#and that someone wants to take the style the artist uses with an intention in mind to create something with no intention

[staryeclipse]

Midjourney is an AI art generator, where people can put in prompts for it to vomit out "art". Saying that they want to "emulate with midjourney" means they want to use it to generate art that is similar to the artist tomm moore

So yeah, that person doesn't want to draw something similar, but instantly generate something similar with word prompts using AI. Not drawing :(

These picture generating prompters have no shame…..

[drchucktingle]

BIG thing i get teased about over the years (in playful ways, it is fine buckaroos, but a light tease none the less) is the DIRECTNESS of my titles. many who stumble upon my books will immediately comment 'the title is so long it just says what happens'. here are some of my thoughts on that...

as with a lot of things in the tingleverse, my unusual artistic choices end up being a sort of TROJAN HORSE, called unserious and mocked by many, but hopefully over the years revealing something to buckaroos who are not tied to the separation of ‘low brow’ or ‘high brow’ art

i feel understood by most, but for some who JUST NOW encounter the tingleverse there is an automatic apprehension, from outright to subliminal. things like scoffing ’im not going to try and find meaning in a chuck tingle book’ (real quote) or 'skeptical of the horror, ive seen his OTHER books'

i have written a LOT about how much of this, whether buds know it or not, is not just about the dinosaurs and the living objects. it is about a culture that is built to see queerness and neurodivergence and (drumroll) SEXUALITY as fundamentally unworthy of ‘real’ artistic merit. this trot runs deep

theres SOMETHING ELSE i dont talk on much however, which is directness of my writing style, both in titles and on page. why i do it is this: AS AN ARTIST it is never my intention to impress you. my books are not the 'ME show' theyre the 'US show’ so i simply want my sentences to express what happens

i wont dance circles around you, leading you through the story saying LOOK AT ME LOOK HOW GOOD I AM IM SO COOL. i want to walk BESIDE you. of course, writing to impress is also great and valid art too, just not MY preference. this is ARTISTIC choice, but i want to talk for a moment on politics of it

i tend to see buckaroos holding a sort of STRICT interpretation of what makes ‘good’ art. it is a training that has been pounded into their heads declaring ‘real art cannot just come out and say what it means.' a good example would be if someone was being critical by just saying 'its heavy handed'

the thing is, there is a huge difference between saying ‘it was blunt.’ and ‘it was TOO BLUNT for what it was trying to accomplish.’ TIME AND TIME AGAIN however, you will see folks simply deciding ‘this art just said what it meant on the surface’ and leaving it there, as if that is INHERENTLY WRONG.

and the question i am forced to ask myself is ‘WHY is this wrong?’ in the vast, infinite pantheon of WHAT ART CAN BE why are we so obsessed with hiding ourselves? obscuring our thoughts? removing our politics? there is certainly a time for subtly, but it seems there is NEVER a time for being blunt

some say this is because arts more DIFFICULT to craft when it is subliminal, but folks do not REACT that way. art that is both direct AND subliminal and layered will STILL get torn down for leaving things on the surface, even when technically speaking it is probably most impressive to juggle both

there is plenty for you to research on this regarding the CIA secretly funding abstract expressionist art during the cold war. it is still HOTLY DEBATED, but i will mention it here for anyone reading my thread who is interested in a deep dive. HERE, however, i will talk about it on a personal level

i think that culturally we are CONSTANTLY told to not take up space, especially in marginalized groups. there is decades and decades of programming telling us ‘you can express yourself, but in a CIVILIZED WAY, not too loud, not too direct. CERTAINLY not too political.' i flatly reject this

of all the places to do what you want and say what you want to say, ART IS THE PERFECT ARENA. your writing, your songs, your music can absolutely be as subtle as you want, but especially during times like this, dont let anyone tell you that youre too dang loud. lets trot buckaroos.

and since i spent all morning writing this is am going to leave a link for my new book LUCK DAY, which is LOUD AS HECK. now is a time to make art, and it is also a time to support the artists you love. give a preorder if you can. LOVE IS REAL

[acid-ixx]

Hehe lol just something self indulgent for "A Loving Family, An Unpalatable Desire" bcuz its my birthday today>:DD (may 18)

Thinking about how reader isnt used to celebrating birthdays bcuz bruce isnt interested, no one of his children cares, atleast alfred greets.

So when its with the supers, shes surprised with loving kisses and warm hugs from jon and clark, and lastly, a cake.

(OUYGHHHH take this super rushed doodle bcuz i am tired from celebrating. Also take care of ur health vro 💔💔💔🔥🔥🔥)

— masterlist !

