#I'm an amateur with an art degree

[amplexadversary]

I fucking hate what the race to the bottom has done to the "official" translations of more than one fucking manga now.

Fucking Kodansha started translating Witch Hat, so the scanlators stopped doing so, but the official version is so fucking lazy.

They aren't even checking if the romanizations of character names read as intended in the target language, let alone fitting the translated vocabulary to the context! You need people on your team that can read intent from the Japanese text AND the English one, because the latter is going to need proofreading! Getting the vibe of the text right of the original version gains nothing if you don't also have someone who can replicate it in the target language! If that someone's the same person that's great but you very much have to have both skillsets on your translation team!!!!

It's perfectly possible to preserve the meaning and style of the original, even to the point where from sentence structure that gets rearranged to preserve a reveal or a metaphor is introduced to the new audience for the first time WITHOUT the text feeling janky in the target language! I've seen it! It used to be the norm before the race to the bottom trend in business got so universal since the mid to late tens! Stop being lazy and give your fucking translators the time and pay to do a good fucking job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still haven't forgiven what this trend did to Dungeon Meshi and I don't think that grudge is ever going to go away. You could have called it "Dungeon Food," or "Cooking in the Dungeon" and kept the bluntness of the original. You could have spun it up fancily as a kind of title familiar to the audience, and called it "The Chef's Guide to Dungeoneering" or "The Survivalist's Guide to Dungeon Food," or even "Man Versus Dungeon," in a play on Man v Wild. You could have straight up kept the Japanese title and either explained in a translator's note or added a subtitle that repeats the concept in English. Even "Delicious in the Dungeon," while still awkward as all SHIT, still scans as a sentence that makes sense! Why did you go with your actual fucking decision???!?!?!??!!? How hard is "Dungeon Meshi: A Practical Guide to Cooking Monsters?" That took me less than a minute!

If it's worth doing at all in an official capacity, it's worth doing it properly and leveraging your fucking corporate-scale resources to do a better job! Taking advantage of the unspoken agreement that scanlators have to yield to an official translation only to basically undercut them and do a worse job is scummy as all hell! Just fucking pick one of the major scanlator teams and hire them if you're going to cut corners!

Stop lowering the standards of quality stop lowering the standards of quality stop it stop it stop it STOP IT STOP IT!

Like, there's room to argue whether a more literal or more tone-tailored or even a highly creative Ace Attorney-Style translation is most appropriate for a particular work but at least PICK ONE and put in the effort to do that style translation as well as possible! And by ''put in the effort" I mean pay your fucking translators enough that they can take the time to do it right!!!

[nekropsii]

What a about Caliborn makes him so cool in your opinion?

Go keep track of his progression as an artist alongside his development as a character and think about how these are intrinsically linked. Ponder the fact that he is both at his most obnoxious and at his most amateur when trying to ignore his unique style explicitly brought on by his canonical learning disability and mimic others rather than truly be himself. Consider how his explorations of art are genuinely cool, not a bad thing, and how we get some really neat multimedia stuff out of it.

Caliborn may be a shitty little teenage wretch but the way he is portrayed as an artist and as a disabled person is both really good and very real. It comes from a place of love. His learning disability is handled with a degree of gentle care that you would not really expect from Hussie. The place Caliborn's art style ends up in is so fucking sick and I actually unironically love it. The technique he uses is really interesting. It's intentionally reminiscent of an Etch-a-Sketch, and I'm a little obsessed with it.

This is so fucking good. I mean this seriously. He's right - that is some Pure Art Skill.

I just love the way art is employed as a necessary component of his character arc. It's so neat. You don't see visual cues that intricate too often. Usually it's just in character design, but watching his entire art style and even his medium of choice change several times over is fascinating. You can really tell Hussie had a lot of fun with him. He's also just really, really fucking funny. Just about every sentence that comes out of his mouth is Grade A Absolute Fucking Gold, and I'm honestly obsessed with his dynamic with Dirk. This may get me thrown to the wolves, but I personally think Dirk and Caliborn have way more chemistry than Dirk and Jake. Maybe that's because we actually see Dirk and Caliborn interact on screen... Lmao.

Necessary Topic: I don't know why people hate him so much. Like, I understand hating his misogyny and fatphobia, sure, but those are deliberate character points and not just Hussie-isms. I see people act like Caliborn is indicative of Hussie, as if Homestuck-era Hussie wasn't, like, famously really fucking good at writing female characters and absolutely not a misogynist. Caliborn's a parody of Homestuck Anti-Fans - which is a term we really ought to bring back, god, anti-fans are absolutely still a thing and good lord they're everywhere - who really were just shitty little bigoted haters. Calliope, the opposite side of his coin, was representative of, essentially, "the best kind of Homestuck fan" - an ultimately sweet young teen girl who willingly dedicates almost all of her time to this piece of fiction she loves so, so much, who draws a lot of fan art for the joy of it all, has OCs that don't fit any of the design conventions in Homestuck whom she pairs with the characters in it for innocent fun. Someone who has a lot of theories and analyses, writes a lot of fanfic, and is genuinely just having a lot of fun. Everyone loves Calliope. Even the characters in Homestuck love Calliope. They just think she's the cutest, sweetest little thing they ever did see. Caliborn was the worst kind. He sucks on purpose. No one likes him. He is a total nuisance to characters he is by all means trying to impress. I love them both.

