#Trying to get out of art block by drawing the two things that really motivate me:

[robottheodorlasso]

Say hi Teddy!!!

[welovelouisandbucky]

Peter Parker Headcanon

Summary:This is how I think Peter Parker would be with artist!reader

A/n: heyya guys!!! I just wanna apologize and thank everyone who showed support to few of my series that I started but did not post anything after first chapter, I started those series when I was feeling very motivated and was full of ideas but in excitement I didn't planned them out properly and it backfired. I wasn't feeling like it anymore but I knew I have to post and I did write chapters for all of them but I wasn't happy with my work so I never posted them, and it's my fault because I shouldn't have posted them online before planning them out properly, but I promise I will complete them but not anytime soon because I just don't feel like writing them any more. for now I just want to write small one shots and headcanons so I would really appreciate if you guys show these ideas support too, thank you!!

S/n: you can imagine any Peter Parker but I personally had Andrew!Peter in mind when writing this so yeah, likes and reblogs are appreciated and as well as positive criticism, pls don't hate on me 😭 thank you!

T/w: just fluff!! One swear word? none I guess other than my writing lol

I think he really enjoys drawing because it's one of the things he finds calming. 

He usually prefers to watch you draw/sketch, because he thinks you look super cute while you're concentrating on a certain detail or drawing the outline of the figure.

When you guys are drawing together, he'd try to draw you, so he can show you how beautiful you truly are. He just loves you so much he can't help it. 

Gets distracted easily, and blames it on you, and when you ask what you did he'll say something like "stop being so goddamn cute!" or like "you're looking too cozy and cute, makes me wanna cuddle the life out of you!" 

He absolutely LOVES painting with you because then he gets to start a paint war with you. In two or less minutes you guys would be covered in 50 shades of grey🤭😉

And let me tell you, the way he drew you is *chef's kiss* so good. The boy literally put his heart out on this drawing.

When he finally shows you the drawing he'd say something like "I'm sorry if it's not good. And please be honest if it's shit, okay?" "Peter, what are you talking about?! This is beautiful! I look so pretty!! You made me so beautiful in this!" " Well that's because YOU are BEAUTIFUL!" 

He'll most definitely take you to picnic dates, somewhere far and beautiful. He'd lay there next to you while you draw in silence. Those kinds of dates are his favorite; super relaxing and peaceful.

Would model for you if you ask him to, but the poor boy can't sit still. He needs to move or else he'll go crazy, but will apologize every time he moves, you're quick to tell him it's fine and that you don't expect him to become a statue.

Would buy you art supplies but will be too scared to give you because he knows you don't like it  when he spends his money on you. So he'll sneakingly leave it at your desk thinking you won't notice, but of course you did. Will get scolding from you afterwards. 

Let's be honest, you love it when he buys you art supplies, it makes you happy to know that he actually cares enough to got you those, but the thing is art supplies are expensive as fuck! He works really hard for what he earns, and you don't want him to waste it on you. You get scolded in return when you tell him this.

"Nonsense! I'm not wasting anything, you should know that, Y/n! You know, it actually hurts me to think you'd even think something like that." "I'm sorry, Peter." "You're forgiven, but only because I need my cuddles and kisses," "and because you love me?" "yeah that too, but mostly my cuddles."

Definitely, will take (swing) you to different places he thought was worthy enough to be drawn. Or when you're not feeling motivated, or when the art block is just too strong; because he understands how tough it can get for you.

He's always there for you no matter what. He truly understands you, and helps you out when you have no motivation or ideas to create anything. Calms you down when you're frustrated because the drawing you finished is not looking the way you wanted it to be. Always tells you how talented you are and how much he's proud of you and everything you create

Always reminds you to take care of yourself and asks you if you have eaten anything yet? Because when you're drawing you always lose track of time and forget to eat. 

Definitely finds it funny when you rant about how drawing hands is an absolute nightmare, but agrees with you nonetheless. 

100% had said "draw me like one of your French girls" at some point with a dramatic gesture. 

Shows you off to everyone he meets like, " have you met my girlfriend? She's so talented like ohmygod, here look at this" proceeds to show the person your artwork while you stand there embarrassed but so in love

Definitely has hung up your drawings in his room

He's your number one supporter, but does points out mistakes if he sees one (we love honest feedbacks)

So in conclusion Peter Parker is absolutely whipped for you

Thank you so much for reading this I hope you enjoyed this!!

[pokituu]

I’m so impressed with how many styles you have and that you use them regularly (realistic, semi realistic, 2d, and 2d, 3d & pixel animation)! How did you learn to balance this many and get so good in all of them?

THANK YOUUUU this compliment means so much to me because so often i feel so worried I will stagnate since I basically like to draw the same subject matter over and over again 😳 but I do like to periodically try new things that I'll become invested in for chunks of time.

i guess advice more than just 'practice' is to be willing to try out new things that you have an interest in, even if it doesn't work out at first and is frustrating. you gotta be persistent to learn something new BUT if you get bored then just move on! if it sucks hit da bricks.... I really like this bjork quote abt creativity

idk throughout my life in art i just try to learn about stuff i'm interested in and practice what i wanna practice. like i wanted to get good at pixeling when i was like 14 so i kept practicing and trying new ways to go about it until i started to figure it out. same with digital painting when i was 15 and i just kept trying again and again until it clicked, even though i was frustrated a lot, i never actually lost the interest when i saw people's pretty paintings and that feeling of 'man i wish i could do that!'.... so i literally couldn't stop myself from trying over and over at painting. it goes beyond just drawing too. planet earth is fun because ANYTHING u are interested in you can try........ i make fursuit heads and other crafts to see if i can! this year i started making my own songs and also learned leather-working because i saw a cool craft and wanted to try :3

part of it is letting yourself age too because as you get older you will grow interested in new things. i am 27!! i've been drawing since i could hold a pencil. that's a long time to encounter a lot of stuff to get obsessed about and wanna try out for myself. SUCCESS TIP!: i typically pursue things that are adjacent to other skills i already have invested in, like drawing to 3d sculpture to digital modeling, or start blending them like sculpture + coding skills = 3d animation rigging. The reason is because a lot of these skills are transferable and make it easier to pick up. like a skill tree in a video game... and you'll end up in weird places like sculpture to sewing to leathercraft. It's nice to have creative hobbies you can be sorta be mediocre at without attaching your self worth to it, but other people still often find it impressive anyways because it's stuff they've never tried to do. It's really healing and easier to like what you create And yourself by extension when you're just having fun and learning without having to worry about the end product being "good". Anything you try is not a waste because you are learning new skills and more often than not, something you've learned is transferable to some other area of your life!!!!!!!!! nothing is ever a waste of time.

this is also the secret cure to art block btw well actually there are two secret cures. a) is you have to embrace the art block and go get obsessed with some other creative thing for a bit. either that or b) go absorb other people's creativity to a bit and watch some shows and read books or talk to people. c) is a mix of both. eventually you'll return to art again feeling fresh and motivated if you're willing to give it a few months. I think art block really just means you're bored and need a change of scenery one way or another 🤔 that's just my onion though

TL;DR have fun pursuing things just because you like them. as you keep doing it you'll just get better at it through practice whether you really intend to or not.

[chimkin-samich]

Hi!

I have had a block for both writing and drawing for several years. I look at your works with longing in my eyes and think how wonderful it would be to draw regularly again. I was never particularly talented and had many gaps in learning to draw, but I enjoyed it. Now I don't know how to start drawing or writing. My laptop is full of unfinished stories. I have lots of ideas for drawings, but it's hard for me to get down to work.

Therefore, my question is: Do you have any advice for people who haven't drawn/written for several years and would really like to get back to it, but can't motivate themselves, have no ideas, etc.? Or quite the opposite. They have lots of ideas, but for some reason they can't draw anything?

Greetings and have a nice morning/day/evening/night!

