#I restarted this art piece and i’m really happy with the progress i’ve made in my art style :>

[i-am-a-fan]

“Woah, Bud! You’re getting better!!”

(How Wukong regularly looks like in my Lmk DND au!!)

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot his eyeliner

[peydawgz]

Could you do Chucky, both original and Buddi, and any other slashers of your choosing, with a digital artist s/o? Specifically, them watching their s/o get frustrated when it crashes or gets accidentally deleted, corrupted files, that magic. Maybe even closing the window himself for attention, only to accidentally delete all of their progress?

(I’m sorry I’m super late on this one; I’ve been gone for quite a while huh? I’m gonna get through some of these requests because I’m feelin the slasher love with halloween season coming around the corner! So I’m back!! This ask is rlly inspiring me bc I’ve been going through this rn :( my BRAND NEW tablet keeps glitching and fucking up my art.)

Digital Artist x Various Slashers (Buddi! Chucky, 88′ Chucky, Michael Myers)

Buddi! Chucky

     One hand on the keyboard, the other gripping your pen stylus tightly, you began to get frustrated with your current art piece. A mix of unmotivation, anger, and your tablet keeps crashing was all adding to your growing frustration. Your Buddi doll, on the other hand, was sitting patiently beside you up on your desk, watching you get angrier and angrier.       Was your computer making you upset? You looked like you were on the verge of tears because of it! “When can we play again?” Chucky asked politely, a creepy little smile appearing on his face. “I- I don’t know, Chucky! Look, I’m kind of busy right now.” You exclaimed as your computer decided to erase your entire drawing once again.      With your angry response, Chucky looked down sadly, folding his little hands in his lap. Your computer seemed to be making you very upset, and so he decided to take it into his own hands; you should stop drawing and pay attention to him! He usually makes you happy, right? Chucky was connected to all of your devices, including your Kaslan computer. He raised his finger, and with it, your computer did a hard shut down, turning off your tablet and your computer with it.      That did not seem to make you happy like he thought. Not at all. Instead, you threw your hands up in anger and shoved your tablet onto your keyboard and put your head in your hands. “FUCK! I can’t do ANYTHING!” You yelled into your palms. Chucky crawled up into your lap, tugging at your shirt. “You can play with me?” He suggested innocently.       “Chucky, did you...?” You started, looking from him to the computer. He looked down with guilt. “I thought it would make you happy...” He mumbled. You saw his intentions were at least good, even if they were interrupting your illustration. Maybe you did need to take a break. The files were deleted, but your progress didn’t come too far anyways. It was alright, you could restart. You were only on the sketch anyways.      “Alright, Chucky, we can play now. I have to get back to work soon, though, okay? No more shutting my stuff down, please. You were lucky this time, but that’s very important to me.” You set him down and held his hand, leading him to your room to get dressed.       You took him to get a new outfit from Zedmart and let him pick out a new accessory. In return, he suggested ice cream to cheer you up!

88′ Chucky

     Chucky is very... forceful with his actions. As you sit there at your desk, fists clenched and jaw tightened, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad for you. Your art was quite important to you, and it didn’t seem to be going right at the moment. You were working on a commission, and couldn’t seem to be able to open up the file you saved from the day before. That was your lineart and base coloring- what the hell were you gonna do if you couldn’t get it open? You were too stubborn to just start over again.      Chucky came up behind you. “Look, babe, if you can’t get it working then just let it go. Why don’t we do something else?” He said suggestively. “Maybe later. This is important.” You mumbled, turning away from him and violently clicking on the file, even though many messages popped up saying there was an error.       “I’m just saying that if you-” Chucky started, trying to be calm but he was already beginning to get stubborn with you. “I said later.” You just grumbled, interrupting him. “Well, if you’re gonna be like that.” He said to himself, and pushed a chair to the edge of the desk. You were too sucked into your own issue that you didn’t notice him.       Chucky walked over the desk and pressed the delete button, then closed the top laptop- facing you. “Look- I’ve tried to be patient, but you gotta chill out! Maybe some alone time with me...?” He leaned close, being very evocative. You pushed your palm into his face, pushing him back. “You just fucking deleted all of my shit!” You said, face red with anger. “Well, it wasn’t opening anyways! Just start over it’s not that hard, right? You’re an artist, it can’t be that fucking hard!” He raised his voice at you, and you flinched. “Chucky, it doesn’t work like that, I-” You looked down and spaced out, tears forming in your eyes.       Chucky immediately felt bad about raising his voice at you. “Hey, babe, I’m sorry... I didn’t know...” You started crying. “Hey, hey, it’s gonna be alright.” He crawled into your lap and pushed your hair from your face. “You’re the best artist I know! I know ya can do it again, even better this time!” He said, giving you a gentle rub on the shoulder. “Maybe first, let’s take a break. I- We don’t gotta do anything like that, let’s just hang out and cuddle?” He suggested, knowing he hated it but trying to make you feel better nonetheless.      You gave him a little smile. “I guess you’re right. Maybe I do need a break. But don’t try that funny shit again with me!” You glared at him, and your evening was full of comforting snuggles, and he even tried to make you tea/coffee afterwards while you draw!

Michael Myers

     Michael has no patience. He does everything on his own time and nobody gets in his way. So when he was in the mood for attention and you were doing something else; he was not going to have it. You sat there, angry that your computer kept crashing and restarting, causing your progress to be deleted each time. It was an old laptop, you probably needed a new one. You were trying to finish the sketch, but your laptop just wasn’t feeling up to it today whatsoever.       Michael walked up behind you, and let out a huff of air, letting you know that he was home. “Hello, darling. I’m a little busy right now.” You murmured, getting upset again as you couldn’t open the application you draw on. Michael watched behind you inquisitively for a moment, catching onto what was making you angry. He placed his chin on top of your head, letting out another huff.      “Hun, I’m not really in the mood.” You replied, and that made him upset. Not in the mood? You were his! You couldn’t just not be in the mood for giving him attention! He stood up straight and continued to hover around you, watching you for another five minutes, giving you the time to change your mind.       When you continued, he decided to take it upon himself and press the power button on the computer-- right as you were finally getting it to work! You gasped, and looked up at him. “Michael! I was in the middle of something! Can’t you just wait?” You asked, obviously very upset. He just tilted his head at you, thinking you were very cute when you were upset with him. He didn’t feel a hint of regret, and instead hoisted you up and carried you off to your room, you were still upset but there was no use making a big fuss out of it. There was no fighting with Michael.      He laid you down and sat beside you. He grabbed your hand and took off his mask, placing your hand on top of his head, nestled in his hair. You liked to pet his hair, he usually wouldn’t have it but he sort of enjoyed it. You just sighed and pet his hair, pulling him down to lay beside you whilst you continued to run your fingers through his locks. “Please don’t do that again. I appreciate the break, but please don’t. I give you your time when you go do the things you like? Let me have mine. I love you.” You sighed softly and kissed his cheek. He gave you a small huff in return and kissed your cheek back.      Later on, when you were drawing again, he let you have your time and patiently sat beside you and watched. You showed him how you color, and let him pick one out for the background. He of course picked red.

[thesunnyshow]

Name: Penelope

Writing Blog URL(s): @tigertaehyunq 

Star Sign: Virgo

MBTI: INFJ-T

Favorite color: Purple

Favorite food: Cheese burgers

Favorite ice cream flavor: Blueberry

Favorite animal: Cats ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

Go-to karaoke song: Promise - Jimin (BTS)

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? Coffee, definitely!

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)? Psychiatrist / Fashion designer

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? Time travelling, if possible. It would come in handy.

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? The Victorian era, maybe.

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you? No. It’s a lot more fun going into it blindly.