THIS IS SUCH A LATE POST BUT BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! everyone say happiest birthday to one of my favorite ever artist who's been supporting my series since day one !!! i love the details here, your clark's style is very much giving my adventures with superman which is one of my favorite animated series'! ngl if i ever get a hug like that, i would've melted, everything about this art made me actually feel the joy emanating off of it wow.

and yes! you are so right, the mc from the loving family series never really celebrates their birthday, or if they do, it's always spent alone or the day after since most of the times, alfred is busy tending to the family from within the batcave after a mission. and even so, he can only ever bake a smaller cake for you or at least something that can only be shared with one or two individuals or eaten alone, even if you insist that he does bake one for the entire family despite them never really asking for whom or what is the purpose of your cake. they all just eat whatever's in the fridge and never ask why there's a celebratory dessert in the first place — most assume that steph probably bought it out of spite, or just another treat. damian does remember your birthday, and he's spareful enough to not even bother you during that day but that's only it, as much as you wish for someone other than alfred to greet you.

but that doesn't matter as much anymore the moment you're integrated into the kent family, you'll be woken up to jon jumping up and down your bed whilst clark is busy peppering your skin with kisses, wrapping you around his arms while you can feel the skin of his chest on your back and whispering affirmations in your ears. i'll bet you that they've woken up extra early just to cook up all your favorite dishes, so the aroma of it alone is already wafting around your bedroom. even if it's food from different cultures, or even cravings that you have only ever-so vaguely mentioned to clark, he's ensured to tell his own parents about it days prior to your birthday so that they could learn the recipe for it. it's your special day, so the family insists that you don't even lift a finger to help out.

after all, ma and pa kent are so welcoming and are always insisting that they be the ones cooking up all the celebration food and even a bigger cake for you to share with their other neighbors. you best believe that their homemade desserts are 100% better since it's a family effort — jon insists on slathering on the frosting and lettering despite how flimsy and uneven it is, which opens up so much opportunities for you both to play around with the design, whilst clark is off somewhere gathering all the freshest ingredients around the farm because he believes that his beloved spouse only deserves the best for their birthday.

it's not a grand birthday with them, it's quite the contrary, but the intentions are what makes it better than whatever you're used to, than the silent night at the manor or how your birthday is always seen as just another day. clark's gifts would always be something invaluable, something priceless but inexpensive like a new pair of shoes you've mentioned always wanting in just a passing moment, or even an article of clothing that complements his own. ma and pa kent would gift you baby pictures of clark as a means of teasing him, they'll also make you a bouquet of your favorite flowers, or even a basket full of fresh crops from their latest harvest. jon's gifts would always personally made by yours truly: best believe it would be one of the most heartwarming letters paired with some DIY craft that he spent his entire night making with the help of his dad, hence why he insists that you stay out of his room — much to his own disappointment — for just that night; but it'll all be worth it since your own little son loves watching your fond reaction.

and if you don't just want gifts, and would rather just want to spend moments with your family, then you best bet that you, clark and jon would be off flying over the horizon together, or having a picnic by a park, maybe even a day spent in an amusement park where clark would win both you and jon a lot of the prizes just for him to see that smile of yours. that would be more than enough.

(maybe even a free trip to space is something they can organize, just say the words and they'll commit to it as soon as possible. clark would even go as far as naming a star after you or bringing you a piece of an asteroid if you're so much as fond of extraterrestrial gifts too).

anyways, tysm user luffyadolover for this gift and i hope this short drabble would suffice !!! i also don't mind writing for any requests you have as a late birthday gift to you <3

[emmyrosee]

Kageyama my man the love of my life (just don't tell Atsumu you know?)

He's so emotionally constipated my poor baby, and even if he navigates through his feelings a bit better when he's older it's… Still difficult, nevertheless he finds ways to share how he's head over heels for you. We know he's not the best at words when he hasn't had the time to think about it (if you give him a day or two he comes with some non intentional poetic stuff)….So I feel his way to express affection is through actions

He's your personal nail saloon artist, he's a bit wonky with the edges on that painting department but he uses the nail file with precision. It's also like he has magic hands or something cuz your nails never break after he starts taking care of them

What else? I feel he talks on his sleep, or at least mumbles. Not canon in what we see on the whole series but he has so many thoughts going on his head he HAS to let something out while he sleeps

Also, big hands, his hands are ridiculously large and calloused like you can't imagine….but they are incredibly gentle when they hold your face or when you feel him caressing your cheeks at night. Totally related I feel he's the type to wait for you to fall asleep so he can stare at you

Won't cry at your wedding, but you feel his gaze on you the whole celebration and it makes the butterflies in your stomach go crazy

Tone deaf, I'm sorry but I feel he just sings with the same intonation he speaks (still joins you on karaoke and enjoys screaming when there's rock or something like that)

Knows shit ton of hair and skin care products…. Courtesy of Miwa

And I have more but like, I have my headcanons and fantasies all over the place I might come back to share them later 🥲

I. Want to eat him alive. This is so cute.

Kageyama is so emotionally constrained that if you do something nice for him, or even simply say “I love you” he’ll just pull you in for a kiss on the cheek or a small, shy smile. But sure enough, when your head is on his shoulder, eyes focused on the tv, it’s so much easier for him to whisper a soft “I love you” while he copies your stare at the television.

