#I may want to revisit them in the future <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[turtlemurmurs]

Sharing some various original sketches I did last year-ish tehehe :]

[yivvampire]

Back at it with some more Obey Me redesigns! This time it's the angels <33

I bet you thought I was only gonna do the three that show up, huh? WRONG. Lilith and Michael deserve designs too, yk?

Here's the part where I ramble about my design philosophy when it comes to the angles. Generally I wanted to use the same palette on all of them save for the hair and eyes. I've been generally keeping the same eye color as base game does for each character, idk why all the angels have the blue eyes but I kept it going for Lilith.

You might Notice that Simeon is still vv similar to his original design, that's intentional. It kinda serves as a little hint to his future in seasons 3 and 4, and also I actually quite enjoy his og design lmao. Also gave him long hair because uhh.. pretty :3

I don't really have much to say about Luke other than his hat gave me trouble lmao, he and Simeon were def the easiest to do fr.

Raphael Raphael, oh the man you are. I'm gonna be so real when I say that I really don't enjoy his og design that much. Bro is supposed to be intimidating but I'm sorry, when your shirt is only low enough to cover your nipples I'm not gonna be intimidated LMAO. You might notice that his colors are kinda reversed in that his cloak is black instead of white, that's not only to raise his intimidation factor but also a throwback to priests dressing in black.

Lilith gave me some trouble in trynna figure out how and where to put the colors down but I think I got it? I'll likely revisit her in the future. All I had it my brain was to make her cute and pretty and to make her pose playful so uhh kaboom, goal achieved ig??

MICHAEL was kind of annoying to do ngl. You may have noticed that I switched my line brush for him, that's because a. I MISSED MY USUAL BRUSH THIS ENTIRE EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN SO PAINFUL DOING ACTUAL LINE WORK and b. his hair looked like SHIT in the line brush I'd been using for the previous redesigns. Ngl I kinda hate the way I did his face up, I had so much trouble for some reason. Gonna need to revisit it fr

If you read all of this then uhh slay I guess. If you haven't seen my redesigns for the brothers then check them out. Next batch will be the rest of the characters (so Dia, Barbatos, Solomon, Thirteen, and Mephisto).

[literaryvein-reblogs]

15 Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary

in response to:

1. Develop a reading habit. Reading is the most effective way to build your vocabulary. Read books, magazines, and newspapers that cover a wide range of topics, and pay attention to unfamiliar words. Look up their meanings and try using them in context. Vocabulary building is easiest when you encounter words in context. Seeing words appear in a novel or a newspaper article can be far more helpful than seeing them appear on vocabulary lists. Not only do you gain exposure to unfamiliar words; you also see how they’re used. In fact, 15 minutes is recognized as the ideal time for students to see positive gains in reading achievement; students who read just over a half-hour to an hour per day improve the most.

2. Utilize word lists. They are incredibly flexible tools that can help you organize your learning in a variety of ways. For instance, vocabulary can be grouped into small, easy chunks that can be revisited for maximum learning benefits. Research shows that a word needs to be seen up to 10 times before we really learn it, and researchers believe that staggered repetition is the best way to learn new vocabulary. Word lists help keep vocabulary terms in manageable chunks that a student can come back to as they gain mastery. I have posted some word lists HERE and will continue to add to this in the future.

3. Use the dictionary and thesaurus. Online dictionaries and thesauruses are helpful resources if used properly. They can jog your memory about synonyms that would actually be better words in the context of what you’re writing. A full dictionary definition can also educate you about antonyms, root words, and related words, which is another way to learn vocabulary.

4. Keep a vocabulary journal. Making a vocabulary journal is a great place to collect and interact with words you hear or see in your reading. Each page should be dedicated to a singular new word, including its definitions, synonyms, and antonyms. Review the journal regularly to reinforce your learning. 

5. Choosing appropriate vocabulary. It’s important to use words and expressions that fit the context so your meaning is clear. For example, different audiences for your writing will require different levels of formality: the vocabulary you use in an academic essay may not be effective for a blogpost targeting a popular audience. Consider the following questions to help you choose the most appropriate words for your audience and purpose:

a. What’s the exact meaning of the word? Words may be broadly similar in meaning but differ in important aspects of that meaning. Consider the difference between ‘the fragrance of flowers’  and ‘the odour of rotten eggs.’ Both words refer to the sense of smell, but fragrance has a positive core meaning while odour has a negative one. If you don’t know what a word exactly means, check it in a dictionary. b. Is the word attached to a feeling? Compare the two sentences: ‘The freeway snakes through the town’ and ‘The freeway meanders through the town’. In this example, snake indicates negative feelings about the freeway while meander doesn’t. c. What level of intensity does the word show? Many words with similar meanings describe different degrees of the same quality or action. For example, ‘comical’, ‘hilarious’ and ‘side-splitting’  show different degrees of funniness. Think about the intensity of what you want to convey when choosing words. d. Is the word formal or informal? Go for formal words and expressions in business communication and academic writing. In the following examples, the second expression in each pair is more formal than the first: (1) come up with / create (2) one after another / at regular intervals (3) huge / considerable (4) enough / sufficient e. Is the word polite? Words which describe negative qualities or sensitive issues too directly can be offensive. Good communicators consider the feelings of their audience. For example, when writing about childhood obesity, it’s more appropriate to use ‘children with weight problems’ or ‘children of an unhealthy weight’ than ‘fat children’. f. Is the word specific or general? Use words with specific meanings whenever possible to make your message clearer to your audience. For example, avoid overusing general verbs such as ‘be’, ‘do’, ‘have’ and ‘get’, especially in academic writing, as they don’t accurately convey specific ideas. It’s better to use a more specific verb or verb phrase to strengthen your message. Compare the impact of the verbs in these sentences: ‘To be successful, learners need to have high-level literacy skills.’ ‘To be successful, learners need to develop and demonstrate high-level literacy skills.’ g. What other words does the word often go with? Some words are frequently used together and therefore sound more natural in combination. This is called collocation. For example, we say ‘fast train’ not ‘quick train’, but ‘quick shower’ not ‘fast shower’. Similarly, it’s more natural to say ‘highly critical’ rather than ‘deeply critical.’

6. Play word games. Classic games like Scrabble and Boggle can function as a fun way to expand your English vocabulary. Crossword puzzles can as well. If you really want to be efficient, follow up rounds of these word games with a little note-taking. Keep a list of the different words you learned while playing the game, and then study that list from time to time.

7. Use flashcards. A quick way to build a large vocabulary is to study a number of words via flashcards. In today’s digital age, a wide array of smartphone apps make flashcards convenient and easy to organize. Aiming for one new word a day is reasonable. You can always go for more, but it may not be reasonable to assimilate dozens of English words every single day.

8. Subscribe to “word of the day” feeds. Some web platforms will provide you with a word a day—either on a website, an app, or via email—to help you expand your vocabulary. You can add these words to running word lists.

9. Use mnemonics. A mnemonic device is a form of word association that helps you remember words’ definitions and proper uses. For instance think of the word obsequious which means “attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery.” Break down that word into components: “obse” is the beginning of “obsessed,” “qui” sounds like the French word for “yes” (oui), and “us” is like the word “us.” So you can think of that big word obsequious as “obsessed with saying yes to us”—which is kind of what it means!

10. Practice using new words in conversation. It’s possible to amass a huge vocabulary without actually knowing how to use words. This means you have to take it upon yourself to put your personal dictionary into use. If you come across an interesting word in your reading, make a point of using it in conversation. By experimenting in low-stakes situations, you can practice the art of word choice and, with a little bit of trial and error, hone in on the right word for a particular context. Furthermore, speaking to native – or non-native – speakers of English (or any language you are learning) will guarantee you the chance to learn new words. Anyone who has ever wondered how to develop their vocabulary will know that the most important thing is putting your vocabulary to use and hearing what people say in return. This is how language works, and before long you’ll be finding ways to work those new words into your everyday use of the language.

