#also january last year i think one of my first drawings i posted that month was the vogue twins too

[copperbadge]

I was making breakfast and listening to an episode of Just King Things this morning, which is a podcast I do recommend -- two very smart English teachers are reading the books of Stephen King in publication order and discussing them. This could go extremely awry except they're both highly conscious of his failings as well as his skill, so they do really well handling a lot of his less salutatory content.

They've hit the point in King's ouvre (this episode was about Hearts In Atlantis) that follows his recovery from the car accident that very nearly killed him, where he was struck by a van while out walking. One of them pointed out that it seems as though he came back from nearly dying determined to write the wildest shit imaginable and only write what he wanted, which struck a chord in me this time despite having listened to this episode before. Perhaps because I was thinking about my own writing and where it's going in the short term (there are a couple of short stories I want to do that I don't quite have a way into yet). I generally don't think about the drift of my creativity in the long term because when I do I usually draw the wrong conclusions.

I don't really classify my life, the way some people who've had high-impact injuries do, as before-TBI and after-TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury -- the fairly severe concussion I had in January of 2020). For one thing, given I had to cancel a trip to NYC because of it, it may have saved my life; I almost certainly would have caught COVID as someone with known lung issues in New York at the time. For another, the TBI was way scarier to almost everyone else; for me it was just one more dumb injury I gave myself and I didn't even remember most of it so it hardly registered. I used to open the story of it with a joke about waking up not remembering going to bed the night before, but nobody ever found it funny.

It's true that there are changes it wrought in my life, though. Even practical stuff like making sure my living space doesn't have tripping hazards and continuing to wear a fitbit even though I don't really need to (the fitbit told us, the morning after, exactly when the concussion happened, because it registered a heart-rate spike when I fell). For weeks after, I had to move slowly and put off making important decisions because I couldn't trust my physical or intellectual judgement; I didn't even jaywalk in my own neighborhood because I couldn't be sure I was judging the cars' speeds properly. For about a year after I had periodic post-concussion syndrome which basically just slammed me back into concussion space, which wasn't painful or upsetting but was definitely inconvenient.

And it's also undeniable that my writing shifted after the injury. It's not necessarily because of the injury, since my initial recovery from the TBI and the declaration of quarantine happened at roughly the same time, and anyone who tells you that a years-long global pandemic didn't impact their artistic expression is selling you a line. But the last thing I wrote before the TBI was the first draft of Six Harvests, and aside from the Six Harvests publication draft, which had fairly minimal changes, almost all that I've written has been blue-sky, light-hearted, PG-rated romance. It's been on my mind that I've been writing different subject matter from what I used to, but the timing of it didn't strike me until just recently.

I don't mind, really. I love fandom and I support fanfic in whatever expression it comes, but I'm also happy writing my own stories. While I'm aware it's been years since I've meaningfully written fanfic, it doesn't bother me per se, as long as I'm writing. It bothered me much more when I could write fanfic but not original fic, especially in those last few awful months at my last job. I'm proud of the literary and non-genre fiction I've written in the past, but it's also much more trying and frustrating to write at times, so I'm enjoying having a different sort of challenge that feels more fulfilling in the process. I'm sure at some point I'll go back to literary fiction -- there are ways in which it's hard to avoid turning the later Shivadh novels into literary fiction, being honest -- but for now I like what I'm writing, and I'm writing primarily to please myself and without regard to what's necessarily rational or linear.

Just struck me, is all, that it's by far the most noticeable major shift in my work. I do sort of wonder what will be next.

[celerydays]

could you walk us through what notebooks & journals & pens /etc you use - they look so good!

I would be SO happy to, you have no idea!!

Alright, let's fucking GOOOO~

Starting off with my current "workhorse" pens - I have like *checks notes* 36 fountain pens and a bit too many inked up atm, but these are just the ones I'm currently reaching for or have inked up more often than not:

TWSBI Go (F): Kinda ugly! But also kinda cute! It's cheap and works great (I friggin love TWSBI pens tbh) and it has a little hole on the cap where you can attach a lanyard or charms, like I did! Makes it cuter imo and it's kind of my emotional support pen these days.

Opus88 Pocket (EF): This 2022 edition has a little Moon tarot design on the cap so it's pretty much the pen I use exclusively for my witchy/tarot practice journals! A lil bummed the cap doesn't post, especially since its a shorter pocket-sized pen, but not a deal breaker and I still love it.

Pilot Custom 823 (F): My grail pen that I've literally coveted for years and just recently acquired at the DC Pen Show this weekend! It's only been a day but I think it could potentially become my favorite pen. Ever.

Pilot Prera (CM): This is my third Prera lol. I just think they're great and really underrated pens! Also a recent acquisition from the DC Pen Show and this cursive M nib is suuuuper fun to write with.

Pilot Vanishing Point (EF): My favorite pen for planning! Super fine-tipped for writing task lists and schedules and love that it's so convenient/quick-draw with the click mechanism.

(I'm totally a Pilot pen ho, can you tell? asdjflaglsg)

Journals/Planners/Notebooks under cut–

Sterling Ink B6 Common Planner: For a good chunk of this year, I was in this planner because I honestly love the size and all the layouts. Super practical and flexible as a system. 10/10 would go back. I've used it to plan, as a reading journal, as a tarot log...

But I get the itch to move around so it's been sitting a little unused since like June, oop.

Leuchtturm A6: I started craving something tiny and minimal so I've been bullet journaling in this pocket notebook for the last month or two and I'm really enjoying it!

Standard-sized Tomoe River Paper notebook: This is pretty consistent in that I don't change up the system itself, but I'm in and out of it for memory keeping/scrapbook journaling! It's almost always a Tomoe River paper notebook of SOME kind that I usually buy in A5 size to go to FedEx and get it cut down to standard. Though I'm thinking of getting a blank Midori MD A5 to have cut down next time - I've been liking the freedom of blank pages for journaling instead of anything lined or gridded.

I really need to catch up with it tbh, but I love sitting in an explosion of printed photos, stickers, and washi and going ham with the pages.

(I do have a flip through of my January-March 2022 pages on YouTube)

Midori MD Cotton B6 Slim: I also have this sketchbook that sorta turned into a visual sketch diary of sorts. I fell off a while ago but want to get back into it because it's super fun to work in and to look back on!

Wide-sized Cosmo Air Light notebook & A5 Filofax Malden: These are my tarot/witchy journals. Grimoires I guess? One is for journaling and all my messier notes while the other is more for reference and ease of organization.

A5 Leuchtturm: I didn't know if I should include this guy, but I've been writing it in a lot recently so I guess I will lol. This is like truuuly a miscellaneous™ notebook.

I got this A5 notebook back in 2017 to use as my very first bullet journal, then found out that this size is personally waaaay too big for me to use as a bullet journal so I hopped off of it pretty quick. It now sits on my desk because since it's mostly blank I'll just pick it up to use it to write literally A N Y T H I N G.

Most recently, I wrote like 5 pages in one night on notes for a fanfiction piece I was working on (I'm not a writer, this fic is never gonna see the light of day by anyone but me lololol. Hyperfixation is so wild; I've put 80k+ words within just 10 days into it so far and it's been hella therapeutic.)

That's all, I think!?

It's funny because I actually have a NEW notebook arriving tomorrow that I'm going to try out as a bujo/commonplace/omni journal of sorts?? I might write an update post after I've set that up and see how I like it <3

[choicesficwriterscreations]

January Creator of the Month: Jerzwriter

Each month, CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers or artists, and this month’s creator of the month is CFWC's own @jerzwriter.  The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog Complete Masterlist

How do you want to be known on Tumblr? 

Elsa

More below...

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played? 

It was sometime in 2017, and the first book I ever played was The Royal Romance, Book 1.

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

I joined a couple Facebook groups in 2019. I just wanted to discuss stories with others who were interested, as no one in my real life reads Choices. I didn't even know I was entering a fandom. lol I started reading fanfic on Tumblr the following year, but I found Tumblr intimidating, so I was mostly a silent reader. I didn’t start writing and contributing until May 2021, mostly because Open Heart was ending and I was in denial. 🙂

3- How did you pick your blog name? 

It’s pretty boring, actually. I’m from NJ, and I write. I wanted it to be JerZwriter, so people would know it is Jer-ZEE-Writer, but that wasn’t doable, so it’s Jerzwriter, and most think it is Jerz-Writer. Oh, well!  

4- Pull up the first and last posts in your archive, and tell us about them!  