It's also just funny that he's a canonical Intersex Transmasc who is probably Gay and this has, like, no relevance to anything about him, really. So no one really talks about it. Gender Hilarious, Gender Nefarious.

[asktheritochampion]

Amateur bowyer here, big fan. I was hoping you could share a bit about your Great Eagle Bow? I've been trying to figure out how it works, since it seems to operate differently from the standard Rito bows I'm more familiar with.

At a glance, it resembles a lever action bow from my universe (e.g., our similarly-named Oneida Eagle Phoenix), which sits somewhere between the recurve and the compound in our bow development history.

Does your GEB have an analogous action? It looks like it has cams; can it function like a compound bow even though the limbs aren't parallel? Are the limbs hollow with leaf springs or cabling inside? Have Rito even developed a compound bow yet? Would you like to try one?

Sorry for all the questions. Regardless of whether or not you can find the time for a response, please accept these honey candies, recipe courtesy of Link (you're a very lucky bird!).

Not at all - I am more than happy to discus the art of bows with a fan. In fact, it's a joy to speak to someone who apreciates the beauty of archery.

My Great Eagle Bow is actually a seventh attempt to craft the perfect bow, and I still think it can be better. The first few had the cabling on the outside, however they would too frequently catch on things while I was flying. My forth attempt was a complete failure, trying to create something entirely paralel - the bow itself ended up far too small for a Rito to wield with our long wings. The current version contains cross-cabling inside - whilest still relying on a degree of bend from the limbs.

As you pull, the cams trigger one another and add force as the line becomes taut. It enables me to fire more shots faster because it takes less strength to pull.

I created it specifically so that the bow comes apart to allow me to change the string and oil the mechanisms regularily. The body has a sturdy oak base while the limbs are a softer pine to allow a little extra bend. The embelishments are razor sharp and made of steel both to add a needed weight but also to allow me to smack away close combat enemies if I am ambushed. The cams though, I have made from diamond to ensure they never deform or crack.

I would love to take a look at your Hylian 'compound' bow. I am always eager to see the work of new bowyers with creative new ideas I can use to adapt my own designs. The traditional recurve simply isn't strong or fast enough for my fight style.

[ultimatebottom69]

Not the same anon but i wont be surprised if most HSR fans only read the book for the lis. And some of them lack critical thinking imo

Reading a book only for the LI's is...A choice. *wheeze*

But. Not admitting that the book has genuine faults beyond your opinion about it is the true killer for me. Like for example I love Heaven Secret 1 and even the 2 (goofy ass book) , and even I can admit that frankly there are many plot holes, so many plot devices, the universe was clearly not expanded enough which made it very commercial so that's how we ended up with Spinn offs (Requiem and Abh) and the sequel.

I can admit Vicky is a dumb bitch but she is legit entertaining as fuck. Like she always pick the worse option on her own in HS1 it's beautiful. In HS2 too at some moments. And contrary to Lane or Audrey. Girl just has a fucking Licence in Art.

She got an art degree and they making her a general, a council member like you get the image. Like my girl was not prepared at all and that is why I am cutting her a lot of slack.

Did I mention the characters in the story are legit awesome ? Like you can name the side characters pretty easily because they interact a lot. I play for Mimi and the squad tbh. And the CG's are not AI generated. In HS1 at least.

So yeah when someone says "The book was boring" i'm like...I guess ? If you ain't a fan of fantasy and comedy you're not going to like Heaven secret 1 or 2. In fact, if you wanta story that is slow paced or trying to make sense don't fucking read that. It will make sense but at the end you gonna go "Wait a damn minute." And then you will realize one of the three "No wait that made sense but it clearly needed to be developped" or "what the hevk ? Serioisly ???" Or "...I think i taped too fast."

See ? It's not hard to point FACTS about the book and snuck in your opinion about it. Separately. And not taking your opinions for facts. So yes anon. Agreed just wanted to show how it's done for the newbies, sorry amateur.

[h3lfaerie]

Hello, beautiful people!

Fae is here once again with a bit of an announcement! While I’m doing my best to finish the new chapter of Path of Alfheim before New Year’s Eve (and that’s still the goal), I have quite a bit left to write still. Unfortunately it doesn’t even include the proofreading and edits I’ll need to tackle once the draft is complete (those are non-negotiables, I'm not giving you a half-assed chapter). So, at this rate there’s a good chance I won’t hit the exact deadline I originally set (I'M REALLY SORRY!!). BUT rest assured—the chapter will absolutely be posted at the beginning of January.

Aside from that, I would like to address something very important in this particular post.