11. Watch movies and TV shows. This simple activity can expose you to new words and phrases. When watching TV or a movie, pay attention to the dialogue and note any unfamiliar words. When the TV show or movie is done, look up the meanings of the new words and try to use them in context.

12. Build a story. Learning vocabulary words outside of their context is difficult, so why not create context with some creative storytelling? This can be an individual writing activity or you can do this in a group. A sample group activity: Choose a word list and determine an order in which your students or friends will take their turn. Every person gets to choose one word from the word list. You begin by writing the first sentence of a story; each student then uses their chosen word in a sentence to build on the story. This gets learners comfortable using the words in sentences, and putting those individual vocabulary words into a broader context. This is also an activity you can do via text, chat window, or email, which makes it perfect for remote learning.

13. Draw it. Sometimes the best learning activities are ones that don’t feel like a learning activity. This can be an individual activity but can also be used in group settings. Here’s a way to turn vocabulary acquisition into a game: Ask each student to have a piece of paper and a pen or pencil ready, and tell them you are going to be playing a drawing game. Using the private chat feature of your remote learning software, choose one student and give them a word from your vocabulary list along with its definition, and tell them that they have 20 seconds to draw it. While the student is drawing it, make sure that you make their screen the main screen of the software. You can do a countdown to keep up the momentum, or play music while you wait. At the end of the time, the student shows their drawing to the other students: The first student to guess which vocabulary word has been drawn is the next student to draw. This activity is not only fun, but also benefits students who are visual or tactile learners.

14. Be aware of idioms. Idioms are commonly used word combinations or expressions. These have very specific meanings that are not obvious from the words they contain, e.g. ‘a piece of cake’, ‘get the hang of it’, ‘an Indian summer’, and ‘after a fashion’. Many dictionaries list and define idioms if you look up the component words. For example, try looking up ‘Indian’ or ‘summer’ to find ‘Indian summer’. Idioms are generally more appropriate for speaking and non-academic writing.

15. Practice, practice, practice. In many ways, vocabulary is like a muscle – it will get stronger the more you use it. The key to building a strong vocabulary is to use it regularly. Try using new words in your conversations, writing, and everyday life. The more that you use them, the more they will become a part of your everyday vocabulary.

Sources & other related articles: 1 2 3 4 5 6 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

[fandoms-writings]

hii pretty girl, happy celebration! you deserve everyone who follows you <3 i’m here to request a few things for ur party! (i’ll space them out in asks hehe)

for the first one, may i pmease request a small little blurb with bucky and ‘keep your eyes on me’ from the smut category? it can be any bucky of yours, one dominating and possessive 😵‍💫

thanks baby! i almost got carried away with this one 😵‍💫 i might have to revisit these two in the future - i hope you like it darlin <3

Pairing: DBF!Bucky x college!reader

Word Count: 680

Warnings: Smut 18+ ONLY, car sex, unprotected vaginal sex, oral (f receiving), fingering, slight exhibitionism

come celebrate with me! || part 2

He knew you shouldn't be here - that this was wrong. 

He was your fathers best friend. But when he met you at your graduation party two years ago, he was enamored. You'd just finished your degree, getting ready to specialize at another university and after some conversation, he learned it would be the one in his city. 

He'd helped you move, helped you get settled in your apartment - which was only a ten minute drive from his house. He told you that if you ever needed anything, that he'd be there for you. 

He didn't necessarily mean it like this, but he'd gladly spend the rest of his days between your legs if it meant he didn't have to see you cry anymore. 

Sure, you muttered about how you two shouldn’t be doing this, asking what you were going to do if your father found out. Bucky assured you he wouldn't, what he was doing to you - ruining you - would be your little secret, and you let him keep going. 

You didn't pull away, you didn't tell him to stop or to leave. If the words were to leave your lips, he'd be heart broken, but he'd go. 

If you told him to, he’d walk to the ends of the earth. He’d find the edge and jump, if you so asked. 

But you didn’t. 

You let him take you out when he ran into you at the mall, you were clearly upset about something and he wanted to make you feel better. He told you to dress up and you put on the sexiest dress you had, the one that left nothing to the imagination, and let him pick you up to take you to the nicest restaurant he could find. 

Bucky listened to how you'd been sort of dating a guy from one of your classes, but turns out he was just another asshole who stood you up and cheated on you. He'd wiped your tears with his thumbs, his hands cupping your cheeks as gently as he could. 

He gave you so much time to pull away, to stop him. 

But when he leaned in, pressing his lips to yours as gently as he could, you kissed him back. 

Now, here you two were, in the back of his car, your back pressed up against the door with his head between your legs, his tongue in your core. Your hands tugged on his hair and your eyes were shut as you moaned. 

He pulled his tongue from your folds to hover just over your cunt. Reaching up, he gripped your chin and squeezed your jaw, getting you to open your eyes. 

"Keep your eyes on me," he ordered, waiting for a nod to tell him you heard him before he latched on to your clit, drawing quick tight circles over it while slipping two fingers into your warmth and curling them. 

He never let go of your jaw and you followed his order, never once taking your eyes off his - except when he brought you over the edge. Your head flew back, hitting the window as your eyes shut and you screamed. 

He pulled his face away from your clit and slipped his fingers out of you, maneuvering you to lay over the center console into the front seat, your arms holding you up on the seats. Gripping your hips and lining himself up with your center, he slammed you down on to him and reached forward, threading his hand into your hair before pulling your head up. 

"You didn't keep your eyes on me," He muttered, holding terribly still, making you squirm. "So you're gonna sit here and warm my cock until I think you deserve to cum again. How's that sound?" 

"What - what if someone sees?" You asked,  your voice thin and worn out. You had a point, if someone were to walk by and glance in the front window, they'd have a front seat view to you getting fucked. But if anything, that spurred him on further. 

"Then I'll show them who you belong to."

[babydollmarauders]

WYD NOW? — JACK HUGHES

jack hughes x fem!singer!reader

summary: in which y/n writes a song about her ex-boyfriend, 3 years after their breakup, and it gets back to him, leading to their reconnection

notes: inspired by the song WYD Now? by Sadie Jean. ending kinda sucks, but ehh i did my best. pretty sure i lost motivation for this halfway through it, but i tried to power through.

not my gif

*** JUNE 17TH, 2018 ***

“i bet, at this time in a few years, we’ll be painting the walls of our shared apartment.” my boyfriend’s whisper rings through my ears as i turn my head to look at him.

heat rises to my cheeks, Jack’s blue eyes gazing into mine.

“yeah?” i laugh, running a hand through his hair, still damp from the shower he took before coming over.

“mhm.” he hums in confirmation, his hand snaking up under the stolen shirt that adorns my body, gripping my waist and pulling me closer. “i’ll be playing hockey, and you’ll be a big pop star, my little songbird.”

i bury my face into his neck in attempt to hide the redness on the apples of my cheeks from the nickname.

“you gonna write songs about me?” he whispers, pressing a kiss against the side of my head.

“i already do.” i murmur, my lips brushing against his collarbone, causing him to shiver.

*** JULY 30TH, 2019 ***

“i don’t think i understand.” it feels like my head is underwater, my lungs burning for oxygen, but unable to receive it.

“we can still be friends, y/n. you can call me whenever.” Jack sits on my bed, gripping my hands in his hold. “the future is just, so far away and we don’t know what’ll happen.

“i don’t want my dreams to hold you back from achieving yours, y/n. you may not see it right now, but this just seems like the best option for now. and maybe, down the line, once we’re both at a stable place in our careers, if we’re both single, we can revisit us.”

my head is bobbing ‘yes’ but my heart is screaming ‘no!’

it’s like my brain understands where he’s coming from, that he’s being logical and that he’s doing this for the greater good of both of us; no matter what we’ve always thought, we’re still just kids, we were dreaming. but my heart isn’t getting that message. all my heart knows is that it’s being crushed into a thousand pieces and it feels pretty unsalvageable right now.