His nail techniques go so hard it’s crazy. He’s got all the oils to make them strong, he files them to the perfect length and style (even though he’s best at squared filing) to make them easy to use in every day life. He typically denies your requests for him to paint your nails, but sometimes, he gives in to those sweet puppy eyes and gives you a few coat of paint. Just please don’t tease him about flooding your cuticles, because he’s trying his best to learn for you.

HE SO DOES TALK IN HIS SLEEP, rambling about nonsense sometimes, then forming coherent conversations in others. One time, he grabbed by the shirt collar and yanked you close, whispering in your ear a fully verbalized “I’m pretty sure Sailor Mercury is in our basement. Or someone else. I don’t know.” You were awake all night hoping, begging, praying, that it was sailor Mercury and he didn’t see someone downstairs- and when you ask him about his dream, he shrugs and said he didn’t have one. LIKE BROTHER HUH??

BIG HANDS BIG HANDS BIG HANDS MAKE BRAIN GO BRRRRRRRR BECause imagine like when you’re just laying on your sides, looking at each other in the most love you’ve ever felt, and all he can do is bring a big hand to gently cup your cheek, thumb softly stroking the delicate skin of your under eyes. Your lids just barely flutter at the tickly feeling, and you nuzzle into the warmth of his palm, pressing a kiss to the calloused heel of his hand. He doesn’t say or do anything, barely even smile, as his blue eyes glaze over your face adoringly. Even until your own eyes grow heavy, you feel his on you, grounding you and keeping you safe.

AND TOBIO IS NOT A BIG CRIER BUT he feels things so deeply, you basically see his brain buffer, cogs turning as his eyes glimmer and shine as he gazes at you. You know his mind is flooded with you, your future, your life together, and he feels so excited to spend every moment he can with you. He can’t wait to marry you 🥺🩷

KAGEYAMA TOBIO HAS NO SENSE OF SOUND, WE LOVE HIM SO MUCH. He cant whisper, he cant sing, he’s only able to do so when he doesn’t think about it, he just has one solid tone as he tries to sing with you in the car. But he will belt out songs with you regardless, he wants to make you happy, even if he can’t sing to save your life.

GRRRRRRR I LOVE HIM SO MUCJ TOBIO MY SWEETHEART 🥺🩷

[tsukilunatic]

✦marking mtl w/ xikers

✦ xikers ot10 x reader! ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

w. nsfw! mdni! intentional lowercase. no use of y/n or gendered reader pronouns, but written with fem!reader in mind // wc. 800-ish

a/n: i wrote a bunch of hcs in my phone in the middle of the night and originally had no intention of posting it so i'm sorry if it's garbage<3

nsfw under the cut! ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

[most likely]

✦hyunwoo

hyunwoo is shamelessly biting you. shamelessly leaving hickeys on your neck. maybe the inside of your thighs too, and he doesn’t care who sees them. this man is so obsessed with pda, just let him love on you and he's set for life. (he's also not so secretly obsessed with showing you off, and the hickeys are a great way to indirectly brag to the other members that he gets laid wayyyy more often than they do)

✦jinsik

i hc jinsik as SUCH a biter. he's biting your shoulder or nipping at your neck or earlobe, but he would be mortified if people saw the marks the next day. but also. he just can't help itーi imagine him as really messy, and i think part of that is him leaving lots of hickeys and teeth marks all over you.

✦sumin

sumin is absolutely leaving lots of little hickeys (and maybe some bruises when he’s feeling rough) all over you. (he’s an artist, what can i say) but he leaves them in a place that’s easy to hide and he pretends that it's because he wants to save you the hassle of trying to cover them up if you need to. but in reality, i think he just wants to keep the marks a secret between the two of you because he likes knowing that he’s the only person that gets to see you with them. a subtle way of showing that he's yours and you're his, i suppose.

✦yechan

i think yechan has days where he spends soooo much time on foreplay and days where he absolutely does not have the patience for anything other than fucking you. that said, on the days he does choose to take his time with foreplay he absolutely bombards you with little marks and kisses all over your body. he leaves lots of hickeys around your collarbones and chest and he might even go all the way down to your thighs depending on his mood. he doesn't purposely put them in places people might see, but he’d giggle and look real proud of himself if someone did notice the marks the next day.

