#Not that I'm still very good at drawing them lol but I'm not unhappy with how he turned out <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[sysig]

Oh dang, I really got in at the last minute! Time really flew this year!! Happy requestober, everything I've seen looks amazing so far! Could you please draw something where the Vargases get a Joel kitty but just like... *Not* under terribly sad circumstances? Like maybe after adopting Todd, they get a family cat? Thank you so much! <3

Day 31 - Mutual introductions

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Writeblr Interview Tag

Look at me, mom, I'm a writeblr.

I was tagged by @the-inkwell-variable thank you :D

I feel like I am (again? always?) running out of people to tag, and I don't wanna annoy anyone and this is pretty long, so open tag.

Short stories, novels, or poems?

Novels all the way.

What genre do you prefer reading?

Fantasy, murder mystery, romance—the latter only in certain circumstances like a very interesting character or setting. Without that, romance makes me run for the hills.

Are you a planner or a write as I go kind of person?

Yes.

What music do you listen to while writing?

Whatever my current playlist is, which could be a) instrumental soundtrack of something b) a playlist that might or might not be project related (it currently is) containing at least 50% power metal or c) pressing play in youtube for a fun adventure. I can listen to one and the same song for several weeks on repeat.

Favorite books/movies?

I don't really watch many movies. Can't even remember the last one, and there are none I return to with any kind of regularity. I guess The Outsider (2002) was pretty neat. I even made a music video with scenes from the movie and all that XD As for books, some are quite old like The Wind Witch by Susan Dexter, or the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Others are indies, like Once Stolen by D.N. Bryn or The Sorceress and the Incubus by Mallory Dunlin. My favorite murder mysteries are the Lindsay Chamberlain books by Beverly Connor, and Wolfsaga by Käthe Recheis is a (German) masterpiece.

Any current WIPs?

One active one, and one on hiatus. The active one is All of our Lives, currently at around 53k with hopes of finishing draft 1 at the end of the year. Suffering, recovery, revenge, happy end :D The other was supposed to strand Riordan in the wilderness, but it turns out, I can't divide my attention atm. Sorry, Riordan :/

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you what would your standard outfit be?

Knee-length summer dress over leggins and a long sleeved shirt, sandals with two differently colored socks, one matching the dress, the other the shirt, and glasses with a black frame. Also give me an ace ring, even if I'm not wearing it anymore atm.

Create a character description of yourself:

No lol

Do you like incorporating actual people you know into your writing?

Whole people, no. Freely taking names or small details from people I know? Absolutely.

Are you kill happy with your characters?

I kill all of the bad guys and none of the good guys.

Coffee or Tea while writing?

I don't really drink coffee, so.... 95% of the time it's tap water, though.

Slow or fast writer?

I guess in the grand scheme of things, it still counts as fast, even when I am unhappy with the speed.

Where/who/what do you draw inspiration from?

⭐ Everything ⭐

If you were in a fantasy world, what would you be?

Dead lol

Most fav book cliche:

I'm not really sure if that's a cliche or what, but unexpected kindness. Nothing has me sobbing like a character being kind and accepting when no one else (especially those much closer to them) was before. Aaaand we don't think too hard about why that is, let's move on ->

Least favorite cliche:

Oh! *opens draft again 2 seconds before posting and replaces what I had written before* The redeemed bad guy who gets killed off. Letting us get to know them, showing their tragic past and their love for kitties or whatever, and bam, a chapter later, dead, self-sacrifice for the noble hero. Fuck that.

Favorite scene to write?

Funnily enough, torture ranks pretty low, and recovery not much higher. There's always so much at stake and I take forever getting the words down and I keep forgetting injuries and wait which finger did I cut off? Most fun is just writing a happy little scene where the characters hang out and suddenly tell me things about themselves I didn't know yet, and uh, sometimes there's also happy little accidents.

Reason for writing?

If I don't do it, who else will?

[kangals]

I wanna talk shepherds with you, if you have a moment! The first dogs I ever fell in love with were border collies (my uncle's showline dogs), my friend's GSD mix, and both a heeler mix and a couple wonderful GSDs from when I worked in boarding. It's been suggested to me that I would find a R/S collie a wonderful fit for me but I have only met one (he was perfect BTW) so I'm wondering your thoughts on the breed and if you have any comparisons to GSDs or BCs specifically?

big ol' asterisk first that i have not spent extended amounts of time with GSDs or BCs, so my answer is probably going to be very vague, as most of my impressions from those breeds are from short interactions, or what i've observed of them in a vet hospital (which i know is not a great showcase of character).

i would not say that collies and GSDs are very similar to live with, but that's also going to really depend on the type of GSD you're used to - there's such a variety of personalities between police K9s, working/sporting lines, BYB messes, generic pet-bred dogs, and showlines. in my experience GSDs tend to be much more blunt in their communication - i feel like you always know what they're asking for, or what they're unhappy about. and there's also the fact that GSDs are (generally) going to default to Bitey Time and standing their ground if they feel pushed, and that is very opposite of a collie. i am not at all a GSD person, but my favorite one i've ever spent time with was a showline dog - he was enormous, and mellow, and stunningly beautiful, and i'm sure true-blue working GSD people would have hated him, but i thought he was a great dog (draw what conclusions you want from that). i don't vibe with dogs that come off really strong, which is why i like sighthounds and collies a lot - they're both more subtle in their behavior. i would not call a GSD subtle lol.

the collie/BC comparison is a bit closer, with the main difference being 'sharpness', i think. IME a collie is going to be much more tolerant - of handling, of other animals, of their environment, of training. they are sensitive dogs and can shut down if the wrong buttons are pushed, but it's generally easy to see that happening and they can also recover well with patience. collies are very polite dogs at heart, and avoid conflict. not to say they don't have their snarky or feisty sides (@ stellina) but when shit gets serious, they will almost always back away from conflict. some people want a dog with a little more fire - those people i'd probably steer away from collies. but some people (like me) like having a dog that's a pacifist at heart, because it makes them very safe and easy dogs to live with. i have zero tolerance for aggression (human or animal), so a dog that's socially fluid is super important to me.

(keep in mind that none of this excludes confidence - some collie lines have issues with fear and anxiety. a well-bred collie should be a pacifist, but confident and polite. if they startle, they recover. their curiosity and intelligence helps them stay adaptable, so while issues like reactivity and fearfulness can still be an issue, they really shouldn't be.)

i think what really sets a collie apart from other herders is that inherent politeness - it really softens a lot about them and, unlike most other herding breeds, it's what allows them to be such good candidates for service and therapy work. IMO a collie is kind of a best of both worlds for herding dogs - they are smart and silly and up for trying on new challenges and adventures, but they're also easy and flexible and not demanding. they let you know what they're feeling, but aren't in-your-face. if you particularly like a dog with a lot of sharpness and resilience, a collie's probably not the best fit. if you want an active companion and don't mind the flexibility that's required for raising a "soft" dog, i think a collie works great! definitely try to spend some time with them if you can, i really fell in love with the breed once i started meeting them.

tl;dr i wouldn't say collies are super similar to GSDs or BCs, but if you like the core herding dog personality just wrapped up in a squishy sensitive layer, then you'll like a collie.

[jacenbren]

2 tag memes

Got tagged in these by @dragonofeternal and I’m more than happy to play along!!

Current things tag meme

3 ships: Inumaki Toge/Okkotsu Yuuta; Legato Bluesummers/Millions Knives; Kai Smith/Zane Julien

Last song: Your Best American Girl by Mitski

Currently reading: the Jujutsu Kaisen manga. against my own better judgement.

Currently watching: working my way through rewatching Supernatural and Death Note. the former is a lot lamer than I remember and the latter is a lot goofier than I remember.

Last movie: Annihilation!! I love that movie and rewatch it from time to time, however I made the mistake of watching it while on a redeye to San Franciso and dozed off halfway through. had a nightmare of That Goddamn Bear chasing me. bad plan.

Currently consuming: fuck I forgot to eat breakfast today. I will make up for it by eating an entire box of cherry tomatoes.

Currently craving: I would kill for some donuts right about now lol

15 people 15 questions tag me

Are you named after anyone? Yes actually! My legal name is based on the name of a band my dad likes, and I stole my chosen name off of a character from the Star Wars EU.

When was the last time you cried? While I was traveling a week ago; I got really overstimulated and exhausted while off my ass on Nyquil and had a meltdown :(

Do you have kids? Nope I am nineteen and not at all mentally healthy enough to be emotionally there for a child. am currently hoping to remove the baby making bits asap.

