), Crime Scene Kitchen (TV show), Dumbing of Age (Webcomic), Solve This Murder (Podcast), Cruel Summer (TV show), Praise Petey (Cartoon), The Loveliest Time by Carly Rae Jepsen (Album), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Movie).

New Releases this week (8/2/2023): Nothing from me!

New Releases next week (8/9/2023): Nothing from me! Couple of slow weeks, but lots coming up the pipeline! 

Announcements:  I've mentioned it a couple of times, but I'm largely done with the con circuit for the year. There might be a thing in a couple of weeks, and if so, I'll be letting folks know ASAP! We're not going to be at Tucson Comic-Con this year. Love that show, but just didn't work out right. And at the moment of writing, I don't *think* I'll be at NYCC. 

This is kind of a soft announcement following them mentioning it on their Twitch stream, but Becca and I are working on a comic. We're co-plotting, I'm scripting, they're drawing, and their friend Duke who has lettered a bunch of their smutty stuff is on-board when we get to that part of things. If you're curious to learn more...

...Maybe join my Patreon! You get to see developmental stuff from this, and other work-in-progress projects. Plus this same blog, but without the part plugging my Patreon! And even more extra stuff! ORRRRR... join Becca's Patreon because they're also going to be sharing some of this comic developmental stuff! 

Pic of the Week: The neighbor's cat was chillin in our complex's courtyard and I managed to sneak some pets. The kitty is pretty nice, but often doesn't let people approach, so it was a nice treat. Or maybe it was the kitty's way of apologizing for frequently coming and hanging out on our landing and driving my cats wild. 

[midnight-rice]

Ephemerality, creativity, and completion

My sleep schedule is fucked and my brain is fried and I can't sleep so naturally I decided to go through all some of the files backed up in my Google Drive--- mainly my own artwork, old and new, some of my writing WIPs, and snippets of creative projects from fans and professionals alike that I had saved as inspirations. It was really refreshing to look back on the techniques and the flaws and the ideas in each of them, as well as my personal growth and the development of my interests. But so much of my work in there hasn't been shared because it's incomplete, which is something that haunts me quite a lot sometimes and as I was thinking about it and what I want from life I think I reached a new point in thinking. Apologies if I sound angsty or self-absorbed, I'm just liveblogging my musings for my own preservation purposes:

My inability to finish stuff is something that developed later in my life, starting around maybe late high school and becoming more noticable in my early twenties (although technically I'm still in my early twenties 😅). I suspect the cause is related to a mental disorder, probably ADHD though I'm not sure I'll ever get an official diagnosis, since the symptoms do sound similar to descriptions of executive dysfunction: almost everything I make has an invisible ticking clock on it, the length of which can vary wildly, but once that timer runs out the odds of completion drop abysmally low, no matter how much I care about the creation/task or how important it is. I've found that there are ways to prolong this deadline sometimes and the effectiveness of those methods can vary too. Sometimes it's better to take frequent breaks to avoid burnout, and other times it's better to push through while the intrinsic inspiration is high. Sometimes it's better to have deadlines to establish clear goals, and sometimes it's better to dismiss the time limitations because they can cause anxiety and hopelessness. Sometimes it's better to share what I'm working on in order to reignite interest by vicariously experiencing the idea with new eyes, and sometimes it's better to keep it to myself so that my brain doesn't conflate the act of sharing with the act of finishing.

And I know that things don't have to be complete in order to be shared, or at least I try to remind myself of that. My perfectionism makes me want to have it be *done* in its best currently possible form when shared, and tbh social media often reinforces that idea to an extent since WIPs tend to get way less attention than finished things but that's not entirely my point rn. I've more or less accepted that some things are made to matter in the moment, that I made them when I needed to and that it's okay to move on to other things without finishing. But presenting incomplete works can still feel like almost a betrayal as much as hoarding them does because it opens up possible miscommunication or misinterpretation--- if I had just found the right words or drawn the right details THEN the audience would get it.

And I think for me personally that idea of "getting it" is really important to me. I'm naturally more shy and reserved (or maybe it's not natural and was more of a coping mechanism to fit in but I'm not going there today lol) and I struggle to find the right words a lot in speech but the things I make manage to say a lot more about me than I can verbalize. A lot of my relationships are more surface-level like acquaintances and coworkers which is fine, it's unrealistic and probably unhealthy to be deeply intimate with everyone you know. But even some of my closer ones like my family still feel shallow at times or disconnected. I don't mean to sound edgy or that I'm "misunderstood," but I worry sometimes that if I got hit by a truck tomorrow they'd put the wrong words on my tombstone and never know about a Google Drive full of incomprehensible creative works that nevertheless mattered so much to me.