And that is the lack of consistent updates since July 2024. Originally, my schedule was to release a chapter per month, and I even considered posting twice a month if possible. However, a significant reason for this inconsistency has been starting a new job—one I began in August 2024, and one I’ve now officially quit. (YAY!!🥳)

Though I'm beyond happy to be free of that place, even if I need employment to support myself, let me serve as a cautionary tale to every artist out there: NEVER set foot in a casino, whether to work or to gamble. For the love of whatever higher power you believe in... avoid it at all costs. I have never felt more drained, overworked, and physically crippled by a job than I did working as a croupier (and trust me, I've worked a lot of jobs). These establishments are quite literally designed to drain your energy and spirit. And in my case it absolutely sucked my soul out. I am actually sick as I'm writing this, and I have been sick for the last 2 weeks.

I strongly believe that this job played a major role in affecting my ability to write consistently and passionately, as I originally did when I started this project. Between 48-hour work weeks and predominantly night shifts, my energy and focus were completely drained.

When I began this project in November 2023, I was so inspired that by New Year’s Eve, I had already published five chapters. Chapter 5 in particular might be the most visited part of the story out of everything I've published yet, and I wrote it overnight... Need I say more?

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a performing artist.

Though I've never elaborated before, mainly for the sake of privacy, allow me to do so now: I have a degree in Acting & Performance. I have over 10 years of stage experience across various disciplines, including acting, dancing, singing, and cosplay. I'm a die-hard nerd, an amateur writer, and most of the time, an absolute train wreck but above all I know my purpose on this Earth is to produce as much art as possible. This project is undoubtedly a part of that mission.

While things are still up in the air for me—and I’ll need to find another job soon—this time, it will be in the creative field. My CV is packed with jobs I never wanted but had to take in order to support myself.

I’m determined to change that.

I hope you’ll stick around to see this story progress once more, as it’s meant to. I’m still replenishing my energy and finding my footing, but I’ve removed one massive obstacle from my path. Let’s just say you might want to brace yourselves for the biggest comeback of the year.

Thank you for your continued support, love, and patience. It truly means the world to me, as I've said over a thousand times by now but I'll never stop saying it.

I’ll catch up on any comments left under Path of Alfheim or on this blog during my working-like-a-dog era as soon as possible.

But for now, I’m thrilled to say I got out—and I’m feeling better than ever.

[canmom]

What is the book for? - part 3

Here we go, the next part of the investigation.

[here's an intro where I talk about the three hour video essay that inspired me to do this]

[here's the first part where I argue that there's a big difference between the actual thing you do in an RPG and the book that tells you how you're allegedly supposed to be doing it]

[here's the second part where I describe some of the purposes that RPG books claim to serve in the creation of the game, and make some comments on the storygames milieu]

First up a comment! @zendoe writes...

One thing I've only seen in Jenna Moran's books, though I'm sure exists elsewhere, is that the book itself is a piece of art that is entertaining or interesting or moving in its own right. Chuubo is very funny, I read Glitch basically cover to cover and cried when I got to the end, and Wisher Theurge Fatalist is arguably meant to be read much more than it is to be played. You might even include games that are basically proofs-of-concept, hacks to prove you can put x setting into y system, etc. I'm sure a lot of games made in the heyday of /tg/ have never actually been played, and were basically just made on a lark Tangentially, this is something that often gets to me when people moralize against strong "you must/cannot do x" language in a given rulebook. I would never deny that many designers have a gross "saving the players from themselves" mentality, but at the end of the day, the only part of play a designer actually has power over is the book itself. So (assuming they're not ABA freaks) why shouldn't they use strong language if that makes the book a more interesting product?

Love this comment. You're absolutely right, one of the purposes of an RPG-book can be to just be an objet d'art in itself (I say with maximum pretentiousness), using the format of 'RPG book' to guide you to imagine a game that might exist even if it's not practical to play.

For example @xrafstar and @ramheadedgirl made a great little zine-sized book called Blood Sugar: Sweet Ambition. I doubt I'll ever actually get to play this (but never say never...), and as written it's kind of a nebulous state where it suggests stats for a D&D-like game but leaves the details vague... but it's using the format of an RPG book with its stat blocks and illustrations to tell a compelling story and provide a frame for Alco's gorgeous illustrations.

A similar example (which @lapinaraofperdition told me about) exists in Vermis I, an OSR-milieu artbook which assumes the format of a manual for an old CRPG. There is no such CRPG but it's all about the vibes. The book's on to its eighth printing now so people are well into this kinda thing.

This leads me on to one other function of RPG books worth discussing. This tends to be less of an explicitly advertised thing, but I think it's a huge part of things - amateur-anthropologist hat on...

An excuse to make up a story together - RPG book as seal of permission

Suppose I got a group of people together who had never played a TTRPG, and asked them to come to my house every week to make up stories about vikings. I think most people would find this a rather strange idea, and it would be quite a hard sell.

Suppose I got a group of people together who have at least heard of the TTRPG subculture. I have a book which says Sagas of the Icelanders on it, which looks like someone has put a lot of effort into putting it together, and costs some money. I tell them it's a cool new indie game I heard about that I want to try. Even easier if it's a game they've heard about like D&D.