What sports do you play/have you played? I ran cross-country for about seven years (all the way through both middle school and high school) and got my varsity letter my senior year! I also did track & field for a few years (my events were long jump and 100-meters) and to this day I still go on jogs during the summer.

Do you use sarcasm? I am very autistic so my ability to discern tone is. not great. apparently I use sarcasm a lot without meaning to lmao

What’s the first thing you notice about people? Probably their voice tbh

What’s your eye color? Blue. like apparently scarily blue. fucking satoru gojo dayglow freaky ass cerulean orbs.

Scary movies or happy endings? It wildly depends on the genre and my attachment to the characters. I'm much more of a psychological horror guy rather than an enjoyer of slasher films, so I definitely tend to prefer horror literature than movies. as for happy endings?? I definitely enjoy them when I'm looking for escapism, but unhappy/bittersweet endings definitely still have special a place in my heart.

Any talents? I'm really good at driving and I have perfect pitch!

Where were you born? Anchorage Alaska, born and raised :)

What are your hobbies? I'm a big writer, and I occasionally dabble in drawing. I'm really into Stardew Valley at the moment and I've racked up over 200 hours at this point in just one save file. I am falling hopelessly for Sebastian but I feel too guilty to divorce my current husband Elliot. help.

Do you have any pets? Yep, a cat named Ekko and a dog named George. No the dog isn't named after GeorgeNotFound. My dad named him after George Costanza from Seinfeld.

How tall are you? 5'6"

Favorite subject in school? I was always really into history and would meticulously take notes to the point where I could've probably taught the class myself. however autistic gifted kid burnout hit halfway through high school and I barely graduated after sleeping through most of my classes lmao.

Dream job? Any job where I can put some music on and just Do Tasks all day. I worked tourism over the summer (hated that job and I never want to go back) and spent half of it hiding in the back room putting stickers on merchandise. I Love Boring Menial Tasks.

anyway tagging @mellointheory @hecksee @apollos-boyfriend @setsuntamew @acewendino @wigglesforsquiggles @siryyeet @routeriver @versaphile @avitus-ostrander !! feel free to join in if you like; no pressure :D

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary304

7/19-20/24

friday-saturday

it still entertains me, that i can make the text look like this. it's like the best joke in the world.

anyway today was very good. it was nice to go out and see my gf's friends, they are such different people than i am used to, no drinking really, rather polite, although the politeness kinda extends into a sort of, they aren't rude to me, they aren't rude at all, but they do expect more from others, so for instance if you go out somewhere and you ask for something, my other friends might be more like "whatever" about all that but they're more like, i can't believe this.

the korean bbq place was good, i don't know if i would really want to go back cuz the people there were super overworked and seemed rather unhappy.

her friend was very happy on his birthday, at least, and with this windows outage, he's not had to do a lot of work at the amazon warehouse he suffers in, which is rock and roll at least 20%. i wonder if i'm gonna be able to cash my check #lol. or #buyclothesfromjapan . it will suck if i can't do that... wow.

otherwise, today has been kind of a rollercoaster i guess, it started a little bad, i don't want to get into that but it quickly dissolved into nothing, it was just from my gf being stressed and me being like, i guess not productive about what i thought of something she would start writing to get published in a book chapter, i feel like a dumbass about it but i am just always like, oh what if they're dumb, or what if this prompt is bad, i am too critical of things and don't realize it seems discouraging when all i really want is for her to think about different perspectives to make whatever she does better, i ought to improve on how i approach that kind of thing, because ultimately all i believe when i am doing that kind of thing, is trying to help someone think about writing so that when they get to it, they've already been thinking of these things and they realize they can write from those positions. it is not necessarily useful, though, when there is no piece of writing in front of me. you know. this very quickly blew over but i still feel bad about that, but she is not discouraged and i guess understands me better. i guess it was also partially since i was waking up, i should have thought about literally anything for longer...

anyway, beyond that stuff, today has been good, i worked on 3 songs, i have written the bones of one, did some writing stuff... a lot of fun i am having, i think i maybe need to get to writing more lyrics though, i am also working on a drawing i would like to finish soon.

also i took selfies i need to send them to myself to upload tomorrow... rn i am too tired and i need to sleep because i don't want to mess my sleep up...

so

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gallavichthings]

Artist’s Spotlight - Steorie

Drum roll, please!! It is my great pleasure to introduce as our first artist interviewed in this new series, the one, the only, Steph aka @steorie! Do you want to know more about one of the most prolific artists in the fandom, the one behind several fandom-famous fanart (including our lovely icon)? Then wait no more! Enjoy her interview (and go follow her, in the odd chance you don’t already).

S: Ok, uhm, where to start? 😆 I’m a tattoo artist from Germany and try everything to get my studio going right now. Other than that I’m either reading or drawing in my free time. I’m boring like that.

GT: How did you become a tattoo artist?

S: Oh my, I kinda stumbled into this. I was very unhappy with my job back at the time and a friend of mine (who is heavily tattooed) said that if I can draw I could tattoo it too. (which isn’t all that easy in the end 😅) But yea, I went and started an apprenticeship in a studio for a few months, then quit my job and started working as a tattoo artist full time. And I’ve been doing that for a good 3 1/2 years now.

GT: Has it paid off?

S: Oh most definitely. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made. :)

GT: I gather you've always been artistic. Did you take any art classes or just practiced by yourself?

S: I never went to an art school. I just have always been drawing since I can remember. :) I love watching livestreams of other ppl drawing/creating things, though. I learnt a lot that way.

GT: Do you remember when you started doing fanart? Or at least doing it consciously?

S: Hmm, I think proper fanart that wasn’t some horrible doodles where no one could see what it was supposed to be, might be fanart for sailor moon and dragon ball. 😌 Think I was around 11/12? But I’m not really sure though. 😅

GT: Hahaha I'm sure your doodles were still great. But omg, two of my favorite animes! Who are your favourite characters on them?

S: Usagi and Rei. <3 their friendship was everything to me. I also love Vegeta! I have a soft spot for mean looking ppl with a big heart. ❤️

GT: Love Rei! I'm an Aries like her, so I had something to relate to her. And I love love love Vegeta, though my favorite is Trunks. But Vegebul remains one of my favorite ships.

Do you remember your first ships ever on any show?

S: Vegeta and Bulma are one of my all time fav OTPs. Also Seiya and Usagi are I think, my first ever ship, back when I didn’t even know what shipping was. 😆

GT: Nice to know we have two OTPs in common! What are some of your other ships? Do you still make fanart for them as well?

S: I dont have a lot of shows that im invested in THAT much that i have the urge to draw fanart for it. But im still madly in love with Agron and Nasir from the Starz Show Spartacus. (Everyone needs to watch this tbh!)

Another one of my first otps in a show are Michael and Maria from the original Roswell Show back in the 2000. They had the best chemistry too. :)

GT: How would you describe your fanart style?

S: Uh…oh my, let me think. 😆🤔I’m a big ol romantic deep down in my heart. lol I guess that shows in my style? Also I love bright colors. I want people to start smiling when they see my art. 🙈❤️

GT: I would say the colors definitely are your most easily recognizable attribute!

Walk us through your process, please.

S: I have to admit that I never do any sketches tbh. I just start directly with the lineart once I got inspired with an idea and go for it. I mostly do digital art. I work on an iPad Pro and use the procreate app. I have a lot of back and forth going on when I start to color. I use lots of different layers and settings and fool around with the colors and filters until I like what I see. Oh my gosh, I’m so bad at explaining. In the end I just BS my way through art and hope for the best. 

GT: And what does inspire you? Where do you get your idea from?

S: I mostly get inspired by the show itself. But there are so many mindblowing fanfictions out there as well that constantly give me ideas. Also music and the lyrics of songs I love. :)

GT: How often do you start a new piece? And, on average, how long does it take you to complete it?

S: I usually don’t work on more than one piece at a time. I need to focus on one and don’t want to work on anything else before I finish the current drawing. I usually need a week, maybe two? Depends on how detailed the drawing is going to be, if I’m going to color it, if I will add a background and so on. :) My submission for the Gallavich zine (which you guys will hopefully hold in your hands soonish!) took me about 28 hours for example.

GT: Wow! That's dedication! And it shows.

Do you take prompts? What about commissions?

S: I don’t have enough time for requests. :( but I do take commissions from time to time if I can manage it next to my main job. :)

GT: What are some of your own favorite Gallavich fanarts?

S: Definitely the one you are using as an icon right now. And maybe one I did back in 2014 when I first started watching the show. It’s of them from season one, sharing a smoke in their winter coats. :)

GT: They're both great! And once more, thank you for letting me use your art as an icon.

What are some of the other people in the fandom you admire?

Anyone goes, not only here either, and not just artists.