✦junghoon

i love love love the idea of junghoon leaving cute little hickeys on your neck every time you make out. i hc that junghoon looooves making out and kissing in general, so this thought is like… making my head spin a little to be honest. it’s not even about possession or showing you off for him, it’s just that every time he’s got his lips on yours he can’t help but litter little marks and kisses on your neck too.

✦junmin

junmin loves to mark you up and leave little hickeys on your neck and chest, but he would get so embarrassed if anyone else saw them and teased him about it. (like, is he embarrassed? yeah. but is he also... kinda proud of himself for being the one to leave them there? also yeah.)

✦yujun

i think yujun absolutely adores leaving marks and kisses all over your chest specifically. partially because i think he’s a little too shy to leave marks in places where other people could easily see them. in general though, he's less concerned with leaving lasting marks on you and more occupied with touching you and kissing your lips.

✦hunter

hunter definitely bites and spanks and he might accidentally leave bruises when he gets a little rough like sumin, but hickeys aren't really his style in my opinion? like, he knows you’re his. you know you’re his. and everyone else also knows you’re his. so… he doesn’t really see a point in physically marking you up and he just prefers to spend his time elsewhere (if his lips are gonna be on you, he would like for them to be between your legs) he might, however, leave a very deliberate mark or two on your neck if he notices that someone is getting a little too close to you (not because he thinks you’d be disloyal but instead because he wants to scare the other person off).

✦seeun

seeun is the type to mark as a way of keeping you in check. as in, nipping your thighs when they close around his head too tightly or nipping your shoulder when you pull on his hair too hard. he bites and spanks too but i don't imagine he actually leaves hickeys because i’m not sure he’s the type to spend too much time on foreplay.

he is possessive, but he shows it by being clingy and just being SO obnoxious about making sure people know that he's obsessed with you. like hunter though, he might suuuuper occasionally leave a mark or two when he’s feeling especially possessive or jealous, but it’s rare for seeun.

✦minjae

this might surprise some people, especially because minjae is written as such a dominant type, but i feel like he's a really gentle kisser. and he loooves to leave kisses all over you, but i don't think he leaves any lasting marks really. he might do what seeun does and nip at you to keep you in check, but leaving hickeys isn't his thing. (receiving hickeys however... he's super shy about it and would never say it out loud, but he would absolutely adore it if you left marks all over him instead!!!)

[least likely]

a/n: likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated! my inbox is always open for thoughts & comments!

✦back to... nav page. mlist. hard thoughts catalogue. ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

[dailyrothko]

I'm curious about something you mentioned in the response to an earlier ask. What did you mean when you said that many articles about Rothko use pictures he didn't paint?? Are there other artists painting in his style that people mistake for him??

(Also, I never really understood Rothkos until I learned to appreciate them through your blog!! Thank you for opening up a whole new world to me!! It's really great that you share your love for them with others!!)

Well it's just an Internet thing. The New York Times probably isn't going to have a fake Rothko painting and certainly not a museum although they have been known to have them upside down occasionally. But writers that write about a variety of art things and popular blogs and substacks and so forth often are just googling for images to use and they find images that actually aren't his real paintings they just look like the same style and they don't know any better.

A lot of this is the Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest triangle where dreams go to die. By the time somebody takes it from some website and puts it on Facebook it never has any attribution and the way the search engines work, someone will tag something Rothko that reminds them of Rothko or maybe they painted it themselves as a tribute and then it gets put up in one of those places as the real thing. It's usually in the same style and people do it on Tumblr all the time.

It's really nobody's fault, it used to happen to me sometimes when I started, I was too trusting about the information that people attached to things, just figuring that I was no expert so who was I to say. Sometimes it is puzzling to me because through my eyes some paintings just don't look at all like his paintings and I am surprised they are mistaken for them. There's a Barnett Newman that was regularly credited to Rothko, and I'm not sure why, it doesn't look anything like a Rothko. And there are some famous paintings even or paintings by pretty well-known artists which might be a tribute and get lost in the shuffle.

I'm sure I'm annoying when I'm always trying to correct people, and people never read the comments on their posts anyway it seems (either that or they're ignoring me because I'm a nuisance).

 The thing about all this is that it's very Internet type of behavior like the way that people will Photoshop a painting sometimes. It's a trend I don't like but I would offer as an example that the most popular picture of Rothko on the Internet has been colorized. To me that's insane because he standing in front of the painting which is also colorized asked.

One time on Instagram, when telling somebody that put it up, they told me that they had seen the painting and it was pretty close. It was not pretty close, unless you consider red and orange to be the same color.

Add to this the fact that the most popular picture of Rothkos studio is the set of a play complete with a fake painting at the stage hands probably painted to look like it was in progress and it's constantly passed off as a picture of his working studio.