Hello! Sorry it took so long to respond, I wanted to make sure I could respond properly to this so I thought it over a lot, I’m going to put it under a read more cuz it’s gonna get long lol

I (sly) am kinda in the same position as you at least when it comes more to art, writing ive kinda cracked the block but still trying to break through the ice, all the art on our blog is Ferals art, I only complete the line work and shading (but not always) I haven’t drawn any of my own stuff in probably a few years but I’m trying to get back into it cuz I miss it as well, I completely get the whole feeling of looking at Feral’s art and wanting to create my own but finding it so difficult to do

For the art aspect my plan is to start at square 1, start how I first starting drawing, which for me was to look up refs, animals and draw them by sight, just to get back into the groove of trying to bring back that muscle memory, maybe you started by tracing images, you could trace only the rough outlines and then shade and detail them, just something simply and easy, you probably won’t be happy with the results (I know I certainly won’t be with my own) but it’s a start

Look up things that you enjoy, draw your squad, incorrect quotes to do with ocs maybe even draw them out, try and keep it simple, you don’t need to create a masterpiece on the first day back, any attempt is a step forward even if you dislike it, try it out at least once a day everyday, a simple doodle just for fun or to exercise your muscle memory again, the first part is gonna be hard and messy, that’s totally ok! All that matters is the attempt!

For the writing aspect try and keep it simple as well, focus on making short one-shots or even just bullet point dialogues, your old unfinished writing isn’t going anywhere, when you feel comfortable enough to attempt to continue it just go for it!

I had a big gap in my writing periods and sometimes I still go a few months with out touching any of my stories, blocks happen and are normal, something that I try to get back into is read other people’s work, both to see the writing style and to get some inspiration to continue my own works

When I actually get down to actually writing my story I just dump down the story as I think it, I just keep writing even if it looks messy and grammatically incorrect to at least get the story moving and progressing. After I have the rough story down, is when I go back to correct spelling mistakes, add more details/dialogues or events in between to create a much better flow for the story

I usually do this multiple times for each fic I create, usually in between pauses (either due to blanking on ideas or just cuz I wasn’t feeling it) so whenever I reopen my doc, I just reread and add on, then I do it again one or two more times once it’s completed

I struggle a lot with perfectionism when it comes to my art and writing, and unfortunately it’s a big killer for my motivation, especially when I see others that make better works than me. I’ve been slowly unlearning that urge to make everything perfect, by just allowing myself to have messy and rough works, it’s not always going to come out how I want it but at least I got it as close as I could in the moment with my current skill level

I like to tell myself, the more I keep doing it, the more I’ll improve, and I’ll always be able to come back with more ideas and skill to remake this better than my first attempts, just because I did it doesn’t mean I can’t try to do it again

Being easier on yourself does wonders (I know easier said than done unfortunately 😭) but your practically having to relearn skills that have gotten rusty, even if you were doing great before, your gonna have to build back up to that point, it’s just like exercising a muscle ✨

I hope this was able to help! I wish you much luck in your journey back into art and writing!

[coralpolyp]

I'm not dead!

Hey look here's a redraw of the really terrible bit of digital art I did for last year's Mar13 day as proof! Apparently I didn't even finish the first one on time! Yikes!

I'm well aware that it's been a minute or two since I last posted anything on here or on AO3 - to be more precise, it's been since Splatoon 1 died and I wrote that 8000 word depressing thing - I don't know why 8000 words always seems to be my sweet spot, but it's good to know that I have one. That being said, and with Side Order: Dark Side Mix currently MIA, I thought it'd be a good idea to to have what it is that I'm doing right now on-record in some capacity, for the one or two people who were wondering.

The next few weeks are exam season, so I don't think it's going to be smooth sailing per se, but Dark Side Mix will be completed. After running into a snag with the opening act - namely with the fact that it sucks - I started reworking the entire fic from top to bottom under a new name...and then I lost motivation to do that because perfectionism set in, and I haven't really touched it in a little while.

In the time that I've been away from it, I feel like I've become increasingly aware of how that perfectionism negatively effects me and my work - namely the fact that very little of it actually exists. I mean, sure, people seem to like the stuff that does exist, but there isn't much, and a lot of things are unfinished - usually because I placed too much value on the potential of "the idea", and spent so long labouring over the start of it that by the 10,000 word mark I had realised the flaws of the idea and lost interest in it.

I can't help thinking that's a bit lame. Every other writer has 100s and thousands of words of terrible amateur works they can go back to and laugh at, before they created the masterpieces they're known for now, and my story is that I just kinda show up every once in a while.

I think there's a real beauty to that - creating for the sake of creation, with no fucks given. Maybe this isn't the finest example, but I finally started listening to My Dad Wrote a Porno recently and...I mean... the sheer lack of fucks given is well and truly a gift that keeps on giving. Same goes for Philosophy of the World. Or SMG4 back in like 2014. Or old Eddsworld stuff. There's just a certain carefree joy (or existential dread in the case of the Shaggs) to it all that you never get anywhere else. It's like the difference between a 30 second gesture drawing and 6 hours of carefully-deliberated-over anatomy.

All that is to say - Dark Side Mix is a fundamentally flawed story. It is not high art, it never will be. I should probably just get it out there in it's entirety for the world to see in the time I have available to write, and then move on to the next "brilliant-idea"-that's-actually-just-ok. Nobody likes an "idea guy" - what good is it to spend one's entire life going around saying "I never finished this story, but it was great in my head, and the bit that you can actually read was alright too,"? Creativity should be about getting in there, making a mess, and having fun - let fanfiction be fanfiction, with that being addressed to nobody but myself, because nobody else needed to hear it.

Oh, also, another reason for my absence besides creative block and exams - I'm getting into comics! That, and practising my art fundamentals a whole bunch - I don't think my drawabox is particularly interesting to look at, so I haven't exactly been posting it. I've decided that I want to try giving an idea I had for what would've been another depressing Squid Sister 8000-worder the comic treatment, although you shouldn't expect to see that anytime soon, considering how long it's gonna take, and the fact that I would want to release something like that in no more than two parts.

[residentialsinyomakai]

♤ INTRO TIME! ♤

Hi hello!!! Idk how these work very well still so. Lemme do this to the best'a my abilities zzz

This is my sona! I draw 'em a lot (I have like. 2 more main ones but they're not important,,,zz,zzzzz,zzzz,,,,)

Detailed info under cut!!

GENERAL INFO:

♤ I'm Yōmakai, Yomo, Res, any variation of my user really (*￣∇￣*)

♤ ENG/ESP, learning JP, but certainly not enough to hold my own yet wahaha ! ;=u=

♤ I use Any Pronouns, and no particular honorifics! Get creative w it for all i care ((o(^∇^)o))

♤ My posts are sometimes very frequent, or maybe I'll go months without one!! Hard to tell augahjfkrif

♤ Chronic user of caps, emojis, kaomojis (the cool little face things I love em,,, ( =＾ω＾)), emoticons, etc. So basically pretty informal language y'know y'know.

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INTEREST STUFF:

♡ Maaaaaajor hyperfixation AND special interest in Yokai Watch!!! (all interations)

I also like;;;;

♡ Swan Lake (1981 Toei Version)

♡ Kirby (all iterations)

♡ Pokémon (all, pref. Johto, PMD, Kalos)

♡ Everything But Your Life

♡ Homestuck (I'm pretty new tho!)

♡ MY FRIEND' OCS...

♡ Way of the Househusband

♡ Yakuza (Just 0 for now! Also new djgjeoe)

♡ TMNT (1980's, 2003, 2012, RISE, MM, Bay!)

♡ Yu Yu Hakusho

♡ Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

♡ Entomology

♡ Cephalopods

♡ Grammar

♡...And more! But. I'll keep this not too long..,,.

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ADVISORY FOR INTERACTION:

◇ HAVE BASIC DECENCY (Not okie doki to be racist, homophobic, proship, etc...I wish mental recovery and healing for all those ill-learned.)

◇ I'm like. Really awful at responding to messages. Personal reasons and generally I keep busy!

◇ Please don't DM me unless you either A: Ask permission please,,, or B: Are a mutual, I'm more comfy w/ y'all bc most'a you know I'm Insane and Fantastic already/j/lh

◇ Sorry if I Spam sometimes!!! I get a lotta motivation in bursts sometimes so you might see like 5 things in a day. Or if I'm doing requests =u=!!

◇ My bad forgot to add this one a while ago, but unless i know you irl, please don't make any "I'm in your room" or "outside your house", "I'm watching you", etc typa jokes. Dhsoxiwod seems like an overreaction but I have pretty bad paranoia and don't take kindly :< (I don't care if it's something like "I'm rapidly approaching your location" or something nonsensical like you're sending a missile to my mailbox bc ik that can't happen ^^;) thank you for your consideration!!