This sort of overlaps with the 'auteur experience' category in the previous post, but it's sort of aimed on a different level.

When I was a child, I would make up stories on every long car journey - before that, my parents would do the same. It's normal to tell stories to children, and for children to play and make up stories through that. Now, adult life still revolves around fictional storytelling to a huge degree: in just about every society on Earth, we put tremendous resources into making and displaying films, distributing books, putting on plays.

But in modern adult life in the countries I know about, making up a fictional story is a very individual activity, and very much tied to the dynamics of publishing. If you're writing a novel, it's expected that you might think of trying to sell it one day. It is something that you specialise in. If you're good enough, it can be your job.

Playing games also gets codified and locked down: you go and join a basketball club, say, in which you are expected to learn the rules of basketball. Or play a computer game, where the rules are set by the game binary, which packages it up with other elements like music and images.

Only a few contexts give you permission to just tell a story. For example, if you're sitting around a campfire telling ghost stories. Or if the story is framed as something that really happened (whether or not it did). A joke is the major one, relying on the promise of a punchline.

If you want to tell a longer, collaborative story... well, it's lucky that someone invented a hobby called 'tabletop roleplaying', with its attendant books, magazines, forums and other subcultural trappings. You can point to that and say, hey don't worry guys! It's a done thing!

I mentioned earlier the 'conceptual inertia' of D&D. All these trappings are part of that inertia, continually performing and reinforcing the idea that 'D&D is real'.

In this case, the function of the RPG book with its glossy cover and brand name and slightly corny introduction to roleplaying at the front - and notably, its price tag - is mostly a tool to unlock this special social context where you're allowed to pretend to be an elf without it being, like, weird.

You don't need a book for that, not remotely - roleplaying has taken place on forums, in chatrooms, in MUDs, in MMOs, etc. etc. for nearly as long as we've had TTRPGs - but it is a useful tool to help you unlock the door, as it were.

In this it seems (thanks @play-now-my-lord!) that I am following in the footsteps of Roger Callilois, who offered the following definition of 'play':

it is free, or not obligatory

it is separate from the routine of life, occupying its own time and space

it is uncertain, so that the results of play cannot be pre-determined and the player's initiative is involved

it is unproductive in that it creates no wealth, and ends as it begins economically speaking

it is governed by rules that suspend ordinary laws and behaviours and that must be followed by players

it involves imagined realities that may be set against 'real life'.

Nothing about that implies that it needs a book to define its special 'circle', but elements like a subculture and book do help to bring it into existence.

On that front, let's also mention...

A way to unify the subculture - RPG book as common reference

Let's go back to reproducibility. It's not just about having something to sell.

A friend mentions playing in 'a Curse of Strahd campaign'. Curse of Strahd is an official 'adventure' for first AD&D 2e and later D&D 5e. Like most 'adventures', the book acts as a reference for a series of places and characters, and instructions for how to use them, advice on how to create a horror atmosphere, and so on. Some areas are mapped in detail, others have brief prose descriptions.

If your group has played Curse of Strahd, it probably hasn't had the exact same experience as another group. Much of the book is open to interpretation in all the ways we discussed. But, there's a good chance that you have had some experiences in common. Much like you can talk about the different areas you encounter in a computer game, or the memorable scenes in a film, you can talk to someone else who played the same adventure. 'How did your group handle the mimic door?' 'Oh it ate the rogue and we all had to form a chain and pull her out.' (This didn't happen, I've never played this adventure.)

The same also goes for more general setting elements and the game itself. An RPG lore book is something you can become an expert in. RPG rules are something you can get skilled in manipulating. And even if two D&D games take place in totally different settings, you have enough shared context to be able to know what it means for a Beholder to show up.

This is just as true of story games as it is for trad games and OSR, just with different emphases. Wanna be an expert in something? Perhaps you know the Apocalypse World principles like the back of your hand so you can give advice on how to MC it, or always know the perfect indie game for anyone's taste. And since indie games are often quite specific, two people who played the same indie game are likely to have something to talk about. Or maybe you just like to have long theoretical discussions about game design principles (*sheepishly raises hand*).

You don't remotely have to strictly follow what's in the book to take advantage of this feature. Players will constantly be recommending house rules, arguing about balance, criticising and modifying the game. That's part of the fun.

As the first post discussed, the process of defining the subculture takes place outside of the books too. In conversations, blogs, webcomics, forums, we continually hash out what this hobby that brings us together actually is. But, given that everyone's group is different, 'we probably looked at the same book' is one of the few guarantees you can make when you meet someone and learn they're into a TTRPG. Small as it is, it's a powerful starting point.

So what do we do with all this?

Well, it kinda depends which hat we're wearing, right?

For a designer, the important point to bear in mind is that an RPG book is only a prompt. You're not a computer game dev - you can't really be an engineer of a precisely tuned system where all the moving parts work together in precise harmony. You're writing a message to someone else through a noisy channel, and to my mind, they get the larger creative role anyway.