“are you okay?”

it’s my instinct to tell him ‘yes’. my instinct to not let him know how much he’s really hurting me. how much i want to scream that we’ll be fine. that i would give up my dream to be by his side while he accomplishes his. but i know that would just hurt him; because that isn’t what he wants.

he may be hurting me, but he’s doing it for all the right reasons. he doesn’t want me to push my dreams aside for his, because he wants to see me living them. he wants the best for me.

“yeah, i’m okay. i understand.”

*** PRESENT: SOCIAL MEDIA ***

y/nonthegram

liked by tatemcrae and 246,517 others

y/nonthegram in your faded t-shirt

that i’ve kept this long

i still hear you laughing

Load more comments

user13 NEW LYRICS??

user92 that’s what i was thinking too! seems too poetic to just be a caption

trevorzegras hey that looks familiar

user57 OH MY GOD NEW MUSIC?

user04 AHHH ANNOUNCE A NEW ALBUM PLEASE

user6 I’LL EVEN JUST TAKE A NEW SINGLE! I JUST NEED NEW MUSIC

tatemcrae my best friend writes the best captions

y/nonthegram MY best friend writes the best songs

tatemcrae says you!

user83 new love song? break-up song? both?

colecaufield what’s this 👀

y/nonthegram

liked by trevorzegras and 283,752 others

y/nonthegram surprise! ‘WYD Now?’ out tonight at midnight.

wholly written in my bedroom at 2am, this song means the absolute most to me, and i hope some of you can find comfort in it like i have <3

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user04 OH MY GOD! THANK YOU FOR BLESSING OUR EARS TONIGHT!

colecaufield so proud of you!

y/nonthegram thank you, coley ♥️

user94 since when does she know nhl players?

user63 she went to high school with some of the 2019 draft class

user72 I CAN’T WAIT OMG

user18 SHAKING, CRYING, THROWING UP! I’M SO EXCITED

_alexturcotte our little melody makin’ munchkin, making moves!

y/nonthegram oh god please don’t bring back “melody makin’ munchkin”

_alexturcotte too late

tatemcrae GO BEST FRIEND THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND

y/nonthegram LEMME KISS YOUR FACE!! MWAH!!

user55 i’m so curious to hear these lyrics 😭 how am i gonna wait 8 more hours?!

jackhughes

liked by y/nonthegram and 352,850 others

jackhughes 3/3

Load more comments

user77 hey wait, didn’t @/y/nonthegram date Jack in high school? is the new song yesterday about him?

user55 yess! it’s gotta be!

trevorzegras dizzyyy

user91 you should go listen to y/n’s new song 👀

user02 have you heard ‘WYD Now?’ ???

user36 omg he remembered to post 3/3

colecaufield same time next summer? 🫡

subbanator 🚀

y/nonthegram

liked by jackhughes and 227,951 others

y/nonthegram i’m so grateful for all the love on ‘WYD Now?’ these past couple days! thank you all! <3

here’s some photos @/tatemcrae took at our song celly night last night to celebrate the release of WYD Now? and greedy!

in celebration, i’ll be answering some questions in the comments!

Load more comments

user74 is the song fictional? or was it inspired by someone?

y/nonthegram not fictional <3

user99 is this a single off the upcoming album? or just a normal song?

y/nonthegram the album is still being written, so i can’t confirm or deny if this is a single because i’m not sure yet if it’ll be on the track list! <3

colecaufield omg y/n please come to Montreal! i love you so much! you’re my idol!

y/nonthegram hey remember that time i bumped you with my car? i think we should do that again! i’ll stomp on the gas this time!

colecaufield omg you noticed me!!

user42 at 18, where did you imagine yourself being at this age?

y/nonthegram New Jersey <3

trevorzegras where did he set the bar?

y/nonthegram above the moon

user28 if the song isn’t fictional, then who’s it about?

user96 it’s 100% about jack hughes. if you scroll way down on her page, there’s pics of her and jack in high school, but they stop when they were 18. then he moved to new jersey and now he’s playing hockey, like the song states “you finally got the job you like”. that we’re all aware of, she didn’t have any other boyfriends in high school. she and jack seemingly dated from ages 16-18 until he left for the NHL

liked by y/nonthegram

_quinnhughes 💙

user10 this song was amazing! i really related and it made me feel so seen!

user88 big question is: has jack heard the song yet?

jackhughes call me?

user98 @/user88 if he hadn’t, i’m guessing he has now

*** PRESENT: REAL LIFE ***

my heart races as the notification comes through.

i wasn’t sure if he listened to my music, or if the song would get back to him. i just needed to get my feelings down on paper, and then it turned into a song, and then i liked it too much to not release it.

the night i wrote it, i had played a small show in New York, and i could’ve sworn i saw him in the back of the venue. of course, i knew it wasn’t, but it had rattled me; bringing all my feelings for him back to the forefront of my brain.

“call him.” my head snaps up to face my best friend, her eyes soft as she looks at me from the doorway.

“i-” Tate cuts me off with a shake of her head.

“don’t make excuses, y/n. call him.” she repeats, “you deserve to be happy, and from what you’ve told me, he makes you happy.”

she doesn’t stick around; instead bidding me goodbye and heading back to my guest room to give me some privacy.

i pace my bedroom, iphone clutched in my hand. his contact is pulled up, but i can’t seem to build up the nerve to call him. though, it seems i don’t have to, because my phone begins to ring instead, Jack’s photo displaying on the screen.

“hi.” i breathe out, pressing the phone to my ear.

“hi.” he repeats. “i heard your new song. i’m so proud of you, my little songbird.”

my face heats up, blood rushing to my cheeks. i haven’t heard that nickname in almost four years.

“thank you.” my words come out a whisper, still in disbelief that i’m talking to him again.

“did you mean it?” the question causes a panic to erupt in me, swarms of butterflies erupting in my nervous system.

“did i mean what, Jacky?” i need him to say it.

“what you wrote,” he clears his throat, “in the song. did you mean it all? do you still think of me? do you really wanna try again?”

laying sprawled out on my bed, i stare up at the ceiling as i speak.

“i wouldn’t have written it if it wasn’t true.”

“oh- okay. so, uh,” he stutters, but i can hear the smile on his lips, causing the same reaction upon my own face, “where are you right now?”

“um, my apartment?” my brows thread together in confusion, but he just chuckles.

“i mean like, are you living in LA? are you home in Michigan? what state?”

“oh.” i bite my lip, squeezing my eyes shut in embarrassment. “i live in New York, Jack.”

“really?” his voice is emotionally distant and seemingly hurt. “so close?”

“yeah.” i nod, although he can’t see me. “i’ve gone to a few of your games.”

“you did?”

“mhm.” i hum in confirmation. “i just- i didn’t wanna be the one to reach out and then have you think oddly of me or have you already be in a relationship or something. i’m sorry i didn’t tell you, i just didn’t wanna be seen as that clingy ex-girlfriend or anything.”

“that’s not what you are, y/n.” he sighs, “would you wanna meet up soon? catch up? i’d love to hear about your glamorous new pop star life.”

“i’d love to. although, i wouldn’t call myself a pop star, Jacky.”

“you are to me.” i blush at his words, glad he can’t see how much of a mess i am at the moment. “are you free on saturday? i have practice in the morning, but after that, maybe we could go to lunch?”

“yeah, i can do that.” i confirm.

“okay great, i’ll text you on friday to hash out details?”

“sounds great!” my cool hand rises to press against my heated face in attempt to cool myself down.

“great. i gotta go, Luke and i are going out with the guys. i’ll talk to you soon, yeah?”

“yeah. bye, Jack.” i wait for him to repeat a goodbye before hanging up, burying face in my pillow and letting out a muffled scream.

***

my knee bounces underneath the table of the New York City diner, my hands clasped together on the table.