My first post was the first chapter of my Ethan x Casey x Tobias love triangle, Delaying the Inevitable (OH).  It was my very first fanfic and I really didn't think I'd write anything beyond that.  I was so green back then, not only to fanfic but to the fandom as well. I’m really glad that I was naive because I don’t think I would have had the courage to post it if I had, but I’m glad that I did. 

My last post was Falling for You, a little drabble I wrote for Tobias x Casey (OH), and it featured a commission by the talented artist @weetlebeetle. It was a light, fun piece that took place early in Tobias and Casey's relationship, and it shows Tobias at his absolute simpiest. Lol 

5- Do you write fanfiction, create fan art, or are you one of those really gifted people who do both? 

Oh, how I wish I could draw, but I can't.  So, I’m strictly a writer. I may try giving drawing a go again, but I don't expect much to come of it. lol

6- How long have you been creating for Choices and for any other fandoms?

Choices was the first fandom I ever wrote for, and I started in May of 2021.  So, just over two and a half years. I have written a little bit for some other fandoms since that time, but I primarily write for Choices.

7- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to create for?

Tough question.  I write for Open Heart, Crimes of Passion, and Wake the Dead, and they are three of my favorite stories. I also loved Desire & Decorum, but I never wrote for it.  Though, I’m planning a re-read, and you never know. 🙂

8- Share your first Choices fanfic or fan art that you posted with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were creating it today?

It was the first chapter of Delaying the Inevitable. I was so green when I started that series that I’m sure there are things I would change, but I’m still very proud of it.  That series will always have a special place in my heart.  I’d like to revisit it one day to “clean it up”, it could use some condensing. But I would never change the storyline.

9- What is your favorite piece of fiction or art that you created? 

This is such an unfair question. lol The Delaying the Inevitable Series definitely comes to mind, but I’m also very proud of my Eli Sipes prequel stories, A Mother’s Journal, Coming Up Blank, and The End of the World. But Tobias and Casey are my favorite pairing, and I simply love the world I created for them. And while my headcanon for them is my favorite, I cannot pick just one fic for them, and I'm not going to! lol But, I've also written a bunch of AUs for them, and Friends* is one of my favorites.

10- Do you have a fic/art that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to do well but found it could use a little more love?

Yes, to both! The fandom is much smaller today, but back when we were more active, I learned you couldn't predict how a fic would be received.  There are too many to name, but I will say whenever my smut does well (and quite a few of them have), I’m always astounded. lol 

11-  If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? 

This is such a difficult question because I believe the best stories incorporate a little of each, and, as a writer, exploring all three helps spur creativity. Also, my absolute favorite is angst with a happy ending, so there is definitely some fluff in there (and I'm never mad at a little smut being thrown in!) But if I were forced to choose, it would probably be angst.  I think that's where I am strongest, and I just love raw emotion. I think that’s where character development really occurs. I have not written as much angst recently, and I miss it.  Perhaps I need a change in 2024. 

12 - Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

There are definitely parts of me in my MCs and OCs, but I do my best to prevent them from becoming self-inserts.  I'm not as cool as any of them, that's for sure! lol That said, I do find inspiration for my fics in real life, so there is bound to be a little crossover. When using real-life inspiration, I try to change details so that the fiction is not a carbon copy of the real-life event. Normally, by the time I'm done, they're hardly recognizable.

13 - What element of writing/art do you struggle with most? Where do you feel you are strongest?

I struggle most with setting a scene. Dialogue is my strong suit, and that just flows for me. It flows so much that sometimes I forget to describe what's going on around the conversation. I think this is particularly easy to do in fanfiction because so much of the "world" has already been provided for us, so I recognize this more when I'm writing original works.

The other thing I struggle with? Brevity. I know I can go on, and on, and on. lol I've gotten much better at this, but there is still room for improvement.

14 - Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

(Elsa leaves the room, quietly crawls under her desk, and hides…) YES!!! Far, far too many, and no matter how much I share those posts that say, "You don't have to finish! If you're not feeling it, move on!" I don't believe it! lol I really want to make wrapping them up a priority in 2024.  But I also know writing - particularly good writing - cannot be forced.  So, it's a goal, but I'll only do it if I feel it’s right. 

15 - If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to see your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you show them first? 

It would depend on who asked.  I’m not ashamed of writing fanfic at all, but if I believed the person would be judgemental, I wouldn't be willing to share.  A few of my friends have read select pieces of my fanfic, and I’ve always received positive feedback from them. I wouldn’t be opposed to sharing more.  What I'd share would depend greatly on the person asking.

16 - Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing or art? Are there any artists that influence you?

There are many published writers that I admire, but I don’t think they've influenced my writing here. Within the fandom, there are many writers who have inspired me in different ways. There is no way I can ever name them all. But I'd like to give a shout-out to some.

@jamespotterthefirst and @bex-la-get were among the first writers I read when I joined Tumblr. I found their passion for both canon and the worlds they created inspiring, especially as Open Heart was nearing its end and all of us addicts needed our fill. Reading their works helped keep the story alive for me and so many others, and it inspired me to try my hand at it as well. To my shock, they were both so encouraging and supportive of me when I arrived, and I'm forever grateful. Back then, I thought they were rockstars - and they are! But now, they're also friends. I wasn't familiar with @alwaysmychoices from the start, but when I came across their work, I was just blown away.  Weekend with Dr. Ramsey will live rent-free in my head forever, and that headcanon about Charlie calling Ethan the night before she marries someone else. (I faint.) Ohhh, the delicious angst! The way she made me feel what Charlie felt was just mind-boggling, and it encouraged me to really dig into my character's emotions and bring them to life in a more meaningful way.

Early on, I read @utterlyinevitable, and the thing that impressed me the most was how Dom was willing to "write stories that “went "go there.”  They tackled issues that others wouldn't touch.  In their world, everything wasn’t perfect, including the characters themselves. I admired that vision and, frankly, bravery, and it definitely encouraged me to write what I wanted to and not what I felt was expected of me.

More recently, @mydemonsdrivealimo inspired me to explore parts of my MCs that I have not delved into in the past.  In particular, Casey's bisexuality. It can be challenging to represent a bisexual character when they are in a straight-presenting relationship, and you risk alienating readers no matter what you do (looking at all readers here.) So it becomes easier to be lazy and ignore it. But that's a disservice to the character as much as it's a disservice to people living similar situations in real life... like I have many times. Through MJ's writing and our conversations, they've helped me become more aware and do a better job in this regard, and I'm not even sure if they know this - it may totally be news to them lol - but I'm eternally grateful. Now, I feel my girl Casey is free, and OMG, how I love our characters playing together in HC now!

Then there are @lilyoffandoms and @storyofmychoices, who bring joy to all that they touch. Who knew when Lily created a little drabble putting our characters in a new world together, it would end up being one of the brightest fandom spots of 2023? Who knew that so much more would stem from that one work? Seriously, it's been one of the highlights of my fandom experience this year, and it's helped me to find inspiration at times when I felt like it was lost. Thank you both - I am so lucky to have you both here!

There are so many more I could mention, but I'd still forget people and feel horrible, so I want to take the chance to thank every writer in the fandom for sharing their gifts with us. Each of you is an inspiration in your own way; each of you can give someone an idea, and you have no idea where that spark will lead. So, never stop sharing!

17-  Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series? 

Delaying the Inevitable, Friends*, All in the Past, and the WIP What’s Forever For. I also think some of my Ethan x Tobias works would have made for a good sitcom, and how I wish my Tobias x Casey friendship with Bryce x Jensen would be an epic sitcom. The world needs it! lol   (Jensen belongs to @mydemonsdrivealimo.)

19- Do you write original fiction or create non-fandom art? 

I do. Mostly shorter stories that will never see the light of day, but also some more substantive works... which will also never see the light of day! lol I wrote a novel-length political thriller some time ago. It would need a ton of work to bring it up to 2024, as the political landscape has changed so much. I also have two original WIPs I've been writing. One is an angsty story about a friendship that's loosely based on a childhood friend I lost to cancer a few years ago.  The other is a polyamorous romance about two best friends who fall for the same person. It's really a beautiful, emotional story. If I like the end result, maybe I'll let it see the light of day... maybe. lol

20-  What other hobbies do you have?

I enjoy theater, and I'm lucky enough to live in the best part of the world to partake in that.  I go to a lot of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and local theater productions. I also love going to concerts - they’re like group therapy! Trust me, I got more out of seeing Noah Kahan and Hozier in 2023 than I did from the entirety of sessions with my therapist - and I loved my therapist. lol

Prior to 2020, I did a fair amount of traveling, and I hope to start doing a little more this year.  But I have to admit, since the lockdown, I’ve become more of a homebody, and I like it, so we’ll see how that goes! 