Oh my god the irony... I'm so tired I cant even finish this post and now it looks like I'm just having an anxiety spiral... f

[sarah-sandwich]

on ao3 I always see people doing challenges... how do you join challenges?

-someone who wants to try a challenge

Daaahhh okay so I haven't participated in fandom challenges in years. Back in my day we had bangs (themed collab events between writers and artists they were awesome but also led to my 18 month burn out so watch out) but I don't see those anymore :( Might be because I don't write for spn anymore? Not sure what happened there. But I do see some challenges float across my dash sometimes.

There are a lot of bingo ones. Tbh idk where those come from lol They just sort of show up? I think people just make them and some get traction and others don't. You can try searching *keyword* bingo and see what comes up but I can't help you beyond that, sorry.

Challenges pretty much always have a recurring theme and timeline and hopefully a dedicated blog where the mods post prompts, FAQs, and rules. Like the sicktember challenge is a month long hurt/comfort prompt event that takes place in September. They already have their 2023 prompt list up so you can check that out as well as the linked FAQ and how to submit if you're interested in participating in that one (or if you just want to get a feel for how these things typically work).

Each challenge kind of operates in its own way with specific rules on what they allow in story submissions so be sure to give the rules a read before you sign up, but generally you get a list of prompts and have a certain deadline to finish writing and then post it on tumblr using the specified tags, or post on AO3 and add it to the specified challenge collection, or both! Again, whatever challenge you're interested in should have all of that spelled out for you on their blog. If you're iffy on the details you should be able to submit an ask with questions.

If you've seen a challenge you want to participate in on ao3 then you can try searching for it here on tumblr and hopefully find a blog for it, or you can comment on a fic that's part of the challenge and (compliment the fic first) ask how you can get in involved and where to go to find out more information.

If all else fails you can search "writing challenge" on tumblr and wade through the results until you find something that looks interesting, but keep in mind challenges tend to be seasonal so you'll see very different results searching now as opposed to December as opposed to February etc etc.

I have a tendency to follow challenge blogs that look interesting as they pop up on my dash (even though I know I'll likely never participate, I'm just nosy 😅, I wanna know what everyone's up to). Let me take a gander through my following list and see what all I've got...

@flufftober @whumptober @sicktember @shortfictionweeklychallenge @writeblrsummerfest @nanowrimo @ockissweek @webpril @spideypoolbigbang <- a bang!! @marvelartparty <- art only @parknerweek @flashfictionfridayofficial

That's everything from me. Does anyone else have any writing challenge blogs they could share?

Editing to add @marvel-events-central from the replies (look at all the good shit in that there blog 👀)

[juleskelleybooks]

Year-End Wrap Up 2023

Thank you to literally everyone who has engaged with the work I've managed to put out despite everything. It was all carved out of me at great cost and with great love, and sharing it brings me joy and is why I keep doing it. Below are some numbers and some thoughts just to quantify things, but thanks.

Stats:

Words Published - 92,122 Words Written - Estimated somewhere in the 50k range Works Published - 2 Units Sold - 399 (self published titles only, includes free downloads) Milestones - Got to sign my physical book in a local bookstore and be featured on their social media as a local author; entered my book to be judged as part of the Lambda Literary Awards

Goals for Next Year:

Actually start keeping track of sales per title etc.

Start tracking words written

Thoughts:

This is mostly for myself, because I have a hard time with things like "accomplishments" and "chronological time" and "object permanency", and because I'm always looking ahead at what I want to have done, like I'm climbing uphill, and all progress feels slow. Sometimes it's good to look back at how far you've come.

At the end of last year, I parted professional ways with my agent (lovely person though she is), so this year was already a bit new in a lot of ways.

In April, Night Is For Hunting released. It's the second Moonrise book, and was intended to be the middle in a trilogy, but the final book has since been canceled (at my request) because I realized that the third book is not within timely reach for me. Still kind of feeling the sting of that. I'm also not super happy with parts of NIFH, as I pushed through places in order to hit (an already extended) deadline. I had grand plans for sections of the book that I just didn't have time to wrangle.