And it's not just that they'll take what they like and discard what they don't - they'll probably forget things that you put in the book, or read things in a way you didn't intend, or get caught up in the moment and fall back on familiar habits. For their part, though, they're probably not even looking for you to tell them exactly what to do and how to do it, in detail.

I tend to find many of the best moments in RPGs don't involve any looking at rulebooks. You're caught up in the story you're telling! You're feeling that feedback loop of mutual inspiration! That's what I'm personally looking for - the thing in the book is just a runway to get us towards that point.

So what are they looking for?

One view is that your job is to give them what they can't easily provide themselves 'in the moment'. There's a good article from 2016 on an OSR blog Against The Wicked City that describes it this way: if you improvise, you will likely come up with something that is either painfully generic or overly wacky. An RPG book, by contrast, ought to give you something novel, which someone has taken the time to flesh out properly. For this reason, it must avoid cliché, because it's easy to spin clichés and you don't need a book for that.

In Vi Huntsman's video, they criticise Root: The RPG for acting rather like a dictionary, attempting to clarify the trigger condition for each 'move' (a rules-construct from Apocalypse World, more on that soon) with exhaustive, repetitive elaborations. This is a fascinating corruption to me, since it seems rather opposite the ethos of earlier story games, which would much rather give you something vague and cryptic and refuse to explain. (...OK, I'm having trouble finding really good examples of that, but I definitely recall one-page games that consisted mostly of lists of evocative names and phrases). The players can be relied on to provide interpretations of whatever a Frost Shepherd might be.

The challenge to me here is to create something that gives your player enough that it's there when you need it, but still doesn't feel closed-off and is amenable to putting their own spin on it. This is rather a matter of taste.

Prose goes

On another, more abstract level, the aim of an RPG book is the same as any art: to make people feel shit and see things in a new way. This is getting back to the territory of Zendoe's comment above.

So let's get into it: why is Apocalypse World memorable, when so many derivative games borrow most of its mechanics and yet end up forgettable? Why would I love to play Chuubo's Marvellous Wish-Granting Engine even though I don't really understand how it works at all? Why do I still think about what Unknown Armies has to say about fighting? Why do I find most of Avery Alder's games offputting even if the design is novel and interesting? (y'know, beyond personal reasons that she was a cunt to my friends.)

If a TTRPG book is a device to conjure up a usable idea of 'the game' in your mind, the experience of reading it becomes really important. A huge part of what makes those games come alive in your head is that their authors can really write.

But it's not enough to just make a book that reads well, is it? The player needs the confidence to extemporise in the vein indicated by the book.

Jenna Moran's games fascinate me - but they're also rather intimidating. Her books are full of quirky asides and little jokes and stylistic flourishes. How do you play a game in a Jenna Moran way? I think if I got a suitable on-ramp like an existing group I could get up to speed, but it's definitely the kind of game which really highlights the complicated relationship between book and game to me. Which is to say I have the book but I don't feel like I could run this thing, and while I could closely read it cover to cover and rotate its ideas in my head, it would be way more helpful to join someone else's game and see how they do it.

On the other hand, Apocalypse World adopts a very conversational style of prose. It asks you to 'barf forth apocalyptica', it titles chapters things like 'advanced fuckery' and suggests you motivate NPCs with their 'clits and dicks'. It rather obtusely introduces the idea of 'moves' with 'to do it, do it' - meaning that you invoke the rules text iff a condition is met in the fiction of the game. It's stupid but in a really fun way. Apocalypse World the book has the feeling of someone sitting down with you and enthusiastically explaining the game.

Nobody taught me to play Apocalypse World - I read about it online (on the story games forums maybe?), which instilled an idea of 'what Apocalypse World looks like', got the book, liked what I saw; I ran it based on my interpretation of the book and what I'd seen online. On some level the whole process 'worked': a game was, perhaps imperfectly, reproduced in another group of people.

Something about Apocalypse World, then, got me feeling 'yeah I could do this!'. But did that have to be a game with a name and such? Could Vincent and Meguey had written the MC chapter of Apocalypse World as a series of blog posts giving system-agnostic GM advice? Perhaps, but I doubt it would have led to a whole breakout movement in the same way. It's useful to have a name to anchor things to. (Of course, there's more to Apocalypse World than that, like the whole 'moves' system which dovetails with its specified approach to GMing.)

I once ran a different PbtA game called Night Witches, about a real all-female unit of Soviet aeroplane pilots who fought in the second world war. It was a great premise for a game and was solidly designed as PbtA games go. Where I stumbled was the ability to improvise - usually something I enjoy a lot, but here I felt an urge to try and achieve historical fidelity on questions like 'what does a Soviet airwoman eat' and 'what's a plausible name for a nearby airfield' (I fucking looked at maps! such a fool). I don't speak Russian, so I would draw a blank when coming up with a name.

Clearly I should have dispensed with being historical here - it's not expected, not like my players knew better. But equally, this is where a longer list of concrete bits of random 'life in the USSR air force' flavour info would have been quite useful. The game gives you a reasonable amount of historical info, but I still felt out of my depth. Fantasy is much easier!