Jack should be here any minute, and saying i’m nervous would be an understatement. my palms are clammy, my legs won’t stop shaking, and i’m eighty percent sure that i have no skin left on my bottom lip because i’ve chewed it all off.

the little bell above the door rings and my head snaps up to look, but it’s just a young couple with their toddler. i send a friendly smile to the tired looking mother before looking back down at my hands that won’t stop fidgeting.

i zone out, retreating back into my head and all the thoughts that have been plaguing me since we planned this meeting.

what if he doesn’t like me anymore?

what if he has a girlfriend and he’s just trying to be nice?

or worse, what if he’s just asked me here so he could tell me to leave him alone? to stop writing songs about him.

“hi.” i’m pulled out of my thoughts by Jack sliding into the booth across from me, a gentle smile on his face.

his hand snakes across the table to hold mine, and i can’t help but feel like a teenager again, back when we used to have dates like this all the time; where he would hold my hand over the table and we would laugh and joke around for hours.

“hey.” i smile back, giving his hand a small squeeze in return.

“how are you?” he questions. he brings his hand back in order to hold his menu, but his focus remains on me, not even glancing down at the menu yet.

“i’m good!” i nod. “how are you?”

“good, i’m glad. i’m good too.”

we’re interrupted by a waitress, taking a second to look over our menu’s before giving her our orders.

once she retreats, i squirm from the small talk, never having been any good at it. which Jack seems to remember.

“so, how’s the pop star life?” he smirks teasingly, and i giggle.

“not a pop star.” i remind him, shaking my head. “but it’s good. i like where i’m at right now in my career. i like having a strong fanbase but still being unknown enough that i’m not being hounded on or followed like, say, Taylor Swift.

“i’m able to just write my music and put it out, go on small tours, interact with my fans on a more personal level; it’s really nice. i don’t know if i would want it to be more than that.”

he nods in understanding, a wide grin on his face as he listens.

“i get it. and i’m really glad you’ve achieved what you wanted. i’ve always rooted for you.”

“what about you? mr. ninety-nine point season!” he blushes at my words, shaking his head and looking down at his hands, which rest on the tabletop. “how’s that?”

“it’s good! really good.” he looks back up at me, and i have to fight myself from getting lost in his eyes like i would when we were seventeen. “i love it. it’s hard, it’s a lot of work, but it’s amazing. and honestly, i’m pretty glad i’m not on a canadian team. i like that i can go out and still have a pretty normal life outside of hockey, ya know? not be stopped on the street a bunch.”

“yeah, i get it.” i tell him. “i’m so glad you’re happy though. you play great, as you always have.”

he releases a ‘thanks’ before a silence settles over us, neither of us sure what exactly to say next.

i begin to play with the paper wrapper from my straw, winding it around my finger before sliding it off and gently pulling it straight again.

“so, Cole sends me your songs.”

snap! the paper wrapper breaks in two as i look up at him.

“he does?”

“yeah. you know i don’t get on social media too much, so i don’t always know right away when you put one out, but Cole sends me all of them. just in case i miss one.” he explains.

my head bobs up and down as i try to display a level of cool, “oh.”

“that doesn’t bother you, does it?” he asks. “that i don’t always listen to them right away?”

“not at all! i didn’t really think you listened to them at all.” i confess, sinking lower into the booth. “not really your genre.”

he smiles gently, reaching forward to hold my hand tightly in his.

“y/n, you could write a children’s nursery rhyme, and i would still listen to it.”

my head tips back against the booth, joyous laughter spilling from my lips. my nose scrunches, resulting in a small snort, which cause him to laugh as well.

“you’re just saying that.” i choke out, and he shakes his head.

“no! i’m serious! i would!” Jack insists, right as the waitress arrives with our food. she sets our food in front of us, making sure we’re all set before she retreats.

a comfortable small talk takes over as we eat; discussing our friends and their accomplishments since graduation.

“you remember that time,” Jack starts through broken laughter, “that you hit Cole with your car because he said he didn’t think it would hurt?”

“yes! and i barely even tapped him, but the big baby whined that it hurt so bad, i may have crushed his NHL dreams!” my face hurts from smiling so big, but i can no longer fight it.

“and then he was fine and back to practice that afternoon! not even a bruise left on him!” he retorts.

“ever the dramatic, Cole is.” i sigh, sitting back in my seat from position slouched over the table.

“since we’re walking down memory lane, do you remember how i said that maybe down the line, we could revisit us?”

i’m sobered up now, my smile gone as i eye him. he’s playing with his bracelets, a sign of nerves from him, and i just now realize that he’s still wearing the string friendship bracelet i gave him at eighteen; just before his draft.

i swallow the lump that built in throat, nodding, “yeah.”

“you think maybe now would be a good time to do that?” he asks. “start slow; go on dates again, maybe you could come over sometime for movie night with Luke and i, come to a few more of my games, where i actually know you’re there this time. and then see where that could take us?”

butterflies swarm my stomach, my heart beating rapidly in my chest, and my teeth sink into my lower lip, biting back a smile.

“i’d love that, Jack.”

[ramblinscramblin]

your headcanons were great, may i rq general cuddling headcanons? if you don't want to do all of them then just medic, scout and sniper pls :3

→Cuddling Headcanons

Genre: tooth rotting fluff

Characters: Medic, Scout, Sniper + Demoman and Engie

EEEKK! I love this so so much! I will likely revisit this and add some more of the mercs in the future, I just have so many requests right now and I want to keep working through them so for now it will just be there three. Let’s goooo!

Scout

Scout is super restless as we know, so you have to get okay with the idea of changing postions a lot.

Loves to cuddle though, clings onto you like a life line. Likes to lay directly on top of you, kind of curled around your body.

Kiss him a lot during cuddling, he blushes and melts every time.

If he senses you getting annoyed/upset with the amount he moves he will hold his breath to try and stay as still as possible. Doesn’t usually last long though.

Chatty, like normal, you guys cuddle while ranting about your days.

Secretly prefers being the small spoon.

Sniper

Sniper likewise, clings to you like his life depends on it. Every time you readjust he asks if you’re getting up, even if he was just dead asleep.

Light sleeper, anything and everything wakes him up. Too loud? He’s awake. Too quiet? He’s awake then too.

Sort of likes his personal space, so cuddling is rare which honestly makes it even more rewarding.

Sleepy kisses on your temple/shoulders, he likes to run his fingers up and down your arm.

Medic

Medic is very into cuddling, it is necessary for you to be within arms reach for him to sleep.

Will complain and whine if you’re not around for him when he wants to go to sleep.

Medic prefers to cuddle with the two of you facing each other, arms wrapped around the others back. Hand running up and down your spine and neck.

If you’re ticklish he is hyper aware of that, and will absolutely use it against you.

Generally very playful while cuddling, likes kissing your neck just as you finally starting dozing off. He’s annoying I love him.

Demoman

He’s also pretty restless too, to be honest, unless he’s drunk, then he’s out like a light.

Likes to cuddle on the couch with you, the closer the better!

He wants to live inside your rib cage secretly, doesn’t want to be apart from you. Cuddling is the closest he can get.

If you choose to show your hair/have hair he loves to play with it! Tender stuff like that is his specialty, will melt if you do the same.

Deep sleeper, you don’t ever have to worry about waking him up.

Engineer

Oh my god he’s so comfortable to lay on I just know it.

Likes to be the big spoon, but will cuddle however you want.

Sleeps like a rock, once he gets into a comfortable position he won’t budge at all.

I have a headcanon that he is a sleep talker, do with that information what you will.

Likes to scratch your back lightly while the two of you are cuddling, especially while you tell him about your day. Give him that domestic nonsense right now.

In truth, I wrote demo and Engie totally on accident. Forgot the characters you asked for almost immediately and went totally rouge, but I hope you enjoyed anyways haha!