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? One horse-sized chicken would not be that bad. 

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? The nerd.

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? Yes. 

What are some small things that make your day better? Little compliments from friends and family, a bright song that pops into my mind as soon as I wake up.

What fandom(s) do you write for? BTS

When did you post your first piece? February 2nd, 2020

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? I write fluff, angst and crack for now. They’re the three genres I feel most comfortable with so far. And they’re entertaining to write for.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? X Readers for now, but I’m slowly moving to write for ships too.

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? It appeared to be quite fun and I wanted to connect with more people who had similar interests as me. 

What inspires you to write? Songs inspire me most, and talking with fellow writers helps too!

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? Angst and crack, probably. I love writing for fake dating AUs the most.

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? That everything comes around and wraps neatly at the end. And it may not be visible at first, but I always appreciate when readers point out my foreshadowing specifically.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? I take a break from writing and let it come on its own. It usually works, and in the rare cases it doesn’t, a push from my inspirations gets me going.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? My favourite work, and the only work that I feel like lives up to my expectations, is my Jungkook x reader fic titled ‘Someone Like You’. I like how I wrote it and got attached to the characters. My most successful work is likely the series, ‘Shoot Me’.

Who is your favorite person to write about? I love writing for all the members of BTS so much and it takes quite a lot of effort to not make every single story OT7 x reader, but I mostly end up settling for Jungkook, though I’ve been writing a lot for Hoseok lately behind the scenes.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? Well, there are quite a few differences. Fanfiction doesn’t always involve making your own love interests since you’d know the person you're writing for pretty well (like an idol), unlike in original prose. Though it doesn’t make fanfiction any less better. Both are great in their own ways, with little differences here and there.

What do you think makes a good story? The way of writing and how the voices of the characters are delivered. I find it enticing when that’s done in a good way and it always draws a reader in, so I try my best to follow that too.

What is your writing process like? Most of the time, it starts with a rough outline in bullet points about the main events, characters and personalities, etc, before I plan the details in my head because I’m too lazy to write them all down, and write away at a blank document until the fanfic finishes.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? I’ve thought about it. And I would, though I’d add a lot more depth and details. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? I love fake dating, yandere, siren, soulmates, childhood best friends to lovers and modern royalty AUs. I don’t think there’s any specific trope I hate. But I’ve read stories with a bully and victim turning to lovers and that one might be the only AU that irks me off.

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? Depends. If I’ve written the work specifically for someone, then that person’s feedback is more than enough for me. But I usually do like to have some feedback and it makes me very happy.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? Sometimes. And by that, I mean, most of the time. I think the prejudice and bias is slowly dying down, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a large majority still judged fanfic authors unfairly!

Do you think art can be a medium for change? Definitely. In fact, art is one of the best mediums when it comes to wanting to make a change, doesn’t matter how big or small. 

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? At first, this was common. But recently, I’ve learnt to flow with the story and write it for myself, so I can see how it goes and where the characters end up. It’s a lot more fun this way.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? No. Not that I can think of, anyway.

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? Nope.

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? That I appreciate the time they took to read my work(s). It’s really encouraging and sweet.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? It’s okay to step out of your comfort zone. Success comes from trial and error and it’s alright to feel down when that happens. Writing is a journey, and it’s best to let go of all doubts as you progress through it.

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? Not yet. Dare I say it, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made thus far! 

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? My biggest supporters are @bangtan-dreamland and @rubinora. I find myself lucky to be able to rant to them since I don’t have anyone else to turn to.

BONUS ROUND: K-POP CONFIDENTIAL

[embroid-away]

sorry if this is a dumb question bt how do you decide which parts to watercolour and which parts to embroider ?

Hi! I don’t think this is a dumb question at all, this is like, a whole artistic process! It takes a lot of consideration and knowledge about how the different media will appear on the cloth to make the best decision for the art overall! Several people commented recently about how the watercolors help make the line work stand out more, and I agree completely. Too much thread, or thread stitched in different directions or with different techniques can distract or muddy up the whole thing and leave you with a less satisfying result. BUT! Too much watercolor or blank space leaves the piece looking empty! It’s a challenge!

I’m going to use a lot of examples to demonstrate what I mean. So uh, long post a-hoy:

Textile arts are awesome, and there are so many different kinds of stitches that offer a whole range of textures. I use three of those: backstitch, satin stitch, and detached chain (daisy) stitch. 

[Image 1: work in progress of a Captain America work with a focus on the stitching; Image 2: Newly young Steve embroidery, with a focus on the satin stitching; Image 3: Captain America and Jarvis embroidery, with a focus on the chain stitching on Cap’s suit]

So for black line/stitch work, backstitch is for all of the outlines, satin is for filling in, and detached chain is for Captain America’s weirdo fish scales on his suit (and the R in my stitched signature 😄). 

When it comes to choosing thread vs watercolors for colored (non-black) areas, I have a few generalities that I use: satin for action/block text and watercolors for most color area fills. 

Block lettering looks especially cool when all of the satin stitch is in the same direction and that, in itself, helps the text jump from the cloth, just like the text jumps from the page.

[Image 1: Close-up of the BOOM from 3-part She-Hulk embroidery; Image 2: THRUMKAPOUM text from The Tank embroidery]

Something that both of those lettering areas have in common is a lack of tiny or tightly grouped stitches. Stitches like this:

[Image: Close-up picture of Cap+Widow+Wolverine embroidery, with highly detailed areas circled with a bold white line]

These are the places I always use watercolors. Even if I could fill in those areas with colored thread, it would be almost (if not completely) impossible to also have them be in the same direction as the other satin stitch AND to keep the sharpness of the stitch itself. Just half a millimeter of difference genuinely changes the shape/slope of the stitch. Not to mention that the satin stitch will pull on the cloth, which will warp the stitches it surrounds. In summary, I don’t want to lose detail just to fill in color with thread.

There are needlepoint artists who use the chain stitch or back stitch (or others) to fill all sizes of space in their embroidery. I admire their work, and for a while I thought they were evidence that I wasn’t a good embroidery artist since I was “cheating” by using watercolors, but I know better now. There’s nothing wrong with having a style, and my style is effective and looks fucking cool, especially for comic recreation. 

Watercolors are also effective for interesting and complex areas: 

[Image: the Silver Surfer embroidery]

Could I have recreated that smoke effect with thread? Yeah, but it would have not really been a background then, you know? The Silver Surfer is the focus, not the background. Watercolors help keep the background as background without losing the color and shape complexity.

I am also a big fan of NOT coloring and letting the black line work be the focus:

[Image 1: Mockingbird embroidery; Image 2: Widow’s Jump embroidery; Image 3: She-Hulk embroidery; Image 4: PWANG embroidery]

I’m making all of this Thread vs Watercolors sound so clear and easy, but that’s because I’ve had a lot of practice and learning experiences. So I want to use a specific example for a work where I was really challenged with color: The TANK.

[Image: The Tank embroidery, from the 4-part Bucky Barnes work, with a small insert in the bottom left corner of the original comic panel]

Obviously in this comic panel, the tank is the focus, but I spent a really long time thinking about all of the rocks surrounding the tank as well as the rocks in the background. How do I make it obvious that there are rocks in front of the tank without distracting from the tank itself? How do I recreate the depth of the original comic between the foreground rocks, the rocks just behind the tank, and the wall in the background? Do I add any shading to the rocks like the comic has? And what about all the smoke??