That's kind of a theme for this year, is that I'm learning that being disabled does unfortunately mean that I am less able to do things on the schedule or to the intensity or degree that I wish that I could. The whole reason I went fully self-pub without my lovely agent was because I knew I couldn't have both work that at least approaches my standards and also a standardized publishing schedule. Not at this point in my life, anyway.

In July, Stars Still Fall was released. I wrote what I consider the pivotal scene in that story back in 2018, and have been obsessed with it ever since, so finishing it was accomplishing a major goal. I let myself take my time to get really indulgent with the prose in places, which I enjoyed a lot. I keep poking at it to see if there's any places I'm unhappy with, that I want to change, and so far I haven't found any. (This isn't, of course, to say that it's above criticism. I'm sure it isn't all to everyone's taste. But I'm happy.) I may update the cover at some point to change the typography for the title, because I think it could be better and do better justice to the actual art.

Looking Ahead:

Blackthorn (low-tech space western, bi4bi m/f) seems to have pulled ahead out of the primordial soup of WIPs for now and is rattling full steam ahead. I'm not going to set a due date until I'm closer to the end, but with any luck, I might manage to finish it within two years?

Other projects that are starting to solidify are A Touch of Magic (witchy single dad whose daughter casts a love spell to try to save his job), A Time For Us (completely reworked reissue of M Jules Aedin title Windows in Time featuring a modern-day person helping ghosts from the 1940s at the risk of his own happiness), and whatever I end up renaming Late Blooming (gray-ace middle school teacher finds out he's same-sex attracted shortly after his 40th birthday and a lot of things start making sense, but his crush on the uncle of one of his students is not one of those things).

Thank you, and happy new year!

[borreloadsavagedragon]

Maybe Mizael and/or Takeru for the ask meme?

OH! I'll do both absolutely

MIZAEL

First impression: TERRIFIED!! He was stupidly pretty and had a dragon, I knew he would end up a favorite, but I didn’t know how MUCH of a favorite, I needed to know what his problem was dhdhdhd

Impression now: I can't even put into words how much I love Mizael sometimes omfg, he had such an impact on me and I'm a little saddened at how quickly he was removed from the story in the end I need to rewatch more of his scenes, I'm very insecure about how I write Mizael and I really want to get his voice down One day I’ll finish his cosplay wig too, if I style all of the wigs for my favorite ships, I can convince people to cosplay with me surely (copium)

Favorite moment: His introduction is wild, like both him arriving to Alito and Girag but also him challenging Yuma Miza just shows up, shoots Tori with an energy blast, and then is just like we're dueling But then COMPLETELY forgets about Yuma as soon as Kaito shows up and whips his dragon out Also love when they have their little Barian meetings where they just bicker, they're truly real housewives

Idea for a story: I always have Mizael and Kaito ideas gjdkslajg Whether they're fics or oneshots, time usually tells, but my drafts definitely have quite a few for them saved Usually lots of dragon focused ones, obsessed with the idea of Photon and Tachyon eloping and them having to just deal with it Mizael going over dragons with Haruto...

Unpopular opinion: I don't know if there is anything the small Miza community doesn't agree on honestly jgdsklaj I'll just start drama, Miza's not a natural blonde

Favorite relationship: I feel like I don’t even need to say haha, Kaito and Mizael are incredible and I am cursing Zexal forever for not giving them more time because I feel like I'm blowing out steam looking at all of the loose threads I also love how much Durbe and Mizael respect each other, there's clearly a bond there between them, wish we saw it more I also wish we could have seen more of Mizael and Nasch since you can tell Mizael revered him quite a bit-

Favorite headcanon: Mizael 100% moved in with the Tenjos!!!!!!!