On Instagram people will tag me in videos they make about Rothko which are very well intentioned like little historical tidbits of some famous part of his life because it's an art account that tries to feature different artists but my heart always sinks when they use one of those pictures because I don't want to be a dick about it but the reason it's this way is no one ever corrects them. There's probably no real harm in it but I'm neurotic.

Thanks for writing and for your nice words

[unknown-cold]

The artist: ( @itshuansart )on Instagram and Twitter/X

I love this so much!! Best art that expresses Caitlyn's sadness and suffering, I really wish I had seen something like this on the show.

I can say that Caitlyn's character is one of the most misunderstood characters ever, that these people see Caitlyn as just an enforcer from Piltover made them not understand her, or rather they don't want to understand her character.

Because it's getting really suspicious, I feel like Caitlyn's hate is more than just a character who did bad things. There are characters who did worse things. Let's take Silco, one of the characters who did the worst things in the entire show, from trying to kill an entire family for control, to flooding his entire population with shimmer and turning some of them into monsters and making children work in dangerous factories, all of this and he didn't get half the hate that Caitlyn did. Silco is a true dictator who didn't care about anyone but himself and his interests and his intentions were always evil. Unlike Caitlyn, she tried in the end to fix her mistakes and admitted her mistakes too. And to everyone says she is evil or dictatorial because she used gas, is it a bad thing yes, but Caitlyn had no evil intentions in using gas, she used Gray to facilitate the capture of Silco's gangs and allies who were basically harming the people of Zaun even the kids as we saw in ep 2 in S2 when Chross's Goons was following Isha, and of course capturing Jinx as well, she did that because it was a less harmful solution than sending armies of enforcers and Noxus men to Zaun, and we saw because she stopped using Gray after she end her mission and failed to capture Jinx. If Caitlyn was really evil and dictatorial as some people claim, she would have used Gray again to exterminate the people of Zaun, but she didn't do that because that's not her personality that we knew in season 1, and most of the problems that happened were because of Ambessa, and her manipulation and constant incitement for Caitlyn to capture Jinx.

So yeah hating on Caitlyn is so hypocritical and completely unnecessary, seriously I can't believe there are still people who message me and reblog my blogs and not just me but other people saying that Caitlyn is an evil cop and you should stop talking about her and liking her, or you'll be just like her. Are these people crazy or stupid or what exactly!? What does my liking a fictional character have to do with you thinking that I'll be like her in real life!? These people really need to grow up and leave people alone, like if you don't like something and you see someone else like it there's no need to give them your opinion because they won't care and we who like the same thing won't care either so why bother us with your opinion, and then it's selfish of you to want other people to be like you and agree with you (especially when your style of criticism is rude and terrible)

So I always say the show is not black and white, and there isn't only one side good and another side bad. Arcane proves every day that this show is not for everyone and if you want to enjoy it you have to open your mind well and be open-minded, and most importantly put politics and real-life issues aside, and enjoy this fantasy world with flawed characters and good writing. (This show is not designed to solve political issues. At the end of the day it is a show based on a video game)

[sabertoothwalrus]

OK PREFACING WITH IM SORRY IF I ALREADY SENT THIS EXACT ASK BUT MY WIFI KILLED ITSSLF AS I SENT IT SO IDK IF IT ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH. but in case it didn’t . i know youve gotten this countless times in the past because i blog stalked just in case youve mentioned something similar before but i need to know if you have any specific inspirations when you draw exaggerated expressions specifically like these two images of marcille. ive actually cried laughing over this comic and being able to communicate this type of visceral emotion is such an insane skill and ive followed your art for probably close to a decade through various fandoms so watching you develop this style has been fucking awesome and epic. like i cannot articulate how funny these are to me i just need you to understand i look at this comic to inspire me to draw now. the closest comparison i can draw to the feelings they evoke are like those mspaint reaction images and also mspaint tails i included for reference even though you probably know exactly what im talking about anyways but its actually so much harder to do that intentionally when you study art. also i lied you literally don’t even need to answer this i just had to let you know how obsessed i am over your silly comics and now ive written out a whole ass discussion post about it. im sorry if this is weird at all i think my daily prescribed amphetamines r wearing off and i know this is such a dumb specific thing to fixate on and im so sorry if its not something you want to hear about your art. ive just always seen that as an artist this type of expressive stupid silly style is something that comes after a significant amount of time and practice and study and style development despite being “simple” in theory. its just so cool to have worked with your own style so much that youre able to go “off model” from it and still maintain consistency with the rest of the piece. i said it already and im sorry this is actually rendundant now but the ability to communicate such raw emotion somehow decreases from at its height when someone is a beginner artist learning how to proportion and keep a steady line and what looks “normal” but somehow it all comes full circle because taking all that experience and using it to almost return to where you started but in a fully informed and intentional way so you can make choices to draw characters like this when the situation calls for it is just dhcidogakgoshfhw. i think i need to cut myself off or im going to talk in circles im sorry tumblr user sabertoothwalrus i just am fascinated by your style and progress and the years you’ve dedicated to art can be seen in so many places but this is just one that stands out to me specifically.