[noviraine]

Have you ever drawn any cow characters? If not, id love to see some in the future! I think voted would suit your art style perfectly

I have, a bunch! I even have a few cow OCs

On the left is Elodie, but I haven't drawn her in a long while because I could never figure out a design and personality for her that I vibed with, so sadly I lost interest, but I may revisit her some time!

And then there's Nomad's boyfried Jonathan, I've drawn him a bunch more but most of that is just sketches and WIPs for now!

Plus of course the latest AF attack!

And I have drawn a few one-offs every now and then, but they're rather old and probably NSFW so I can't be bothered to find them lol

But yeah I think cows are super cute, and I will want to draw them again in the future! Then again, I feel the same way about most species that I draw hehe :3

[seyaryminamoto]

Fic-to-Art #45: Happy Family

In this house we cope with hard times in fics by thinking of better days and brighter futures!

... By which I mean, the prompt for September was "hope" and to my utter surprise, my Patrons chose Happy Family, my story for Underneath Starlit Skies, as what gives them the most hope in these trying times :'D and to be fair, this particular story is about as opposite to what's going on in Gladiator atm as can be, so... makes sense :'D

This was a hilarious story to write and revisit, always makes me smile. It's another rare situation where I actually feel like I mostly managed to translate my vision of this scene, in my head, to what I wound up drawing... I really wanted to make sure all characters felt as active as could be (except for Mai, who didn't really care about how the game turned out or if Azula burned down a net, she was just getting justice for her son xD), and getting the sunset lighting right was also a big priority.

For anyone who didn't read this chapter (if you're in need of a pick-me-up over Gladiator, I absolutely recommend it haha), at this point, Azula, Sokka, Zuko and Katara were teamed up against Mari, Zi (Zuko and Suki's daughters), Hotaru (Sokka and Azula's daughter) and Mai in a kuai ball match, while the rest of the audience sat on the sidelines, enjoying the show. As Mai's joining the team to substitute for her son, Yuudai, resulted in a near-upset, Sokka and Azula decided they needed to get serious to clinch their victory and... well. I suppose the rest is history xD

It was a little bit insane to finish this in like... 3 days. But. Yeah. I did that. I should've posted earlier but I was nightshading and glazing and whatnot, I got busier than intended... but here it is! Hope you guys like it!

If you'd like to be part of the creative process behind these pieces, a $1 pledge is enough to make you eligible for suggesting and voting on prompts, as well as reading Gladiator snippets 6 days before the next chapter is released!

[lavenderarts]

Revamp: Monthly Subs and Reward Art!

Hi everyone! After a long hiatus on this due to inconsistent health, I'm back and feeling better than ever, and I'd like to re-institute my monthly subscription service for art rewards. These will be active on my Ko-fi starting on August 1st! Read on to hear about the changes from my old system and details of what you'll get for subscribing, but if you don't care about any of that and just want to see the rewards page, here it is:

Please share this and consider tossing a couple bucks a month my way to help me support myself and my dog! Details below the cut!

So last time I was offering art rewards, it gradually became unsustainable for a number of reasons, chief among them the fact that I was basically offering severely discounted full commissions of all styles, and it was exhausting to fulfill in addition to regular commission work. I just couldn't keep up and got overwhelmed. So to help prevent that this time around, here are the changes I'm implementing:

I'll have a single reward type: single character busts! These are easy to crank out in an hour or less, so I can keep up with demand better. I'll reserve the right to decide between lined/lineless flats and papercrafts as I see fit to keep them interesting and fun for me, but if it's your birthday month or your yearly sub anniversary, you can choose the style and get a little something extra! For examples of what a bust looks like, please check out my recent ArtFight submissions :)

I'm going to do my level best to institute a hard 3-week turnaround rate for all regular commissions, and save the final week of each month for giving these rewards full priority along with onboarding new batches of clients for the following month's commissions.

I'm moving my subscription service over to Ko-fi, where anyone can give between $2-9 a month as a very generous tip and get access to my Discord server, or give $10+ for monthly bust rewards, early access to adoptables, and more! You can choose to give more than $10, but no other rewards exist for higher tier subs, it's up to whatever you feel is appropriate! Ko-fi has both Stripe and PayPal integration, which should be easier on the subscriber end, and it allows me to use PostyBirb to post across multiple sites at once, which makes it much easier to post early-access WIPs and finished work than it was on my old subscription service. It also automatically handles Discord onboarding and role assignment, yay!

I'm on the hunt for a simple Discord bot that can post a single repeating message on the first of every month with a link to a Google form for everyone to submit their requests, so that I don't have to ask for them manually. (If anyone knows of such a bot or is capable of making one, please get in touch!)

Previously I offered a whole suite of other rewards in addition to the monthly art -- things like subscriber-only request streams, early claims on adoptables, and even physical merch, which were not sustainable for me. Going forward, early adoptable claims for a discount will still be available as a reward, and I may occasionally do request streams, but on a less formally-scheduled basis and only as I have the free time to do so. I am not able to offer physical prints/stickers at this time; I might revisit the option in the future, but I need to know more before I try it again! I'll also be continuing to offer a subscriber discount on all commissions that will stack with other sales and discounts, along with the ability to skip the waitlist and jump directly into the work queue.

So to recap, if you subscribe to me, here's everything you get:

For $2-$9 USD: Discord server access with a special role, and my thanks for your generous support!

For $10+ USD: Discord server access with a special role, 24 hour early adoptable access with the ability to claim for a discounted price, a bust of a single character each month, first looks at finished artwork and WIPs/timelapses, commission discounts, and potentially more down the line.

My Discord is open to anyone, and all members can freely chat, post art, attend/host art streams, and answer polls regarding prompts for adoptable designs and more. You just get some nice bonuses for subscribing! While these subscription tiers are available, one-time tips and donations of any amount are still an option for commission clients or anyone else who just wants to show some love.

I hope this all makes sense and sounds enticing; I really love seeing people's OCs and getting to bring them to life and put my own little touch on them, and I'm very excited to start giving something back to all of you out there whose support means so very much to me, and without whom I could never do what I do. Thank you so much for checking out the Ko-fi! As a reminder, reward eligibility begins on August 1st! The tiers are active on Ko-fi now, but if you subscribe before August you won't be rewarded for the month of July, so keep that in mind.

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Ateez Dynamics (Jongho Perspective)

We are now at the final member of this group's dynamics. It has been a fun ride. I will definitely try to revisit this again next year. But we end with my bias for now. They had some interesting things to say about him, let's see what he has to say.

Hongjoong (The Lustful/Page of Wands) Ya'll I ain't playing. The Lustful card came flying out! Now we know Jongho got this card a lot, and if I remember correctly, Hongjoong also gave him this card, but don't fully remember, anyway, I see them saying a lot of dirty and taboo things together lol Dirty minds here when they are around each other. These two are not afraid to embrace and talk about their sexuality. They seem pretty open to the conversation, which is not bad. They are both very curious and maybe want to explore new things and places together. I see them both wanting to try new experiences together.

Seonghwa (The Actor/7 of Pentacles) They both seems to be good at playing the part, maybe as idol. They both know how to act in certain situations. They know how to be reserved when need be. I think Jongho may learn this from Seonghwa. There is a calmness and patience to him that he may want to emulate and learn from him. There bond seems chill, maybe a bit stagnant at the moment. It is also pretty slow growing. They also both know the value of hard work as well. Not much craziness here, pretty chill, but not getting too much closeness from these cards.

Yunho (The Future/Queen of Pentacles) Yunho may be a strong caring figure in his life. Someone very giving and nurturing. He may give him advice about money and future planning. He seems like a solid and stable figure in his life. I mean Jongho can be the same for him as well. They seem to support and give to each other. There is a sense of independence they both have. They both seem pretty practical and realistic. I don't know if they both plan things together or help each other plan for the future. If they share what they plan to do with their career in the future. I can see these depending on each other for things, or Jongho depends on him for security and dependability. They both also value their career and themselves. I see Yunho being a very grounding figure in his life.