S: You are very welcome. :))

Oh, there are so many talented people out who make the fandom such a special place. Let me think for a second.

Art wise I’m in love with Lulu‘s (@luluxa​) painting. The way she colors her pieces is absolute art goals. So very impressive. Also she adds so many details and makes it such an experience to look at her art. Phenomenal!c❤️ I also adore Mitchell’s (@psychicskulldamage​) art! His chibi comics are sooooo freaking adorable and funny! The style is also so unique and it brings me so much joy whenever he shares something new. ☺️💓

Another huge inspiration and talent I admire is Gray (@gallavichy​). Her stories just go straight to my heart and I have taken a lot of inspiration for drawings from her stories. The emotions she inflicted in me with her writing is unbelievable.

There are so many more ppl who needs to be mentioned but these three immediately come to mind. :)

GT: When did you first start watching Shameless?

S: I started back in 2014, when season 4 aired.

GT: And what attracted you to Ian and Mickey's relationship?

S: Well, first of all, the chemistry between Noel and Cam is just sooo good and they are both so amazing together. It’s so much fun to see them together on screen. I fell in love with Ian and Mickey’s teasing, bickering and how they fought so hard at such a young age to be together, in whatever way they could be at certain times. The connection they shared, even if they were apart and couldn’t be with each other, it was always obvious to them that they were each other’s person though. And that fascinated me and I was in deep. :’)

GT: Did you join the fandom right away? How was the fandom back then different from now?

S: Omg it’s been so long. 😂 I was still very much into Spartacus at the time and only sloooooowly stepped into shameless. But the fandom was immediately so very welcoming and supportive, I was in deep quickly. lol I would say the fandom hasn’t changed much? At least from what I experienced. Still lots of amazing art, stories, discussions and memes going around, next to ppl fighting tooth and nail about certain topics. 😅 We are a lot of very passionate people, so it never gets boring. 😆❤️

GT: Truly.

You mentioned the fandom being welcoming and supportive. Have the comments on your art always been positive?

S: Surprisingly, yes! The art I made during s4-5 for shameless is still my most popular shameless related stuff, if we take a look at the notes at least. It really blew my mind.

GT: Let's go back to Shameless. What's your favorite season of the show?

S: I would have to say season 4. It was just phenomenal. From the acting, to the story telling, to the whole mood of the season. I was just so invested in everyone's storyline. Frank and his failing liver, Fiona in jail and how she endangered Liam, Debs slowly becoming a young woman, SHEILA, even Sammi was fun to watch and her storyline with Frank really got to me, how she showered him and was there to bring his drinking buddies from the alibi to Sheila’s house when he was too weak to make it there on his own. Of course I don’t have to mention how brilliant yet gut wrenching Ian and Mickey’s journey throughout the season was. Just chefs kiss on all fronts.

GT: I just love Sheila.

Do you have a favorite episode and/or scene?

S: I mean my fav episode has to be 10.12. :)

GT: I think we all collectively died when we watched that!

What did you think of the ending? 

S: Tbh, yes. As far as it concerns only Mickey and Ian. (I didn’t like all the endless open endings for everyone else though) Their future looks so bright right now. I couldn’t ask for more. I’m sure they will have a good, sweet life together. <3

GT: Do you have any headcanons for their future?

S: I’m sure, they will expand their business as they mentioned in 11.10. Hire some guys, buy more cars and so on. I could imagine them each doing something different later on though and only function as the bosses of the transport business. I hope Ian can work in the EMT, nurse field again somehow? And as for Mickey, I could see him do more with his passion for art. Maybe he will work as a tattoo artist himself one day. 😆❤️

GT: I agree, I'd also love for Ian to go back to being an EMT, he was actually good at it. And hell yes to tattoo artist Mickey!

S: Other than that I think they will eventually move back to the South Side again, maybe buy a house? And I hope they are gonna travel together once their probation is over. See the world and everything it has to offer. :’) Maybe visit Mandy, wherever she is and then Fiona in Florida.

GT: I so wish they'd at least mentioned Mandy again!

If you could go back and change one thing in canon, what would it be?

S: I think I wouldn’t change anything? Well, obviously I wish I could undo any harm ever done to them, but that’s not how it works. Yea, I think I wouldn’t change a thing storytelling wise. I would have wanted to see them on THE date. No matter which season but it would have been some nice fanservice if they had shown them at sizzlers or something else on a date. ☺️

Okay wait.

Ian sleeping with that woman in season 7. Cause I think he was always sure about his sexuality and it was kind of unnecessary? (You could maybe link it back to his bipolar and him being kinda already a bit unbalanced after the fight with Caleb and maybe his meds didn’t work properly anymore, but even then I’m not that sure he would have done it?)

GT: What's the most challenging thing about creating fanart about them?

S: It’s the coloring for me. I can do lineart for hours and hours but once it’s time for color I’m like …lmao

GT: And what's the most fun part?

S: Oh definitely the hair.❤ I loooooove drawing hair. And Ian's and Mickey's are kinda unique, which makes it even more fun. 😊

GT: What are your favorite themes of tropes to draw?

S: Uh, I don’t have any? 😳

GT: Hahah, that's ok. Great, actually. But are there any themes or tropes you won't do?

S: Uh, I dunno…do you have examples of what kind of tropes are out there?😅

GT: Well, for instance, I know you didn't use to make smut art until very recently. What made you decide to go for it? (not that we're complaining)

S: Ah, i get it now. Well, I’m still very picky about nsfw stuff. I usually prefer to leave some things to the imagination, you know. But i kinda got bored a bit, drawing always the same kinda stuff and you can learn so much about anatomy if you draw ppl being intimate with each other! 😆 So yea,i learnt once again to never say never.

GT: Hahah

About about future works. Do you have any WIPs or ideas for future art?

S: I have a few things I wanna draw (but so little time.) I also work on a fun commission right now. If ppl are interested in WIPS or something like that, I sometimes post WIP stuff on my twitter. :)

GT: Nice to know!

Same as here right, @steorie?

S: Yes. :)

GT: Speaking of, I meant to ask you, why steorie? Is it a combination of your name and something else?

S: Haha yes, actually. 😅 it’s so lame. I always made a typo when writing my name on the keyboard when I was younger and Steph most often became Steo. The rie got added cause I liked the sound of it. 😂😂😂

GT: Well, it's definitely unique!

That's about it, love! Thank you so much for being the first in this series!

Leave a message to your numerous fans.

(I'm not joking btw)

S: Thank u so very much for reaching out and having this fun chat with me. :)

Just thanks to everyone for the constant support over the years. I read each and every tag and comment you guys leave on my stuff! Thank you, thank you! ♡

[queen-haq]

Hey! I hope you’re doing okay and you’re having a good day :D I binge-read AWS yet again (I think is the third time) because why not, and God how bloody awesome this story is. Like, I feel every angsty and cute moment between them to the bone. And now with the sequel, Billy makes so much sense, how he just doesn’t quit, so pushy. Definitely the old him, even her pulling away. I’ve said this before, sorry for being repetitive, but I enjoy the consistency. Also, I know you’re very careful with drawing lines between fictional and real, this is toxic, but in the end they’re falling in old cycles, so it’s interesting how, or if, that’s gonna change: first Billy with Krista and now reader with the info about Rawlings.

Some silly thoughts came up while I was reading, like what their zodiac signs are. Don’t know if you believe in that, but like Billy is canonically a Scorpio, and it’s so obvious in your story, and then what sign reader might be… maybe another Scorpio, or an earth sign, like Virgo. Anyway, I was also wondering if they’d changed their mind about having a baby. What do you think? I dunno, I’d like that for some reason, but it still seems kinda out of character. Again, stranger things have happened haha sorry for the long nonsense, I guess just wanted to rant a bit

Sending you lots of good wishes and energy for next chapter ❤️

No need to apologize for the long messages - I adore them :)

It makes me so happy to know I have readers that like to go back and reread my stuff. It's very rewarding :)

Their relationship does fall into a certain kind of pattern but I'm hoping what's coming up next *will* surprise people. I can't say more for obvious reasons (*winks*) but it'll be a shift in their dynamic. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it.

I've never actually thought about what star signs they are. I don't know much about other signs other than mine (lol). I'm a libra, and usually that means I'm obsessed with myself and anything pretty that comes my way - hence my ignorance when it comes to astrology. You've piqued my curiosity about Reader's sign - I have no idea. I'll have to think about it.