I used to be very involved with activism and advocacy for women’s, lgbtq+, and mental health issues. I still am, but in a different capacity than I was in the past. These issues require people fighting for them, and doing so has always been a huge part of who I am, but it can be draining, and burnout is real. I really reached the end of my rope. So, nowadays, I work as a volunteer for a couple local organizations that really mean a lot to me. I'm not involved in grassroots efforts or taking trips to talk to legislators as often, but I'm helping people on a smaller scale, and that still goes a long, long way.

22: BONUS - tell us anything you’d like (if you want to).

As most of you know, I’m one of the mods here at CFWC, so it was a little weird when my the wheel landed on my name.  But, honestly, it’s happened before, and I've just spun again, even though I am eligible. But this time around, I decided to do it. This fandom really means a lot to me, and I wanted to share a little more about myself and my crazy pixelated people.

I'm truly grateful to everyone in the fandom who does their part to make this a place that many, like me, still see as a place they want to be. We're smaller, it's imperfect, it has plenty of problems, but I am choosing to focus on the good... because there is much more of that than there is bad. So, thank you to each of you... and I hope we all have a wonderful 2024! xo

PS... My header... I know Tobias wasn't technically an LI... which was truly criminal. So, that's what fandom is for, fixing what canon effed up. lol My favorite canon LI is Trystan Thorne (COP). I tried adding their picture to the header alongside Tobias, but it looked terrible, so here I am. :)

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I can't wait to highlight more of you in 2024! :)

[synthshenanigans]

woah hey a year has been passed wowie :0

First two weren't posted here cos they were too long ago & not CJish related but love the way he took up 70% of the year lol

[ Full images + templates below :} ]

[TW for Bright Colors, maybe blood & very very vague themes of depression/suicide for like 2 drawings I believe]

Long text about the arts if anyones actually curious!!

January: An old OC I completely forgot about until making this. He's based on old radio like things :}

February: Played Person 5 Royal last year & drew Joker cos idk he's neat. Fun fact, the same day I fully finished the game was the day Storm & a Spring came out. Also while grinding in the game, I had his Bidding & VoaC covers on repeat. Which was a bit annoying to do since they weren't on Spotify yet & YT on mobile didn't have looping then.

March: The Hawaii Part ii album cover :} I did post that eventually but that's the time I actually made it. Had listened to TME a couple of months before then which got me into the album, so months later I drew it cos why not? [Also the month Vol.1 fully released on everything. What's funny is my gallery for that day was a handful of memes I saved at 4am before I fell asleep. And then the next image saved is when I woke up which was a screenshot of the whiteboard in TfaR lol]

April: First main Jash art !!! And its not even with any of the songs from Vol. 1 lol. I had his Moss cover on repeat again & now that all of Vol. 1 was out, I drew Heart in some moss. Or really in the image from the video.

May: Lil animation I made of Heart with the song Don't Hit the Lights! Link to my post & the song can be found here :}. Still really like the song & even the drawings. Might remake em eventually idk

June: Sky/socialc1imb's Clue AU! I like murder mysteries & this one was real interesting so I drew it a lot lol. Might remake that one or one of the others I made at somepoint? It'll be a bit later if I do but ye

July: A redraw of a HMS piece I originally made back in May, based on the Three Wise Monkeys thing. I like the idea of it so I keep wanting to remake it.

August: I honestly can't remember if I posted that art or not. Actually yea I don't think I ever did PFFT. It's one of the few drawings I did of myself this year & its from CJs Not Perfect cover [as you can tell by the lyrics on it]. Also one of the very very few vent-ish arts I made. I like the background more than anything but its still neat ig?

September: Art for one of the best songs ever. I love Fine, I'm Fine its so good & I listened to it for like 70% of the 20+ hours it took me to make the drawing. Still proud of it so there's the sketch I drew on paper, the one on my tablet & then the final versions.

October: There was a lot from this month due to Jashtober. I still like this one lot & it wasn't insanely rushed so I picked this one to show lol.

November: I have no idea why I made a fun lil soul. I was having an identity crisis over my art style & ig decided to draw the guy who is a walking identity crisis/j

December: Same as September. One of my favorite songs ever was covered & released, so I made a drawing like everyone else lol.

[moonlit-orchid]

Zexal month day 1- The Fool

(Might be a repeat because i dont know if the first one was posted :( @zexalmonth )

Low Effort Journalist: Well, then, to start, what's your name???

???: Um, Angella Ravenhenge (Amano Rika/ Rika Amano in the sub)

Lej: Well then, miss Ravenhenge! How long have ya been living in Heartland???? What made ya decide to move here?????

Angella: W-Well, I've been here since January, 2021. I spent a few months here with family when I was younger, and my sister wanted to come back so... we came.

Lej: NICEEEE! SO TELL ME, WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO HERE?!

Angella: Uh-! I like to draw and write and duel...

Lej: WHADDYA DUEL WITH?

Angella: W-well, if I speed duel in Duel Links, I like the Stellarknights... otherwise I use multiple decks. My go to is Albaz Strike.

Lej: Who do ya duel with? Lil' school friends?

Angella: "Little school friends"-? I'm an adult! I generally like dueling with Chris and Michael Arclight, Rio Kastle, and this guy named Astral. It's fun to duel with Yuma too. Although if you get me and Mizar to duel we will start a fight over whose dragons are stronger...

Lej: WONDERFUL! A RIVAL AND FRIENDS! AND MAYBE A LOVER????

Angella: Maybe you ask too many questions!

Lej: TELL US!

Angella: I'm done fooling with you.

----

So when I first saw this prompt I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Figured it would be a fun way to introduced myself, with the aid of my oc (who is very heavily inspired by myself °3°)

I am Angel. The Heartland backstory is based on how I got into Zexal. I watched it as a kid and then in January 2021, my sister wanted to rewatch. I actually didn't want to- I hated the idea and was gonna make fun of the whole thing mostly because I was watching Ducktales at the time- and yet two years later here I am with a yugioh inspired username :D

The bit about the decks is real. In Duel Links I used the Stellarnight deck (until the last Zexal update/skill was made and I just duel with that but for the sake of the story I had to leave it out), and my favourite irl deck is Albaz Strike.

My favourite characters are, you guessed it, Chris and Michael Arclight, Rio, and Astral! And my least favourite is actually Mizar-mostly because he's my sister's favourite (and also I like dragons. it amuses me to think of me and him having beef over who has greater command of the dragons).

And yes, I do like to draw and write and aim to do it more!

[thelocalmuffin]

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my accomplishments in 2023 before the year ends with a little bit of self reflection notes. You can enjoy everything in the read below.

Some fandoms highlighted include DGS, nintendo, and pokemon.

First off, this year has been hard for me. It's been a lot of self reflection and figuring my goals out after some became unattainable.

With that being said, I did accomplish a lot this year. I published my first recipe in a zine, finishing my first zine, improved my writing a lot, and picked up drawing once again. I also was able to get some actual help with some issues I have struggled with for years.

I want thank you all for your support. It means a lot that you enjoyed my artworks, writing, and ambition. Now here are my highlights for each month.

January: Foxtrot - An Asoryuu kitsune AU. One of the stories I took in when I was at my lowest last year and sparked a lot of my interest to keep writing. Plus Kitsune Kazuma.

February: Encore - A hassius story about motivation and being patient about the creation process. Though this was more or less my thoughts on this topic in general, this story literally inspired me to take my own advice and pick up drawing again.

March: The Memories that Lie - This was one I actually finished, but am glad I did. It's an asoryuu vampire story I was actually planning on scrapping, but ended up finishing anyway out of sheer stubbornness. To finish it, it took me completely restarting five chapters, but it came out a lot better than the original draft had mapped out.

April: This is when I took my hiatus and started to draw again in my free time. I was worn out, stressed, and collapsing under the pressure. This was my first piece that I posted.

May: Was a huge month for me. I launched the @blossominglovezine that you can enjoy here and published my first recipe in The Grand Adventure to Make the Perfect Cake for the @tgaacspringzine

June: I made my first icon! I was really busy this month planning for the trip of my dreams and doing some irl side work that ended up being permanent employment.

July: So I went to Las Vegas for a foodie tour. When I had a moment, I decided to draw the lovely Unicorn Goddess outfit.