Yeosang (The Warrior/4 of Wands) There is a toughness and strength these two have. I don't know if they may clash at times. There is a strong and stubborn energy he sees in Yeosang. A toughness of will that will achieve anything he wants. He may also have this energy. He may really like this about Yeosang. He fights for what he wants. I can see Jongho being that way too, so there could be clashing with them. But with the 4 of Wands there energy together is pretty stable and happy. I see them both doing whatever it takes, if that means fight or confront things to achieve what makes them happy. They seem to relate on this level. It seems when they are together things are great. These two have fun and there are good vibes there. It seems they enjoy the company of one another. It is like they find comfort in each other.

San (The Independent/Queen of Swords) They are both kind of independent. I don't see these two depending on another that much. He may San as a good listener and a smart individual. Someone who is open-minded and willing to listen to what he has to say with no judgment. And it could be vice versa. There seems to be open dialogue and conversations with them from time to time. But I don't see them as very close. I see him gaining a lot of knowledge from San, maybe they talk about things of the mind or intellectual things. If he wants to see things from a logical point of view, he may refer to San and maybe San does the same. Although, they may not be super tight. There is a respect here.

Mingi (The Farmer/3 of Swords) Well there was some hurt and frustration here, someone got hurt, someone may have said something hurtful to the other. Was it them in Mingi's reading where I got some aggressive energy? I wish I remembered. I try not to look back on readings to be as unbiased as possible. The quote on the farmer card is, 'I enjoy being of service of those who deserve it,' Kind of speaks volumes' for me, like he doesn't want to help him or fu** with him at the moment. He will give to those who he feels deserves it. I wonder if they got into a disagreement about doing something for another. Like did Mingi ask him for something and that triggered him somehow. This one is kind of confusing, not trying to sit on this for too long. But they aren't in the best place at the moment.

Wooyoung (The Teacher/Knight of Pentacles) I say Wooyoung teaches him a lot about life and how to move through it. There is a persistence and diligence Wooyoung has that he admires and wants to follow. It is like he watches what he does and wants to follow it. There is a lot of knowledge and wisdom Wooyoung has. He may give Jongho a lot of advice about things in life and he takes that at face value. It is like he wants to follow his steps. This is interesting because I believe Wooyoung also wanted to learn from Jongho as well. This dynamic surprises me. I didn't expect this. It is like they both learn a lot from each other. There are like aspects of Wooyoung that Jongho would like and vice versa. He sees Wooyoung as grounded individual who stays the course and stays focus on what he wants to do, and he may want to learn to stay consistent and focused on his goals. Jongho may struggle to do this on his own.

This was interesting once again, surprised by Mingi and Wooyoung's dynamics. This was a fun series that I would love to revisit again like I said. But as of now I will conclude with my Ateez series. Hope you enjoyed it.

[adorastarot]

Hi Adora..

Does yoongi fs know him?? What will be their first meeting be like??

Hi sweet anon! Thank you for being here and asking your questions <3

❥︎For all Ko-fi members: Readings are back and being released [click here to view]

❥︎Does Yoongi's fs know him?

The magician, The devil I believe that they know of him...with the magician this is manifesting vibes to me! This is someone who has mastered manifestation though and they will eventually attract Yoongi to them, however with the devil...there could be some fears still present here. They could want Yoongi to be their fs but not fully believe that they are.

❥︎Their first meeting

8 of cups, 5 of swords, 8 of swords, 2 of swords

I would like to come back to this question in the future because right now I am not getting a clear picture of what their meeting will be like...everything just seems very cloudy to me. The two readings are most likely related so this meeting will happen once the FS let's go of their fears in regards to this connection. They may need to stop comparing themselves to others in order to be successful or to continue their growth. Understanding their own self-worth. There may be more than one opportunity for these two to meet, and the decisions that they are currently making could lead them to meet in different ways. Let's revisit this reading soon!

[a-really-mediocre-writer]

Hi I love your writing and I’ve noticed you write for Chris Manawa, who I feel is under appreciated. There’s not a lot of writing on him so I was wondering if you could write something with him and reader on the boat and having a sweet moment together, like maybe messing around and play fighting? Just some fluff maybe some suggestive flirting. Thank you!

Sorry if my writing is a little messy English is not my main language.

Chris Manawa

GIF not mine, credit to @yanxidarlings

AUTHORS NOTE: hi guys so i havent written a fanfic or anything in like 3 years and my writing style may have change, lmk though if you would like me to write any other stories! requests are always open, and i have a few ideas for stories in the future as well. also after revisiting my only other chris oneshot i have realised that these are both set after his mom gets to walk the plank whoopsie

ANYWAYS I HOPE YOU ENJOY <3

---

Although the boat saving our lives from being snuffed out by the apocalypse was a luxury that it seemed no one else could afford, it had its downsides…such as the constant close quarters with everyone on board, as well as the boredom. It feels like such a selfish thing to admit whilst knowing about the fates of those we knew and loved that we couldn’t save, but at the same time I didn’t ask to be thrown into this hellscape, surely I should be allowed a pass on my lack of gratitude.

One of those who were not able to survive long enough to see life on the boat was Liza, Chris’s mother- the boy would not let us forget his grief and her loss, with it being written across his face as if it was stuck in a permanent frown. Most of us if not everyone aboard tried to avoid him and his snaps and cold tone, however as one of the only other teenagers on the sea with him I felt it was my duty to at least try to connect with him, especially after he had saved my life during the city riots at the start after I had lost my own parents in the chaos and the dead.

Chris was sat looking up at the stars on the outer deck of the boat alone. The day had been a rough one, with Liza’s sea burial not going so smoothly, tensions were high between him and his father Travis.

“Hey stranger” I said warmly as I emerged from the inner boat wrapped in a blanket, making my way over to the troubled boy.

“Hey..” He replied solemnly glancing over to me, his eyes following me until I was sat cross legged next to him. I held a spare small blanket out to the boy who declined the gesture by pushing it gently back towards me. Rolling my eyes playfully, I sat up on my knees and wrapped it around his shoulders, making him blush and stiffen for a moment, only to relax once I had sat back down again. The silence between us was deafeningly awkward.

“Soo.. Whatcha doing out here?”

“The stars are so peaceful tonight..” He quietly replied as he gazed up into the moonlit sky.

“Yeah, that’s one good thing about life nowadays.. you can see all of the stars you wouldn’t be able to with all the big city lights back at home.” I smiled gently at him and he glanced down at me before going back to star gazing. He was in deep thought and holding back tears as he kept his head held high trying to stop them from spilling out, eventually failing as I watched one stray tear roll down his cheek.

“Chris, we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but I am here for you and can be a shoulder to cry on if you need it…I really care about you…” After a few moments he lowered his head to look at me and his eyes were bloodshot and glossy. He stared into my eyes as if searching for something lost, and eventually raised the corners of his mouth into a weak smile to tell me,

“Thank you.”

After a few moments of silence and us smiling at each other he looks to the side out to the water, “I feel like… no one understands what I feel here… my dad doesn’t care that she is gone, he didn’t care about her he’s too busy with his new family… you are the only person that I think cared that she died.”

We sat in silence for a while, thinking about what he had said, before Chris broke it again.

“Sorry…That was pretty heavy…”

I let out a soft chuckle and reassured him, “Hey, I can handle anything you know… I’m superwoman but for like…listening to people I care about” attempting to lighten the mood a bit and nudging him on the shoulder, which seemed to work as I caught him smiling to himself and playfully nudging me back.

“Yeah yeah don’t get cocky…” He smirks at me and I mock offence, dramatically putting a hand on my chest and joking back to him, “Me? Cocky? I could never- How dare you even THINK that…” I giggled watching him roll his eyes at my dramatic outburst.