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FINAL THOUGHTS?:

♧ Don't be afraid to tag me in anything! (Within reason ofc ofc)

♧ NEVER HAVE TO ASK TO DRAW OCS....GHHAGSH.....If you do @ me please ^u^

♧ Trad. and digital art will be posted!! May not be the best but it's my favorite hobby :)

♧ OH!!! SPEAKING OF HOBBIES. Wanna know some of mine? I like art, singing, crafts, writing, and hanging out outside,,,

♧ OTHER SOCIALS:

• YomakaiResidentials - Tiktok (I,,, get the most anxious on this one. Don't expect much response!! If you want me to see your cool stuff, absolutely mention me or send me the video :> just try not to spam ghhhgagsg)

• ナガバナ愛 - Pixiv

• roughraffspompadour - Insta (best for messaging!!! Worst for posting EXPLODES)

• There's a secret other two but. They're more personal so Only Close Friends!!

• Not a social but I also have a blog called @askbabblong ......Babblong Ask Blog As You Can Tell

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TAG SYSTEM:

I organize all my posts and reblogs into tags because it's easier and I'm used to tagging things like on Ao3 and Fortelling,,,, I expect that if someone needed something specific they could sort it by the tags 🍌💬💜 so in short, here's explanations!!

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☆ [● Posts from Yomakai] - Well. Posts by me!!!

☆ [• nagareblog] - Reblog tag! So if anyone wants ta see what else i like and or block it I GUESS....SIGH..../j

☆ [♤ Resident Rambles] - My yap sessions or general speaking tag. I chose the spade cause it's my favorite suit :)

☆ [☆ Favesposting] - Anything including fave characters....my little guys....

☆ [¤ Summoning...] - Friend stuff! Most (all) of these are yokai related if you couldn't tell wahaha!

☆ [Yolo Watch 2!] - Had to make a ykw specific tag because,,,,ghhshhdjd yokai,,z,,

☆ [|| refs 4 l8r ||] - Forgot about this one for a while....Refs for characters i wanna draw sometime!!!

☆ [¥ Aus I like! ¥] - WAHHH ALSO FORGOT THIS ONE! Typically the reblog for au masterposts or first encounters with'a cool thing EEEEYAAAAGH

☆ [《Cool Features!》] - Specific things I really like! Colors, future inspo, amazing stuffs....so much so it's hard to decide whether or not to put it in sometimes ghgahahhhgg...

☆ [~ Helpful!] - Info that can be helpful for future stuff

☆ [♧ Shameless Self Promotion] - promotions for stuff I make or just. In general things related to me (;´∀｀)

☆ [◇ Important] - Donation posts, Gaza, fundraising, etc!!

☆ [♡ babblong's stand up] - (wow. Subtle with this reference huh) Anything funny to me.....remmeber.....my humor is bad/lh

☆ [` repo reblog rule `] - Repo related stuff from rottmnt because!!! HIM!!! kinda turned into a general tmnt tag, but mainly repo

☆ [{bugging}] - bugposting when I remember!!

☆ [¡quene!] - stuff from the Yōmakai backlogs,,,, aka my quene!

☆ [₩ delete later ₩] - if the second hand embarassment is really bad or if it's vent-adjacent then. After a while. Into the bin/post privately section it goes %o%!!

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WOWZAS. I YAP A LOT!!! Can you see why i like Babblong....my little guy. Thanks for reading! Enjoy your stay :] tell me if there's anything i should add!

[untoldsoup]

Hi! I was curious about how you organise work with your comics, including the writing parts :)

Idk if my process is how it's supposed to be done, but I'll share what's been working for me so far!

So for the btb comic, I got it written last year before the 'change' comic was done being drawn. I learned alot about how I wanted to do storytelling with that comic and it influenced how I organized the sequel.

One thing I learned from the 'change' comic is I absolutely loathed drawing the same location too much. Most of that comic is the wedding and by the end of the wedding I was so sick of drawing the wedding scenes (it almost caused me to quit a few times lol).

So when writing the script for the sequel I told myself every chapter would indicate a scene change. This would help me get through drawing a chapter knowing a new scene location would be drawn for the next chapter.

A scene change can be as small as a different room or as big as a new location, as long as *something* changed about the background I would have to draw.

Each chapter is its own word document (well google docs now, i switch over)

I write my stories in movie script format. When researching how to write comics I found the most helpful advice was screenwriting advice. I highly encourage people to watch youtube videos on screenwriting. I also watched a ton of videos aimed at screenwriters that talk about plot, how to write interesting characters, and the three act structure.

I made sure i could answer questions such as "why is my character doing this?" And "what motivates them?" And "how does their wants and desires change throughout the story?" I made sure that each character's motives and personality could answer these questions with a few simple words. I needed to make sure I have a clear understanding of what they wanted.

I go through a TON of edits in my chapters. I even edit alot when I finally start drawing, if I think some dialogue would work better rephrased once I see it next to my art. Editing is huge. Your first draft really is just getting the "dumbest" version down. Once you get over that hurdle, you can mold the script into what you need.

I remove a lot of dialogue during edits. Comics are a visual story telling device, so i try and make sure the words and art work together, and that the words don't feel like they could exist without the art.

There is nothing I hate more than when a comic page is a giant block of text. I find large scary blocks of text uninteresting, So I will often go out of my way to draw more panels if it means breaking up the dialogue.

I also try my best to write realistic dialogue. Would this character say this? Why are they saying this?

If you notice with my stories alot of characters are not direct in how they speak. In real life no one tells you directly "i am mad". They deflect, lash out, say things because they are jealous or hurt ect ect. I wanted to do my best to have my dialogue reflect how each character would realistically handle the pain they are dealt.

When I start drawing, I have the script for the chapter I'm working on open on one computer screen, and my art tablet with my program open on the other. This way as I'm drawing I can easily reference my script.

If I'm drawing an action heavy scene, I will often start paneling out on paper some crude sketches just so I can keep track of where everything should be. It's easy for things to get lost in the action so I try my best to make sure I am aware of where every character is in busy scenes.

These drawings are extremely crude but really really helpful. I don't mind sharing these as they are so abstract they don't really give anything away lol. But they do help me organize.

I use clip Studio to draw and from there start drawing my pages. Each page takes about 2-3 days to finish depending on complexity. I think I get about two pages done a week, more if I have vacation days or something from work.

I have a full time Quality Analyst job, so I'm only able to work on my comic between the hours of midnight and 5am lol. It's why you always see me updating and posting at horrible hours lol.

Anyway I hope that helps? Hopefully I answered your questions!

[cleverthylacine]

Okay. Wow. (also feel free to circulate this post to people even if they don't like me)

I didn't want to make a post like this but things have gone too far. I am still not mentioning names. If you know you know, if you don't know, ignore this post and be happy that you don't know.

Yesterday I went on a blitz of blocking people I was told had been sharing my private DMs and talking shit about me behind my back with an artist who is freaked out that I told them I wouldn't take down a reblog, and then explained that they are popular with RavWave shippers, and that I didn't know who they were until other shippers sent me their stuff, because their art does look shippy to us.

It seems that a lot of the people who are really mad about this (and you're welcome to share this one post of mine with those people, though I do not appreciate that their friends have been stalking my blog in general) think that I was trying to ARGUE with that person.

Much as their motivation in drawing the art was not to depict my OTP, my motivation in telling them that they accidentally did was not to argue with them about how they should view the relationship. It was information about why people get what is apparently the wrong idea about their art.

If I were writing or drawing something that was being misinterpreted all over creation, I would want to know why.

Then I would be armed with the knowledge to decide whether or not I wanted to do things differently in the future.

"I don't care what those people think" is a valid decision. So is "hmm, maybe she has a point." Whichever decision I made, I'd want to make it as an informed decision.

I feel a little sorry about this giant misunderstanding, but I'm absolutely disinclined to apologise because:

Their first message to me was insulting. Many people believe that it was a "polite request". But polite words can be used in a thoroughly rude and nasty way. There is no nice way to tell someone that you think they're so nasty you don't want your public posts appearing on their blog.

Saying no to requests is a thing that people are allowed to do.

Their second message to me, which evaded my block because it was sent to another account, was blatantly offensive and went into the quality of my family and relationships. I didn't respond to that because I'd have gone off.

They have their friends stalking my blog and have admitted to doing so, and have responded to venting on my part by vagueblogging in my own blogs by telling everyone that they're the person I am annoyed with and here are the receipts. Seriously, wtf?