For a long time, I considered using watercolors for all the rocks and background, but it never felt right, especially when I already knew I needed to watercolor the tank. So my first decision was made - no watercolors for the rocks and background. But then that kinda ruled out using just black lines for the background and rocks - there’s too much going on to just outline it without any color. I had been toying with the idea of darker floss colors for the rocks in the front and lighter in the back, but man, I was so nervous! What happened if by the time I finally stitched the background, it didn’t look like I had imagined it would? And jeez, I did NOT want to restart the whole thing if it looked bad. (This was a commission, so I couldn’t just say “OH WELL” and scratch the whole thing.) Luckily, the three brown shades for the three layers of rock was a good choice, and it turned out really rad - providing depth without distracting from the Tank. One place where I changed my mind was on the black watercolor fill behind the tank. I had been planning to stitch it, but that is definitely a place where the stitching itself would have taken away from the rest of the piece; that black section is the most background part of the whole picture - the last thing I wanted to do was bring attention to it by using thread. 

There are a lot of parts of this that didn’t turn out the way I imagined at first, but they turned out for the better, not worse, and that’s because I trusted my artistic intuition and took some risks! I’m still really proud of this one.

Oh boy, I hope this has helped a bit, or at least given you a little peek into my decision-making process when I’m stitching. You are always welcome to ask more questions (maybe I’ll keep it to under 1k words next time 😅) but I think a lot of it comes down to creating and practicing and testing and deciding for yourself what you like. Really, that’s all that matters. Does it make you happy? Do you like how it looks? Then do that again. If you don’t? Try something new! 

Happy stitching (and watercoloring)!

[less-than-hash]

Standards Transmission

I’m going to talk a little about bugs. Specifically about how we classify bugs, and the bugs we developers ship our games with.

I’m also going to talk a bit about how I think we, as developers, can mislead players and reviewers about the state of our game prior to launch.

I’m also going to try to convince you not to pre-order games.

Thoughts below the cut.

Games - especially the big, expensive ones - have grown significantly in complexity over the last two decades. If they’re not online, they’re open world. Sometimes they’re both. Fortunately, the proliferation of the internet combined with the tools provided by digital distribution platforms have made fixing issues post-launch significantly easier than back in the pre-PS3 days. 

Developers should be able to relax, knowing that not every little issue that ships with a game is part of that game forevermore. 

Relax a little, anyway.

Meanwhile, during my time in test it seemed that the console certification standards for games also relaxed significantly between the last generation and this. I suspect this, too, a reaction to the reality that games are easier to patch post-launch.

But if the developers relax their standards and console makers relax their standards, what incentive do the developers have to maintain any standards at all?

We've seen a number of utterly broken launches in recent years. SimCity's infamous release was over five years ago now. Fallout 76's was a few months ago. These games were rightly raked over their coals for their usability issues. But they're also outliers.

I'm more concerned about games like Skyrim, which largely gets a pass on its bugginess as the natural outcome of its scope and complexity, or, to bring it home, Deadfire, which shipped with no small number of bugs. Both games received largely positive critical response.

And here's the thing: when we send games out to reviewers, it's often with a statement along the lines of "this is not the shipping game; There Will be Bugs; we are working to address them."

But that's basically a lie.

By the time we send out a review copy, the build's essentially locked down. We're not changing anything unless the behavior being addressed is so reprehensible as to justify the risk of potentially destabilizing the game right before launch. You hit a lot of crashes or an incomplete critical path quest bug, there's a reasonable chance we'll be trying to address that.

Anything short of that? No chance in hell.

And there’s a lot of bugs short of completely game-breaking that can make playing a game an unpleasant or wildly unfair experience. 

When testers submit bugs, they (or a lead, or a producer - this varies wildly between studios) assign said bug a Severity. Studios also have very different standards from one another in how they assign said Severity, but it’ll generally look something like this:

A1 - Crash The game experiences a critical failure and the program ends. May take your computer or console with it. 

This can also include things like infinite loading screens, though those can also occur without the game technically crashing.

A2 - Absolute Critical Path Progression Break An issue prevents play from continuing along the primary critical path of the game. This can be an issue with content (level design or art, a system, or a quest or narrative failure) or programming, and may manifest as things like:

Not being able to connect to a necessary server

Not being able to enter play

Not being able to turn in or complete a quest

Not being able to transition into a new scene

Not being able to load a save file

Falling out of the world

Regardless of exactly what happens, the player is going to have to restart the game or reload a previous save in order to progress through the game’s primary experience.

A3 - Progression Break As above, but the player can work around it and continue play, or it impacts a sidequest or some otherwise non-critical content.

B1 - Major Breakage Some system doesn’t function in some significant way. It’s going to be highly visible and will impact most players. Perhaps health packs don’t actually heal, for example. Perhaps the UI falls apart if interacted with in a particular order. Perhaps subtitles don’t function in languages with non-Latin alphabets.

Perhaps the color green displays as yellow. Always.

At many studios, this’ll be classified as an A bug. I personally consider bugs like this unacceptable for ship.

B2 - Breakage Something specific isn’t functioning like it’s supposed to. It could be something wide-ranging like a system (arrows inflicting fire damage instead of physical for example) or art asset (empty barrels don’t have textures on the inside, and thus appear “invisible” from within). Or it could be something specific, like a winch that’s supposed to lower a dumbwaiter simply not working or a piece of art being upside down.

At this level, a bugged aspect of the game is clearly not functioning correctly to any player who understands how it should function, AND that failure of function negatively impacts play, BUT the game experience isn’t entirely destroyed.

C - Issue Nothing’s perfect. We tend to forgive a lot of little problems in the things we experience - when we notice them at all. C bugs might include minor narrative or art inconsistencies, minor framerate drops during a specific encounter, or a strange animation when switching between one weapon type and another. 

There can be a few other types of bugs that I’m not going to get into here, such as suggestions, subjective bugs, and the like. 

Along with Severity, Bugs tend to be measured along a few other axes called Priority, Reproducibility, and Likelihood. The first represents the import given an issue in comparison to other issues of the same type, the second the probability the issue will occur if the player performs the action that causes it, and the third the chance that any given player will perform the action that causes the issue. Generally, Priority is assigned based on the combination of the bug’s Severity, Reproducibility, and Likelihood. (Which is why a crash might not get fixed - it’s so rare an occurrence that it’s difficult to reproduce and investigate.) 

Here’s the thing: the closer that we get to shipping a game, the higher a bug needs to be up that Severity chart to land on a developer’s plate, much less actually get addressed. There comes a point in every project I’ve ever worked on, for example, where remaining C bugs cease to be something we intend to address (for ship). There’s simply not time to make everything entirely perfect, no matter how much we’d like to.

Here’s the other thing: Since any given change to the game has the potential to cause new issues, we developers have to weigh the importance of fixing an issue against the possibility of introducing a new one. Attempting to fix a B bug can result in a far more severe issue.

For example, if a conversation that includes a player dialog option seems to ignore that option, it may be because the alternative didn’t actually get made. Simply cutting that node could break the conversation and, by extension, the quest. Sometimes it’s possible that the entire conversation can be cut without breaking anything, and sometimes that happens. Other times we decide that it’s best to just leave the bug in there. A player experiencing the issue is better than possible alternatives.

A line I really loved in BioShock: Infinite that played between Booker and Liz on the boardwalk simply stopped firing shortly before release. It had been written, recorded by the voice actors, and implemented. It had functioned just fine up until it entirely stopped playing. Chances are, the fix would have been easy. But we didn’t know what the problem was, time was tight, and we determined that avoiding introducing new issues was far better than trying to rescue a line that players would never know they missed.

So the production realities of bugfixing combined with the timing of reviews means that once a developer has sent review copies out, or, for that matter, once they’ve launched an open beta, they’re very close to release. At that point, anything short of an A Severity bug will almost certainly not be addressed for launch. 

But that doesn’t stop us from telling reviewers (or Beta players) that “hey, we’re still polishing the game and fixing bugs.”