As for the baby bit, let's just say he's actually thought about it. He considered it, not because he actually wants a kid - he doesn't - but because it would ensure a permanent bond with the Reader. Except all the hesitations he had came rushing back, and then he thought about Reader in pain and/or dying during labor, or putting Reader in a situation where she does have his child and ends up unhappy or resentful (remember she also doesn't want kids) and he basically remembered nope, bad idea. Doesn't want any part of it for him or her. I know that's not going to be a popular opinion, but I just don't see these two ever being happy with children. They are way too consumed with each other and they know it.

Thank you for the lovely message again. I love hearing from you and other readers because it keeps me inspired to continue writing. Last couple of weeks have been a bit blah for me and I haven't done much writing but your message helped me write a few paragraphs. Thank you!

[bluecloudious]

Here's a little rant about Kits and Zanaz canon, cause I have quite a few thoughts that I dunno what else to do with and my head was aching really bad (and I wanted to get smth done), so I decided to share some of the ones that I've been debating for a while (It's pretty long, be warned):

The TL;DR is just the thought names, I guess.

Thought nr 1: They are 100 percent a couple, even in the first comic I posted of them.

I've been thinking about this a lot, whether they were just best friends who had crushes on one another, or if they were just straight up a thing and, yeah. They're just a couple and have been for a while. The written story is now the AU where Zani chickened out of confessing his feelings for so long that he finally was given a deadline. Comics are the canon and in that canon, they got together shortly after becoming agents. Zani occasionally flirts with other people, but that's just kinda a part of his personality and Kits has grown used to it. Their shipname is Kitzan.

Thought nr 2: Kits has no self-confidence.

In the meeting comic I tried to make it a bit noticeable how unhappy he is with himself, but even after transitioning, that fact has only slightly changed. He is his preferred gender now, but he still isn't confident at all about his looks, his voice or what he says, despite how much Zanaz tries to convince him that he's fine. The only thing Zanaz has managed to stop Kits from doing is actually being self-destructive aka Kits starved himself for a while (also hinted at in the comic). That's why he's way chunkier now- cause his body stopped trusting him and gained fat afterwards. All of this isn't really visible or audible in any of the comics, because Kits isn't vocal about it at all. Zanaz is the only person who really even knows it/cares about it. It's also the base for his mostly detail-less design compared to Zani- he's trying not to stick out.

Thought nr 3: They both have a body count

Yeah, they've both killed before, which, for the world they live in, isn't really surprising. It was all in self-defence, don't worry. The amount of rogue agents and grunts that decide to deviate in a violent way is a pretty big percent, so they've had to encounter quite a few of them. Zanaz' preferred weapon is of course the handgun/glock and is the more experienced/lethal of the two. Kits on the other hand is more proficient with knives, his main weapon being a shaving knife he got from Zani. He hasn't had to use it much, but the few times he has, we're pretty desperate. Zanaz also has a body count in the other sense too, but you could probably tell that much already.

Thought nr 4: I still do not think they'll have a happy ending

Sorry, but the happy ending Kits and Zanaz I drew are just a part of an AU as well. There is no malicious reason for why I think they'll die. They just happen to get the short end of the stick, just like most members of the A.A.H.W. We are talking about an agency that has at least three(four if you count that one incident with 2bdamned) very proficient people constantly killing staff. There are so many deaths that they have to use clones, for pete's sake! The amount of time they've already managed to be alive for is quite impressive (I imagine about 3 years).

Thought nr 5: Zanaz is even more protective of his inner feelings than Kits is

Even though Zanaz is very blunt and honest about most things, even some considered private info to most, he is not actually open about how he feels. He hides his negative emotions as much as he possibly can, even from Kits. (This was briefly explored in the written story, also.) The only reason Kits knows this, is because he's caught Zani crying to himself in less visited areas of their main facility, once or twice. Even then he wouldn't say what's wrong, that's how stubborn he is. All Kits could really do when this happened, was hug him and pat his head.

Fun facts that I didn't know how to categorize:

Zanaz is a dog person and Kits is a cat person. They combine to become bird people. (Yes, this is my excuse to draw dog boy Zani at some point.)

Zanaz' and Kits' personalities are based off myself. Of course in an amplified way, but yeah, I relate to them a lot. (Others have claimed to relate as well, which is most pleasant.)

They get their shade colors from RGB. Regular agents have red, Zanaz has green and Kits has blue.

I occasionally draw them during my free time! Most of those pictures I will not be posting to Tumblr, however. Some cause they're just kinda sketches that I don't really see a point in posting and others are just straight up not Tumblr appropriate.

Kits and Zanaz had not dated anyone before each other. Kits cause of insecurity and Zanaz because he didn't want any commitment. They are still very loyal to each other, tho.

The main song I listen to whenever I draw Zanaz is Left Boy- Security Check. Kits doesn't have a song that I listen to and get his vibe, but I am still looking.

Bit of a bonus tangent too:

I'm sorry that most of these are negative. The funni bois are, ya know, funny, and I tend not to make media about them that isn't funny, but I wanted to blabber about how I think they are when not performing a punchline.

When I design characters, I never only think about the positive personality traits. I tend to instead think about what the negatives are, so I can figure out, how they handle it. How they cope and how they've grown from their negative experiences/emotions enchants me.

I've said this before, Kits and Zanaz got created on a whim, basically unintentionally. But, I grew attached to the two idiot agents with different color shades. Thus, I wanted to know more about them.

I think, by now, I've figured them out for the most part. (Thankfully I don't have to give them any family or nothing, cause they're both clones.)

Also, their color scheme is final. If you've noticed, they're shades have changed shade over time. Zanaz' got brighter, while Kits' got darker. The suit color is a random shade every time, cause I just choose a dark shade of gray via slider. Hair color hasn't changed at all, as far as I know. Only Good Ending Zani has darker hair, cause he had it colored.

And, speaking of the Good Ending AU, I don't think I know what to do with the concept. I try to think more into it, but my brain blanks. If anyone wants to draw or write about it, I would be completely fine with it. Might even consider it canon, if none of it conflicts with the established canon. Good Ending AU takes place in the far future, after all.

But, yeah, I think that's it. I'm kinda honestly surprised if anyone actually reads all of this, lol. I hope you found my long-ass tangent about my two silly gay MadCom OCs interesting :)))

[first-and-last-neocount]

3, 4, 32

Yes, excellent, some juicy ones >:D

3. What is your writing ritual and why is it cursed?

My cursed writing ritual is that every time I'm starting a long project, I pick out a binder. It has to have the right Vibes - if I don't own a binder with the proper Vibes, I will go shop my local secondhand stores to find one that does. Then I will divide it up with those little tabbed divider sheets into sections for Outline (my 'melody plotting' and notes of ideas for potential sequels go here), Worldbuilding, Characters, Concept Art (this is just my mostly-pretty-shitty drawings of things), Excerpts (random scenes that I've jumped ahead and written but don't know where they fit in yet go here) and Manuscript (body of work that's actually in the proper order goes here). Depending on the project I might add other categories if I feel I need them, but it will always have these ones. Then, despite keeping all of my progress in computer documents and actually having a paid membership to Notebook (a writing organization site that I adore), I will proceed to print out everything I can and stuff it into this binder for ease of reference. Everything. I sometimes write drafts by hand in a notebook when I'm at work, and I will come home, type them into a document, then print that and put it in the binder. (I have a laser printer, so this is not as expensive as it sounds, but it is exactly as insane as it sounds.)

4. What's a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

Aureate. I'm aware that it takes a particular brand of writerly madness to have 'pet words', but aureate is one of mine. I first encountered it in a Malazan Book of the Fallen novel - I believe it was Memories of Ice - and I fell madly in love with it. Its two definitions are 'denoting, made of, or having the color of gold' or '(of language) highly ornamented or elaborate' and I just. Yes. (Two of my coworkers and I have an intermittent 'word of the day' contest going on. I was once declared to have won for a week with this word and I have never shut up about it since, lol.)

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

This is not a single line, but it's a segment from a poem called Rumor Born, attributed to the in-universe poet Fisher kel Tath from Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson (boy, it's a Malazan night, huh?). I encountered it as I read my way through Gardens of the Moon, and in a way it came to represent the whole of the Malazan series in my head.

I was in a very, very dark place in my last year of high school. My home life was a living nightmare, I was being severely bullied with the school administration utterly failing to take the situation seriously, and I was deeply unhappy in my own skin. The only saving grace I had was that I was in an introductory trades program, and the classroom portion of it - more than half of each day - was pitched so low for the rest of the class that I could easily cover the material in my free time at home and still get good marks. So, instead, I tucked myself away at the back of the class and read.