August: This is when I did the Timmverse art study. This month was more of finishing up some logistics of zine work and getting a story out in the wild.

September: Goes to the Princess Peach Showtime piece I did! This piece really cemented my current style. And yes, I keep calling it Princess Peach Spotlight. Also wanted to mention I helped successfully launch the @dgscrimezine

October: Goes to my OC piece. CW for blood, but this piece was made for Halloween and the shading was really on point. I love this design for this OC.

November: I'm going with the fact I completed a ship week, asoryuu week. I got everything done at a reasonable time and was able to create so many fun pieces. 1 2 3 4 5 7. I had to skip day 6 because I ended up having an emergency. I also started pre-orders for my first for purchase zine, @desire-asoryuu-zine. This is still in pre-orders, so I wasn't sure if I was going to add it, but this is a big accomplishment for me.

December: I actually haven't been able to do much this month due to the holidays and getting distracted by Pokemon DLC, but I did draw this super cute Yuma!

Other highlights do include being accepted to multiple zine projects as a mod and contributor, which has been very exciting for me. You can check out that list here.

This upcoming year, I'll be helping with more projects and the @aawlwminibang events! I really want to do a personal project that I've been building up my skills for before pursuing, but now I think I'll be able to handle it. I won't announce it yet since it's still very much in development, but I hope I can in 2024.

Thank you all for your support this year. It has meant a ton.

[linaket]

Monthly Update (Feb 6, 2024)

It has definitely been... a January. This year, I had a lot of plans and goals relating to my writing, but a lot of them are already not going through. One was to do weekly or monthly updates, kind of like when I did weekly updates while working on TS. But, it's still early in the year, so I figure its better late than never. Also still early in the month even if I didn't manage to get this out there at the end of January...

My personal life has been a bit hectic. First thing was that some major projects in the house I planned to have completed last year were finally finished this month--I have all new windows installed in my house now, and a new door, and while I didn't personally do the windows (I did install the door, though) it takes a lot of time to prep before and clean up after reno projects and get the house back in order, so I've spent the last two weeks on this. Additionally, I'd applied for a promotion at work, and then was coated in stress waiting for the results... (which I received a few days ago... and I got it! Been a long time coming, really.)

So this is the first one of these... just gonna throw things out here and decide on a format as they go.

Books Read

Finally completed The Fifth Season trilogy by N. K. Jemison. I wanted to finish this one last year, but the last book lingered into the new year.

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

The Dead Take The A Train by Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey

Important Posts

I shared a summary of my 2024 writing goals/wips on instagram. I meant to bring this over to tumblr and do a bit more on it but... didn't. Maybe this month?

Shadow's Prey: Act 1 wip intro here on tumblr

Writing

30k on Mortal Teeth. 15 chapters done of.. ?? a lot probably. 40 something, at least, if not 50-60 range. This completed the second major arc/goalpost (there are about 5 of these at the moment)

Shadow's Prey: Act 1 formatting is moving along well, and so it's still on time for a March release. I may aim more for mid March, depends on how quickly I'm able to finish up the extras and get some promo in. I really wish I could figure out exactly what size image it takes to make a full-page image in ebooks, but I think I'm going to have to settle for the title page not being... perfect. Which. Does not make me happy. But there really isn't a way to appease every e-reader, as they are all different sizes, so I am finding there is only so much I can control here.

Favorite Excerpt

I wrote a lot of things in Mortal Teeth that I was proud of this past month, but one of my favorite things I ran across when writing was realizing that my writing has improved... massively. It's been a while since I've had a leap of growth that I can easily pinpoint, but the extra I planned for SP Act 1 was partially written, and I needed to work on it. I kept getting stuck on continuing because something about it felt off/forced when I tried, so I did the classic open a new doc and retype/rework as I go... and quickly realized why I was having trouble working on it. My style had shifted dramatically....

This isn't a major point in the short, but I wrote the beginning of this around the middle of last year and it went from this:

Whereas Kanna actively ignored Masao’s approach, Ira glared at him in challenge. “Here,” Kanna said, drawing Ira’s attention by offering Amon’s reins as a lead. “Find someone to tend him, and get me a count of the survivors.” Masao’s voice at her back carried a smirk she could feel between her shoulder blades. “What about the casualties?”

to this:

While Ira glared at Masao in challenge, Kanna actively ignored him. Though she was coated with the blood of those she’d killed, her hands to her wrists to her elbows with it, Masao delighted in his stain. Even here, with the smell of death in the air and the unholy silence that followed battle, he smiled. The joy he radiated amidst destruction unsettled her, something deep inside of her flinching from it. Kanna gathered Amon’s reins, drawing Ira’s attention by offering them. “Find someone to tend him, and get me a count of the survivors.” Masao’s voice at her back carried a smirk she could feel between her shoulder blades. “What about the casualties?”

Final Thoughts

I was excited to get through another phase of MT in writing, but I don't think the time I've allotted to finish the draft is going to be enough. This stresses me out a bit, because I gave myself a pretty tight schedule for the year with all the releases (there are 4 ebooks, and I was considering restarting Act 4 in the serial which would be 5 releases total....)

I'm actually... thinking once again that I won't go back to serial posting for SP. Tapas was/is my primary platform for it, and I am simply... no longer a fan of the platform, and not really interested in others, either. So that might be one of the things in the "coming this year" that ends up pushed to next year or later this year, depending, as it will likely be an ebook release instead of serial and... I'm still working on drafting the teeth wip and I don't see it taking a backseat for a while, until I'm truly stuck.

I've been trying not to beat myself up about not doing the things I said I'd do at the start of the year (daily journaling, more updates here and other platforms, etc) because it's simply... not great for me. And really, I'm not sure I would have had the aforementioned improvement in my writing if I'd continued to stress myself out about writing itself, on top of doing all these other things that I'm supposed to do. I took it pretty easy last year after a massive disappointment, shutting down a lot of my online presence and focusing on reading and writing for myself, and I think that's what allowed me to become comfortable again and led to growth. I don't want to feel as defeated as I had that time, because its the kind of thing that would have led to me completely giving up in my younger years, and I also don't want to get stagnant because I'm trying to do too much that isn't... the actual writing. So... I guess we'll see how this goes?

[kazeharuhime]

Thanks to @authoroflight for the original template! (Though I might have customized it beyond recognizability ksdjgnsd)

2023... I got a lot of art done this year compared to past years! Though the year started out slow, between trades and commissions, the first quarter of the year somehow managed to have at least one good drawing a month, even if March's old-sketch-paintover looks a little strange next to all the creatures. XD; May and June continued the theme of painting over old, though June's original was considerably newer than May's. It also took me forever to find it!! Several of the ones I'd been going to put for June turned out to be from different months (no date on them so was going by modified date at first, oops!). And in July of course there was the Clysmia comic, August with the Choco 'comic'. September was another low but I managed to churn out another paintover. October of course had my annual flower-drawing saga with the last one featured here, and in November I got bored and drew Comet, and December held a delightful surprise in the form of a book-illustrating commission. :3 Gonna keep that one to just a preview since it's part of something that'll be published.

But! Let's go through all the rest. Keep reading for more on the rest of the pieces.

January - This was a secret santa for my good friend @toothpaste-dragon of her OC Baz! Love this grumpy crust of an alien. :D You can view the full pic here.

February - This was a commission from @dreagonarchives of her guy Guido! Full pic: x

March - Paintover I did of my character Sleepi from Torn Apart! Since it was done over an older pic the style looks a little incongruent from my current style 😅 But this was also almost a year a go now, so, y'know.

April - My half of a design trade with @chrystallink! Doggos are a bit of a challenge for me, but it was a fun one! Full pic: x

May - A fittingly sunny pic of my character Nola. This was another one that I think had started from a paintover and just went places from there. Still a little strange-looking, but oh well. Plus a photo of some sunflowers in the background. XD

June: Progress pic of an absolute freak. An attempt was made to sketch out a hand to keep it from hiding, but I never did get back to this pic... 😂

July: As mentioned above, a comic for my good friend Dia featuring her gal Clysmia!

August: The tail end of a final ArtFight attack against Chocobir! I had so much fun putting in on the Easter eggs, and Choco is so cute!

September: The suave business lizard himself, it's Nell! Another one that's painted over an older sketch. Overall I think I improved the face shape a bit since the sketch? Maybe?

October: The final flower from Floratober 2023! I had a lot of fun and it was so great getting so much feedback this year. The wonders of posting on places other than Tumblr! lol.