That misleading statement influences reviews. When I see bugs mentioned in reviews, which isn’t particularly often, it's generally with the caveat that "I was playing on an early build, and the developer has assured me that it will be fixing bugs towards launch."

Sure, many of these bugs will get resolved over the update cycle of a title. But they won't all be. And they definitely won't be at launch.

Because the current calculus is "how not-busted a product can we ship without it hurting our bottom line?"

I think that the industry could stand to have its bottom line hurt on occasion.

We need reviewers to call us out on our bugs. We need players to hold off on buying products - especially products from studios with a reputation for releasing buggy titles - until after they've hit market and been fairly evaluated. If a company is releasing software that's buggy as shit, don't financially support them.

I’ve almost started thinking of major bugs I encounter in games as insults. A publisher or producer determined that this bugged product was good enough for the likes of Alex.

And to be absolutely clear: this is not the fault of QA. QA, assuming they're not woefully understaffed (its own issue), will almost certainly have found, reproduced, and reported the defect you encountered. They're as frustrated that you experienced it as you are. Possibly more.

Nor does fault generally lie with the developer(s) who actually caused the bug. They would likely be all-too-happy (assuming they haven't been worked to the breaking point) to fix the thing that they broke. They got into this gig because they want to make fun, exciting experiences, and nothing's less fun than broken-ass shit.

The fault lies with the money people.

The managers and the publishers. The people who don’t care whether you deserve better because you've accepted everything they've served up so far. The same people who would rather have you spending money on loot crates than experiencing narrative content. Who would rather have you be someone else’s content (and them yours) than actually pay to make content for their players. 

And the same people who would rather fire hundreds of developers rather than take a cut in their own pay.

When you've decided that games have become unacceptably broken, they're the ones you have to convince.

You won’t do so by purchasing their games before anyone’s had a chance to play and evaluate them.

<#

[colorguardsweetheartblurrsgirl]

Shattered Remnants--Undertale AU Update... and other things!

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of updates. Honestly, I got really busy with school lately, but I’ve been working and tweaking my written forms of the comic. While making my first few pages by hand. I was holding back on major art for a while to see if I could save enough money for an art tablet to help me better color the pictures faster then using my laptops mouse pad. (Yes I know I could invest in a cheap mouse, but my history with them is many lost pieces (port or mouse) and disappointed running times  (how long battery lasted, or it lasted before refusing to work), and many other reasons I won’t get into... Huh.... Lets just say mouses and me, specifically wireless mouses just never have had a healthy relationship (at least not for several years). 

Besides I like the feel of at least having physical control through feeling through the pad. Where a sudden jerk of the mouse can mess a whole thing up, it’s more controlled this other way)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anyways, I wanted to inform you that I’ve been lately working on a fun little present for Christmas with my characters. Although I started this late in the season when the idea for it came to me. So I’m not sure i’ll have it entirely finished for Christmas, but I’ll do my best to have it out soon. With it, I’m also planning a surprise for you by New Years.... What is it??? Well you’ll have to wait and see ;) But it may or may not be a preview, or first few pages of the comic. I will not admit to which, but in the next week or two look out for a update from me...

However, I’m planing on making a patreon page. School is important and I am struggling to find a second job to help pay for it, which means less time spent on this comic i have a long plan for. While I’m in the works of possibly creating another comic I hope to submit to webtoons when I get the right tools to complete my work faster.

But this said my main focus isn’t on the comic seeing I’m focused on finishing school for now... But it would help having a patron to pay for art supply's in the future...

However I don’t want to sound like I’m petitioning/pushing for this at the moment, seeing I have nothing to show for it...

As for the original characters picture I promised you. I have it, I was working hard on it... Even evading computer updates to keep up certain pictures of settings... When I finally updated and realized I really craped out my computer which now restarts every time I close it and open it back up.... Lets say me and computers always have a love hate relationship... It’s just I’m the one who does the dumb no brainer thing last minute. It kinda deterred me for a while. But i’m looking at my half finished page of them and I should have it done soon.

I still have considered the character greet comic, just to get to know my original characters in this.I just haven’t made time to make it. I plotted out ideas and questions that could be asked. I just got lost between everything I didn’t really put the effort into it as I hoped. By looks of things, if I manage to do it around the posting of the first few pages, I should have something like this closely following. Although I won’t make promises....

On another note the other comic I mentioned. I originally intended it as a Fanfict to a ride that I always loved. Although being a ride it was more inspired by things in it and not became my own story original characters, while mentions to the lore in it... I’m considering making a test comic for it. Though I can’t say I’ll post it any time soon, as like I said, if I’m to make it I have to have saved for a art tablet.... But just let me know if your interested. It’s a ghost story tied with mystery. I always loved mystery and supernatural themed stories growing up and this one has a fun twist to a famous ride and it’s lore. Just if I get enough interest i might post the art I already created out of fun for the story, or recreate some scene.... I just thought I’d add this little message in as well. 

BUT DO NOT FRET..... I couldn’t possibly leave this message high and dry without showing something... So instead of posting just a another long worded message that might fall on deaf ears... Instead I decided to post early concept art of the first chapter... This was the early in progress page (not taken with my best camera) art concept of the Season 1 Chapter art.... The other picture is a snapshot of my work in progress for the work I did in the musical setting I spoke of as a fun mini comic I believe in a previous message. (Although that could be a message I never posted that’s probably still sitting in docs... in that case Whoops) Anyways early on in making this comic I started a fun musical themed comic with characters of this comic. It started as a fun step back from the harder more depressing tone of Shattered... Besides I grew up on music and musicals. So I couldn’t resists... This is just an idea of my unpainted bare bones of my comic. This is hardly how the final project will look. Both pictures are somewhat old as some things have changed and in these and been fixed. But I felt they still looked good to show (and that way I don’t spoil the final version) Anyways see you Lovely's... Have Very Incredible Holidays Whatever you Celebrate, A VERY MERRY FABULOUS CHRISTMAS,

AND EXTREMELY WONDROUS HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! Sincerely Blaze (BlurrsGirl/Sweet<3)

[writingwithadinosaur]

“Intervention” - Epilogue

“Intervention” - Requested Oneshot 

My Masterlist - Here

Tag List - Here

( Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 )

Father!Tony Stark x Reader

Word Count: 2,343

Key: Y/N = Your Name, H/C = Your Hair Color, E/C = Your Eye Color

Warnings: Cursing, talk of self harm and drinking

Summary:

Author’s Note: This series was very difficult for me to write, but I hope you all like it!

If you would like to be tagged in any of my future pieces (All Works, Specific Fandoms, or Specific Multi-Parts), please let me know! And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

I hope you all are okay. If you ever need a friendly conversation or need someone, please talk to me. If you can’t confide in me, please reach out to someone. There are people to help you through any situation. You are not alone. You are loved.

<3

- DreaSaurusREX

It has been about a year since your intervention and move to California. You have been sober since you moved to California, and clean from self harming for about 8 months. You were allowed to have an occasional drink, but never enough to get you drunk.

The mental health center was much better than what your mind made you think it would be. Your time at the center consisted of therapy sessions, medicines, and trying to figure out where you wanted to go and what you wanted to do. In better terms: What made you happy. Your father, Tony, was there for the first week and a half, but then he got called for a mission. You weren’t mad. You understood his life.

You found your love for art again. But the supplies were restricted for safety concerns. So you just stuck to drawing and painting. You also started to document your life. Not really journaling feelings and thoughts. There were some of those in there, but it was more of reflecting on what you did that day and what you want to or plan to do.

After 3 months, you were doing significantly better and wanted to get out. Carolina and you had discussed the idea of getting an apartment in California. She still wanted to be close by incase anything happened. She wasn’t comfortable with you going back to New York yet. Tony was invited back to the center for a talk with the two of you. He was worried, but then you said that it was about getting an apartment so you could actually live in California. He was more than happy to help you with that. So the three of you set to work to find a suitable place.