I had just found the first eight books of the Malazan series at a great secondhand bookstore in town, and since they were doorstoppers, I figured the first one would be a good book to keep in my locker for a couple months to read so I could at least escape class in my head. I ended up finishing it in two weeks, and I plowed onward enthusiastically, immersing myself deeper in that fictional world than I ever had in any before. By the end of the course four months later, I had finished book 7. I don't think it's an exaggeration at all to say those books probably saved my life.

Rumor Born can bring all the joy, sorrow, comfort, and relief that I felt my first time reading those books rushing back to me. I have a bookmark tucked permanently into the page it appears on, so that I can open the book and read the poem again whenever I need to, as a reminder that I made it through once before - and I can do it again.

Rumors like tattered flags

wind-snapped and echoing

in the streets below

told the tale of the days upon us . . .

’Twas said an eel had slipped ashore

or not one but a thousand

under a jagged moon that might be dead,

’twas whispered that a claw scraped slow

on the city’s cobbles, even as a dragon

was seen sailing high silver and black in the night sky.

’Twas heard, they say, a demon’s death cry

on the rooftops on a night of blood, even

as the master’s hundred hands lost

a hundred daggers to the dark,

and ’twas rumored then, a lady

masked highborn had offered to unbidden guests

a fête to remember . . .

[mevekagvain]

Chapter 239 - Aaaand it's flashback time. Mvp lord is completely right though, he's the only decent conversationalist around.

- I like to think that part of the reason why Ashoka always insists on getting Raizel to spend time with others or to get him out is because his brother is dead. Before it would have been his brother doing all those things so Raizel did actually get out and was somewhat active but ever since he executed him he's been a recluse.

- Ah yes the days when Frankenstein used to experiment on innocent nobles. Nobles really have like 0 reasons to like him lmao. Like yeah I know it was only blood samples but that's still also highly unethical and I'm not a fan. I'm not saying I'm some paragon of morality because I honestly don't care too much about him experimenting on people who could have been gleeful murderers or rapists even though that's also wrong but I do think just experimenting on innocents and any guilty person is bad. Like at least get a death sentence for them and then do it. Ofc I get that the reasoning is he wouldn't be allowed to but still... Gotta love our morally dubious scientist lol

Chapter 240 - You can tell Gejutel's the grandpa because he's all "yeah one day humans will outstrip us lol"

- Roctis, my man, are you wearing a white blouse, a black unbuttoned coat, and a cloak? Or are those just arm warmers with a blouse and cloak. Going insane rn gimme a minute.

- Gejutel being weirded out about Rayga's adoration for the lord makes me happy like yeah that's weird to the most noble noble to ever noble.

- God I fuvking hate it that the mask isn't over the nose like if I was there I don't care if I'd get arrested or killed or whatever. I'd just pull up Rayga's damn mask.

Chapter 241 - Love how Frankenstein thinks that Gejutel and Rayga view humans as inferior since they're nobles but grandpa's just "i don't remember giving humans lessons on noble society". Like yeah there's definitely noble supremacists but it isn't grandpa.

- I think Rayga probably sleeps in that arms crossed, head lowered, eyes closed position. Like does he need to sleep? No because nobles don't aside from kids. Does he do it anyway? Yeah. Gotta escape parenting duties somehow 😔

-PLEASE TUG YOUR MASK UP MORE RAYGA

- Rayga's fighting with his eyes closed ajjsjsks.

-I never get why the artist gives every single character a thigh gap like... with that body? They would never. Also he draws even men with tiny waists for some reason and like... It's unrealistic enough with the women, drawing the men like that is downright confusing. But yeah he isn't a particularly good with anatomy in general so ig this will fall on deaf ears. My favourite thing about said bad anatomy is that no man in noblesse has a dick though. The one upside.

- Ashoka looks so annoyed by Dark Spear being summoned like did it interrupt his daydreaming? Was he thinking about Raskreia? My man has a busy internal monologue that just got ruined and he's very unhappy about it.

- Another thing I find hilarious about Raizel, Ashoka, and Roctis, and so presumably every other clan leader and all of Lukedonia, feeling Frankenstein summon Dark Spear is that none of them went to check it out. I bet they just blamed it on a clan leader or something because most of them truly are overdramatic idiots who cause scenes every now and then and I want to see a scene where they mention it to each other and they're all blaming a different clan leader and realise that it wasn't any of them. And so they get that belated "oh. probably should have went to check it out". Edian gets an excuse because she's drugged.

- Also I think Roctis might be lost in the castle lol. Or doing work or visiting someone I guess.

Chapter 242 - Rayga being impressed that his clothes got torn... love it

Chapter 243 - So how good is Ashoka's hearing if he thinks the fight is loud? Either that or Lukedonia is tiny but lol I'm just gonna assume he's somehow capable of extending his power all over Lukedonia when he needs to even if he can't do it for long. It's nice to think that he might be keeping an eye (or in this case an ear) on what's happening after Dark Spear was summoned so that he can interfere if his clan leaders need him.

Gejutel's lukewarm response to Rayga sjjsjsi. Just "could you stop obsessing over the lord for one second". I imagine Ashoka just went "of course i was right" when he heard Rayga's comment.

- Look Rayga, grandpa just thought you were weaker than everyone thought okay. Frankenstein being strong is truly a surprise to him. Before Frankenstein humans couldn't stand up to civilian nobles, much less clan leaders.

- Imagining Ashoka laughing madly at Gejutel and Rayga being tricked,,, All my fitey clan leader ocs would be so disappointed in the two.

- Tbh anytime a noblesse character says that their body is a 'mess' instead of just saying they've been injured I imagine their insides actually being jumbled up like some sort of capsule toy or custom doll.

- God I hate how Raizel just has a bunch of identical shirts on display like, at least make them different. Also why are they tailored like that, if the waist is gonna be that thin just wear something skin tight like the Kertia 😭

Chapter 244 - Fvck I'm imagining Frankenstein stumbling into the rooms of previous noblesse/Raizel's family while exploring the estate and it hurts even more because the 'I didn't find any trace of residence' line would still hold even if said rooms were furnished and personalised because they'd be covered in dust and eaten through by insects and 😭😭😭

- Raizel hates people wearing his clothes so much that he uses his power to tear the shirt Frankenstein is wearing to pieces while replacing it with different clothes ajjsksksk. Like just magic up the new clothes and ask him to change???

- I bet Frankenstein regrets saying he works there when he learns he'll have to deal with everything himself. Truly pitiful.

- Second time Rayga's lifted his mask off his skin to speak. Does this mean most of the time everyone has to deal with slurred speech from Kertia who wear masks? Is this a recurring problem for him?

- I like to think that Ashoka and Raizel are actually not that far off in age in noble terms. It's like a few hundred years sure but to nobles it's still close in age. Raizel just has family baby energy so Ashoka refers to him as child.

- Aaaaand flashback over

[piduai]

what do you like or dislike about living in japan? i'm half myself, and ive never really lived there, and i always wonder how hard it would be to navigate living and working there, as someone who is a foreigner to the system (sorry if this comes up as rude...)

i like how neat and organized and effective everything is, i like the clean streets, i like the trains that are always on time and how accessible the train system across the whole country is, i like the busy train stations, i like the blood orange of the torii gates, i like that people get into an orderly line when boarding a bus, i like the spotless condition in the free toilets in convenience stores and how they’re everywhere, i like that all bureaucratic processes are causal, i like that people in the service and other industries are never rude to you, i like the bidets, i like the pretty packaging on most things, i like that selling subpar goods is unheard of, i like the starbucks seasonals, i like that vending machines are everywhere, i like that everything comes with a very detailed and comprehensive how to use guide be it a product, a service, a process or a task, i like that i don’t feel unsafe on the streets, i like that people don’t smoke while walking, i like that there’s no littering, i like the orange trees, i like the amount of shops, places and activities you can go to, i like sakura in bloom, i like the view of the mountains in small towns, i like the pebble paved gardens by traditional houses, i like amazon prime, i like that everything has a designated place, i like the cafes with neatly arranged beige tables, i like that everyone keeps quiet on public transportation, i like that people who have been brought up in safety and economic security feel lax enough to leave their phones on the table when they go to use the bathroom, i like hydrangea blooming in june and manjusaka blooming in october, i like that nobody robs the passed out drunks on sunday mornings in the middle of shinjuku, i like the trust system of leaving 100 yen when you draw the omikuji, i like the amount of shiba dogs i see on the street and how their owners let me pet them, i like a lot of other stuff. when i say that i love japan i always think of small, trivial things in daily life rather than general big ones (which i like too!) like a big economy or a good infrastructure. i grew up in a post-soviet country in poverty and abuse where mcdonalds was a luxury, bribes were not only normal but expected and encouraged, people are aggressive, poor, unhappy, close-minded and suspicious, so it’s all a matter of comparison. a lot of the things that westerners may take for granted are marvelous to me. another thing is that i chose japan specifically because it’s a secluded island difficult to reach so i could escape my family and give them no opportunities to haunt me. they know nothing about my life and can not do anything to me while i’m here.