TAKERU

First impression: Oh I KNEW I was gonna love him the second I saw his face omg I did the bad fan thing where I had to pull up the wiki bc the Vrains episode I was watching at the time didn't answer a really niche question I had about something someone said and the "related pages" tab on Yusaku's character page had Takeru's face on it So I had to find him I speedran my Vrains watch to get to him and boy was I rewarded

Impression now If you asked me in 2021 who my favorite yugioh was, I'd tell you Takeru Homura in a heartbeat Literally was only dethroned as my favorite by Kaito recently Takeru would be the next character I deep dive and dissect if given the chance, I just think he's so cool, I love how well done he is, I think he's one of the best done characters in the franchise His deck is fun, his design is fun, I've cosplayed both Takeru AND Soulburner now, working on slick back look one day when I don't have cosplay deadlines I just... love him, he's one of my favorite voices to write through, I always find an excuse to drabble as Takeru, whether it's something I post or not, and I am always at home when it's with him

Favorite moment: ALMOST ALL OF THEM!!! BOTH OF THE DUELS WITH REV! HIS INITIAL ENTRANCE! HIS FLASHBACK SCENES! BEING CRINGEFAIL!!! AAHHHH!!!!

Idea for a story: Oh I've got a REALLY hefty 3+1 fic that's gonna tie in with recoil week that explores all of Takeru's relationships gjdkla Here is a very small bit from the first chapter:

The first time Homura Takeru thought he fell in love, he was a young boy intimidated by a pretty girl. He doesn’t remember many of the details of how he met Kiku. It was a portion of his memories that lived in what feels like a lifetime ago, before everything had suddenly slipped out of his young grip. He just knew that he was a scared boy overwhelmed by her kindness and spirit the moment they met while he was on a trip to visit his grandparents.  It was an instant connection. Kiku had pulled on his hand and pulled him into the light, smiled and laughed with him whereas the other kids at the time hadn’t. He’d almost call it foreshadowing. Having her in his life made the sudden change of up and moving out to the country after his parents’ deaths a little easier. Within a month of moving, they were almost inseparable. And the following years as well, no matter how hard it got.

So stay tuned for that!

Unpopular opinion: I'm so sorry but I'm about to be a hater But the fact that Takeru haters even exist is really fascinating to me since most of his other counterparts are rather beloved Like he's got more fans that haters for sure, but I've seen every single one who has a think piece say "Takeru's only there to show off the card game" as if Salamangreat wasn't released in the OCG until July while Takeru has been showing off the deck since May, but I digress Yusaku's entire arc was finished in season 1, he got all of his answers, protected Ai to the very end, and was ready to move on. Yusaku just being a fix-it man for an entire second season? Would be BORING. So they needed a second voice to duo-lead, a new one with new motivations who hasn't already been shown, but could be tied back in a meaningful way. And what characters were left we knew very little about? The Ignis. What was unveiled in Season 1 about the Ignis? They're tied to six children, and we've now seen 2 of them. Also it's? Yugioh? Do you expect them NOT to show off cards and real strategies so you go spend your real life money on product? Remember Yuri randomly using an Ancient Gear deck in Arc V when the structure was starting to come out? Or most of duelist of the week duelists from GX? The animes are nothing but product placement and rule explanations (nit picking hating, but takeru's also written strangely sometimes, it's rare but some will make him way dumber or submissive than he is)

Favorite relationship: I'm a degenerate and beyond predictable And I've mentioned that I love Firestorm already, but if we're being very honest for a second, I always see it as one-sided with how Yusaku's written with Takeru,,, Like sometimes we overcome that gap and look at the potential because oh my god giving Yusaku someone like Takeru was SUCH a good idea, but I usually see it as a one-sided pining, but a VERY close friendship Yusaku in my head ALWAYS goes to Takeru's village post canon to apologize for leaving BUT I'm a degenerate, as I said about So to say I love Takeru and Ryoken's dynamic, from start to finish, is an understatement I love that they draw out the best of each other and push each other beyond their preexisting limitations as well as the shackles of their pasts I love that Ryoken respected Takeru's feelings so much that he didn't want to insult him by outright refusing the first challenge, but couldn't bring himself to duel knowing it wouldn't resolve anything I love how Soulburner accuses Revolver of not following up on that in Duel Links I fucking love "I'm so glad I met you", above all else I love finally seeing a conclusion to one of the many side rivalries, and I had a renewed appreciation for it after finishing Zexal and realizing what could have been there I also actually like how the dub handled their farewell scene, the promise of future challenges, Revolver promising to be there when they need him, the fond little chuckle

Favorite headcanon (more drug cw on this one!!) It's a weird one and it's kinda personal I guess, but I always write Takeru as sober gkdsa As a punk, I can imagine him dipping into more unsavory behaviors as a way to cope and express when he's struggling to find the next step, so when he decides to start fresh and live a new life, he cuts terrible habits like those cold turkey

[imogenleewriter]

10 writer asks

Thanks for tagging me @enchantedlandcoffee

What is your absolute all-time favourite idea you've ever had?