Running a game requires you to project a lot of confidence. You don't have to say you know all the answers, indeed I quite like to make my reasoning at least a little explicit - 'oh! what if we have this happen..?' - but you are setting the tone for the game. Confidence and enthusiasm will vary with each player to encounter the book and the experiences they bring, and it's often beyond the designer's control, but you can definitely frame your game in a way that's more or less amenable to picking up and running with it.

In the next post... a few options, hmm. We could examine the idea of 'moves' in Apocalypse World more closely - they're a bundle of a few different things, and perhaps we should evaluate how well that works, and what makes for a good move-based system. Or maybe we could revisit some of my previous game design efforts, like the RPG duels post - did I go astray?

[brattysofiax]

Hi 👋 Bratty you don’t mind if I ask a Q or 2 please 🙏. I used to work in the Porn & Sex Industry. I know everyone has different tastes and fetishes. As a female what is it that makes you want to be degraded used abused and marked. ???

I myself have never understood the concept behind this idea as most women just want to be loved.

Now you have an absolutely beautiful and gorgeous body with amazing art work of tattoos which I must admit I’m a big fan off congratulations 🎉 on that.🥰

I do understand that the girls in the movies are been paid so to some degree it’s just work and it’s their job. Do you actually enjoy being hurt and marked up at all ??? Please 🙏 don’t take offence I’m just being curious and concerned and maybe a bit confused.

Hi, thank you for your questions.

Firstly, I'd like to explain that I'm not exactly in the porn industry. I have an onlyfans, I film amateur solo content. No one is paying me to do impact play on camera, and I haven't ever filmed that. I do impact and degradation play in my personal life, because I enjoy it. Sometimes I take photos of the marks I am left with, because I like the way it looks and I like to have photos to look back on and remember it.

Of course I want to be loved, and I am. If anything, he degrades, uses, abuses and marks me because he loves me and he wants to please me as much as I want to please him. It's all fully consensual, we have conversations about what I want and don't want often.

I enjoy degradation because it turns me on, it makes me really wet. I like being hit because I enjoy the sensation, I like the fear, I like pushing myself and seeing what I am capable of handling. Being used and serving someone makes me feel proud of myself and fulfilled for being able to please them so well. Maybe there is some deep psychological reason to it, but at the end of the day, I just enjoy it.

This is just my personal experience. There's lots of information online and various books that go into this topic, if you would like to hear another perspective and a better explanation.

And thank you for the compliments. I'm not offended by your curiosity, I'm happy to answer your questions.

[sintarija]

✨Meet the Artist 2024✨

It was my birthday yesterday, so it was time to update my Meet the Artist meme! 🎂

This might also be a good opportunity to introduce myself, especially considering I gained quite a few new followers in these last few months. ❤

So! Hi, I'm Lea, an amateur artist from Croatia. ✨ I'm on my last year of my master's degree, and I volunteer as an assistant editor on a local speculative fiction magazine. This is my art blog, but you can also find me on my personal under @kudravi-nesit and on my reading & writing blog @carica-ficus. You can also find me on Instagram and Youtube. 🌺

[gorjee-art]

Have you ever wanted to draw something but you fought due to your skill level at the time you decide not to do it

Oh all the time! I've always thought of myself as a typical amateur artist that--- tries, to varied degrees of success. Comparison did not help with that either, so I just kinda sat beside myself with little bits of encouragement to go one step at a time and tell myself "Maybe one day I'll be able to do this properly." I've always wanted to make ornate detailed backgrounds that just ooze atmosphere and setting, to the point the viewer will feel present in those pieces, smell the crisp air of an open field with the crackles of flowing grass or feel the dread of large ancient temples long lost to time. But--- my skills mostly pertain to character art and expressiveness, I'm TERRIBLE with perspective and visualizing myself in a specific space. But luckily, with slow bits of practice and time, I'm getting the atmosphere right and I feel as though my days of finally drawing gorgeous scenery is drawing near.

[ryanstudy]

A Studyblr(?) Introduction

Hello, welcome to my studyblr.

I'm Ryan.

I'm 21 years old.

He/him

I am taking a language, and linguistics degree.

I am studying Japanese as part of my degree. Additionally, I have taken some Ukrainian classes on the side, I made an attempt at teaching myself Esperanto in college, and I studied German in secondary school.

I have just finished my 2nd year at university, and will be studying in Japan for 1 year from the end of September.*

I play taiko, I ramble on for hours about marimo, and I like to draw (and I occasionally make amateur animations).

I am unapologetically dyslexic.

I'm here solely for the vibes.

I'm almost 100% sure this blog will quickly become a studyblr-langblr-bookblr-art-general-shenanigans-travel blog.

I will be documenting every cup of tea, or coffee that I consume.

*If I eventually get my visa (I will, I am just impatient).

I mainly made this blog so that I can track my own progress, and to make sure that I study. I can admit, I currently do not study as much as I should. Let's see if this blog fixes that. I also want to use this blog to document my study abroad experience, once I am in Japan.

Lastly, I have no idea how Tumblr works.