“You are so immature,” he starts, “Sometimes I wonder why we are friends…” He stares at me for a moment as if he were analysing my every movement, before his eyes land on the blanket wrapped around me like a burrito and he decides to quickly snatch it from me, laughing and saying “Maybe it’s because you’re so generous for giving me your blanket”

“HEY!!” I shout as I sit in shock for a split second before lunging at him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders in an attempt to get the blanket back around myself. We are both wriggling around at this point trying to reclaim the blanket, as we forgot that the couch had a limited space, so when he eventually tried to get me off of him we both rolled down the steel drop from the couch to the deck, landing with a thud onto my back and physically wincing at the sudden pains shooting through my back. I was more shocked however to feel Chris landing on top of me, and when I opened my eyes he was there leaning over me, his hands either side of my head. We both just stare into each other’s eyes for a few seconds too long, getting lost in his dark coffee coloured eyes; this then led to me scanning his face and admiring his undeniably handsome features and plump lips that he had begun to nibble into nervously. Feeling the blood start to rush to my face I decided to break the silence.

“Okay okay I didn’t realise that it was that serious to you…keep the blanket Manawa!” I giggled and poked his sides to shock him, which worked and his cheeks began to flush. He picked me up and I gasped, grasping onto his shirt incase he dropped me, but instead he put me onto the couch and sat next to me, opening up the blanket inviting me to sit wrapped up with him, which I accepted and crawled into his side, getting comfortable next to him as he settled the blanket over us both.

We sat awkwardly close to each other in silence for a few minutes, neither one of us wanting to scare the other away, but then Chris grabbed my hand underneath the blanket and without looking at me he said, “Thank you, Y/N… I needed this distraction from..everything…” he glances over at me “…you mean a lot to me…even if we have only just met, I feel like I have known you a lifetime, but it’s only been a month.”

I smile warmly at his words and glance at him before engulfing him into a tight hug, which he takes a few seconds to return.

“Chris, you mean a lot to me too. I would risk anything and everything for you, you are all I have left…” I feel the tears start to well up as i pull out of the hug and look him in the eyes, “…so you better not do anything stupid” I laugh and wipe my tears off of my face. He sits with an arm over my shoulders and laughs quietly about what I said.

“Maybe you aren’t ALWAYS immature and crazy… At least you aren’t boring.”

[writingquestionsanswered]

I have this problem that finally showed up after many years, I'm a few chapters away from completing my book. After almost 5 years writing this through happy times and sad times, I'm finally done! Yet, I can't move on. Instead of being happy to finally complete my passion project, I feel myself grieving the eventuality. I spent years building my world, story, characters etc... and now I don't want it to end, I don't want to complete it. Suffering from success if you will.

Do you have any tips on this fear of completion? My book is set up as a stand-alone, so making a sequel wouldn't work.

Have you ever had this "completion grief" and if so, how did you move on from it?

Thank you

Dealing with Creative Grief When Story is Done

It's normal to feel grief upon completion of a story, especially one that you've been working on a long time and/or has been emotionally demanding. Here are some things you can do to help work through this feeling:

1 - Be Proud of Your "Baby Bird" - Your baby bird has flown your now empty nest, but take a moment to recognize the beauty of this moment... this project you've worked so hard on is now complete and ready to fly away. You've done everything you can for it, so now it's time to let it spread its wings and live a life of its own. As much as it's sad, it's exciting, too. And it's a huge accomplishment!

2 - Find Closure with Celebration - Many creatives find celebration a helpful way to find closure when a project is finished. This can be something small, like ordering pizza or enjoying a glass of champagne, or it could be something bigger, like having a nice dinner out with friends, or even throwing a little party. Having any sort of event to mark the occasion can help it to feel more final, but in a way that is happy and comforting.

3 - Start a New Project - With one project finished and out in the world, you may find it helpful to start planning a new project, or at least start thinking about one. Throwing that leftover creative energy into something new helps with that sense of emptiness, distracts you from creative grief due to the finished project, and heals your heart with enthusiasm for a new world, new characters, and new plot.

4 - Schedule a Future Visit - Sometimes it helps to plan to revisit the completed project in some way at a future date. That could be reading it at some point, if you're able to read through finished projects and enjoy them. It could be creating a collection of mood boards for the story and characters and sharing them with your readers. It might be doing a reading of the first chapter on an Instagram live, or--hear me out on this--writing a companion story. Now, I don't mean writing a sequel or even a story that you'd share necessarily, but more something for yourself, kind of like fan-fiction of your own work, just as a way to get into your story and revisit the characters and world. And truth be told, if you plan to do this--say on the six-month anniversary of when your story was finished--it will give you a sense of the story living on that will help you get through your grief now, but by the time you get to that point, you probably won't need to do it anymore.

5 - Wait for It To Pass - Of course the hard thing about any kind of grief is there's not a whole lot you can do to make it go away. For the most part, you just have to acknowledge that it's there and give yourself the grace needed to get through it. Most of the time, it passes more quickly than you might expect, and you'll be onto something new in now time.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[puckpocketed]

hello i was tagged by @18minutemajor for WIP Wednesday. it is not Wednesday but i am also not a cop so . here we gooo!!!!!!! tagging my esteemed colleagues (very politely and with no pressure!!!):

@neonfretra @oensible @sorrellegiance @moregraceful @stereax

@wheelsnipecelebrini

@korshrimpski (EDIT: it won’t?? let me tag you. unless these are on separate lines <3)

what's in-progress in your life <3 writing? art? recipe? skill acquisition?

if any crafty people see this - if ANYONE sees this - and would like to join in, feel free and consider yourself tagged <3 (and tag me back so i can see your stuff!!!) link to 18minutemajor's post if yall curious :3 my VERY long wip dump + ramblings under the cut!

its christmas soon and i like to paint gifts for my friends + and i'm finally revisiting my anime/lineart/inking era (here you are K!! my lineart past, present, and future!! <3) so here are some things i've been working on/coming back to/MAY NEVER FINISH: hockey related:

this is juraj slafkovsky and his dinky little middle part which he can absolutely learn to style into something a little less dinky but never does. i am so charmed by him. i imagine he just rocks it because his pretty privilege supersedes dinky middle parts . LMAO!!

here is Sasuke from my Naruto Hockey AU. I am a little stuck on jersey mockups lol. here he is. our haunted little 1OA who is absolutely normal and regular about his captain (LOUD incorrect buzzer):

personal oc art

wanna know some puckpocketed deep lore? i've never been one to make OCs. i was just not a very creative kid tbh. spent all my time drawing sailor moon instead. i still go back to her sometimes because she is one of my favourite shapes in the WORLD!!

in my 20s i took up playing d&d because of the. uh. plague. <3 and got pretty close to having OCs!! those count right? anyway. here is my tavern-wench-turned-wizard!!! i think i painted this 2 years ago? <- put dates on your works guys it saves lives. her name is Mel (short for Melins (pronounced like melons. on account of her knockers. can you tell i never grew out of my 12 yr old booby/cock joke era?) i revisited Mel recently and have started painting her in earnest again!! :3

I briefly dated someone who was very into streetwear and fashion, and I fell down a techwear/gorpcore/cyberpunk rabbit hole for a couple days out of curiosity. i remember literally zero salient info on any of it except the broad strokes of silhouetting and Vibes. what i emerged with, however, was a ?? sorta OC?? im not sure what to call them. they dont rly have a name or gender. I did this little sheet ages ago + the aborted attempt at a portrait later:

Here are my most recent explorations (i have been doing SOOOO much art. <3) which include:

unfinished character sheet + chibi art. I played with their jacket (much more structured/square/tailored thing) and added a lotta random buckles and belts. i took textiles class years ago and have a little experience in garment construction. and i know for a fact this thing does not make any sense. it hurts me to look at a little bit LMAO so i've paused it while i go draft patterns (badly. i was never good at drafting. i think i may have to break out my scrap fabric stash and hand sew a real life mock-up. HELP!)

here is me having fun with them and imagining them as some kind of cyber-fisherman. the best part of every game is the fishing mini-game to me. i love fishing mini-games so much. I made their hair really big because i wanted them to have big unwieldy hair and the vibes told me i should add more movement to the piece aside from the fishing line. I messed with their jacket AGAIN because i can't stop thinking about what kinda jacket they'd wear. gorp-core ? idk. it sure is something!

gifts for my friends :3

back in my weeb era for real YAYYYY!!! up til now i'd been making hockey art using a zero pressure sensitivity pen brush because i simply did NOT want to deal with that. it is and has always been a barrier to me making art that uses line art. <3 easing my way back into it though!