So when I talk about my WIP's, I refer to one of them as 'My big fic' and that's because... um, it's going to be big... that one. But I have two others to finish before that one.

2. Is there a question you've been asked in the past that really stands out to you and you still think about sometimes?

If I'm okay, lol. A commenter once said that I write too well to be mentally stable and then asked me if I was doing okay and if there was anything I wanted to talk about. I still think about it quite often.

I am okay, by the way. Well, as well as I can be.

3. What is your favorite part of being a writer? What parts could you take or leave?

Favourite: - Generally the actual writing. - Creating stories and goals, motivations, and conflicts. - Developing well-rounder, believable characters. - Dialogue. - My readers. I just, can't ever even begin to explain how much I love them and the, well, everything.

My 4-month-old fic is the 17th most commented Larry fic of all time. EVER! Out of 42k fics. It's like 1600th with kudos which just shows how dedicated the readers I have are.

Leave: - How little time there is in the day. Sometimes my head is full of ideas, but I can't get them down fast enough. - I'm not going to say what because then people will go looking for them in everything I write and see them, lol, but I have some definite weaknesses in my writing technique. I would rather just not have them... so if I could just be good at everything, that would be great. - Drafting. I NEED drafts. Can't/shouldn't write without them, but I get so antsy because I just want to publish things.

4. What is your greatest motivation to write/create?

Readers. Honestly. I would struggle to get things done anywhere near as quickly without them. Reading. Often reading other people's stuff makes me want to get up and write my own. Deadlines. I've found that I need deadlines to survive. Without them I just waste time.

5. What is the best piece of advice you've ever read or bee given as a writer?

SO much stuff. I could honestly write out 1k of my favourite writing quotes. Three that stuck with me when I was writing YCHIITS were: - The thing you are most afraid to write - write that. (unknown) - Art should comfort the disturbed and distrub the comfortable. (Banksy) - Write hard and clear about what hurts (Hemingway)

Me: It was never meant to be angsty. Also, me: Those three quotes are what kept me going.

6. What do you wish you knew when you were first starting out writing?

Psssssh, um. Like ever, or publishing? I wish I spent more time editing YCHIITS because there are so many grammatical errors that I STILL go back and fix up issues. It would have been a lot quicker to take a bit more time editing chapters before posting them, rather than going back months later and editing them.

7. What is your favourite story you've written TO COMPLETION? Link it if you'd like and can

Um. I mean, at the moment, you can guess, lol.

8. What is your favourite out-of-the-box quote?

This whole thing is making me sound mentally unstable, lol. But someone sent me this the others day and I posted it. - "You write so beautifully... the inside of your mind must be a terrible place."

9. Which of your characters would you say has the most controversial mindset? Why do you say so, and how do you personally feel about their ideals?

Oooh. I don't know if this means general characters or ones whose POV I've written in. I think by the end, 99% of people said Zayn was their favourite character, but he also got a fair bit of dislike early on. I don't think his character changed so much, as he just started to make sense. If it's just POV characters - Louis by default because it couldn't be Harry.

10. If you, when you first started writing met you now, what would younger you think?

So when I was 18, I put "finishing a book" at the top of my bucket list. I'd say probably five years ago, I was like, "Okay, if I want to write, I should probably... start." That I would be very confused about the fact I was writing One Direction fan fiction because I didn't even like 1D, but would still be so proud. It's never been about getting something published, just writing something that I like and people read.

[chuya-chuya-blog]

Congratulations to the winners of the My Copic Moment contest. I thought third place was super talented and would come in first, actually. That person is really skilled. Second place is really charming to me. It looks like a children's picture book and makes me feel nostalgic. The perspective in first place is really good.

I was bummed when I saw I didn't win. Call me a sore loser, I don't care! I really had my hopes up! And it was super disappointing to see I didn't even place. Is my art bad? Were my concepts bad? I don't know. This is also coming on to the realization that I will not be able to enter the Pixiv Global Contest that I wanted to, either.

I had PLENTY of time to complete an entry for that contest and continue working on my own web comic afterwards but I just couldn't find the motivation. I had a cute and funny concept and I really enjoyed drawing it but eventually the motivation just died. Somewhere between my usual struggles with making backgrounds look like anything but bland boxes and my inability to draw dogs, my drive turned to fear, and I just froze.