[icarusfrommars]

I'm just fucking angry. I feel like nothing I make is worth anything. Spend 5 years making a D&D podcast and what is there to show for it? Spend 4 writing another podcast and there's nothing worthwhile there either. Write a short story and nobody reads it. Write poetry and lmao who fucking cares about poetry. Make music for nobody. Make art for nobody. Write a paragraph defending your area of work and delete it because it wouldn't make anyone take you any more seriously. Erase the words you wrote because it's not worth a dime anyways. Keep all the ideas inside, locked in your vault of shame and irrelevance. Who fucking cares. Get a degree and maybe they'll take your shit seriously when meanwhile there's another bestseller which is just a fucking derivative AU fanfiction with a new coat of paint slapped on, because derivative AU fanfiction is the only work that matters nowadays. God forbid an amateur storyteller makes something original and tries to promote it because that's annoying and not based off the fiction that already exists. Say fuck it all just go into teaching and give it up. Who fucking cares anyways.

[light-everything-in-pink]

Supposed to be in camp rn, but have this random Trans Prom art on due for a few days

I'm a transmasc that is questioning due to how societal roles made me blind to this truth for a while, I'm constantly enforced to be a mature 'dalaga'/teenage girl or smth, and there are so many things I can say about masculinity. Anyways, one of such things is that I have no idea what's prom, but since Trans Prom exist and some suits I see online are...ehh (no offense), I decided to fuck around in my degree of Amateur Fashion Designing :3

Felt bad for a moment with doing this until I slap that bad thought >:)

Also, the redact bar is...a character design choice. And there are still a few parts of my fem body that I want to keep like my hair being a certain length I cannot attain IRL. I just wish for my breasts to be chopped off magically and fall in love with my own voice (yes, I have a preference problem)

[hjbender]

Hey I'm curious, if you did get back into academia what would you go for? Would you go back for multiple things if you could?

The timing of this ask couldn't have been better; I just got home from the library a few minutes ago, and my selection is a pretty good indicator of my current academic interests:

Shark Trouble, Peter Benchley (nonfiction)

The Math Book (Big Ideas Simply Explained series)

Astronomy for Dummies, Feinberg

The Wave: In Pursuit of Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean, Susan Casey

Easy Algebra Step-By-Step, 2nd ed., McCune & Clark

I've almost finished Carl Sagan's Billions and Billions, which I've been reading piecemeal since February (it's a good supplement to his extremely enjoyable Cosmos series), and of course a rampaging monster novel for pure entertainment. 😆

The math books are to brush up on my algebra skills in anticipation of learning calculus (guided self-learning), and I have a deep (ha) and abiding love for the ocean and sharks. I'd originally intended to check out some amateur radio books—I'm a Level 1 Technician but I let my license lapse and need a refresher to renew—but there were none to be found. I'll look again later.

But to answer your question, if time and money were no object, I'd go back to school for multiple things—and probably end up a lifelong scholar. I'd work on earning my Masters in English or Creative Writing first (I have an Associate's in the former), maybe even a PhD (oh, to be Dr. Hal Bender!) and take more language classes, too. A degree in Art and/or Illustration would be agreeable to me as well. Wouldn't mind getting back into symphony either, though I probably wouldn't study music formally. Same with Film; I learned more about storytelling from a film class than I did in any lit class I've taken.

The arts are my most developed skill set, but I love the sciences, particularly oceanography, geology, GIS, and computers. I've only recently taken a keener interest in astronomy (thanks, Carl), though I don't see myself ever getting a degree in it. (Unless?)

TL;DR, I just want to live in a university and learn and write stuff and make art and travel the oceans and understand how everything works. Become wise as well as knowledgeable. I'm glad I've got a library to help me work on achieving that.

[koiponderingart]

Hi!!! You already know this but I need to say it: You are so talented! Your Bucky/Winter Soldier series is out of this world, and I wholeheartedly admit I stare at your art for too long whenever I come across it on my dash, especially your 'Daybreak' piece... A thing of beauty.

Thank you for your comment (I've read it like 100 times). I gotta say, I'll definitely stick to it because it's therapeutic, although I struggle with so many things related to it, especially style. I'm a total amateur so I really don't know what the heck I'm doing. I just have this need to paint or draw sometimes to take my mind off things and I do it.

I've had my eye on watercolors since highschool (I'm 35 now), but I never dared to try it out until four years ago, but I’m not as constant as I would like to be (because life), and I'm still trying to find my footing. I guess I know what I would like the pieces to look like (the general idea) but I lack the skills to "get there.”

I suppose there's also a lack of terminology involved, like, when I search tutorials or something I rarely find what I'm looking for so I improvise by looking at similar pieces, or art that kinda look like what I want. I'm also aware that the quality of the materials that I use (mostly the pigments and paper) play a role here, as well as my lack of technique, but I plan to keep on learning so the last part is totally on me.