November: Comet from Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san! Whenever I need to get away and draw, Comet is there as my comfort anime. :) It's been a while since I've drawn the girl and watched the last bundle of episodes!

December: And of course, December's art! From a very fittingly snowy-themed project. :) I don't know yet how much I'll be able to talk about it, but it's certainly going to keep me busy for a while!

[tossawary]

Happy January, everyone!

I’m going to be keeping this icon for another month or so because I like it, but here’s a monthly/yearly update regardless.

I was away for the past week or so, not really able to do much besides post chapters from my phone (did not have access to Twitter), but I’m back now. I think I’m mostly going to spend January doing a little light housekeeping (AO3 comments, tumblr asks, overdue art etc.) while I focus on some job-related stuff for the next month or couple months. I was so busy last month that I had to stop answering a lot of AO3 comments for 41 days or so? It turns out that posting 3 multi-chapter fics in that time span left me with 1,700 AO3 comments. Definitely ending the year on a bang! Thank you!

“forgiveness for whose sake?”, “love to the ones I’ve never met”, “hey, share the weight a little”, and “Sit With Your Soul” were all gift fics for FTH 2022. I intend on continuing my Daemon AU, “Sit With Your Soul”, soon, but I’d like to reread SVSSS first because I’m feeling a little out of touch with the original material. I’ll keep people updated on my progress in regards to that. I’m also going to be writing some commentary for “love to the ones I’ve never met” probably this month. I had a lot of fun with all that prompt writing (I wrote 5 fanfiction novels this year!) and now I’m going to explore some other stuff, so I don’t think I’ll be doing FTH 2023 as a writer. There’s a Moshang Big Bang (10-30k) happening soon, however, that looks a little tempting...

Out of curiosity, how did people like the daily posting of a single arc? I think I prefer the weekly format, but this was also a lot of fun.

I’m lucky enough to be at a point in my life where I can write a lot and quite often very quickly. I’ve had a lot of practice and my living situation is good. I get a lot of fun out of it. And yet creativity can be exhausting. It’s not effortless. It can be hard and frustrating work that eats up a great deal of time and sometimes feels a little thankless. Sometimes, no matter what some people tell you about how good time management fixes everything, there is no time or energy to carve out of your life. (Don’t worry, I’m in a good spot. I just want to offer reassurance.)

After posting my AO3 stats for 2022, I want anyone feeling a little down about their creative projects to know that an inability to write or draw or whatever it is that you do is not your fault. Speaking as someone still working out what boundaries to draw when, who occasionally feels down about all the things I want to do but haven’t found the time for, if you need to draw the line and announce the need for a hiatus with no clear end in sight, it’s fine. If you need to go back on your word and ask for a pause, it’s fine. Don’t walk on strained muscles goes for creative efforts too. Sometimes, you just need to put down the project and go bake yourself the easiest cookie recipe you know, or pop out to the store and treat yourself to food that you don’t have to make yourself, or just lie down for a few hours in the middle of the afternoon on your day off and do fuck all. In my busy periods, I am not actually working every hour of the day; it’s just that instead of spending my free time writing, I am more likely to be napping on the couch. It’s good for the soul.

May you have a restful 2023. ❤

[sasukimimochi]

Hi! wanted to make another post in case me uploading so late on Sunday made me miss my usual viewers.

Check out the original post here to reblog! 😊🐇👻💖✨

while i was making this post i realized I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE LINK I FEEL SO STUPID AAAA. Link to ch 30 was added to the original post as well as this one so if you were confused before I'm terribly sorry for that!!

. . .

.✦ Chapter 30 "Lessons in Patience"

Lan Xichen slid his hand down the window sill, listening to the pittering sound against the stones outside. Usually, he loved the sound of the rain. But all he could think of was walking side by side with his comrade on the battlefield, listening to the fierce storm and enjoying their smaller victories. Now that there was a chance Nie Mingjue would never walk again, or worse… he wished he had spent more time with him. That’s how it always was though, when you were afraid to lose someone. You always wish for just a little more time.

As always, check out more of my MDZS projects or more GOM in my masterpost ❤ original text is under read more with bonus drawing. reblog from the original!

I had to go with something simpler because the chapter was under crunch time, but i don't think i did too badly! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, I'm glad to finally be able to post something! excuse the odd brush choices, I also got a new computer during my away time, and i haven't transferred everything over yet! i need to export the brushes i was using on my other computer, I just keep forgetting and i didn't have time to transfer them before i worked on the piece today.

As a reminder, we had an anniversary last month for GOM and i streamed it! You can see the finished art as well as get the link to my twitch from here.

Happy Anniversary! it's been a year since the 15th of January, 2023, when i posted the first chapter of Ghost of Mine! It means a lot to me that i have so many readers and I'm trying my best to stay strong through the writing process so i can give you guys a good experience- and of course me too! My personal goal is to be able to finish Ghost of Mine and do it well, I think i will feel accomplished and have succeeded in making a lot of readers happy!

Either way, this experience has been a ride so far- this fic is a record length for me, surpassing my own writing (a rewrite of an original of mine; a work in progress) and past attempts at fanfiction. I'm very proud of how far I've come, and I'm glad you guys have been with me through it all.

[starredanise]

approaching my tumblr 10 year anniversary next month?! so for fun i browsed through my art tag to categorize what kind of art i’ve posted 🫣 and out of 186 #my art posts:

most of them (41) were original - self portraits, drawing from life, ocs, school stuff, et cetera.

the month with the most posts was january 2016 (11) after watching fullmetal alchemist brotherhood and star wars: the force awakens that winter break. close behind was october 2014 (10), when i attempted inktober for the first time.

i’ve made the most art for percy jackson + heroes of olympus (22) which is fitting given that’s how i got into drawing! by sketching the characters from the books for my friends in middle school.

besides “other fanart” (anything i only ever made 1-2 posts for, 18) the next highest category is avatar the last airbender + legend of korra (sensing a pattern with the formative media here LOL). before 2020, i made only 3 art posts for it and all of it in 2014. after 2020, that number is now 16! #renaissance

next is aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe, with 15 posts (!!) clearly i loved that book and wanted to contribute to the small art scene for it.

i’m surprised that h*milton has the same number of posts as m*rvel (catch-all for comics, mcu, agents of shield, and spiderverse) with 10 posts each… sometimes you have to acknowledge your past to move forward 🫡 tbh i think drawing for both at least strengthened my skill in capturing real faces (vs from a book description or an already stylized animated face). that also reminds me, irls came too close to coming to this blog because the musical’s official accounts reposted my art because that was the year i started trying to crosspost to twitter SKSDJSKDK

longest time between posts is 508 days (between jan 14 2022 and jun 6 2023) whoops...

post with the most notes is still my s&seasian atla piece (~46k) and i hope it stays that way <3 i recently rearranged my shelf so I could put up the prints i made of it on display.

i think that’s it, interesting numbers wise. other observations:

overall, i started off posting more traditional stuff by way of sketches in the margins of my school notes or on the blank backsides of worksheets, and also i was in art class at the time. i did post digital art drawn on my tablet, but not as frequently as I now draw/post with my ipad since 2018 (and notably the app procreate since 2020, actually a gamechanger) and a lot more art in full color since too. i wouldn’t mind making more traditional but it’s more time consuming and now i want to post art that’s more finished-looking (quality vs quantity).

did i expect myself to still be posting art on tumblr 10 years later? probably not? i did try posting on twitter and instagram but got cold feet sooo now i’m still here. glad i’m still here! i’m glad i can look at old art with a fondness (though i would prefer no one else scroll or reblog that far back please 😭 just take my word for it that i posted all that PLEASE).

thank you for reading if you made it all the way here!! thank you to everyone who liked or reblogged or followed or commented something nice in the last 10 years! and thanks to the artists and writers and gifmakers and other creators who inspired me too! even if i stop posting on tumblr, i hope to draw for the rest of my life!!!!!

[eiseryn]

2023 Art Summary

I can't believe 2023 is almost over and it's been a whole year! These past few months have passed by in a blur and so I feel like I'm barely holding on 😭 I had a lot of time to draw in the beginning of last year but considerably less time now...

But overall, I'm really proud of my progress as an artist this year! I had more time to draw than usual so I honed some skills and worked on some things this year! You can tell from the first Lei and the last Lei I drew XD I learned how to use filters XD to blend the character into the background!