While California is a crazy and crowded place, you were able to live for yourself for once. You did things that you wanted to do and would make you happy. So trips to Disneyland, San Francisco, Warner Brothers, the Getty and other various locations were nice. You also found yourself expanding your love for art. You started doing more drawing and painting along with sewing, makeup, hair, and photography.

You kept working out and getting stronger. While you loved art and traveling, you couldn’t help but think about how you wanted to train with Steve and Natasha again and work towards becoming an Avenger. 

That was one of the things you had come to find out about yourself during this year of work: You wanted to be a part of the team, for real. You know that with the help of Steve, Natasha, and Bucky, you could easily pass the test.

Speaking of the team, they came and visited a lot. Not so much when you were living at the center. Tony would make sure to call or have some form of contact with you 3 or 4 times a week. He was worried about you, but he could tell that this all was helping. So it eased his mind a little bit.

But once you got your apartment, Tony and Bruce flew out to help you unpack some stuff and then go shopping for houseware, groceries, and things you would need to be comfortable. Little did you know that the rest of the team snuck into your apartment while you three were out and surprised you with housewarming gifts and themselves. From that moment on, one or two of them would visit every so often. But you knew that they had missions and such, so you were just grateful to see them whenever they could come out.

One of the best things to come out of living out of the center and progressing on your road to mental health was Bucky. He had been true to his word and waited until he was able to visit you in order to talk about the feelings that you both had. You were doing better and you both decided to give it a shot. ow you two have been together for a little over 7 months. 

You also decided that you two shouldn’t keep your relationship a secret. So he told a majority of the team when he went back to New York, and you told Tony and Bruce when they visited you again.

As much as you appreciated and enjoyed this past year of living out west and becoming a better person, you were ready to go back home to your family.

Carolina and you were leaning on the railing of your balcony. Since you moved, you felt more comfortable having your sessions in your apartment, and Carolina had no objections. You knew she likes tea, so you made some for her before getting ready to talk.

“You seem to be doing well, (Y/N). Your prescriptions still working well for you?”

“Yeah. I feel good. It’s definitely bittersweet though.” There was a bit of a pause before Carolina continued.

“Are you ready to go home?” Carolina watched as you thought for a moment.

“Yes, but I am still a bit worried. I am more than ready to be back with my family at home full time. I’m just scared about relapsing. I’ve heard plenty of horror stories of people who were in similar situations to mine and relapsing hard when they go home. Hell, I relapsed a little bit a month after being checked out of the center. I don’t want to fall again.”

Carolina took a deep breath and thought before speaking.

“Well, you know you don’t want to fall. I believe that as long as you keep holding onto that thought and add in your family, you will stay strong. You have your support system, you have Bucky for more personal thing, and if things get really bad, you still have me. Even though you’ll be in New York, I will keep in touch and check in. Just remember what we kept saying during our sessions every so often: You will not fall. You are not alone. You are strong. You are badass.”

You smiled at Carolina’s words. Thinking about being with Bucky more made your heart swell. And the last part was a reference to something your dad had said during the intervention about a year ago. “You are a Stark, which means that you are inherently a badass. We just gotta bring that inner badass out.”

“Yeah, I made it this far, I’m not gonna restart that.” You both stood there for a moment in silence, drinking your teas. Then a knock at the door startled you. Opening it, it was one of the movers that came to pick up a majority of your things. Once he left, Carolina gave you a questioning look.

“I thought Tony and Bruce would help you move out?” You kind of smirked at that.

“Yeah, I told them to stay home. That I wanted my last few days here alone so I could say goodbye. I somehow managed to convince my dad to let me fly out of LAX like a semi-normal person. He insisted on paying for the ticket and getting first class. But a 5 or so hour flight in first class is not something I’m going to argue against!” You both laughed until you looked at your watch and realized it was 6 o’clock.  

“I actually have to finish up a few things before my flight. I got an early morning flight, so I am really just pulling an all nighter to finish packing before dealing with traffic to the airport.” Carolina nodded.

“Smart. I’ve done that on a few occasions.” She smiles at you before hugging you. You gladly hug back. When she pulls away, she has her hand on your arm. “I am so proud of how far you’ve come and I can’t wait to see how far you’ll go. Please stay in contact.”

“I will, Caro. Thank you so much for all that you’ve done for me for the past year. I am truly grateful.” You both hug one more time before she wishes you safe travels as you lead her to the door. You have the last of your leftovers before heading to your room to finish packing your clothes and last minute items.