I only know this because I'm trying to block all the assholes who are reposting my personal conversations with them, a thing i only know because a friend of mine told me so after receiving a demand they unfriend me.

This person and their friends are sending anon asks to my friends, or in one case, publicly demanding in an RP community, that people who want to interact with them unfollow me, because they will not interact with anyone who interacts with me. Go the fuck back to high school, Regina.

Don't put icing and sprinkles on a pile of shit and tell yourself you gave someone a chocolate cake. This person has never been "nice" to me.

Under the cut: why IDW Ravage would never allow herself to be handled like a pet cat, and why RavWave shippers feel the same way about the Earthspark deleted scenes, even though we know that's probably not what the showrunners meant us to think.

I have come to the conclusion that's it's just another case of antis thinking that if you can see two people in a non-platonic relationship that they think of as family, you're just nasty. Especially if the feline shaped character is being handled like a pet cat.

But the person who said "I look disrespectfully on anyone who ships this, that's just a goof and his cat" has missed the entire point of these characters' relationship. Soundwave would never treat or handle Ravage like she was a pet cat.

Anyone else who says RavWave shippers are nasty because "it's NoRMaL to handle your cat that way" is fundamentally not getting who Ravage is and how she feels about being touched.

Ravage is a sapient adult mech with a full range of sapient adult feelings, and touching her like she's an animal is a microaggression or a macroaggression, depending upon where and how you touch her. The oppression of beastformers is a big fucking thing in IDW 2005. Other beastformers also complain about constantly having to deal with unwanted and disrespectful touching. (Fortress Maximus is a known offender.)

IDW Ravage is sleeping in Megatron's bed throughout MTMTE (when she's under it, she's guarding him). She only allows him to touch her neck in front of others...because behaving like a pet cat increases the chances that people will treat her like one.

(She almost cut Nautica several times. That's another character I ship her with, because what would be funnier than her realising that this actually is a whole ass person and if she can't stop touching her, she might actually be attracted to her?)

(Note: Canonically, Ravage in IDW uses he/him, and I do know that. However, about half the fandom writes Ravage as female. I'm in that half.)

BTW, I feel exactly the same way about the Earthspark deleted scenes. Every RavWave shipper on the planet does. We've talked about it. We realise that the artists and showrunners probably intended it to be innocent on the grounds that she is a cat. But we are also people who like to write her as an adult Decepticon officer with agency and self-respect who wouldn't behave like that in front of other people unless they knew he has privileges they don't.

I am aware that half the fandom draws Ravage art that's basically cat memes. (I hate that so much. But as a proshipper, I recognise people have the right to depict characters any way they want. That doesn't mean I haven't had to vent to people like @bitegore and @miner16 to keep myself from saying something.)

Also, I strongly suggest that people who get this worked up about misinterpretations of their art or writing do not become professional creators. As a member of fandom since the 1970s, I'm kind of super extremely aware that most of what fandom does is counter to what the creator intended, and frequently that's the point.

I'm also kind of super extremely aware that if you don't have loads of people reinterpreting and remixing your work and your characters, that actually means nobody cares about your work enough to have blorbo feels about your characters.

(The side poll, which came from another blog and mentioned no names, was an irritated attempt to find out whether people really do think it's normal to cuddle your mom that way, because the second message insinuated that my mother and I must have a terrible relationship because we don't touch each other like that. I kinda wanted to know what people who were not predisposed to take my side and did not know what was going on would think of that idea, because I really do not think most people touch their mothers like that; their mothers aren't nonsapient animals and would thus consider it weird and inappropriate.)

[driedupeyeballs]

Hi gang, bit of a vent post (?) but also bit of an explanation

So, why did I randomly disappear from ao3? All of my fics were very well received and still get comments and kudos to this day, and I really enjoyed writing them, at the time. They were all written within a couple months in late 23/early 24, and I suddenly stopped posting fics whenever my latest fic came out in January.

I had only planned to break until March, this was due to some stuff going on in my life at the time. But I just kept putting it off more and more, and writing and outlining and planning fics started to feel like a chore.

I had no clear ideas, every time I sat down to write I was left with a blank page. Even the fic ideas that were clear fell flat when I planned them.

Writing wasn’t fun anymore. I had absolutely no motivation to write, or work on my fics in any way.

Then, the same thing started happening with art a few months ago. It was taking me longer to draw with a lower quality final product, it was more frustrating despite nothing about my creative process changing.

I thought it was just art block, but it’s been 4 months at this point. Art block for me has never lasted that long, and I’ve just gotten worse about writing.

And I genuinely don’t know why this is happening, writing is my passion and has been since I was a kid, and it’s never been like this until now- sure it’s frustrated me but I’ve never lost motivation for such a long period of time.

I’ve tried to write at least 5 different twst fic ideas I had, and a few of my OCs backstories, and it’s like a chore to finish them. Even starting them is stressful. I can’t glide through a story like I could last year, 20k words don’t just appear in my brain in a two or three hour sitting like they did. I’ve tried everything I know to try, and it’s upsetting as hell becuase I have stories I want to tell, I have ideas I want to share, I have fics I want to write, but I just… cant, at the moment.

I don’t know how long this will last, I really hope not much longer.

[squarebracket-trickster]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Thank you @sunset-a-story for ALSO tagging me way back in August. I AM SO SORRY

1. What motivates you to write?

It itchy, itchy urge to create something. I NEED it OUT. I MUST make sense of it ALL. The thoughts need ordering and putting together to maximize the happy chemicals. I see something I like that someone else made and I get jealous so I must do something like that, but MY way, and BETTER. It all makes me very itchy (restless).

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I skimmed my entire 3rd draft (so far) to pick a line. There are a lot of good ones but none I liked more than the rest - I couldn't choose. So... I know I've already shared this one but dammit. It is a kickass line. It's also the first line of WIPVII - and you do not know what devils I sold my soul to to escape THAT writer's block.

I will live, I tell myself through the salt water in my eyes and the sting of the south wind on my face. This will make for a good story one day.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Banter and wit. Which is funny because I always thought that was the thing I would struggle most with - I was the academic overachiever who took herself too seriously in school. But when I reread my drafts there is something that makes me laugh in nearly every scene. Most of my highlighted lines are banter or retorts.

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

I love seeing writeblr content on my dash and I looooove getting interactions when I liveblog my writing. It is so nice to be able to share this with people who love it too (rather than inflicting it on my poor irl friends who are not writers). I just love all you Writeblr friends so much!

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

A 2x3.5' and a 3x5.5' whiteboard with a rainbow's worth of whiteboard markers in different thicknesses for brainstorming, family trees, timelines. My sketchbook, a mechanical pencil, and YouTube drawing tutorials for my maps and concept art. MS Word, dark mode, Times New Roman pt 11, with comments enabled for my manuscripts, outlines (bullet points), and worldbuilding notes. Subfolders within subfolders stored on my PC to organize all my Word docs. Two separate USBs which my completed manuscripts are saved to (in case something happens to my computer AND one of the USBs).

I have yet to find any worldbuilding or map making software (and it hasn't been for lack of looking) that gives me enough flexibility. I have yet to find any writing software that has features Word doesn't but that would actually help my process rather than overwhelm me.

I do want to write out a draft of WIPVII by hand at some point (though with my penchant for writing hand cramps this might be doomed). I also want to try an electric typewriter.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

WIPVII doesn't have very complex worldbuilding (there is no magic and most of it is ripped from real world history) but I do always love it when authors tell us what way the wind is coming, what smells it carries, what the view is in the distance, whose lands those are... that kind of stuff. Really creates a sense of place. I spent a lot of time mapping all this out in my own novel and I am very happy with it! The description feels so rich!

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Learn more about the craft. Writing is problem solving. If you aren't happy with something figure out why - the mechanics and technique behind writing. If you're still stuck learn even more. There are so many great, free resources on tumblr, youtube, blogs, pinterest (though it is most stolen from tumblr) even twitter and tiktok.

Also, learn how to filter out what advice is helpful now versus what should wait for later so you don't get overwhelmed. If you haven't even written a first draft yet don't bother with pacing, exposition, line editing, or let alone how to query. Just focus on the macro-stuff like plot and character arcs.