You can also see that I started the year with Nova (Feb-Apr) and then it became Lei in my fave pieces after LMAOOO. Seriously, the last 4 months just being Vail and Lei alternates is so funny to me XD. This year was truly the year of Lei. I suspect 2024 will also be the year of Lei with vis novel development XD

Going through the months:

January: First illustration of Lei back when the campaign first started. She was supposed to be a cold b*tch but uh... that did not happen. She turned out to be a soft and sweet girl, which also reflects in my later art of her. I still want to revisit girlboss Lei though cuz the shots she took in the campaign were like 😳😳😳

February: Pink Valentines Nova~ Nova is a blue girl but soft pink Nova hits differently. I think this art was cute and I love all the heart elements I put in! (Like in her eyes~)

March: Bubble tea Nova! This was my business card for the first art market I sold stickers at! <-- artist feat of the year? Otherwise didn't draw much art this month XD I was stressed out about my first art market. SOMEONE AT THE MARKET SAW THIS ART, ASKED IF IT WAS MY VTUBER MODEL, AND THEN TOLD ME I SHOULD BECOME A VTUBER. The best compliment I got about this art XD I will remember it forever.

April: Idol Nova… technically I drew it in May but shhh the sketch was done in April. I did this because I did some bday karaoke and this was the piece I got inspired to make after having so much fun there! Here is where I started learning how to use filters to help blend the character into the background!

May: Mermaid Merrow for Mermay! This is the only Mermay piece I did but it remains one of my top art pieces this year… just all the colours are so gorgeous in this one + the BG I'm proud of! I did not post it on tumblr cuz I started posting on tumblr in Aug... LOL. But anyways it's gorgeous and took me like 2-3 days.

June: Bad art month… it was between this and the Leticia sketch I made. I ended up with this one even though I don't like it as much as the sketch because it was at least a fully rendered piece with a background and everything... I don't like the face in it, but I worked hard on the hands! (One of my weaknesses) so there's that! Sometimes it's the little things you're proud of.

July: I really like this outfit I drew for Lei! It's the one I use for refs for her now XD I'm also particularly proud of this one cuz it's a fullbody and it's hard to draw fullbody pieces... But also I just think her outfit looks really good here! And I love how dead and tired her eyes look XD which is her mood by the time she got this outfit during the campaign.

August: It was really hard to pick for August because I had two really good pieces... (actually 3 it turns out) but I picked this one in the end because I think the artist composition was just really good. There are parts I don't like about it anymore, but the lighting was good! And I'm proud I drew all her friends in this too XD the pieces of her heart -- as this art piece is called.

September: Made a GIF of disappearing Vail! Not my first GIF I've made but I like how it turned out + I'm especially proud of the background XD It's not great but I put some effort into it. I could have worked on his pose a little more... but I don't have many good Sept pieces 😭

October: Spent too much effort on a meme. But really proud of the hand and lighting. Especially drawing the cyberpunk lighting cuz that's hard... Also yeah I think I spent close to an hour sketching the hand/ making the hand look decent XD So of course this piece is the one I choose. I also worked on making the BG look decent... and Vail's backview was hard... man... I spent a long time on this piece XD

November: Yandere Vail 😳😳😳 One of the hottest Vail pieces I've drawn and it's for a mafia AU Vail LMAO. I used a reference for this XD which is why the pose looks good.

December: Most recent piece! Had to finish the year with Lei cuz we started with Lei~ This one is a modern AU Lei so it can't quite compare to Lei's canon cyberpunk universe but still~ You can definitely see improvement in my art! Or so I'd like to think. I used a reference for the pose (kind of) and also used a picture for the BG. I'm going to do that a lot next year LMAO just take pics and use them as BGs XD Work smart not hard, right?

Runner-Ups

They're all from Aug + Dec LOL… my most productive art months this year XD

Aug 2: Flash piece! I didn't post this on tumblr either... but it is my former best boy from the campaign (Former b/c Vail took his place LMAO he's too sketchy now). I used a reference for his pose so it turned out pretty good in my opinion? I also like the lighting I did for him! I forgot his earrings though... and his necklace... oops... I'll fix that for the vis novel (cope) -- I do want this to be a CG you get from the vis novel XD cuz I think it looks good XD

Aug 14: Pink Neon Nights - First Vail x Lei piece 🥺😳🥺😳 I gotta admit the hand looks hella funky for Lei BUTTTT I am in love with Vail's smile here 🥺🥺🥺 His fangs and I like how I designed his hoodie~ Plus I like the pink neon lighting from the bar they're at~

Dec 21: Nova's birthday piece~ I hadn't drawn a full illustration for her since August so this piece turned out super good. For some reason her hair became more and more grey as the years passed in the way I drew her XD She's supposed to have white hair with grey tips (oxidation???) But UHMMM I think it's hard to do highlights on white hair so I've been making her hair more and more grey as time passes XD but her hair is white, guys.

Dec 22: Lei's Happy Holidays Card - TBH I don't like how her face turned out here, BUT I like her pose and the way I did her clothing folds XD and I put effort into the BG so there's lots of other elements on this piece I like~

And of course, my most popular piece this year was worm on a string Nova.

A classic TBH. She is still so sad and gorgeous in this piece XD I made it into a sticker to put on my laptop! :)

To more years of art and art improvement! ✨ To a 2024 filled with more self-indulgent OC art ✨ Happy New Year!

[darker-overlord]

whoa, she launched!

happy launch day, kayo! she's my little pookie i love her so much that i bully her constantly through the narrative

in honor of today, i'll be dumping some REALLY old doodles (really old = two-three months ago) when i started working on her! unlike most of my dumps, i'll be describing and giving more context to the drawings! think of it as a little timeline of her development :D

*the oc blog is @lilies-and-forget-me-nots .. i forgor

drawing 1: our earliest kayo?!

this was dated january 17 2023. yeah. 2023. this year.

geez, was that really my art style just three months ago?

yes, unfortunately. though i'll attribute the fact that kayo looks 12 here mostly to the fact that i was still getting used to using an ipad to draw--still, you can really see that i had her design 90% down from the start. just changed her parting a little and removed the flower accessory + little ombre(?) in her hair.

at first, she was going to be a LOT closer to yui, but then if she was, she would've intervened as early as more blood, which was not something i was aiming for. plus, isn't it more fun thinking that she barely knows her (and yet pulls the stunt of taking her place for her sake... what a loser)

also, at first, she was going to just be straight up meaner for no reason. like literally just the worst person you can think of, but a problem with that is that she would definitely get killed if she was just horrible and toxic. plus, that was kind of boring on my end as well, so she kind of turned into a meowmeow.

adding to the old concept though, all her endings were supposed to be bad endings! then i scrapped that really quickly when i changed her personality...

drawing 2: our earliest hunter!

same day as the first drawing... yeouch.

as you can see, her hair was supposed to be a lot neater--and flatter--as a hunter. the cross clip is a lot smaller, and her palette was all over the place. like come on, why is her coat pink??

speaking of which, i changed hunter kayo to being a little messier than her old version because of a change in personality. this proto-hunter kayo still feels emotions very well. in fact, even more intensely than bride kayo. she's constantly angry--for what she went through as a young girl, for losing her eye--just a lot of things.

kind of funny that her personality pulled a 180 lawl

drawing 3: early outfit dump

i made the file for this drawing on january 19, but i believe i updated it as late as early march.

as you can see, it's really just outfit concepts. most of them are the same as the current outfit concept art--thanks to, well, me updating this file until march. you might be familiar with the three on the right, and the lost eden + dark fate outfit is practically the same as the one i posted. the hdb/mb outfit changed the most out of those three: i suctioned it to kayo's body to emphasize her figure more lol (i am the biggest kayo simp in the end)

as for the first two, you can see they were labelled for chaos lineage and lunatic parade! the chaos lineage outfit is probably already like 90% down for me, but the lunatic parade one is peculiar because, well, i scrapped it entirely. it's a cute outfit, for sure, but i didn't think it was kayo's style in the end. perhaps it might get the same hdb/mb outfit treatment and get tweaked to match her better, but i think her current lunatic parade design is solid!

drawing 4: early cg concepts

this was dated feb 25!

honestly, this is still really good, and i'm still planning on adding this scenario to laito's route. it's just that, once again, kayo is suffering from the bug-eyed twelve year old syndrome i was going through since january. plus i was (still am) bad at drawing men, so laito kind of came out looking like a really strange looking lady lol. it's so embarrassing i even had to crop it out.

drawing(s) 5: whoa sailor outfits?!

i actually drew this just two weeks after the last one--march 10th! you can clearly see my art style shifting at this point; i'm starting to think it's the switch from sketching with a soft brush to a hard brush.

this was, if you didn't already guess, in honor of the aquamarine series! of course, there are two: one for the hunter and one for the bride!

i have this running theme of "what would reiji (biggest discreet pervert) make bride kayo wear?" and that man loves his kayo legs, so naturally she had to wear thigh highs and an awkwardly short skirt. at least hunter kayo got away with just a crop top.

you can see something hanging on the hunter's waist--it's actually a demon hunting relic!

drawing 6: hunter kayo in ryotei au cgs?!

very recent drawing--dated march 29!

now, hunter kayo actually doesn't attend ryotei at any point of the series. it just so happens that i thought she'd look really hot in the uniform, and ta-da--i made an au! being an au, it's not canon, but i like to think she has a small route with shuu that doesn't really end well as you'd expect.

still, the sight of her kissing him as he bites on her knife is very very cool. keep up the good work hunter!

drawing 7: late highschool kayo!

the final doodle--dated less than a week ago!

this is really just kayo in high school after seiji's treatment of her started getting to her properly. i wonder what she's praying and why...