MMMMM what a fun question!!!

I'm not gonna lie, I think it's just Letting A Drawing Be Bad. I definitely think the people that struggle with this the most are people who have genuinely very pretty art styles, to the point of being kind of perfectionist about it. and to Draw Funny often means Drawing Fast and Weird. Pretty is kind of the antithesis of funny (unless being pretty is the punchline). do drawings that make yourself laugh. tracing/lining funny sketches almost always makes them less funny.

one of my favorite types of humor is when it skews more deadpan, actually. This is one of the reasons I love Adventure Time. minimal expressions and flat line delivery + absurd context is a really good combo. the key to comedy has more to do with contrast! if your drawings are allllll crazy ren & stimpy all the time, they're not funny anymore cause it's just "normal". if it's all subdued UNTIL it's extreme, and vice versa, then it's funny. The reason this comic is so funny is because of the complete lack of any expression. I feel like the one you sent of Marcille shouting "WHAT" is funnier when you know how much she tries to be dainty and feminine and delicate, how much she values her appearance, and how averse she is to "gross" or "weird" things.

something I find really annoying (and this is with comics/animation in general, not the expressions themselves) is when the joke goes on for too long. Like you'll have the joke, then the punchline, and THEN the characters reacting to the punchline??? Like the author didn't trust that their audience would find the joke funny, so they basically drew in a laugh track. But, this is distinct from a character's reaction being the punchline (like how the examples you gave from my Marcille comic are). MY POINT IS sometimes expressions aren't as funny on their own as you think, and context can affect how you feel about it!

as far as inspirations go!

my own face! even if I don't have a mirror, I like making the expressions myself so I can "feel" where the points of tension on my face are, and it gives me a sense of what to exaggerate.

my brother's art, believe it or not! we've been trying to make each other laugh with our drawings since we were kids, and he's really good at it.

ATLA has some great expressions

OK KO has been a reallyyyy good source for me lately. That show is so tailored to my sense of humor and the expressions and line deliveries feel exactly like the kinds of things I'd come up with. The tone, timing, and art style are all really close to the tv show pitch I'm working on, so when I feel like I've "strayed" too much from it (like after drawing a bunch of dungeon meshi, and my art feels tighter and... idk "manga-ier"?) I like to go and watch a couple episodes of OK KO to loosen back up

A lot of things like OG Spongebob, Calvin & Hobbes, the Simpsons, Chowder, etc etc

memes in general. if it makes you laugh, keep it in mind

and lastly, I wouldn't say I ever try to mimic funny expressions I see. Like if I watch a show for inspo, I'm not pausing it to copy specific drawings, I'm just trying to notice patterns and pay attention to what about it I find funny.

talking about being funny is really bizarre and I dunno if it makes it lose some of the magic. Ultimately it's something you can't think about too much, and just gotta go with your gut.

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Something I find very frustrating in the writing/reading community is the almost total lack of craft discussion. And I think it ties into AI a little, and I’ll get to that.

I wish I could say things were different before some specified time, but to be honest, I’ve always had a hard time finding people who want to discuss the nitty gritty nuts and bolts of writing craft. Discussing Craft, discussing what tools are available and how and why to use them, what effect they caused and how a different tool or technique might have a different effect, etc., etc., etc., is legitimately the best way for any artist to learn, but I see a lot more posts about “Here’s how you get that glossy effect on shiny tile floors” and lists of brushes to download and such like from visual artists than I do from writers.

This all resurfaced recently because an old friend of mine mentioned once again the dire state of the criticism landscape, in that all discussion about a piece of media and what it does and how it does stuff is flash-in-the-pan these days. Comes out right around release of the Thing as some kind of review of whether you should/shouldn’t interact with it, and no one wants to talk about it a month later. Obviously, this is detrimental to genuinely thoughtful critiques and careful dissections of a piece of media because that stuff takes time and thought, but I wish I could say it surprised me.

Most audience members for really anything are not the critiquer types. They don’t really think that deeply about how media works and why. They want a thumbs up or thumbs down, and a lot of the time they don’t even care why or how that was the conclusion, or even why that conclusion applies or who it applies to. That’s…fine. It’s not how I do things, but hey, fine.

But this does contribute to the overwhelming void of writers’ and storytellers’ craft and skillset being discussed. Because if no one cares, and it doesn’t seem to directly contribute to marketing or sales…it’s not going to be a focal point.