what i don’t like is mostly small things too. fruit is unreasonably expensive, the shift of going from, say, 100 yen for 1 kg of peaches to 500 yen for 1 peach still hits me hard, i love fruit and being unable to have it often greatly annoys me. a lot of foods that i consider staple are overpriced in general, cheese is expensive as fuck and tastes like shit, the milk is weird, the bread and the chocolate are absolutely disgusting, bruh THE PIZZA is both wildly overpriced AND tastes absolutely repulsive... i think it’s mostly food lol i do miss the cuisine from home and so did every single other foreigner i knew who stayed here for longer than 2 months. i think that no matter how much you love a foreign food you’ll always long for the stuff that you were eating your whole life, that’s just how humans are... what else. i don’t wanna talk about work culture, hierarchical law, cultural misogyny, nationalism, overwhelming amount of prostitution and pedophilia, those are heavy subjects that all require contextualizing. there are a lot of small things that annoy me i am sure but i prefer to just not focus on them so i forget about them unless i have to confront them. oh and the summer heat and humidity, summers in japan are fucking BRUTAL as all fuck.

immigration is a difficult process that requires sacrifice and putting up with certain things you don’t want to put up with regardless of the place. at the end of the day an immigrant will always be an outsider and a different kind of person, even if completely naturalized. i don’t know where you live, but if you were born in the global west and don’t need to go through the hardships of moving countries in order to chase a better life, i’d be counting my blessings. i’ll always be envious of people who were lucky enough to be born somewhere where the rest of the world wishes their children could move to.

also i don’t want to be discouraging but every single halfie i’ve met who has lived in the west expressed a desire to go back, like not a single exception. they like visiting but they definitely preferred their lives in europe/the us/oz. the experiences of complete foreigners and half-japanese people are very, very different. halfies always seem to be in a transcendent place, if they don’t look foreign enough they don’t get the automatic special treatment that the foreigners get, they’re judged more harshly if their japanese is lacking or they mess up at something, but they’re still considered _foreign_, not part of the whole, outsiders. on the other hand they can pass as locals and get the privileges that come with that. difficult situation. as i said i’ve never met one who would be like ‘actually i like life here much more’, they always wanted to go back. at the end of the day japan is very much a conservative, traditionalist, rigid, patriarchal society with a lot of corporate abuse, if you’re like me and grew up in the same climate this whole thing isn’t new, but if you’re a westerner and grew up used to your human dignity and rights being respected and having individual freedom, it can very much feel like a downgrade.

[sammywolfgirl]

I'm interested in the lore stuff! For example the magical artifacts and why is a nymph different from regular sirens? Is it possible for a siren to walk on land, even if temporarily?

Hellaaaa

Okay so magical artifacts are uhhhh frankly I’m still developing them, what I do have is deep sea sirens are the only one who can make it and since most sirens won’t ever know or meet one artifacts are rare for them (if you’re one of the lucky ones who has one in a school artifacts are a bit easier to come by but they still require components to be made)

Artifacts themselves have a wide range of abilities, but the cost to make them also range in price depending on how powerful the artifacts ability is. Like a simple luck charm costs less to make and will be easier to make than like a charm that can give a siren legs. (More on that later ;) )

It’s still being worked on so some stuff might change. But I’m leaning towards the idea that some chants have to be done to make artifacts, like give them their abilities, and for more powerful artifacts the chants have to be very very specific or you risk making a charm that is more like a curse than anything helpful.

Next topic! Nymphs

Nymphs are at their very cores Sea witches ++. They have a very direct connection with Fish God, essentially being an extension of his power. Because of this they can do high cost spells and brew powerful potions with much more ease than an average sea witch. The draw back being nymphs are rare and also very hard to become

I say this because I’m debating making it that Nymphs are sirens who’ve died and Fish god himself revived since they impressed him in some way. As like a reward he brings them back and gives them like maxed out magic stats.

Because of their connection to Sea King they are sorta kinda like priests in a way, sort of in that “have you heard of our lord and savior Siren King?” But only more like annoying nymphs are like that. Some are very chill. Some nymphs can actually stop practicing if they have other duties, and since fish god is very chill as long as he’s informed about this and why he will be like “oh chill, that’s fine dude, let me know when you need anything!” Nymphs who aren’t up keeping their connection with the siren king will have their abilities Diminished, but still are very powerful.

And onto our final topic: sirens getting legs!

As of right now there is only one way to do this: magic artifacts specifically for this. Artifacts with this spell are very hard to come by, and hard to make since once again it needs that component of fish gods approval. Now fish god isn’t like about to stop a siren from getting legs, but he like to know if anyone leaves. There haven’t been any cases of him preventing a siren from getting legs but that’s mostly because so few sirens will do this.

A siren with a human form will look human and have legs, however they will dehydrate fast and if they don’t have water semi frequently they risk passing out or even dieing in some extreme cases. Usually just reverting back to fish mode while in like a tub of water will hold them over for a day or so if they soak for a while.

Now like a human becoming a siren, it is possible for a siren to permanently become human, it’s like a reverse of the sea witch method for humans, a siren will trade their fins for a tail and a precious item and become human. Fish god usually will oversee this in some form but isn’t about to stop any siren from leaving, this happens really infrequently and most cases have a really good reason for it. It tends to be a siren is unsatisfied with their life or unhappy, fish god isn’t about to force one of his people to stay if they’re unhappy.

Now a quirk of this is if said former siren has kids their kids will be part siren and after a certain point will just magic a tail if they’re in the water. Though this can happen in any case if a siren is a human for a bit, permanent or not. Siren king actually hasn’t got a plan for this yet, since it’s really unlikely to happen. Hope he can figure out a plan at some point lol

[kazliin]

I'm sure you've answered similar questions so sorry ahead of time if you have answered these questions before.I re-read Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches for like the sixth time. I tend to go back and re-read some of my all time favorite FFs throughout the years and I was once again blown away by your writing so I have some questions! 1. Do you find that it's better to write everyday or just when motivation hits? 2. How many edits/revisions do you usually do? To be cont....

LOL I'm back- continuing with question 2, how do you know when you've edited a chapter or even an entire story enough? 3. How do you know when you've written too much? Everyone knows the rule of 'show not tell' but where is the line between using too much of that flower language and just getting to the point? 4. Have you worked on an original story or have you been published already?! I would love to read an OG work. :)

Last few questions haha- I wish there wasn't a word limit on these things...5. Any tips for how to not compare yourself to other writers? I have this problem in both writing and art. I do a piece and then look or read something that someone else produced and then table flip my desk because their work is significantly better and then I'm that 'this is fine' meme. 6. Have you found that writing FF has helped you? Thank you for taking the time to read these. ^_^

 ----

No worries, I love getting questions about my writing! I’ll answer them all in order so it’s easier to read.

1)      Do you find that it's better to write everyday or just when motivation hits?

For me, if I’m in the middle of a multi-chapter fic or series, I find it better to write regularly. Motivation is a fickle thing, so I found having a set writing schedule helped me put out chapters regularly. I didn’t write ever day, but I had set days/times every week that I would devote to writing. I can be pretty lazy at times so if I hadn’t forced myself to sit down and write, I never would have finished anything!

When it comes to oneshots though, I definitely only wrote when inspiration struck. Because they are much shorter and easier to write, it was much more fun for me to frantically write one in a burst of inspiration than to try and force one out when I wasn’t feeling inspired. But those strokes of inspiration aren’t a regular thing for me so I can’t rely on them for longer fics. So, for me, I write differently depending on what kind of fic I’m writing (not a very helpful answer I know!)

 2)      How many edits/revisions do you usually do? How do you know when you've edited a chapter or even an entire story enough?

I am a horrible little writing gremlin who edits something once and then tosses it out into the world for all my readers to suffer my many writing mistakes. Is it the best way to do things? Absolutely not. But I find the more I edit the more I hate things and delete huge chunks of writing and I’m never fully satisfied. So I limit how much time I spend reworking a chapter or I’d never post it. I should definitely edit my writing more but fanfiction is a hobby, not a job. I’m not going to spend hours agonizing over a fic that I was supposed to enjoy creating for the sake of editing it to perfection. So I’d say, once you get sick of reading your own writing while editing, it’s probably a sign to stop and just put the story out into the world because fic is meant to be fun, not stressful!

 3)      How do you know when you've written too much? Everyone knows the rule of 'show not tell' but where is the line between using too much of that flower language and just getting to the point?