Next Stop: Home! 

~~~~~~~~

Even though your flight was scheduled to leave at 6AM, it was delayed until 8AM. The flight was about 5 hours, but with the time difference you ended up getting into JFK airport at around 5PM.

You were kind of disappointed to see one of the Shield agents holding up a sign that said “(Y/N) Stark” on it instead of anyone from the team. But you realized that having them in a very crowded airport would definitely draw attention and cause a scene. So you got your luggage and followed the agent to the car. In the car was a small bouquet of your favorite flowers with a small note.

Welcome home, sweetheart! We are so proud of how much you have done! When you get home, drop off your stuff and change! See you soon!

- Dad

You were confused about the last part until you went into your room and saw the dress hanging against your bathroom door. Friday came online.

“Welcome home, Miss Stark. The dress is from your father and Natasha. There is also a note on your desk for you. Do you need anything else?”

“No thanks. I’m good, Friday. It’s nice to hear you again!”

 “Thank you, miss. Have fun tonight.” 

You quickly freshened up and got dressed. As you were putting your shoes on, you saw the other note on your desk. 

(Y/N) -

 Natasha picked out the dress cause apparently I know nothing about women’s clothes. Head to the kitchen when you’re ready!

Love you!

 - Dad

You did another look over in your mirror, and fixed your hair a bit before suddenly getting nervous. You had no idea why you were really nervous, but your stomach was all tingly and your lungs were a bit tight. Taking a minute or so in the elevator to do some deep breathing helped immensely.

The doors opened and you were flooded with the various voices you have come to know and love throughout your life. No one had heard the elevator ding, so you just quietly made your way to the entryway of the kitchen. 

You hadn’t seen anyone from the team in about a month. You spent a lot of your last month in California going back to your favorite places and really spending time with yourself. So seeing everyone sort of dressed up nicer for your welcome home dinner was a very nice sight.

Tony was busy working on something on the stovetop while talking to Rhodey. A few people noticed you casually standing there, but didn’t say anything. Instead, they flashed huge smiles and then watched Tony to see when he would realize. They all knew how badly your dad missed you. He did realize that it got quiet all of a sudden. It wasn’t until you spoke up that he found out why.

“Is that Tony Stark actually cooking a meal for once?” You said sort of jokingly.

Your dad turned and saw you, a few tears threatening to spill over his lashes.

 “Not even back for an hour and you’re back to sassing me.” He said with a growing smile on his face. Rhodey took over watching the stove while Tony quickly walked to you and gave you one of the biggest hugs he has ever given you.

“God I missed you, kiddo!” He said as he almost crushed you in his arms.

“I missed you too, daddy-o.” You both laughed a little. He pulled away and left a big kiss on your forehead before turning back to the team. They each came up to you one by one and gave you hugs and kisses. Some of them tearing up a bit.

 The rest of the night was perfect. Everyone sat around and ate dinner together, talking about the trips you took in Cali, what’s been going on in New York, and some of the recent missions a few of them were on. You sat comfortably next to Bucky, his hand relaxing on your thigh.

 It was Natasha that raised her glass and silenced everyone.

“To (Y/N). Well all knew how strong she was, and now we get to see her badassery in action. We are so glad to have you back.” Everyone clinked glasses and drank. Steve then spoke.

“So (Y/N/N). We know you’ve been training out west too. You think about taking the test?” He was talking about the test that they had set up to see if someone could physically be a part of the Avengers. Tony almost instantly tried to defend you.

“Woah woah woah. She just got back in town and you’re already jammin--”

“Actually… I have. I want to. I think I could do the test. And I may have also drawn up some sketches for an Iron Woman suit for extra protection that might make you feel okay about all of this.” You gave your dad a sort of nervous look. He was surprised but smiled back at you.

“Well damn. I guess we’ll just have to see what we can do about that.” You smiled as the rest of the team hooted and hollered around the table. You let out a sigh of relief. That was one nerve-wracking thing out in the open. Bucky then leaned and whispered in your ear.

“One thing down. Now how do you plan on telling him the other thing?” You looked at him with a nervous face, playing with the small ring that has been on your finger for the past two months.

“I have no idea. Maybe not in front of everyone as soon as I come home?” He nodded and kissed your temple. Then you both rejoin the conversations around the table.

This is your team. Your friends. Your family. And you were so thankful for them.

Tags: @goodnightwife @the-witching-hours12-3 @theeactress @sebby-staan@feelmyroarrrr @tomorraw @marvelous-imagining @melconnor2007  @raindancer2004 @sexysamsungl @hopelesslywaitingforfood@latibulemark @thetigersclaw @sarcasticvodka @ashenfallsof

[badwitchgame]

Busy with Blender

Thanks to Grant Abbitt’s tutorials on YT (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZFUrFoqvqlN8seaAeEwjlw) tutorials, I’ve picked up a few quick skills. Until he makes the part 4 of the tutorial with the texture painting, I decided to hit WoW and made a few screenshot about objects and houses and tried to make them in Blender.

First attempt: Barrel and cart:

I really liked this one, despite the fact that it’s super low poly, it is quite obvious what it is and even with basic shading, it looks very good.

2nd Attempt: House in Evelynn forest:

and the reference screenshots:

It had some very strange angles The house normally would just straight up but as they made this “cartoonish” in WoW they distorted the house from the sides:

Also it was not super obvious how the walls go. I think they are double sided planes, not actual geometry, at least around the windows for sure. I don’t know how to do that yet. Also as I was studying the structure from all sides, I noticed a few optimizations as well. The geometry was not really obvious, since the texture painting created a lot of “illusion” geometry, it was hard to tell what is shape, and what is texture painting sometimes.

In any case, it was a good exercise and it kept me pumped so I ended u modelling a few more things in Blender:

A signpost:

and a bed scene:

Without texture painting these all look a bit plain, but I think I make good progress in understanding and creating simple models.

I also bought Portia on PS since it was reduced price. I thought it’ll be different but after playing it for a day, I can’t say I’ve seen a more snowflake friendly game in my life. There’s absolutely no conflict in it in a meaningful way. Everyone is nice, the weather is pretty, whatever you are tasked to do is super easy, the whole game feels like a safe place simulator..

Regardless, I bought it because of the art style. It was quite OK, although the lack of texture painting results in a very low quality models some places. I’m positive I could make 60-70% of the models I’ve seen so far. I don’t know about the programming aspect or game systems just talking about models of houses, walls generic objects around the world etc. Some are surprisingly badly made for a fully released product, but it was quite consistent in execution. If nothing else, the game gave some hope that I can make a game one day, since if they could release and sell this quality of assets, it is absolutely doable to make something with similar quality (or better) solo.

The more I dig into game making, the bigger the task seems to be, but so far I’ve not seen anything I couldn’t solve (maybe bunny fur on the “official” blender Udemy tutorial, but that’s useless anyways.). Models can be made with blender. repetition and level design can be learned from WoW, and how they re-use parts of their models and textures to build variety in the scenes without actually making new models. Sound design and music theory can be learned from Udemy tutorials and programs like FL studio or that strange midi generator can make music. Concept art and drawing can be learned, I bought a complete drawing tutorial on Udemy as well. Eventually I will be able to make models, concept art and music. Animation I have a book on that I can read. UE4 I have a complete course as well as an UE RPG course as well. All I need is just the game idea and execution. After seeing some ideas I still have more idea on what I don’t want to do than what I do want to make. I liked the wider game design of Portia, but that conflict-less blank characters are just creeping me out. I liked the huge sunsets and the ancient ruins on the horizon, I like how bright the game is, although it does terribly miss dark areas and creepy, evil places etc. As I played Portia, all I thought was maan, this is TOO cheerful, this is TOO happy. This game is like Stardew Valley on drugs for overly sensitive people. For those who cannot deal with conflicts so they need their game too to be without real confrontation. Portia surely doesn’t follow the typical “Hero’s journey” since there’s nothing heroic in it. nothing to overcome or learn from, nothing to challenge. FFS the first dungeon doesn’t even have enemies and the game is proudly presenting it as a safe place to explore. I expected some reaction from the bus driver when I started axing the rainbow lamas everyone was just watching cheerfully as those nightmare monsters went off with a puff and dropping a nicely folded leather.

I definitely don’t want to do that. I want extraordinary creatures like in FF and PoGo, I’ll probably want companions like pets etc.

About what the game would be.. Probably a journey with many easter eggs and side quests. Something where decisions shape a world state, Regions are similar size as WoW areas with similarly packed with small towns, areas of interest etc. Something that can be explored, and quests would lead to the next areas. Player can choose where to go from similarly hard areas.

I do want some form of building in the game and regarding that I had the idea of a player building their house, either as freeform building like in Conan exiles or upgrade it and have fixed attachments added to it like Skyrim or WoW garrisons. I can restrict the building area in each region and the player can cast a spell to “pick up” their house and move it to the next area or build more and travel between them. Like in NMS. NMS building system is good, just the building pieces are not good enough.. All the buildings look like cubes.