How someone sewed a story together matters so much more than their ingredient list. You could hand two people the same recipe for macarons and that does not mean both will be equally successful, because macarons are fucking hard. A blueberry muffin and a blueberry donut do not require the same skillset and they do not have the same effect on people.

And goddammit, AI slop is just a list of tropes blended into a slurry with absolutely no craft or intent to make anything. You don’t have a muffin or a donut. You have Slop.

You can eat Slop if you want to, I guess, but it’s not real enjoyable.

And to make less Sloppy things, you gotta figure out how to actually make a muffin or a donut or whatever the hell else you wanna make. And to properly advertise against Slop, you’ve got to talk about how everything should be fluffier than your last book because you’ve been working very hard on your egg-beating by hand. Because AI can’t beat eggs at all.

But when people don’t talk about Craft, people never learn how to talk about Craft even though it’s now a feature of fighting the Slop. A lot of people don’t even know how to consciously use it.

Some years ago, a fanfiction writer I was friends with at the time kept bragging about how “prose-y” her writing was, because someone had mentioned in a comment that they really liked how she used prose.

If you know what the word “prose” means, you are currently staring at your screen as flabbergasted as I was at the time. “Prose” is not a quality or component or technique. It’s literally just…narrative writing. The commentor basically said “I like how you write.” Which is nice. But the reader was so unable to articulate what they liked specifically that they just found a fancy way to say “Hey, I really liked that!” and the writer was so unaware of craft that she thought that was a specific compliment about something specific in her style.

There’s a place for “I really liked that” and it’s definitely fanfiction. But even in fanfiction, there’s a reason people want to read their 42 coffeeshop au about the same two damn characters, and it’s not because of the unique tropes. It’s because this author characterizes Blorbo Jones with a sharp staccato sentence rhythm that really invests you in the way he thinks, and that other author describes that coffee bar so well you think they may have actually built one and good god do you feel like you live anywhere they set a story.

And that’s Craft.

And it’s not just casual readers and marketing execs and journalists or hobby fanfiction writers and such that have utterly blinded themselves to how writing Works.

Let me illustrate with another anecdote that still frustrates me: some years ago on Twitter, I asked people for their recs for books they were impressed with the craft of, because I desperately wanted to delve deep into excellent craft for inspiration. Approximately one, maybe two, people of the probably dozen or more responses—and they were not fandom people, they were mostly original writers of some stripe or another—had any idea what I was even talking about. I was flooded with responses of “I don’t know what that means, but I liked...”

But there are things I think were skillfully, excellent crafted that didn’t quite jibe with my soul, and there are things that I absolutely frolic around in that...are...eh. Well. They were assembled somehow, at some point, even if it has the workmanship of a Cybertruck. I tried to explain to some responders, and they genuinely had no idea how to gauge what the skill of a book looked like.

Things that make me want to frolic have some positive points to hone in on, but fundamentally I do not want to make a fun, comfy, but deeply structurally unsound treehouse. I like making fancy complicated treehouses that don’t even rock when you jump in them that use all sorts of fun tricks to make new kinds of joists and ooooh look at that floating staircase, how did you even make that?

But a lot of people are just like, “That was fun,” and stop there. And that’s okay. It is. But it’s such a predominant flavor of media response right now that...everything else seems to not matter. I can remember one multi-trad-published author who loved to talk up his books in terms of tropes and how he wanted to try to write something reminiscent of basically every genre of anime. And yet when I tried to read his multiple books, they kept hitting wrong every time because all of his seams were showing and loose nails were jabbing at me. He blended tropes up into chunky soup and forgot he was supposed to be writing a story, not marketing something.

 If the appeal of a story was a list of tropes/components in it, I would be equally satisfied with a TvTropes page as a I am with a book or a manga or a TV series. And I’m not. I’m quite certain most people are not. And that means the ingredients aren’t what matter, it’s how they’re mixed and baked, and people only ever want to go, “Ooooh, love that you used vanilla frosting!”

I think a lot of authors might be more confident and find their own style and voice if they...knew how to recognize what those things are, and what they consist of. Because it consists of your little funky writing quirks. How you pick your metaphors for characters early and how you pick each of your settings to match what’s going with that motif and the character’s internal state. It’s how you always give your character a moment alone before or after a hard conversation so that you can debrief your reader on the situation and pause before or after and intense moment to handle so the character and the reader can take stock and introspect and give them moments to feel. It’s how you spin your three-time phrasal repetition into repeating sentences into repeating paragraphs because it gets bigger and bolder with each repeat of the idea, and it needs to be repeated three times like a fractal growing ever larger.

That kind of thing.

Not what’s in your chunky soup.