BONUS 1: CATGIRL KAYO!!

i was in the middle of making this post when a certain catboy-baiter (@poohwhin side eyes...) posted................

i love humans with animal features (i.e. not humanoid animals aka what you'd typically think of when you think of furries...) and genshin already devastated me with not only keqing but DEHYA being fake catgirls, so to recover emotionally i naturally made kayo a catgirl. ougggg she's so cute

BONUS 2: a kayoyui route?!

Yes. and it's finished. i just have to make the cgs and post it.

i mostly made it as a kind of exercise in making routes, since, well, i have to start making a lot. it only has five individual scenarios in the dark, manic, and ecstasy section, but it still has a prologue and epilogue. there are also only two endings!

it also serves to delve a bit more into the hunter's character, since bride kayo is the main focus of the blog. let's give her a little love, yknow!! even if she can't give any back...

[gaiussaidno]

merlin/gwaine comic is done nearly 17 hrs later. 🥲 rambling under the cut!

i promised to myself that this year, i would draw more! the yearly otp prompt list motivated me bc all i had to do was choose one thing per month, which is doable without too much pressure for me. i decided i would do "whenever i look at you" from january's list. i really love merlin and gwaine and i feel like these two have Palpable chemistry. i rewatched merlin bbc in december and i forgot how serious and stoic merlin could be. but gwaine always seems to bring lightheartedness to his scenes and makes everyone smile or laugh, even if he's the butt of the joke sometimes. these two balance each other out really well! merlin can also be really mischievous and silly sometimes too, so when he gets paired with gwaine, they're just CHAOS. xD anyway, i ship merlin with everyone in the show, but i think that he and gwaine have such a satisfying dynamic for me personally; they're very fun and sweet!

but yes! this took 16 hrs and 40 something minutes. i feel like it's probably one of the longest pieces i've spent time on. i certainly didnt think i would be taking this long for one comic page. xD sorry if it's a little "graphic design is my passion", i struggle with colors and composition. anyway, i did way more research on flowers than i expected for this lol. i chose lavender roses for ''love at first sight", white camellias for "i adore you", and pink honeysuckles for "playfulness and romance". i have been reading a lot of lovely gwaine/merlin fics before and during the time i drew this. xD things i'm really proud about this piece are merlin's eyes in the first panel, gwaine's hair, and mordred. xDDD (it's puppy ears on mordred's head bc i didnt remember how much he was like a stray puppy at first).

i listened to a LOT of songs while doing this (i think i would've gone mad if i didn't lol), but the two that i was like 'HELLL YEAHHHHH' for this ship were:

"Flying" by Last Dinosaurs. and "Me & You" by HONNE. ;3

**initial sketch of this comic page is posted: HERE

[dgdraws]

My art year in review!

I learned so much this year and made a ton of cool stuff! These are my favorites from each month, but it was so hard to choose. A lot of stuff didn't even get posted--I'll be sure to at least post the ones that made it to this list!

It's amazing to see how much I've changed and learned over this year, and to see the things that are emerging as part of "my style."

Here's to another year of delight, creation, connection and fun!

Some monthly reflections beneath the cut, but here's the highlights:

I participated in 3 art challenges, Artfight, OC-tober and Huevember.

I made fanart for the first time!

I created a piece I conceived of before I started drawing

Made some big breakthroughs in techniques and skills in April, July and November

January: My first branch into full character design, Rodd is the culmination of training on Hero Forge renders to make dnd portraits! I was doing this cool thing with neon rim lighting, I should bring that back!

February: I saw a piece on here with this amazing glowing effect, so I color picked it and experimented to figure out what relationship between the colors was making it do that! The answer was saturation. This rose is meant to be glowing from within, and I think I did a good job for my knowledge level at the time! As Chuck Tingle would tell us, it's beautiful because only I could have made it in that moment on the timeline.

March: I spent a million years on every detail of this one, it has at least 5 clipping overlay/saturation layers for lighting, multiple line work groups and I want to rework that background but! I never felt more accomplished than I did when I finished this one. I learned a lot, especially about things I could skip or simplify. And the symbolism really pops off ngl

April: I read Gideon the Ninth for the first time this month and I immediately needed to draw Jeannemary Chatur, Cavalier of the Fourth House, the worst teen to do it. She's the first fanart I ever made and posted! I also discovered a new pen tool with this one, which CHANGED THE GAME.

May: This one is an idea I had written down before I ever picked up the tablet and stylus. I thought I might commission someone to make it, the image of it came to me so clearly during our VTM session I just had to make it real somehow. Well I did it! This is one I will come back to redraw in like 5 years bc I love the concept so much. Also rife with symbolism and inside nods to the Low Kings.

June: I made a bunch of ref sheets in the run-up to Artfight in July. Caleb hadn't even been in my plans to upload, but I had time and inspiration! I will be uploading this and a few more of him <3

July: This is one of my faves from Artfight! This character is Blueberry, by way of OrchidEatsBread on artfight. I have still never played... rainworld? But I love me a slug cat. In July I drew a TON of people, it really drilled anatomy basics into me and how to get clothes looking like actual clothes a bit more. Also solidified some things I would consider "my style" at the moment, like no irises, and my approach to noses and mouths and fingers!

August: Another fanart for the Locked Tomb series, I never posted this!!! Will be rectifying that soon.

September: I got really into javascript and css this month, and I made this to be a landing page image on my neocities website XD I'll get back around to that eventually...

October: At the last minute, I discovered OC-tober and the prompts from @/bweirdart, a worthy follow up to the rush of Artfight two months previous. I developed so much stuff for the Low Kings, including this drawing/character, Amayah/Girl-Z, who has been a figment of my pintrest board for 2+ years.

Huevember: Chasing that OC-tober high, I found Huevember! I did not expect to actually do every day, but it proved to be an amazing exercise! I learned so, so much about color, discovered amazing new brushes and techniques and found I really enjoy working in those one day capsules! I loved a lot of the stuff that came out of this month, including my highest note post ever!!!, but this one is still my phone background and I'm maybe developing an OC world around it. We'll see what happens in 2024.

December: I got hit HARD with the writing bug this month, so this was my only choice for this month but I WOULDA CHOSEN IT ANYWAY. I unlocked something here that I'm really excited to visit again, in fact I'm working on a companion piece rn! This is also fanart btw, prepare for me to get even weirder about this guy in the coming months.

If you've read this far, thank you so much! I have so much fun writing these little reflections and making my posts on here.

xoxo, wren

[levbolton]

Mokumoku Ren interview

Source: Chanmei for Real Sound, 5th July 2022

The manga The Summer Hikaru Died has exploded among Generation Z via TikTok, Twitter and other social networking sites. It has sold over 200,000 copies in just three months since the first volume was released and is currently nominated for the 'Next Comic Award 2022' in the web manga category. (Voting is open until 11 July).

What if one day your friend who is always next to you is suddenly replaced by a completely different "something"? This story begins with such a bizarre transformation. The story is peppered with unintentionally chilling horror elements, such as a claustrophobic country town, eerie folklore and unexplained incidents, but also vividly depicts the complex emotions that swing between Hikaru, who has become "something", and Yoshiki, a boy who cannot leave his friend's side. 

Horror or bromance? ....... How was this work, which captivates readers with its depth of story and overwhelmingly high level of artwork that is hard to describe in one word, created?　We interviewed the author, Mokmoku ren. (Chanmei)

The inspiration for the idea came from my high school days

Q: First of all, how did you come up with the idea for The Summer Hikaru Died?