Both building systems (upgrade with fix pieces or free building from parts) have its charms. Pre-made parts probably easier to make. I potentially would like to end up with a “howl’s moving castle like monstrosity where towers and planks are sticking out. The pre-made and upgrade system can also be combined with shelves and furniture so people can customize it. I do enjoy free building better though, free building is one of the cornerstones of Conan exiles, without it I’d probably not played it for this long. The idea that you can just set up shop anywhere on the gigantic map and build a massive base, castle, whatever you want is pure imagination. You see a place or a cliff side and you have an idea what could look good there. Or you just settle on a random place and follow along what the world gives you, build inside a cliff side, or set walls along the vulnerable openings. You can climb a mountain to get a good vista or a cool sunset and start building there. Originally I wanted something like that, but I admit I have no idea how to make it work well. It works for Conan because it barely has a story. remove the bracelet, fill the shopping list and no ending.

The problem with Conan’s ending is that it’s non-existent and I realize now that it was a conscious choice. During my first play-though I thought it makes no sense to remove the bracelet. By the time you can do it you are king of the world, you have a palace, you have an army of thralls, you have many beasts following you, you own an oasis, you conquered all bosses and enemies in the game. And you cannot die. Why would you want to remove the bracelet and become mortal again and walk into the desert? So it makes sense that the developers don’t want you to finish the game. 80% of Conan exiles is building. it’s not about finishing the story. This is a strange relationship between what the game tells you and what it is actively trying to force you to do. By story they want you to remove the bracelet, but every game elements wants you to stay and keep building on new locations. Conan exiles still pulls me back occasionally just purely to build and make a new base. There’s nothing in terms of story in the game for me, I’ve seen every corner of it, yet when new building pieces came out, I feel encouraged to go back and build a new base because  of the free form building.

Things that can make a game infinite:

- Random levels to play on (Diablo’s Rifts)

- Free building where you can build any house you want (Conan exiles)

- Character customization (Maple story 2)

- Free form crafting (Paper life)

The problem with these is the more random a game gets, the harder it is to write a consistent and freely explorable story to it. The more random the game is, the more possibilities are for the player to miss / skip story either by accident or by simply going towards something that is more interesting on the map. You can either write a main story arc or small hubs with mini stories perhaps? Maybe you can have mandatory quests and optional quests as in other games.

What I aimed for at the very beginning was 2 states for each areas. For example you have a woodland forest, and depending on your actions it will be a trade hub because you made it safe or a bandit hub if you selected certain choices. This can result a “World state” that can be used for New Game +. You go through the game, make your choices, and that results a world that has less or more problems. When you finish, you have the choice to restart, but the world is in the state you left it. If you left the woodland that became a trade hub, in NG+ you find a rich area that have a set of problems coming from being rich (eg attacked by bandits). If you left the area in the main play through as a bandit hub, you have quests to liberate it or profit off it etc. Liberating the bandit hub results a trade hub, neglecting or exploiting a trade hub results a bandit hub. If all areas have 2 states, you can play through the game at least 2 times.  

[ancient-trees]

Current WIPs Meme

Rules: List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on: writing, art, gifsets, whatever. 

Tagged by @theticklishpear and indirectly by @brynwrites. Going with Bryn’s question format because at this point the “expected length” for all my projects is a big ol’ SHRUG EMOJI. Or just plain “long.”

Novels - I am unfortunately a huge fan of ensemble casts and multiple interlocking plotlines, so my (still unnamed) series consists of several novels in a not-necessarily-linear order that merge into one cohesive whole by the end of the thing. The story is about a world that was broken in a magical cataclysm thousands of years ago and never quite healed correctly... and now something has begun picking at the seams.

The Self-Slaying Dragon (...working title. I like the wordplay, but I don’t think it quite FITS the story the way I’d want a title to) Status: Right now I’m rebuilding it from the ground up, in the interest of giving full-on Planning a go (rather than Plantsing like my previous attempts), outlining the whole story before I dive back into prose this time. Counts: 50,195 words of an unfinished NaNoWriMo first draft, 3,927 words of an attempted restart, and a shit-ton of pages of notes. Blurb: Dragons are forces of nature: half-physical, half-spirit nexuses that anchor Magic into the world, sometimes also serving as metaphysical guardians to humankind. But when a power-hungry wizard's attempt to soul-bind the Great Storm Dragon and commandeer his magic goes horribly wrong, the Dragon is ripped loose from his anchor-point and takes off in a roiling storm of magic, raining blind fury upon the people to whom he’d been sacred protector. The wizard is left to answer for what he has done... only, somehow in the failed binding the Dragon’s consciousness has become lodged in the dying wizard’s body. And so it’s the Dragon himself, along with the wizard’s traveling companion and a young dragon-priest in training, who must figure out how to set things right... before his mindlessly-raging Dragon-self destroys his people, his people find a way to destroy the revered protector who has apparently betrayed them, or some even worse consequence occurs.

The Unbreaker’s Tale Status: Writing is on hold while I focus on Dragon, story’s being developed bit by bit in the background as I work out how the novels weave together. Counts: 22,172 words Blurb: Ever since he was a child, Perrath has had a magical talent for mending broken things - and a passion for helping people to go with it. Then one night a strange wind sweeps away all the magic in his village... including his innate gift. He’s been searching for it ever since, with a scruffy dog at his side for companionship and a probably-still-functional finding charm leading the way. While he misses his magic, he’s found that in the meantime he really enjoys a life of wandering - going wherever his finder points him, meeting new people and exploring places he’d never heard of, using his mundane skills to repair people’s things in order to get by. Until he finds himself in a sticky situation out in the uncharted wilds, and learns that promising to fix something for malevolent shadow-demons is maybe not a good idea…

Other stories in the series, which aren’t being AS actively worked on (except obliquely, as the whole thing gets built):

(still don’t have a title for this one) Status: Was written for NaNo AGES ago, before I knew it would fit into a series. Will need to be 99% scrapped and redone (this is a good thing). Counts: 50k+ words, draft unfinished Blurb: A holy fae prince and an unsuspecting message-runner wind up someplace they’re emphatically not supposed to be. Rules are broken, prophecies are mislaid, bounds are transgressed - and in the frayed wilds of the spirit realm, no rule ever gets broken without dire consequences.

(No title for this one yet either) Status: Another old NaNo draft. SLIGHTLY less of it will need to be scrapped than the previous novel. Probably. This one might be an aside for personal worldbuilding and not make it into the series proper at all. Counts: another 50k+ unfinished draft Blurb: Ages before the present-day events of the series, there lived a people who could use magic as easily as breathing. They kept the peace and ruled over the surrounding lands unchallenged for countless years, until one day the unthinkable happens: a threat arises against which all their magics are useless. A young queen must decide the best course for her people in a time when all roads seem dark.

The Hollow Road (That title might end up going to a later book, depending how events line up) Status: Vague planning stages. Some of the characters for this one actually date back further than all the other novels, but they’re getting massively overhauled from their original versions. Counts: A lot of notes and a few sketches Blurb: Thanks to a valiant sacrifice-beyond-hope made by the parents she’s never known, Aleoth supposedly harbors within her the soul of a great evil… and no one has ever let her forget it. Stifled and stigmatized by those who were supposed to be her protectors, she runs away and takes up with a band of notorious brigands. But whatever she does, she can’t escape the unnerving creature that has haunted her dreams all her life, or the disasters that seem to follow her steps. When events begin to come crashing in around her, she’ll have to figure out who and what she is and what she really stands for.

Non-writing WIPs:

Tamuran Webcomic. I do the art and some editing and write a few characters, and a friend of mine does the story-plotting and most of the writing. Status: Still on hiatus right now. Counts: Writing - 828 chat logs of various lengths, which cover about 2/3-3/4 of the first story arc. Comic - 551 pages in 16 chapters. Blurb: Nashua is a wild elf searching for his wife, children, and entire clan, who have all vanished without a trace. Kip is a shapeshifter and spoiled court lady left reeling after losing her place in the world. Hhr’skhygh is a deadly forest predator who likes hunting, exploring, and reading unabridged dictionaries... but can’t seem to escape his trouble with curses. Ranon is a young royal heir forced into exile when his brothers conspire with long-banished sorcerers to seize their father’s throne no matter the cost. Together they find themselves racing across the wilds of Tamuran on a desperate quest for aid, as strange forces close in and the consequences of the princes’ dark pact begin to engulf the land.

(Tamuran is awful to write blurbs for. Any attempt at basic plot summary ends up sounding like the most excruciatingly generic fantasy story ever created, and kinda.. misses the entire spirit of the thing.)

Costuming - Thranduil’s battle armor from The Battle of the Five Armies (I hate sewing. I like making stupid-elaborate things out of foam and whatever else I can find to work with...) Status: Progressing very slowly, since the room where I have space to work on it is getting renovated and I’ve been focusing on other things lately. Counts: I have most of the materials gathered and scattered pieces and templates made... which will get adjusted and remade ad infinitum before I’m happy with them. I have a coat prototype mocked up, and about 2/3 of the ventilating done on the godforsaken wig...

Tagging: hm. @aetherdragon, @adrastuscomic, @whitherling, @greyliliy, @titherdel, @zyrenskistudios, @locirodrawsstuff, @wigglytaf, @elfyarts, @felix-duskglass. (I know I’ve heard about some of you guys’ projects elsewhere, but if you’d like an invitation to talk more about them here, go for it.) And anybody who has WIPs they want to talk about, really - tag me, I’d love to hear about them!