I just don't know what I would do without watercolors! I love the sophisticated chaos that they can bring to a piece of blank paper :) And thank you again for your comment. You made my day. I'll print it and hang it on my wall <3 (and sorry for babbling so much) (I’ve reblog your art on my secondary blog before so I really don’t know why I wasn’t following you 😳) (Ok, I’m following you now lol)

You are so incredibly sweet! I don't know what you might or not know about my own painting journey but let me assure you, your off to a great start!

I actually picked up watercolors after a long break from any art at 39 (I am 45 now) so never be discouraged it's "too late". Also, and I mean this with every fiber, please feel free to ask me any questions you have about watercolor.

I have learned quite a bit and keep learning along the way! I am happy to share tips, tricks, my favorite tutorials, classes.

You have a great eye, I can see that already, and honestly picking a dynamic pose that draws in someone goes a really long way. Don't sell yourself short, and never apologize for being passionate about your art. It's wonderful to see someone write they love painting.

Watercolor is universally known as the easiest painting style to begin, but the hardest to master. And to a degree you have to just let it do what it will! (Infuriating at times).

Again feel free to reach out any time with questions, and thank you for your kind words about my work. I'm happy to even share tips on painting tactical black and metal. (Shockingly fun).

Take care!

[capricioussun]

don't feel bad about self reblogs, it's always awesome to see your art on my dash and I'm sure I'm not alone with this!

Awe, that's very sweet of you to say!

Tbth i have a really strange relationship with posting online – on one hand, I love just posting whatever and really really enjoy interacting with others, but on the other hand, I'm not sure if it's RSD or what, but i experience like. Social recoil? Where i tend to immediately regret and/or worry over the perception of stuff i post (way more than would be considered normal), especially with posts or reblogs that hardly really garner any interaction at all.

I know it's normal for artists of all kinds to be disheartened by things like that, and I don't necessarily create for others, but that is why i post it online- i mean...why else would you? I see that a lot, people feeling poorly about low interaction, and others trying to encourage them by telling them to make art for themselves and to not worry about it, but that's always come across a little odd to me. No, you probably shouldn't be doing something if you're only doing it for attention, but isn't interaction the point of sharing the things you make online?

Especially so in the case of people who really want to make a living being an artist in their chosen "field". To some degree, you do have to treat it like a business. You do have to sell yourself and try to "grow your audience" if you have any chance of making any sort of income at all, just like any self employment type of job. It feels condescending to see others tell artists who get frustrated with social media constantly doing things to make it harder to have any reach at all that they should care less about the algorithm or numbers when a lot of these people don't have a choice. It feels like hardly a day goes by I don't see posts on twitter or tumblr of someone taking emergency commissions just to cover rent or food for a few days.

Got a bit off topic there, but i sort of rest in a very strange place with my art in that, skill level wise, I'm very much an amateur, but due to Life Issues I won't get into, I can't hold a "normal" job, and I've been constantly kind of battling myself for a couple years now on how to approach trying to make Doing Art Online my career.

I need to put in the work to improve my art so i can not just post more frequently but hopefully get more commission work (which i would honestly also enjoy, I love making things for others, it's one of my favorite things about being able to post online), but i also want to improve my skill level so i can make the things I want to as well (I'm also unfortunately plagued by the Kind Of Wants To Do Everything desires and also want to make plush, music, 3D and live 2D models, and I'd love to get into streaming proper at some point).

So aaallllll of this to say, self reblogging is a big thing for artists on tumblr these days, esp as i see more and more talk about how low interactions gotten on here in the past few years, it's rough! But i also feel like im not...skilled(?) enough to do Proper Online Artist things. I guess. Which is dumb but ah I do not control the chokehold whichever mental issue has on me

[tysonfurybattlepass]

As someone who went to college and got a degree in what they loved (even a typically safe degree by most standards) and still ended up working 17$ an hour fileing papers, it's not something you need to beat yourself up about. It's not to late too get that degree later or to get a job you want without the degree. Hopefully better things come to you soon, I'm just a lurker on your blog but I truly believe you deserve it.

hey, thank you for this message. it means a lot to me to hear from someone who has the experience i often romanticize in my what-ifs.

i struggle with the rather silly belief that, at 23 years of age, i am too old to even try any more. too old to go professional in my sport(s) of choice, too old to go back to school, too chronically ill to quit my day job that provides me health insurance, too old to have any potential left. cognitively i know this isn’t true (athletic prime is around age 29-30, and my mother got her degree at age 45 and is incredibly successful in her field), but i greatly tie my worth to my quantifiable achievements, of which i have few. a handful of silver medals in varying sports, a mediocre 3.6 high school diploma, and a decent understanding of character design but incredibly poor technical drawing skill achieved entirely through trial and error because i was too proud to take art classes as a middle schooler. oh, and one state amateur title in boxing. the second state amateur title i lost to the girl i had beaten previously for the first one, lol.

anyway, all that to say that this is a mentality i struggle with all the time, and i hope is relatable to other young people whose circumstances make it difficult to pursue what they want, all while the news seems to be filled with teen genius success stories that only serve to make us wonder “what is wrong with me?”.

i greatly appreciate your perspective as someone with a different experience than mine, and your encouragement means a lot. thank you.