I would sketch here and there but just couldn't bring myself to do my absolute best. I'm ashamed because I've always been this way when it counts. I just couldn't buckle down and do it. Not even the free three years of Clip Studio could get me to do it. And I really wanted that too! But I guess I just didn't care enough. I couldn't make myself do the work. And it's not like I'm still a kid, either. I'm a full blown adult who can't manage discipline and time management and it's embarrassing. So many people around me have been able to get stuff done through consistent steady work and I can't figure out how to manage myself. And no I don't have ADHD. I actually got really REALLY good grades in school. So I can do the work when it counts. I just couldn't do it this time.

It's worrisome because if I want to start making money off of my art, I have to be able to meet deadlines. I have to be able to finish things. I have sooooooooo much trouble finishing things! I don't know what's wrong with me! It's why I barely post because I can never finish anything. Sometimes I'll be really motivated and will love a piece I'm working on, but I'll just put it somewhere and forget it exists. I really wanted to produce more work in 2024, but the fear that I'm not actually cut out to be an artist is creeping up on me. I have to improve my focus and discipline this year!

This sucks, but I wanted to be transparent. One of my resolutions this year was to draw a lot more and complete a lot more art. I haven't given up, but I need to improve my workflow. I need to work out the kinks beforehand so when I get to a road bump I can navigate it. This whole time I put my other projects on pause because I HAD to complete this contest entry...and got nothing done. I was completely stuck in some weird limbo and could not make it out. I did do the script and layout but after a while, I just didn't CARE. And when I don't care, my art immediately devolves and when my art devolves, I start hating myself for drawing crummy art. The gag is that when I'm drawing random things in my sketchbook without even thinking, some of it comes out SO COOL! It's part of why I opened a sketch dump!

I wanted a publisher to notice me and say, "wow, she's good!" But I can't seem to get my artwork to agree with me when I want it to. I can't even win a drawing contest! I didn't even get an honorable mention! (And that hurts, I thought I'd AT LEAST get mentioned.) This isn't a one time thing, either. I have NEVER won an art contest, NEVER had my work accepted to a magazine I submitted to. The ONE time I got second place in an art contest was something I did in high school and was just screwing around because I had no idea what to paint, and was sure an "official art contest" wouldn't accept anime art. And you know who won? Someone who drew anime.😐 (I was SOOOOOOO mad! Are you toying with me, universe? Are you telling me art is not my calling after all?)

What if a publisher DID contact me and ask me to draw something I don't care about? I have the worst discipline ever, and if I can't force myself to do good work when I need to, then I am of no use to them. I've accepted that I'll probably never do commissions, either.

If a publisher comes across this post, I don't mind. A bad work ethic is bad for business and the manga business is tough. They want people who grind HARD. It's well documented. We've all heard the stories about the mangaka struggle in Japan. And I've been in the workforce long enough to know that employers don't care about your feelings or your mental health. They only care about the results they can pay you pennies for. And that's life.

I'm still happy with the art I did for the My Copic Moment contest. (It's actually one of my favorite pieces in my portfolio right now, and I want to draw more pieces like it.) I actually want to try and enter their big copic contest for the year now, but wasn't going to because I only have like five markers of theirs and for this contest, you HAVE to use their products. But maybe I can screw around and mysteriously win this time. (The grand prize is 300 markers! Or something like that.) You can draw whatever you want, too. Maybe I'll do something really really crazy. I'll just unleash my emotions on the canvas like the first episode of Barakamon. (And then he went right back to struggling with his work. WHYYYY are we like this?😭)

I've also decided to set some time aside for scripts and planning. Since my excitement tends to come in waves, I'll try to get pre work done so I can heavily focus on a task at hand when the time comes. For instance, since I'm scripting right now, I'm really excited about the stories I'm making and fleshing out the plot points for them! I love coming with ideas and dumping my creativity out whenever I can. So if you give me a paper and tell me to just write, it feels so freeing. I'll hopefully work on these scripts and come up with a bunch of cool stuff to draw this week. Then I can do the layouts and get excited about the focus on flow and design of the pages. I tend to come up with new ideas and change my mind about things during the layout stages, so I'm going to proceed with caution. But for now, the plan is set and I'm going to move forward. The task is a lot less daunting when I have my ducks in a row.