[thesunnyshow]

Name: reya

Writing Blog URL(s): @chu-ni

Age: 19

Nationality: african-british

Languages: english, swahili, korean

Star Sign: libra

MBTI: enfp/entp (it always changes lol)

Favorite color: purple!

Favorite food: i really love chicken burgers

Favorite movie: princess and the frog

Favorite ice cream flavor: vanilla!!

Favorite animal: elephants

Go-to karaoke song: fancy - twice

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? caramel frappe with whipped cream, in general i prefer tea though

Dream job (whether you have a job or not)? secretary general at the UN….or an author

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? making anyone agree with me and do what i want them to do

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? ancient egypt!!

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?.....no.

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? neither if i could lmfao but i’d go for 100 chicken sized horses

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? the nerd who’s actually really pretty after she gets a cool makeover 

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? im not sure about aliens, but i definitely believe in ghosts and spirits.

What are some small things that make your day better? when i can have moments to myself to enjoy my own company. or when someone asks me what i want to eat and they bring it for me 🥺

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? uhm…...probably the fact that i write fanfiction lol..but outside of that! i sing in the shower. and i talk to myself a lot.

What fandom(s) do you write for? nct dream currently, but in the future i want to expand to other groups!

When did you post your first piece? 17th of June 2018.

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? i can never write just one genre. predominantly i write fluff with a dash of angst for spice simply because i love a story that has an issue and then having that issue be resolved for a happy ending. when i started my blog i was 17, and so i said i wouldn't write smut. now that i'm older im feeling more and more comfortable writing suggestive content at the very LEAST.. so maybe in the future i might write smut, who knows? i like writing fluff because i like making people feel good, but i like adding angst to it because i feel like the contrast between the two is very *chefs kiss* to me.

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? i only write x readers!

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? i first got tumblr when i was 13 years old and i was a fresh kpop fan lmfao. i wanted somewhere that shared my interests. of course i discovered x reader fics on here and i was in awe, i guess of how much power writers had in contributing to fandom content and keeping readers satiated. i’d always loved to write and so i’d always wanted to start my own writing blog, and for 2 years i did write for other blogs! it wasnt until 2018 that i finally took the leap and decided to start my own, because i wanted to impact people's emotions and take them on a journey through my writing.

What inspires you to write? what inspires me….teen movies, music!! music is a big one for me, and also the books that i read. i also grew up playing otome games so the plots and writing from those influence my writing a lot.

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? i really enjoy writing royalty!aus as well as exes!aus. i love to do them cause they require me to build a world and with royalty aus specifically i love weaving together bits of political intrigue, or arranged marriages, etc. its so much fun!!

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? that if this world is too rough or too much, you can always escape from it. it might not be physical, but immersing yourself in a universe that's entirely different for a little while can help soothe you.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? usually i try and take breaks. the problem with that is that my breaks can go on for longer than i’d like and im trying to fix that. so my other solution is to read read read!! read as much as i can, or go back to books that i loved. ask myself what i liked about the writing, what are some parts that i thought were amazing examples of good writing - i note them down then see if i can apply that to my own work. another thing i do is take a break from writing my longer, fleshed out works and write blurbs! blurbs are a great way for me to write but not feel like its tedious because i don't have to spend as much time on them and it gets me into the groove of writing without feeling stressed out.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? my favourite piece of work is miscommunication. it took me months to write that, even after i lost all the work halfway through, and its the longest piece of work i have written so far, so its kinda like my baby. my most successful is candy jar. its also the work i owe my blog exposure to - it was the first piece i published, and it was also the first piece of writing i did in around 4 years.

Who is your favorite person to write about? i don't have much out for them, but i really enjoy exploring mark’s and jeno’s characters. they're people, but in my work i enjoy analysing them and judging how they’d act in different contexts.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? the only difference for me is that fanfiction (depending on the fandom) has some of the stuff fleshed out for you already, such as the world its in. if youre the type to write AUs then the only thing you already have is the characters - the planning, the writing, the drafting, and everything else is still the writer's responsibility. therefore there isn't much of a difference between the two for me.

What do you think makes a good story?  a good story, to me, is one that takes me on a journey. it could be any genre, but i like to feel immersed and connected to the characters and the world in it. also aside from the obvious, like good grammar, a good story feels natural to read. i don't feel like skim reading half of it.

What is your writing process like? my writing process consists of me getting inspiration - usually from a song, or a film or a book ive read or a game ive played - i note down my idea and who i want the story to be about, and then bullet point the whole story, with some snippets of particular dialogue i want the reader or the other person to say at certain scenes. i then open another document ( i have a writing app on my phone, called werdsmith, so i use that!) and set a word count goal i want to hit so i can track my progress and start writing the fic, with fleshed out language and exposition. when im done (usually after a couple weeks up to a few months, depends on the length of the plan) i read through it to fix any mistakes, then i transfer it to docs so i can read it again and italicise any areas i feel need it.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? i...don't think so. mainly because the original fiction i read and would like to write for myself is predominantly fantasy, whereas the fanfic i write on my blog is usually non-idol, normal fics. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? im a SUCKER for enemies to lovers, royalty ofc, “and they were roommates”, and i think superhero aus are really cool but there isnt enough of them :( idol/you as member aus....not feeling her… also abo/werewolf/vampire aus….not feelin em

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? a LOT. a HUGE amount!! i said before how i like giving my readers somewhere where they can immerse themselves as an escape, even for a short while. hearing about how my work affected them, made them feel, makes me feel less insecure about what im writing and thus more confident to publish it.

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? i’d say reblogs. and also putting out more content. when i first uploaded candy jar i went to my one of my favourite writers (jaeminlore) and asked her if she'd be okay with reading it and giving feedback. to my surprise she loved it and her reblogging it to all her followers is literally what gave me a bunch of followers all of a sudden who loved what i’d written. to keep that momentum i created more and more content, and while i haven't uploaded as often as i've wanted to or written as much as i’d wanted to, i can say i have a good amount of work on my masterlist for people who are looking for more to read.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? 100%. fanfic has an unfair reputation for just having bad writing and cringey fics (and i feel like this is because of the way society views the demographics who predominantly consume and create it), when in reality i feel like those who write fanfiction are extremely talented and selfless people. they're on the internet creating content for free for people to enjoy and like any other work of art they're putting time and effort into it. i think it should be respected. any form of art is going to have its good and bad sides.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? hmmm….yes. i feel it can be a way to reflect the thoughts of people and also be a way to inspire people to do more.

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? sometimes. sometimes i feel like i'm forcing myself to write because i feel like if i don't then people will forget about me or they’ll forget about my blog. while what i choose to write about is for me, i feel like the speed of my writing and what im writing isn't to the quality i want it to be cause i feel like i gotta get it out for people to read.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? i've never felt that way!

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? only 2 of my friends know, and i only told them like. a week ago!

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? i wish you guys would message me more! i'm quite a sociable person, and i’d love to have regular anons who talk to me 👉🏽👈🏽

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? i think one common thing amongst all writers is that we write what we want to read. so don't feel like nobody's gonna read your work, cause somebody will. you gotta act like your work is top tier even if someone says it isn't - always write the best you can, and just do it! like don't even give yourself time to overthink it, write that fic, make it look pretty, upload it onto tumblr and do not be afraid to ask your favourite fic writers to read your work once its up!! i’d be happy to read and give feedback for any fic writers as well so don't feel afraid! 

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? ive been on here for 7 years….i grew up on this site lmfao. but i don't think i regret joining tumblr once.

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? shes not very active anymore and i miss her very much but user hyuck-s was so supportive and i love her!!

Pick a quote to end your interview with:

she believed she could, so she did.

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