This is a really tricky one because it depends on what kind of fic you’re writing and your own personal preference. I like writing a lot of introspection and have a bad habit of

making my chapters far too long. Some people like reading that kind of writing but some people absolutely hate it. The majority of the negative comments on my fics are about how there is too much introspection, my chapters should be more concise, and I need to learn how to edit down my work. Which is all fair critique but hey, it’s fanfic. I like to write like that and so I’m going to keep writing like that. And people who like short, punchy fics that get straight to the point are going to keep writing they way they like too. There’s no right or wrong way to write fic, just the way you like it.

When it comes to writing your own fic, whatever is best for you is usually whatever you find most natural to write. If you naturally write shorter chapters there’s no need to make yourself bored and unhappy by trying to drag them out with lots of flowery language. But if you naturally just let your words flow free and write lots of flowery descriptions, there’s no need to frustrate yourself trying to edit it down too much. I’m a firm believer in fanfic being fun. So write in the way that you enjoy. If people don’t like it, they can go read another fic. Different people have different tastes, so you have to write for yourself first and everyone else second. A fantastic chapter could be 1,000 words or it could be 30,000, as long as it’s written from the heart.

 4)      Have you worked on an original story or have you been published already?! I would love to read an OG work. :)

I unfortunately have not! I may one day but I don’t currently have any plans to

 5)      Any tips for how to not compare yourself to other writers? I have this problem in both writing and art. I do a piece and then look or read something that someone else produced and then table flip my desk because their work is significantly better and then I'm that 'this is fine' meme.

The best way I’ve ever seen someone address this situation is in this comic.

 In fandom, it’s really hard not to compare yourself to other people, especially with so many talented people producing content! But there are a few vital things to remember, the first of which being the two cakes philosophy in the comic I linked. Sure maybe someone produced something that you think is better but I guarantee the audience isn’t thinking “oh this thing isn’t as good as that thing.” They’re thinking “hell yes, more things!!” All content is good content because it’s content that keeps fandom alive.

 Also, we are all terrible judges of our own work. I guarantee if you asked the author/artist of your very favourite fanwork about their own work they’d be able to point out 100 tiny flaws you’d never seen. So when you’re looking at your own work, remember that you’re probably being overly critical of yourself and your intended audience are unlikely to notice even a fraction of the problems you see in the things you create.

 And finally, don’t be too harsh on yourself because the more you do something, the more you improve! Some writers/artists in fandom also do writing/art professionally. And even if they don’t, some have been producing fanfiction/fanart for many years, so they’ve had huge amounts of practice. So you’re doing yourself a disservice by comparing yourself to someone who might have been drawing/writing for years more than you. I guarantee if you read the first fics I wrote when I was 12/13 (thankfully purged from the internet now because god were they terrible) you would think they were a flaming pile of trash because they were. And I used to look at other writers and think I’d never get as good as them because they just seemed to write amazing things so naturally. But it takes years and years of practice and gradually you get better and better. So if you find yourself comparing yourself to someone else and getting disheartened, try to remember there was probably a time they were doing the exact same thing! And if they kept going then so can you!

 6)      Have you found that writing FF has helped you?

It definitely has! I started writing the Rivals series when I was at a very low point in my life and it was a very cathartic experience for me. And it was also such a great feeling to know people were liking and reading my work! It helped me through some tough times and even though I haven’t written in a while, I still sometimes get comments on my old fics that absolutely brighten my day! I love fanfic, both reading and writing it, and it’s been a very important part of my life for a long time

[99centthoughts]

Pwease tell us more about the canon story for jc and tyler and what happens during the war I'm super interested and I love your characters!!!!!!!!

omg thank u anon IM REALLY HAPPY THAT YOU LIKE THEM even though I know the main plot is pretty confusing sometimes bc i only ever talk about it in bits and pieces. VONNA AND I have actually written SO much for this universe and it’s still not done but we’re both shy about our writing/rping so we’ve nevr shared it. Our dream is to draw a comic for it someday but it’s so much that it seems really overwhelming to think about turning it into a proper comic ahh and tbh i don’t think it’s within my drawing capability atm :’)okay so the story is built around 3 ‘organizations’ that each have their own goals in the war: Hazardous, Bionic and Flux. The three started out as one organization (Hazardous), but the original members fought and split the group into two (Hazardous & Bionic), and Flux was established later by a completely different group of individuals. This is more of an ‘aesthetic’ thing than a practical thing LOL but each organization has their own colour theme and specific type of powers. It used to be an rp group on deviantart so people could make their own characters for each organization and stuff and it was fun I still kinda miss it haha 

The war is made up of a bunch of things: 1) humans fighting each other due to lack of resources and land after the semi-apocalypse  2) Humans fighting aberrants because they think they’re monsters 2) the 3 organizations fighting each other because of their different goals. Initially the organizations weren’t on good terms and they’d fight when they met on missions + were taught to actively dislike each other BUT they eventually come together when they realize that they were being manipulated by a higher authority. THe whole plot is structured like them going on different missions and gradually finding bits and pieces that build towards the true ‘antagonist’ of the story. 

So ofc!! For the drama!!!! Jc and Tyler were separated after about a year together at Bionic. Jc was moved to Hazardous while tyler remained at Bionic. They weren’t really told why and tyler was really unhappy about it, so he snuck into Hazardous to visit Jc a lot even though it was against the ✨RULES✨. THE WHOLE RELATIONSHIP Is complicated bc there’s fay, coco, dalena and melete involved as well………. A large part of tyler’s motivations in this story (and to a lesser extent all the other aus) are based on him being afraid of ending up alone bc somehow people in his life keep dying. And bc of this he has a tendency to idealize being in love and often pursues relationships for the wrong reasons. After his confession-that-totally-did-not-happen he decided to bury all his feelings for jc. He tries to convince himself that he’s moved on but he ends up projecting his feelings for jc onto Fay and Dalena, before eventually realizing that he really hasn’t ever gotten over jc. OVER THIS PERIOD OF TIME they are still bffs and jc helps Tyler deal with his issues as much as he can. He’s used to being a wallflower, helping others quietly from the background and then letting them get on with their lives. Tyler never makes him feel like a wallflower though, Tyler seems to genuinely care about him + genuinely wants him to be happy. He finds himself more invested than he wants to, but by the time he admits to himself that he might have deeper feelings for Tyler, he sees that Tyler has ‘moved on’. He settles back into the role of the support character… bc it’s better this way, right? He just wants Tyler to be happy. More than anything else in the world. AND THAT’S where it stops for now bc Vonna and I haven’t actually gotten to the part where they get together (if at all). IT’S A LOT OF DRAMA AND ROMANCE MOVIE MISUNDERSTANDINGS LOL and it’s why the ‘theme’ of their story to me is THIS SONG where they’re so very, very close to being together but timing + circumstances + their own idiocy keeps them apart, to the point where it might be too late. THAT SOUNDS SO DRAMATIC LKsmlfksaf but yeah their canon story is supposed to be angsty with possibly not a happy ending. OH another song that I like very much for them (from tyler’s perspective) is this one, bc even though he ‘falls in love’ with a lot of different people in his life, none of them are quite like Jc. 

bonus, here’s a drawing of them from 2013:

[franeridart]

Bakugou with that undercut is everything. I'm absolutely in love with your art!!

!!!!!!! thank you SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anon said:SORRY BUT…. ARE YOU GOING TO MAKE MORE OF THAT VIGILANTES AU???? THAT CLIFFHANGER

I wouldn’t really call it a cliffhanger tbh lol but yah, sure, someday, as soon as I feel like it again

Anon said:We want seme kirishima and uke bakugou

Then I’m really sorry to let you know that you’re on the wrong blog

Anon said:Do you still ship BakuKami?

Yah

Anon said:Your page is glorious, I await every update you have impatiently but it’s worth it every time. Keep up the absolutely stunning work. And would it be possible to ask for a Ferris wheel date (kiribaku), if not all is good.

Thank you so much! And I dunno, you’re asking for a pretty complex thing there (and I’m not a huge fan of ferris wheels myself so there’s that) - but, sure, if I find myself with the motivation for it why not? It’d make for something pretty scenic, if I could manage to find the strength to put in it all the effort it’d need!

Anon said:Literally I just wanna day ur probably my fav BNHA artist.,,.,, especially kiribaku.,,.. they way you draw them is so cute and wholesome ;-; thank you for my life..,..,,,

Nuh thank YOU for being so kind to me!!!!