Tagging with the lightest brush on the shoulder these nine alleged humans: @cheeto-flavoured-pasta, @alnaperera, @bluberimufim, @daisywords, @boundedsea, @full-on-sam, @writernopal, @ashen-crest, @surroundedbypearls

[maddiebiscuits]

i don't know how to phrase this any other way so i hope you don't find this rude or anything: you are (imo) a very skilled, very prolific art toaster. it's great quality artwork obviously, but your turnaround is wicked crazy fast to me. what does burnout look like for you? how do you manage to toast so many arts? what dark magics must you employ??

The hard truth is I worked in journalism for two years between 2010-2012 and customer service/hospitality starting at 16 years old in 2007 all throughout my life until 2022 and I don't want to go back to any of it now that I'm almost 33 - that's the main motivator to keep my freelance gig career doing art commissions going as long as possible. Fear and loathing of going back to that work environment keeps me focused.

In action...I'm not quite sure if I ever experience 'burn out'? I do experience art 'block' in that I can't think of anything to draw on my own or feel really unsatisfied with my work...so I just goof off with my canvas or do studies, but this doesn't interfere with doing commissions where I am told what to draw.

I just enjoy the physical act of drawing. Sometimes when I'm bored and restless and going for a walk doesn't help, I just draw more. When I was a kid I would just come home from school and draw crap between playing Gameboy/N64/Gamecube or browsing Elfwood/Newgrounds/DeviantART/Gaia Online, so it's literally just a habit now. If I don't draw for a long time I feel anxious and unwell. Somehow I just programmed my brain to think that art = leisure fun time, even if it's for work. I also tend to get into a "zone" sometimes and just put on video essays or music and a few hours later I'll have worked through some commission stuff.

I have three 'task lists' for my workflow:

A public trello board organized by work order types (N/SFW link)

A personal trello board organized by type/date in chronological order

A coloured tagging and folder system in my emails where I can just see the actual dates/timestamps of my last correspondence with a client so I know exactly who in my taskboard needs to be prioritized for their next WIP update

I hold myself to a standard of sending a client a WIP in stages:

rough draft (1-14 business days)

revisions (1-5 business days)

line art (1-14 business days)

revisions (1-5 business days)

final render (1-14 business days)

tweaks (1-2 business days)

So ideally, the client gets a finished commission in 3-6 weeks, so about 1-2 months. For larger projects I send more WIPs and the process is obviously longer. For simpler stuff like chibis, it's rarely a full six weeks. Over holidays I add an extra two weeks to my noted turn-around to account for IRL time off. On all my terms of service I have a maximum four months turn-around, essentially doubling the time I know my work flow is just in case there's some sort of medical or equipment emergency in my life that I need to account for that gives me a buffer (I also notify all clients)

Monday to Friday I wake up usually...late morning/early afternoon? I do anywhere from four to eight hours of artwork, broken up by walks, stretching, eating, cleaning, cooking, hanging out with my partner, etc. I look at my personal trello taskboard and emails to see what must be done and what can wait. I try to get at least 1-2 things done in a day though, be that sketches/line art/renders/revisions.

Right now I am looking at my email and task board, and the client with the highest wait time chronologically is someone who is waiting for their final render (sketch and line art already revised and done for them). Last email correspondence with them on the email says 9 days ago (so 7 business days, I'm supposed to take Sat-Sun off). Their order was paid in full and confirmed by me on November 9 and it is currently December 13, so I'm at about the 5 week mark (not accounting for delays in clients getting back to me of course) and I am very much On Course for my work load, no one has been without contact from me for 14 days or more so I'm pretty ahead of my game right now! I could take tomorrow off if I wanted, or only do 3-4 hours of work if I feel like it.

However the more work you finish and post, the more you show prospective clients your ability to finish orders and show your audience more art for engagement, so ideally I always like posting stuff when I can, it just creates a cycle of positive production and income.

[spore-crossed]

Welcome to my blog: Spore Crossed! This is *suposed* to be my art blog, however sometimes I get really anxious and don't post anything for like...years. I'm slowly overcoming that curve, however! And I really hope to post more in the future! (it's a dream I have and hope to complete)

Unfortunately on my part, this is not the greatest attempt at making a 'meet the artist' post, and I feel like it was rushed. However, despite my perfectionist nature, I'll post it anyway!

So, a couple of things I want to establish on my pinned post (my first one hehe) is that I do NOT condone any sort of hatred on my blog. This is my blog and I have the right to block anyone. If I see any racism, homophobia, transphobia, and hate of any kind to myself or anyone else, I will not hesitate to block and report if needs be.

Negativity out of the way, Bonjour! You may call me Mena! As stated in my bio, this is my art blog (along with other things that have inspired me throughout the years). I mostly post about my ocs and my projects I'm working on, and I'm slowly working up the courage to post more content.

Currently I'm working on two projects:

Enigma: my main story I created years ago with help from my good friend @delphi-3. It's a strange story -honestly- where the characters themselves are the representation of phobias (aka: Thalassophobia - fear of the ocean). It was originally supposed to be a small project for myself to help me get through some really tough times in my life, but now I want to create it into a comic series and a physical book. This project goes through some heavy topics, but I try to keep it lighthearted as it's meant for a teenage audience. The main character struggles with his identity as he tries to make sense of the world around him and who he is, all the while there's some darkness lurking under the shadows that he's a puppet of, but not aware. (kinda corny sounding ik but believe me it wouldn't be worth working on it for 4+ years now if it was really bad)

Suneater: this is a project I've been working on myself and I'm not quite sure exactly where it's going. I'm leaning more towards comic or written book if I have the motivation to continue it. It's about aliens and cowboys...more importantly: alien cowboys. It's for a more mature audience that can handle gore and dark themes, and alien cowboys. I don't frequently have a lot of art, but I adore the characters and wish to develop them more. This story is about the main character being 'hollow' and how he's a sacrifice to raise a dead god. And if I didn't say this enough: alien cowboys :D

For both of these stories, as I post the characters, I will also tag their names so if you wish to know more about a certain character you can jump right to them.

Also! Feel free to ask me anything about me or my characters if you have questions! I don't bite, I promise. The only thing I ask is that you aren't too explicit with the asks. It makes me uncomfortable.

Please ask to use my art and also do not repost my art without my permission. I know people are going to be mean and do it anyway, but if you do, be warned that I will come to haunt you and chase you up the stairs at night.

(I'm not worthy of fan art but if you'd like to draw my characters feel free. Please tag me so I can see it! I'll cry from joy)

Unless asked for: constructive criticism is not allowed. References usually come from Pinterest and the links will be posted to the original artist or photography in the post.

Some fandoms I'm in:

Legend of Zelda

Fullmetal Alchemist

Twisted Wonderland

Anything Shakespeare (that I've read honestly)

The Belgariad (it's dead ik)

Fire Emblem - mainly three houses

Subnautica

I'm still a beginning artist and I'm going to school to learn how to be better, so I'll also dump some of the projects I'm working on here since it is my art blog.

Instagram: ʂ℘ơཞɛ ƈཞơʂʂɛɖ (@spore_crossed_inc) | Instagram profile

Thanks for reading! You're so kind have a frog as my appreciation:

[deep-space-lines]

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

Honestly I don't think there's been a time in my life where I haven't experienced this. There's a file on my ipad I've had on the backburner for like probably over 4 years now; there's a really clear image in my head of a poster showing the detailed anatomy of an astronaut from the perspective of aliens who believe the spacesuit to be part of its body, and every time I come back to it, I keep saying I'll do it later because I just can't pull it off yet :') so yeah the struggle is real

That being said, I've personally found that apart from just 'don't draw it and let it haunt you for years until your confidence improves', there's two solutions that work for me

1: Just draw it the best you're able now, with the knowledge that it might suck (in your eyes) but there's no rule that says you can't come back and re-draw it a few months or years down the line once you've learned more, if you still want to. It can be super frustrating if you have a really concrete awesome image in your head that you know you can't execute the way you'd like, but treating it more like a rough draft than something that has to be perfect the first time around can help get around this. Genuinely I think about this post all the time now, I think it rewired my brain chemistry as an artist. Just accept it'll look bad, who give a shit!!!! If you draw the rough draft now, it'll either turn out better than you expected, or you'll figure out what you struggled with for next time. Either way you'll at least temporarily get The Image out of your head and satiate the Art Beast.

Which leads into...

2: Figure out if there's a specific aspect of the Thing that intimidates you the most and put some time into low-stakes practice with the skill that's blocking you. Usually it's gonna be something like perspective, anatomy, rendering/painting, struggling with dynamic poses, etc.