Mokmoku Ren: I first came up with the idea when I was in high school. When I was studying for exams, it suddenly occurred to me that it would be nice and interesting to have a manga like this. I didn't want to be a manga artist at the time, but I always liked thinking about stories and detailed setups.

Q: First of all, how did you arrive at the serialisation?

Mokmoku Ren: It was like ...... where I constructed the stories I wanted to read in my head, so at first I had no intention of showing them to anyone. So for the first few years after I came up with the idea, I didn't even put it in writing, let alone in comics. Then, around January last year, I happened to have some spare time, so I drew a picture of what I had in my head. When I posted the drawing on Twitter, it got a lot of buzz, and that's when I was approached by the editorial team.

New readers from TikTok, not just "buzz".

Q: First of all, even before the first volume of the book was released, cosplay videos of the characters were being posted on TikTok and became a hot topic. How did you feel when you experienced the 'TikTok buzz'?

Mokmoku Ren: Suddenly the Twitter response got better and I was like, "What's going on?" I thought, "What's going on?" and then I heard that I was getting attention on TikTok. So, I first tried the TikTok app and watched a lot of videos, and at first I was a bit surprised at the generation gap, or at the fact that "this is what kids are like nowadays" (.....). I was a bit surprised (laughs). (laughs) When I looked at the comments on the videos, I felt a similarity to myself when I was in high school, and it made me feel nostalgic, like 'things don't change all the time'.

Q: First of all, what were some of the most impressive comments?

Mokmoku Ren: There were many different comments, such as "This author is definitely psychic!" or "I'm concerned about what's going to happen to this author" or "I'm worried about what's going to happen to me". Also, I can't remember where I saw this, but a reader had her own father read her work, and she said, "My father used to see these ghosts too! He said, "My father used to see this kind of ghost too!", which was a bit funny (laughs).

Q: In addition to the cosplay videos, the famous manga-introducing TikTokers were also pushing this work very hard, weren't they?

Mokmoku Ren: I think a lot of videos related to The Summer Hikaru Died were getting a lot of attention, and I was really grateful that the manga introduction TikTokers were explaining in great detail about the appeal of the work and where to read it. Thanks to that, it didn't just get popular, but it was connected to the work and the number of readers increased.

Q: First of all, has the TikTok Buzz triggered any changes in your Twitter follower base?

Mokmoku Ren: The TikTok Buzz led to a huge increase in comments from young readers on Twitter. Until then, I had the impression that there were a lot of adult readers, so I'm very happy to have young readers like this. I think they will read it for a long time to come, and I hope that The Summer Hikaru Died will become part of their youth. ...... I still love the manga I liked when I was in junior high and high school, and I'm still very much influenced by them. So I would be happy if I could be a part of that kind of existence.

Influences from 'Honkaku', 'Shin-Mimibukuro' and 'Here it Comes'.

Q: First of all, what did you like when you were a student?

Mokmoku Ren: I loved 'Tokyo Ghoul' and read it a lot. I read a lot of other things, but I was often impressed by battle manga like those in Weekly Shonen Jump and Weekly Young Jump.

Q: First of all, The Summer Hikaru Died has strong elements of human drama and horror, rather than battles.

Mokmoku Ren: In manga, I like battles and used to read them a lot, but my overall tendency is to like horror. I've really loved horror ever since I can remember, and I used to watch and read horror stories and films all the time. Maybe because of that, I've always wanted to draw horror.

Q: First of all, what is your favourite horror film?

Mokmoku Ren: I used to watch a lot of 'Honsaku' (Really Scary Stories). I also love the TV drama Shin Mimibukuro, which has influenced me a lot. I also love the film "Here it comes" and its original stories "Bogiwaan ga, kuru" and "Shishiriba no ie" (The House of Shishiriba), as well as horror novels by Itomo Sawamura. The words "Bogiwaan" and "Shishiriba's House" are so scary that you feel like, "Eh, what? They are very scary (laughs). (Laughs) I like novels that have a kind of 'unexplained unpleasantness' in the expression of the bizarre or so-called ghosts.

Unexplained unpleasantness, onomatopoeia ...... Commitment to expression

Q: First of all, from the 'ku' scene (see image), I felt the 'unexplained unpleasantness' that Mokmoku Reng-sensei was talking about. It was very scary (laughs).

Mokmoku Ren: This is because, as well as the 'Honkaku' and 'Shin-Mimibukuro' books I mentioned earlier, I also like the occult board on 2ch, 'Why don't you collect scary stories that are so frightening they'll scare you to death? 

Q: First of all, in terms of your drawings, are you particular about horror expressions?

Mokmoku Ren: I often get compliments on the way I draw onomatopoeia. I try to use expressions that you don't see very often, such as "sha-sha-sha-sha". However, I am quite conscious of whether it works properly and effectively as an expression.

Q: First of all, there was already a huge amount of onomatopoeia from the drafting stage.

Mokmoku Ren: I wanted the onomatopoeia to stir up a sense of dread, so I wanted the reader to be able to read it clearly. There are ways to draw these onomatopoeias by hand, but I thought it would be better to use digital typesetting because the reader would see them even if he or she didn't want to. Another reason I chose to use typesetting was that my handwritten text would have been half as scary.

Q: First of all, I can sense your extraordinary attention to visual expression, such as wanting the reader to be able to read the onomatopoeia clearly.

Mokmoku Ren: I put a lot of thought into that. When there is something I want the reader to read, such as onomatopoeia, I am conscious of the proportion of the onomatopoeia in the story and how much of it is going to reach the reader's eyes.

Q: How would you describe the features of the characters?

Mokmoku Ren: veins and sweaty ..... I don't use expressions like that very often. For example, if there is a scene where a character is shocked or impatient and walks away from a scene, I might say that he bumps into a chair as he walks away and the chair falls over with a thud. I want to express the emotions of that moment in action, without using marks such as veins or sweaty sweat. In this way, the sound is quite important, not onomatopoeia as I mentioned earlier.

Horror and bromance have a strong affinity

Q: We have asked you in detail about the expression of horror, but how do you balance it with the bromance elements such as the friendship and love between Yoshiki and Hikaru?

Mokmoku Ren: Actually, I keep the horror low key. There are times when I really want to draw something scarier, but I'd rather draw something that appeals to the emotions, like 'kuru kuru kuru kuru ......', rather than just making it scary. I want to draw something that appeals to the emotions. I also think that in terms of appealing to emotions, horror and bromance are a bit similar.

Q: Horror and bromance are similar. ......

Mokmoku Ren: The feeling of resemblance is probably related to the 'suspension bridge effect'. In psychology, it's like you're more likely to develop romantic feelings for someone you meet in a place where you feel a strong sense of anxiety and fear, like on a hanging bridge. In the case of horror, it is the thrill of not knowing what horror will happen next, and in the case of bromance, it is the thrill of "what should I do ......" when, for example, you get into a fight with a friend and the atmosphere turns nasty. It's like we have the same physiological arousal of excitement, so we can mistake the cause for the reason. When I actually draw, I think that horror and bromance have a high affinity.

Chapter 11: "I knew I was going to come up with a good illustration", as recommended by the editor in charge of the story.

Q: First of all, please tell us about your favourite scene and the scene you had difficulty with.

Mokmoku Ren: The last scene of the first volume. It's the end of the first volume, so I was very particular about the tempo and rhythm of the story. In terms of difficulties, I always have a hard time thinking about the structure of the story. I can think of many things I want to depict and many stories, but I have a hard time connecting them one by one or asking myself, "Which part shall I focus on first?" So I consult with the editor in charge of the story.

Q: First of all, what are the upcoming highlights?

Mokmoku Ren: Episode 11, which will be released on 26 July. I put a lot of energy into drawing it.

Editor in Charge: I thought from the stage of the name meeting that the drawings for episode 11 would definitely be good, but the drawings were really great (laughs), so I hope everyone is looking forward to it.

Q: First of all, please give a message to the readers.

Mokmoku Ren: Only one volume has been released and the story is really in the early stages, so please visit ....... I'm sorry to be nominated for the Next Coming Manga Award 2022 in the web manga category in such a state, but I'm very grateful. In the future, new characters are scheduled to appear, and I think they are going to be very good characters (laughs). So I would be very happy if you could continue to keep a warm eye on me.

Other Mokumoku Ren interviews translated: 

CREA (7th Nov 2022) | Da Vinci (5th Nov 2022) | Kono Manga ga Sugoi 2023 | Real sound 31st December | Real sound 5th July