Anon said:i miss ur bokuroo art so much. i get it u are more into bakushima and bnha now but do u think u will still draw for hq? love ur art either way

Thank you!!! And maybe? Depends a lot on inspiration, ngl

Anon said:Hey! I was wondering when are you gonna draw the kids again ? I just saw your posts about them and I love them already aha

I’m glad you like them!!! And I’ve been answering “soon” to this question for a while now but I still haven’t gotten around to it, so who knows? I’ve especially been itching to draw Baku and Tai lately ngl………..I wonder when that’ll happen

Anon said:Your art style is really amazing and I love it! Your Kiribaku content gives me life ❤️❤️❤️

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;O;

Anon said:Fran, I have the KiriBaku suit art as my phone wallpaper and show it off to everyone. Is so beautiful and it makes me cry whenever I see it. You’ve drawn their faces and expressions so perfectly in that that it makes my heart ache every single time I unlock my phone. I just wanted to drop by and tell you how much I love it and appreciate you for drawing for this fandom.

GODS I’m happy to hear you liked it that much!!!!!! Thank you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TTOTT

Anon said:Your art of todoroki is so cool! His hair looks so fluffy!

Thank you so much!!! His hair is a lot of fun to draw!!

Anon said:I Fucking LOVE your art ! Honestly, you are the person who have me get back on tumblr. Your Kiribaku gives me life ! But I am too shy to say it with my account.

HECK THANK YOU!!!!!!

Anon said:hello!! i know reposts are not allowed under any circumstances, but i was wondering if that was limited to video edits? i really love your art and was going to make an amv with it but of course since you don’t allow reposts id be best to ask before doing so

Nah videos are cool as long as you link back to every post with the pieces you used for it 👍

Anon said:Are Bakugo or Kirishima or both the jealous type?

I headcanon them both as the reasonably-jealous type, I’d say - not an unhealthy amount of it, but still jealous now and again. It’s born mostly from the fact that I hc them as not necessarily being popular to the point of having people often hit on them? The general status-quo is that the only person actively interested in Bakugou is Kirishima and the only person actively interested in Kirishima is Bakugou, so usually they’re pretty chill about jealousy and stuff because they don’t have to be jealous. It does mean that it’s all the more irking to them when someone shows interest in the other, since they’re not used to feeling “threatened” like that, but they tell each other how much they love each other often enough that they don’t really have any reason to be worried anyway.

It’s like, yeah they don’t like it when people get touchy with thir bf, but they trust each other enough to not be actually worried about it. To be honest with you aside from very specific scenarios more than jealous/possessive I prefer my krbks as the protective sort 💕

Anon said:If Kirishima and Bakugo got into a huge fight what do you think it would be about?

I don’t… actually think they would fight? For them to get in a serious fight it’d take either a serious misunderstanding of sort or a situation in which both of them are stressed for other reasons and it comes all out with them taking it out on each other. Aside from that, the most probable thing I can see them fighting over is anger fueled by worry for each other’s well being tbh - Kirishima doing something extremely risky and Bakugou turning his fear and worry into anger, and Kirishima being angry right back because they’re heroes, Bakugou can’t be angry at him for acting as an hero should, and Bakugou’s anger getting even worse because Kirishima isn’t valuing his life as much as Bakugou values it, for example. Or Kirishima being worried about Bakugou and for one reason or another pushing it too far and having Bakugou get on the defensive as he does and it all just turning into a fight of “I don’t need you treating me like I can’t take care of myself” and “why must you always be so uselessly stubborn” and so on.

But all of these wouldn’t actually be about them being angry with each other, it’s all stuff that comes from love? From them loving each other so much that their care can turn into something ugly too, that is. At least, that’s the way I see it

Anon said:After seeing the asks abt the nsfw, may I ask why? I totally understand and respect your choice, I just want to know why would you never draw it? It’d be very interesting to see!

There are actually a lot of reasons why, tbh, but the most practical and obvious one is that as things stand right now in fandoms posting nsfw content is exactly the same as lighting up a very huge arrow pointing straight at you and yelling “please be an ass to me”, and that’s absolutely not what I want my fandom experience to be like, considering I already have enough of that without adding posting nsfw to the mix

Anon said:Can I ask if you like uraraka? Mostly bc you said she was reduced to her romantic supplot, and I wanna know your opinion of her (sorry if I worded this wrong)

Hm, what a question. Overall, I’m pretty indifferent to Uraraka as a whole? I like her design and she’s fun to draw because she’s easy to draw, so that’s part of it. I’m incrdibly unhappy with how Horikoshi is writing her, because he’s given her a lot of potentially very cool traits just to make literally nothing of any of them, and that’s just disappointing. As she is in the manga right now, whether she’s there or not doesn’t change anything for me because A, she’s barely there ever anyway and B, she doesn’t really have any sort of relationship with my faves so my attention doesn’t gravitate much towards her all in all. She’s said a couple of things in the past I’m not much happy about, but I realize they were mostly things said to move along the plot so I made peace with it. I’m not much of a fan of her fanon characterization? So I generally prefer it if she isn’t part of the fancontent I cosume, but that’s on the fandom and not on Horikoshi. 

All in all, lots of wasted potential, but she’s cute I guess? She hasn’t done anything worth notice since the sports fest lbr so I’m very ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about her as a whole

Anon said:i loev your art. have a brilliant day.

Thank you!!! I hope you have a fantastic day too!!!!

[skrunklynaib]

((I'm glad I read this

((I try my hardest to help others not be so depressed, but knowing from experience that you can't just make depression dissapear. As someone with Unspecified major depression disorder, I can't denie that I have gone to the point of plotting my own death, I was(and still am) suicidal.

((As much as I despise the pain life comes with I decided to stay alive, convincing myself that I'm only alive to improve my art, and that all I care about is my drawing skills(which is very one sided). I even went to the point of telling myself that I could care less about how others would feel if I had killed myself.

((I always make sure I never have close relationships with others just to prevent myself from having anyone get close enough to feel upset if I did end up succeeding to end my own life(which I still do till his day)

((Atm I see a therapist, which I do enjoy talking to her. She helped me to realize that, yes, I do care about others and how they would feel if I ended it all. Even though I don't quite understand the emotions of sadness myself, I always try to put that behind me and act like the perfect happy, positive persona I tend to be when on social media and in real life.

((There was someone at school, who I do very much care for (I even call her my child, lol). As I walked into the lit media room she seemed to be on the verge of tears, and because I'm not very good at detecting emotions/facial expressions, I was trying to understand what she was feeling, so my guess was she was upset about something. I went over and gave her a hug and asked her what was wrong (I really only give hugs to people I feel as though they need it, or if I'm comfortable with them giving me a hug). It was explained to me that one of her friends had committed suicide. I understood what she felt, I hadn't had anyone in my life take their own life, but, i had a fair share of people dying. So I let that be a reason for me not to take my life, it'll make people unhappy, which is not what I would want anyone to feel.

((Do I still complain about being alive?

((Yes

((Do I still make jokes/puns because I'm depressed

((Pft, yes, I'm sans what do you expect XP

((But I made it a thing where even when I feel more suicidal than other days I would NEVER act on it and take my life.

((I want to help others feel happier, and if that prevents me from ending my life, then so be it.

// i’ve recently heard that a respected drummer, named Brian Velasco from a band in the Philippines called “Razorback”(s), had jumped off a building last 2018, while doing so, he had done a facebook livestream before he jumped, saying “Pakibantay na lang si Pochito, ok, here we go, here i go.” ( Translation: Just take care of Pochito, ok, here we go, here i go. ) before jumping, i don’t know much about the situation but,

i also had a situation with a dear friend of mine back in highschool, where she was deeply depressed, and one day, she went to the park and tried to hang herself, and i kid you not, she had three nooses, i was walking with another friend when i saw her there, i ran as fast as i could and cut two of the ropes, struggled with the last one, a concerned citizen, had helped me take it off, my friend just looked up at me as i kept asking why she did that, she simply answered with, “I didn’t want to do it on the chair of the parents who have loved me my whole life.” we had called her parents, her step-mother came first and she refused to go, everytime the step-mother would try, she would hit herself in the head and yell insults to herself. she only agreed to come when her father came.

due to this, she had become homeschooled,

guys.

I don’t want this to be you, yes i am depressed, but i take therapy and i am getting better, if you are depressed, please, open up to other people, i know it’s hypocritical to get this kind of advice from me, a person who has seen the world in black and white her whole life, but i’ve matured and i know that i care about you guys, so please, vent, open up to someone, killing yourself is not the answer, because goddamnit it just causes more pain, and so i hope that you will keep moving forward, the best kind of person, is the kind that makes the same mistakes several times.

Tagging;

@strawberrydadmare @vanilladadmare @chocolatedadmare @the-one-and-only-grapemare