Starting a completely new skill from scratch sounds intimidating, but you're not starting from scratch, and if you sit yourself down and give it some dedicated practice, you WILL see improvement within the same day. Keep it up for a week or a month and you'll have learned a lot. If it's dynamic perspective, tell yourself "ok I am GOING to learn how to draw with perspective" and mess around with references, look up tutorials, draw other art pieces with perspective until you feel like you have a somewhat decent grasp of it. If it's anatomy or dynamic poses: (once again, cannot stress enough) use references. Trace and then copy references until you get a feel for the shapes (AdorkaStock is really good), practice figure drawing (Quickposes, Line of Action), watch Proko because they have really good videos on these things (1) (2) (3).

'Practice makes perfect' is simultaneously very correct and very unhelpful advice, but if you've got a good grasp of the fundamentals of art, picking up specific, individual skills to a 'good enough' level is not nearly as time-consuming and frustrating as trying to just get better at 'art' as a whole. It can be really good motivation tbh (at least for me), to have an image of something I want to create and telling myself "I am going to intentionally practice [indoor environments]/[perspective]/[faces]/[painting with unrealistic colors]/[insert specific skill] for a few weeks until I feel confident enough to draw this thing".

anyway sorry that was so long. idk if this is any help, just my personal experience

[sapphire-weapon]

I used to draw for other small/rare ships (apparently I'm drawn to those kind of ships lol), only one of them got huge enough after they were given some time alone in the manga which got the ship more talented and known creators and amazing fan art.

Unfortunately it also got more hate on since it was a ship that "got in the way" of other huge popular ships and going through the tag got annoying bc the haters tagged every post shitting on the previously rare pairing, plus if you reblogged or made content for it they would harass you. I just blocked everyone sending me hate lmao.

Lots of people now hate Leon/Ashley but I think this increased hatred also shows how the haters can see that it is a thing now unlike before. They see it as a real threat. You can see the insecurity in some of those antis, it's too obvious and also just sad imo. I don't get why antis take shipping too seriously like they're not even having fun anymore and that's supposed to be the point, no?

Truth is I've seen so many Leon/Ashley fans online and even irl, Reddit for example loves it and Remake Ashley is a fan favorite now. A lot of them are more casual fans that maybe don't engage that deeply with fanon (which tbh is the smart thing to do).

Finally I have to say your blog and the amazing fic writers have inspired me to go back to drawing fan art and just creating content for Ashley/Leon or EagleOne. :)

Since this is my new otp and the only thing I love shipping rn I'm also just creating a new blog for that purpose. I'm not an amazing artist I'm just an amateur but I'll try to do something soon when I'm less busy. I'll absolutely tag it as EagleOne. Hopefully I can motivate others to do the same.

anon what the fuCK i got all emotional reading this wyd 😭

i know that the antis are coming from a place of insecurity, which is why their arguments are so disingenuous (i finally found the "the devs went out of their way to make sure that leon and ashley weren't seen as romantic" tweet and hoo boy the desperation is stinky) -- and that's also why i don't engage with them. as easy and perhaps fun as it would be to just QRT it and be like "oh it makes sense now, you're all using text to speech because you don't actually know how to read" there's no point in doing that.

i said it a while ago, but i want to say it again for good measure -- i don't want us to become them. my humble goal for eagleone fandom is to be a haven for ppl. we've been the black sheep of this fandom for so long, and aeons are still accusing us of being predators or someshit (idk i'm only semi-fluent in delusional) that i feel like we all have an obligation to stay humble now that capcom's given us a fairy tale version of RE4 where our ship is the front-and-center romance and people are finally actually being drawn to the ship. no one knows how bad this fandom can get better than eagleone folk, so it's on us to not do unto others what has been done unto us.

idk maybe that's just my whole jewish "because you were slaves in egypt..." mindset coming out but

i want us to be a place where people can just come and hang out and make friends over our shared love for resident evil. i know that i have serennedy and cleon and chreon and metaltango people all following me, and i love all of them dearly and i'm happy that we've all found each other. i feel like that's what fandom should be.

that's why i don't fight with aeons out in the open. i don't want to become them. i'll swing back if they ever come here (though i hope valuable lessons were learned the last time someone tried to come in here swinging and i took them out in exactly two responses LMAO), but i don't want to go out picking fights and i don't want any of y'all to do it either.

so it makes me feel really warm and fuzzy and happy to hear that i've inspired you in some way. i know that our little corner of the fandom over here on tumblr is small, and i know that i don't exactly have the kind of welcoming personality that will give me any sort of real platform in this fandom (at least, not like the one i had back in the day when i was a fake ass bitch LMAO), but to know that i've made at least a little difference is everything for me.

[winged-wolf-s-collection-of-arts]

Come and Trick or Treat! Open all year :] tags updated Nov. 28

Intro?

Howdy!!! Pronouns —> she/he/they (no preference)

Wolfy (wolf character I doodle sometimes) is my blog mascot. Unreliable sleep schedule/forgetful/message notifs don’t show up- so if you need me uhhhh keep yelling until I notice? Hdfjhfg..

I love drawing, listening to game playthroughs, and looking at cute animals! Feel free to send an ask about anything.

——

Tags!!

Art tag: wolfys art

Cool art by pals: grand showcase of arts

Doc says something: wolf chats

Art months stuff (all of them!! general tag): Just Here To Have Fun

Kiley and co stuff (commonwealth): little wastrels

second fallout au (island, custom location for an rp): badlands crew

Misc fandom tags (unreliably tagged but I will start now): qsmp, good omens, fallout, bg3, whump stuff, starfield, doctor who

important/tagged consistently: psa, boost (urgent news), reblogging for future reference (general tips), promo (friends news), flashing images, bright colors

"You have to reblog!" And similar phrases: rebait

Minor misc tags: drawing tips, writing tips, cooking tips, fave,

Note- these are not tagged reliably: ghouls/zombies, blood, skeletons, suggestive (no explicit things here), bugs and spiders, guns, drug use, smoking, all caps

——

Unimportant ramblings v

Time stamp: Jul 15? Heeeeey. Hello. So I did take a break from art till like last week, but uh, the health has been a roller coaster-

I kinda cleaned the whole house compulsively multiple times. I dunno what to say about that. Went from the compulsion to be Always Drawing to Always Doing Chores, so it wasn’t really a break? It felt amazing for a little while, but I am so stressed inside ahagfhkhdf. Anywayssssss.

I realized that promising to do the art requests Later is just me returning to old behavior, like just... keeping it on the line so I /nobody gets a direct answer *when* it will be done. That makes my brain think it’s in the clear while the other artists are worried and unsure what’d happen. Andddd even though I did have the motivation to do animated group projects for a little while, a small thing completely knocked me into dropping everything else.

I know I *could* try to join more projects or do more requests, I’m not in a safe headspace where I wouldn’t be set off, and nobody should risk their project’s deadline for that-

TLDR I’m going to Try and fix things up on my end and stop myself from joining anything (that depends on Every artists effort). Even if I feel alright *now* I know there’s a lot of risk for *later*- just don’t let me in anything big and important even if I ask, please- for at least a year-

—— Timestamp: Slightly Before August

Gonna Try Ink Demonth this year- I’ll limit myself and not do something too detailed again hsdkfjzhk.

——

Timestamp: August 17

[cackles evilly] Ink Demonth Ink Demothhhhh- this is the furthest I’ve ever gotten in an art prompt month ever! ...even though I’m technically not on theme (Fallout instead of Batim). Trying to pace myself by alternating between a simple and detailed style. Hrrrh the yeehawgust prompts (cowboy theme!) look so cool but I won’t double up- but I will try to participate in the September AI-less-Whump month. (gore and dark subjects! I’ll tag everything properly of course.)

Also I’ve come to a realization- A dream of mine has been becoming famous for my art/animations, but uh- One, it isn’t realistic, and Two, posts getting like 200 notes freaks me out cfjhxfgh- Well, doing stuff for friends and others is just as cool. Y’all are awesome ^w^

——

Timestamp: Aughust ninteen

Wait actually I don’t need a reason to block people. I don’t need to tell you either. It’s been getting a bit too chummy around here (reference)

——

Timestamp: September 4

I didn’t finish the art month, but I got to day twenty! That’s pretty good. I’ll finish it up this month. I also gotta work on some ref sheet, finish a birthday gift, andddd clear the askbox.