I used to paint gifts for my friends and then get them printed into lil posters and mount them on nice backing :3 i am now ready and back to painting.

Here is my girlbestie's OC. just a rough pose sketch. i think im pretty unsatisfied with the gesture of the head/hand. i wanted to include her gun in some way. i fear i may have to rework the pose entirely <3

For the genshin girlies.. here are some of my friends fave characters.

Yelan - this one i started many holidays ago and put on the backburner because the colouring was wigging me out. you can see where i started rendering stuff + got sidetracked and started on something else (the crystal choker IM LAUGHING @ past me...)

Ayaka - I reaaally like what i did here with the perspective + foreshortening. I don't know if the pose or expression is in-character or not, but i had fun :3 got stunlocked looking at references of genshin weapons so this is where i left off:

if you made it all the way down here hi... <3 ice hockey really cracked the ketchup bottle open for me when it comes to making art again. i love the communities i've found, and i'm inspired by every artist on here every day. thanks for being so cool + have a great day :)

[teamoon7]

🇺🇲: I tried to redraw that classic Maribug pose (but with a bit of distance between both to show the design haha) with my LB design and a "preview" of my Marinette and Tikki design (I'll definitely change them in the future though). I was trying to go for a way simpler style than that but ended up failing lol- I'll try again in the future

(More versions under the cut)

I'll also probably revisit all those designs eventually, since I still dislike some parts a bit and *IF* I ever do the AU/Rewrite I want to, I'd probably at least do a simplified version of the designs so it would be easier to draw in the comic

I know I take WAY TOO LONG to post but (I'm lazy and) I've been kinda busy- but I'll try to post my Hawk moth redesign probably before the year ends lol

After I do the 3 main ones, I'm not sure if I should do their civilian designs first or do the other heroes- but I'm also not really sure if I'll do ALL the heroes (at least right now) since, if I ever do the AU I plan to, I don't know if I'll give all the characters a miraculous (and if I do, I also don't know if I'll keep them with their original ones since I'm changing the power system). So, if I don't do the civilians first, I'll probably do only the secondary holders (QB, Rena, Carapace, Mayura and Argos) because I'm sure I'll keep those

But I assure you I'll definitely not give up on my "redesign series" :D (even if I take IDK, one year to post the next one haha)

🇧🇷: Tentei refazer aquela pose clássica das Maribug (mas com um tico de distância entre elas pra mostrar melhor o design kkkk) com meu design da LB e uma "preview" do meu design da Tikki e da Marinette (Mas eu vou definitivamente mudar eles no futuro). Eu tava tentando fazer um estilo BEM mais simples que esse mas acabei falhandokkkk mas vou tentar dnv no futuro

Eu também provavelmente vou revisitar todos esses designs eventualmente, já que eu ainda não curto muito algumas partes, e *SE* eu algum dia fizer a comic da AU/Rewrite que eu tô planejando, eu provavelmente vou pelo menos fazer uma versão simplificada dos designs pra que fique mais fácil de desenhar nos painéis

Eu sei que eu demoro pra krl pra postar mas (eu sou preguiçosa e) eu ando meio ocupada- Mas eu vou tentar postar meu redesign do HM provavelmente pelo menos antes do ano acabarkkkk

Depois que eu acabar os 3 principais, não sei se eu devo primeiro fazer os designs civis deles ou os outros heróis- mas eu tb não tenho certeza se eu vou fazer TODOS os heróis (pelo menos por agora) já que, se eu algum dia fizer a AU que eu planejo, não sei se vou dar um miraculous pra todos os personagens (e mesmo se eu der, não tenho ctz se eles vão continuar com suas jóias originais já que eu tô mudando o sistema de poder). Então, se eu não fizer os civis primeiro, provavelmente vou fazer só os portadores secundários (QB, Rena, Carapace, Mayura e Argos) pq esses eu tenho ctz q vou manter

Mas eu garanto que eu definitivamente não vou desistir da minha "série de redesigns" :D (mesmo que eu demore sei lá, um ano pra postar o proximokkk)

+2 versions more accurate to the image

(+2 versões mais parecidas com a imagem de referência)

[thesensteawitch]

Weekly Tarot Reading (18th September- 24th September) 🪻🔮💜

Pick A Pile Reading

♡Take A Deep Breath and Choose♡

(Left to Right---1,2,3)

Hey, Senstea Souls!

This is a collective reading. Take what resonates and leave what doesn't. And if you find this reading helpful then drop a tip before leaving.♡

Pile 1

Hello, my dear pile 1. I see that you have started something new or may start something new at the beginning of this week. You are/will be full of optimism and hope for this new project but because of your need for instant gratification, you may get disappointed not seeing the results so soon. The flowers in your garden might take longer than expected to grow. But life is about being patient. Especially when you start something with so much passion, hope, and optimism you will be tested. The Universe wants to know how strong you are and for how long you can hold on to hope. During this week please treat others nicely and do not let your anger take the best of you. An important advice here is to not think too much or overwork because if you will you may have a burnout which doesn't seem good to me. Also, an old friend or acquaintance may pay a visit. Be kind to them but at the same time make sure you have your guard up. You may not like this person much or even if you do still be cautious but be giving. I know it's a bit complex but this is what it is. Be patient with what you have started, you will see the results. Release the attachment to the result and fall in love with the process.

To get more clarity and guidance specific to your situation book a reading with me.

Pile 2

Hello, my dear pile 2. So I see that you have come out of a pattern or maybe right now you are somewhere in the middle. It's like you are out of the situation that was needed to let go of but you still aren't sure how to restart. Now you are supposed to start fresh and make plans. You may be revisiting your past actions or the situation that led you to where you are now. But for the future foundation to be laid, you need to stop looking back. Why something happened to you is because there was a profound wisdom you needed to gain. You are asked to let go of the old ways of doing things and ask for someone's guidance. I see that you are not alone. There's someone who knows your situation and is helping you out. But I think you need some guidance from a specialist to help you with your situation and woosh away the dark clouds that dance over your head. You will be facing some competition but the good thing is nothing is yet set in stone for you. Which means you can carve your own path. Now the decision is in your hands. Adaptability is a must for you. By the end of this week, if you make the right move, you will see your reality shifting.

To get more clarity and guidance specific to your situation book a reading with me.

Pile 3

Hello, my dear pile 3. I see that this coming week a lot of things will not be in your control. You might want to burst out or give a punch in the wall. But that's not what you're asked to do. You're asked to think twice before taking a risk. Don't act impulsively. Stay near water bodies, take saltwater baths, or go for swimming. You are asked to slow down a bit and look at things from a different perspective. Your rigidity might make things worse for you in this coming week. Don't give up on your morals but try to listen to others too. And when you feel a strong resistance to do so then ask yourself what is that you are so afraid of. Because there's an underlying fear behind your excessive stubbornness. I can assure you that if you calm down for a bit when you are on the verge of letting your anger take over you and just shift a bit of your perspective you will gain a profound insight. A rebirth is there on the cards for you. Things will be happening in your favor even though you may not be able to see it. You have to trust and maintain your composure. Let go of something that you are afraid of. You may be somebody who easily becomes paranoid. Release the fear.

To get more clarity and guidance specific to your situation book a reading with me.