——

Timestamp: September 29

Oeghhhh.... too many ideas, not enough time. So many comic ideas. And I gotta tamp down my love of angst dvhkdfbnsf, make sure it makes sense first!! Decided to keep the aus separate. Normal Game Stuff is happening in the Badlands mainland, uh, I don’t know what ending we’d go with but anyways. ....hm. Maybe there’s no sosu and the factions are not making any progress. But probably’d lean towards Institute ending if I had to choose now.

Hm. Well. Maybe I did not think. Uh well in the other au Kiley’s with the Minutemen, and Nate’s with the BoS, so... well I’m not sure how this is gonna go- I’ll keep drawing memes till I think of something cool.

——

Timestamp: October 24

Well uhhhh. I dropped the October art challenge pretty quick, unfortunately. I’ll continue in December maybe? I said I’d do a few days of Halltober, and I don’t want to go back on what I said.

I keep continuing and dropping the au stuff, but that just proves I can continue a project! Maybe!! Maybe. It’ssss a comedy, so uh I’m not worried about making a Deep Story or anything. It’ll be fiiiiine. Just little slice of life stuff.

I wwwwwill get caught up on requests and gifts-

[inventors-fair]

Wanting Commentary: Finding what we're Looking For

Oh, I don’t know, I like these flavor angles. I love approaching things from different sides, from getting into the depths of human perspective. I wonder, for the cards where I feel the mark was missed, whether or not my approaches are actually aligned with other people’s, or if there just happens to be preconceived opinions on what makes a good connection that sporadically hits the mark in fun ways.

Regardless, there were a few angles I understood, and a few that felt either samey or off. That’s what happens when you have a single prompt and multiple responders, sure—hence the article I wrote about choosing unusual approaches. If you haven’t read that, I recommend it, but in general, I recommend that people really dig into their favorite weird cards. What’s off the beaten path? What makes good connections, well, connected?

I don’t want to be too harsh; there’s a lot to like about a lot of these cards. People did want to make their sense of flavor strong, and I like the ways in which people added or omitted flavor text as necessary. I like the way people approached flexibility this week. I liked feeling blindsided by my own perceptions, new takes on old twists as well as old warmth in new times.

JUDGE PICKS are cards that I want to point out for one specific reason or another, cards that either did something exemplary or touched me in a unique way. Let’s follow on.

~

@0woah — Nihilistic Stupor

We’re starting in a pretty specific place, then. So, hi, welcome, thank you for a first submission. We’ll clear a couple hurdles first, then get into the nitty-gritty. Stock photos! Stock photos are fine, provided that you have proper attribution; most sites have the original photographer credited, so if you have that, check it. Watermarks are enough to at least say that it’s not your original, but we do need the photographer in question.

Mechanically, aside from needing “Enchant player” as part of the Aura text, this card’s main critique is that there’s no exit condition, as it were. There will come a point where no player has access to lands and can’t play lands. If you’re the green-black deck, that’s not a problem for you with recursion, but this is for a draftable set. What’re other players going to do? It’s a distinctly unfun card that plays against a lot of contemporary sensibilities. This kind of effect would be considered unfun even in the 90’s.

Flavorfully, I have to admit, I don’t fully understand what you’re going for here. “Nihilistic” is a philosophical take that requires cognitive impetus, and “Stupor” is a state of unconsciousness; the two are inherently incompatible concepts without the right tie. I’m afraid I don’t understand what the flavor text is trying to emulate in terms of desire, either. Who is doing the wanting? What is the object of desire? How is nihilism relate to desire? Perhaps this made sense on the drawing board, but the idea doesn’t feel conveyed properly here. Consider a clearer distinction of character and motivation as someone else would perceive it.

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@bread-into-toast — Waterborne Wenders (JUDGE PICK)

Well, isn’t that adorable. The desire of the formless to become formed, and the impossibility of settling into oneness! Relatable. This art would be hellish to block out but very cool to see. “Fitting in everywhere, belonging nowhere.” It’s a little esoteric without the humanity, but seeing how changelings on Lorwyn occupy this almost alien niche in the hard-and-fast species distinctions found on the plane, we have to be distant from these creatures ourselves. We can’t understand the mechanism of their desire even as we observe it, and I think that that’s really neat.

The mechanics are a little odd for its cost. This feels like a big lad who’s gonna change into something, and for that cost, a pseudo-Cryptoplasm feels kind of steep. That said, I like the concept. I believe it should read: “At the beginning of your end step, you may exile ~, then return it to the battlefield under its owner’s control. You may have it enter the battlefield as a copy of another creature you control, except it has changeling and this ability.” If you make that one paragraph, you don’t need the other trigger because it’s part of the end step trigger, I believe. A fun card and a fun cost. I like the white there for the blinkiness. This is a card that I feel can be cute on its own, a draft enhancer rather than a staple.

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@deg99 — Scatter the Ashes

The mourning returns. This card is just about what can be expected, although I’m surprised that this name hasn’t been taken before, wow. I don’t think that this needs a world necessarily, and I wouldn’t really call it Innistradian. It doesn’t feel...morbid, weird as that may seem. That said it doesn’t really strike the emotional chords in the same way. Part of that comes from the major disconnect between the flavor and mechanics. The mechanics are great! This is an awesome limited counterspell. Counterspells are by nature reflexive, though, reaction in response to action.

The finality of your intended flavor is in response, as far as I can perceive, to the previous actions of the caster. The woman is deciding to release the ashes and move on, a self-contained series of events. What’s she countering? What’s being taken away but a concept she herself created? The sense of moving on is a rational want, and a strong emotional choice. It doesn’t make sense on a counterspell like this. Good ideas, fair execution on both, but the mesh isn’t happening. I recommend reworking the flavor text to be... Well, not more “exciting,” but more than what it is right now. Substantial and specific.

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@dimestoretajic — Tyrant’s Scepter (JUDGE PICK)

I agonized over this card a little bit, as much as agony compelled me this week, because if a whole bunch of other cards didn’t exist, this card would be absolutely fantastic and really silly. Perhaps there are some safeguards to ensure that Commander players wouldn’t abuse it, but someone’s gonna Do The Thing and I guess Hellkite Tyrant on a literal stick—turned into a literal stick?—is a bit different. The sacrifice is nice, and the five mana barrier is super cool. Flavorfully, you’re all-in on the despot’s desire, so that all checks out, no notes.

Look me in the eyes, captain. You and I both know that there’s a cEDH Breya player who would use this card to make people want to start a revolution. There’s no way around that. Limited-wise, I mean, this card’s awesome. I want to get away from my grousing and focus on the fact that this card’s still really good. It does exactly what it says it wants to do. Hm, is the Liquimetal Destruction deck too... Hm. I wonder if that permanence will affect playability elsewhere, actually. Probably not, but one never knows. I’m a Karn Prison guy, hence. There are enough answers in the world, and that’s all fine. Gah! Maybe I’m just chewing on my fingernails for no good reason here. I want to like this card more than I worry about it. Perhaps costs can be adjusted and/or I’ll get over myself.

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@halfsilveredmirror — Endless Regret

A consistent draw spell is nice. Literally replacing itself is pretty cool, and I don’t think playability would be affected by it. The ability for infinite discard with a single card in your library might fuel some weird engines, even more so than a Four Horseman kind of deck. Do I remember what the deck does? Nope. Anyway, this card. I really don’t feel that playability would be affected but I also don’t know. In limited, probably not. It would make decks significantly more powerful, especially if you get the sealed deck and really go nuts, but that’s unrelated.

The sticking point for me is the fact that the mechanics and flavor really don’t have anything to do with one another, and the flavor itself is so esoteric that I don’t know what the speaker (if indeed there is a speaker) is regretting or implying. The art depicting a reunion or a reflection of loss is interesting. Ultimately, still, it’s just not landing for me. There’s a line where subtlety becomes too abstract to convey intention.

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@helloijustreadyourpost — Sole Concern (JUDGE PICK)

...oh it’s ONE SIDED. Jeez. Okay, wow, for some reason I thought this affected all players on my first readthrough. Some minor things still stand but okay, that changes a lot of things. Wow. This does indeed level the playing field a ton and that’s awesome. Reminds me of a movie but I don’t remember which one. I might be losing my mind. Anyway, boardwipes! This card’s a necessity and I think it’s pretty much great. I won’t call it the most complex and I don’t think it needs to me. It’s got the exact right flavor, with the art direction putting a newer twist on it that makes it feel...cinematic, really. What’s a right decision, after all?

I do find it a little silly that there’s “sacrifice” in the flavor text as well; on-the-nose, as it were. That witch down there does indeed have some history, and that’s a great callback. I think the directness between the flavor text and the mechanics is, as a whole, a bit wink-nudge-y for the really gruesome image being depicted here. Still, I like the implied story behind it, and I like how you made the opponent the one to enact their desire, the one that becomes their damnation. Fantastic angle. We didn’t see a whole lot of that this week, I feel.

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@hypexion — Desire

This Desire is in the unfortunate position of being naturally compared to the other Desires this week, and like I said, I do like them all, and this card is no exception. It feels a lot like a Horizons kind of card, and you know what, that’s okay. What makes this one unique is the fact that it’s a universal desire with a black bend, not a strictly red one. Multicolor Incarnations are... Well, honestly, if there was an incarnation for these colors, I get how it would be “Desire”—focused wanting, doing anything to get it, slightly selfish, not really insidious but getting there, etc.

Perhaps the main question I have is about the Evoke part. One ETB here doesn’t necessarily advance the game in the expected manner. For the MH2 evokers, their reactive evocation is designed to work during different parts of the turn, cheaply or late-game. Judgment Incarnations have the graveyard clause. The question is: what would be the gameplay advantage of evoking this card? It doesn’t feel any more powerful and/or necessary to do it earlier or later, because you could absolutely whiff. The attack trigger is excellent there, so I do like that. And again, this card is fine for what it wants to be, and I can clearly picture what you were going for. Small note: “Treasure” should be capitalized.

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@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Eager Defender

I want to see the sketch for this art direction, because I don’t really know how you wanted to block this shot out. There’s a plain, and a cave, and these characters walking around...where? Sorry to judge this part of it, but I actually don’t fully grasp this depiction. It feels as busy as the mood. The mood’s understandable, and of all thing I’m getting an Adventure Time kind of vibe from this card. If that’s intended, well, congrats, and if not, yeah, that’s a testament to the business. This card really didn’t need flavor text with these three abilities, and the flavor text isn’t adding enough to justify itself here.

Mechanics are pretty awesome, though. I think that provoke isn’t going to be seeing its time in the sun, but that’s more me being sad than a critique of this card. I like provoke! It works really well here, with this creature swinging in and getting bigger. Oh, small notes: the Sengir effect says you need to say that the +1/+1 counter goes on Eager Defender and not the creature that died (lol Skullbriar), the “4” should be “four,” and Warrior should be capitalized. No, yeah, with a fair amount of equipment, this card could be pretty monstrous in limited, and that’s a fine uncommon for the archetype. The name, direction, and flavor are all still...sketchy to me? What’s eager about revenge? Eagerness implies positive creation, not regret. The mashup of moods ultimately glorps up what’s otherwise a decently solid RW beater.

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@izzet-always-r-versus-u — A Chance to Say Goodbye

Solid stuff. I like how you don’t get priority to prevent population. It makes for some pretty weird effects overall. I would personally say “sacrifice that token” to prevent some weird arguments, but whatever, I deal with the pedant that lives in my head, and YOU are free to ignore him. Anyway, I would give anything to say goodbye to my Worldspine Wurm once more, so thank you for the opportunity. I think this card’s doing exactly what it wants to and those sorts of effects can be cool depending on the environment. Seance tried to do something similar but didn’t quite get there. Maybe this is enough? I’m actually not sure about not having priority there. ETBs would get weird. Ah, what am I saying, token doubling is... Hm. Also weird here. But, hey, corner cases don’t happen as much in limited. I don’t see this card taking off in any decks, though, and it’s a wee bit not-broken-enough to be impactful.

The flavor text is one of those ones where I’m so on the fence. I want to really dig in and talk about the nuances but I don’t want to be a jerk about it on accident. What I like is the specificity. This card is about everything it wants to be about, and it’s depicting this single thing, and boom, this cool reanimation effect is framed around an intense motion. I do feel that there are cuts to be made, or at least places to tighten it up. Maybe a comma after “Then” and you could even end on “wind” there. “Gentle” can be cut, IMO. If you want, lean into the notion of negative space. What’s there left on the wind, or what does the wind feel like now, if not the space where the embrace is no longer. Y’know? You have a lot of options. This moment was a good choice overall. Honorary JP for that alone.

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@misterstingyjack — Homesickness

Flavor-wise, “It is unclear whether the sun is rising or setting” goes hard for me. That would be a really cool point of contention for people, and I think that the flavor text would really come to a head when there’s a long game happening with lots of returning and triggering and no haste and having to hold open cards and yadda yadda yadda. It’s a pretty general sense but it’s done really well. The depiction of a journeying event checks out and your mood is what really sells it, an impending, almost horror-like sense of uncertainty if we’ll ever get there.

Mechanically, was this supposed to be like Sunken Hope? Aside from the sacrifice clause and one blue pip, it’s exactly the same. And...that’s literally all I can say about it, isn’t it? I hope that this was unintentional and you accidentally struck gold before the realization that you’re not in a mine and you’re in fact in a history museum, sir, I’ll have to ask you to leave and put down that pickaxe. If it WAS intentional, I’m just gonna stand here with my hands on my hips and give you a look. I have no idea at this point in time! But, well, what else can I say about it. Do your research, folks.

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@nine-effing-hells — Mul Daya Homeseeker

I think that the subtitle and flavor aren’t doing any favors to a card that’s otherwise really fascinating to me. This might be, considering our most recent visit to Zendikar in the story, the saddest trampling creature I’ve ever seen. Emotionally, I mean. I’m gonna stop before I browse through ten pages of trampling creatures on Scryfall, though. So! Yeah, no, perhaps “Homeseeker” is a fine enough title, but I wish there was more for the flavor text to really sell me.

If you’re drafting this card, though, I wonder what on earth you’re doing. You can run one of each other basic and actually ramp in a super roundabout way, splashing the weirdness, or this is a set with a number of odd nonbasics like how Zendikar had, and that’s pretty awesome. In a constructed event you can do some amazing things and I love how variable you can make it. Maybe it’s not good enough for Legacy Lands. It doesn’t have to be! This card can do some pretty slick stuff and I like the way you balanced a strong effect with a deckbuilding constraint asked of it. The feeling of soured perseverance is strongly present.

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@piccadilly-blue — Issac Astralion, Haunted Physicist/The Singularity

Well, that’s a mouthful! Lots of things going on here, okay, phew. You clearly had a strong direction for this card, and I actually love the commander-esque approach to experience counters eventually transforming something. We’re designing (per the usuals) for standard/limited by default, but there’s nothing to say you can’t get experience counters there, too. I think that it’s almost like the City’s Blessing, or it could be! How experience transforms you. Very slick.

The Singularity, as I’ve mentioned about another card on here, is a non-exit-claused card whose sole purpose is kind of miserable. There are cards that sink the board, but they eventually go away, like Pestilence. It’s unfortunately just not fun to be sitting on the board with nothing to do until you happen to get your removal which may eventually get countered. Seeing as this is your character, as mentioned, I won’t claim to know the story, so that part of it I won’t press on about; their goals are pretty abundantly clear. The flavor text on both sides is...a lot. The LotR reference on the back certainly raises an eyebrow, as does the long first name. Honestly, though, there’s the what-I-like and the what-needs-work, and the little polish/presentation tweaks aren’t anything new to custom cards, so don’t sweat it.

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@reaperfromtheabyss — Heatgrasper (JUDGE PICK)

You know, I was a bit down on this card at first until I realized that she died of hypothermia. Then it was all upside! You absolutely need to shorten this flavor text. “trapped in her final moments” needs to come out, and I would replace “some warmth” with “a fire.” Do whatever you need to, though. Anyway! Yay, here we are, some kind of not-exactly-great ending here. But it’s okay, because I can envision what you were going for and I like the way it happened. For a while, I thought she drowned, and then I put my head on straight.

Stunning creatures is super cool. Depending on if this is a world with spirit bonuses, the ability to beef up or protect her would be awesome. She doesn’t need that necessarily, but she does indeed need some friends around her to stall the game. And that’s cool! What a cheap use of stun counters, really mean. I can see this card having an application solely in limited and nowhere else and I can see it being a massive pain in the butt to deal with as your opponent stalls you out. Good stuff.

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Tune in tomorrow! You might learn a thing or two.

@abelzumi