As a writer, I love hearing that you like my staircase or my nice treehouse floor. But what I really crave, what will really send me through the moon, especially from my editors and critique partners and whatnot, is not “Wow your floorboards are nice and sturdy,” but “Oh, goddamn I love how those weird joists are giving the floor just the right amount of bounce.”

Because fucking I worked hard on that shit, and I want people to notice the actual work, not just the results. For the most part writing craft should be invisible. You don’t want people noticing how things are built if they’re not looking for it, because that means you Fucked Up probably at least 8 times out of 10. Keep your seams inside the shirt with all the messy, knotty tie offs flattened into the hems to keep them from being visible and rubbing against any sensitive skin. I love when I manage that.

But people paying attention to the blood, sweat, tears, and soul I poured into something, finding all that work, acknowledging it, and maybe even wanting to learn from it? That is a kind of ascension to a holy land that is unachievable by simply providing a seamless experience.

And not only is it how other writers learn…it’s how I learn. I need to know what feels off and weird as well as what went fucking fantastically because…that’s how I know what techniques I pulled off well, and what would maybe be better off saved for a different effect because that’s not what I wanted.

Literacy rates are some of the highest they’ve ever been, but comprehension is such and writing craft is such that people don’t think anything of it more than they let words spill out of their mouth unthinkingly.

But stories aren’t put together unthinkingly. They don’t just spill out. Not good ones. Not ones that matter.

[genericpuff]

I’m gonna have to disagree with you that Kaos is any better than LO. It’s all the same bull crap.

Kaos just seems like live-action LO, both having a boring storyline with bad or fetishized characterizations of the Greek Gods and figures, and both looking artistically beautiful and some cool concepts, but badly executed. The only difference is that Kaos has more LGBTQIA+ themes than LO, has a tiny bit more Greek references, and gets much darker. That’s pretty much it.

As a Greek who studies our myths and stories extensively, I’m tired of the west trying to take and rearrange our stories and retell them ‘with a modern, western lense’. It’s exhausting and infuriating.

It’s time the west gets over its fascination with us and move on.

Fair opinion! Honestly, the initial post I made about it was after only watching the first couple episodes. Now that I've finished it, I can definitely see actual glaring issues with it, both in their characterizations as well as in how they kind of lose the intrigue after a few episodes of the setting and elements of them being gods. Which are all issues that LO have as well.

Though I will say, LO has those issues far more than Kaos does, but what really separates LO from Kaos, in my opinion - the creators of Kaos aren't pretending that Kaos is more than it is. To me, Kaos isn't in any way a singular Greek myth retelling, more so a fun "Greek epic" style story featuring the gods in a modern setting, the way LO could have been if Rachel hadn't tried to make it into something bigger than it was (and if she didn't put herself on a pedestal as a "self proclaimed folklorist"). I can watch Kaos and appreciate it as a fun Greek myth inspired piece of media because that's pretty much all it's trying to be. Meanwhile LO gives us middle-school-level writing with very little real Greek myth influence (aside from what it benefits Rachel to do so) that even goes so far as to outright disrespect the myths that they were based on... all the while people praise it as the greatest Greek myth retelling ever.

I think Kaos is miles better than LO because it at least tells a more coherent story than LO ever could have, with a lot more attention paid to the stylization of a Greek epic (compared to LO which tried and failed to implement those same things, such as the Fates, self-fulfilling prophecies, and witty narration as to retell a story that's already happened).

Granted, that story still takes a lot of liberties with the source material (some that I enjoyed, others not so much), but in that regard, I refer to the above - Kaos isn't trying to be an actual retelling like LO did, so I view it the same way I do as something like Hercules or Hades, where the people who made it clearly love Greek myth and wanted to do some Greek myth-inspired story with their own twists on the narratives, and it paid off in a story that, in spite of their flaws, still feels intentional and thought out.

LO, by comparison, is just a mess of ripped off half-baked ideas thrown at a wall and filled in with self-fulfilling power fantasy garbage written by someone who claims to have deeper knowledge of the myths but clearly doesn't. It's hard to enjoy LO in spite of its flaws because it's all flaws and they're so deeply-rooted in the context of Rachel's own biases and sexual preferences that you really can't separate it from that once you know if it.

I do have some criticisms of Kaos and some of its more creative choices - Hera cheating on Zeus with Poseidon (literally wtf lmao), Persephone still being the "I went down there willingly!" archetype (though at least she's not 19 in this, the casting for her and Hades was great), as well as the fact that things weren't wrapped up by the end of the first season which really bums me out because now it's up to the mercy of Netflix to give it that second season - but ultimately, from a story-writing perspective, Kaos absolutely did accomplish having an actual narrative with themes and goal-driven writing that LO failed in having. That comparison doesn't make Kaos a 100% perfect show without flaw, but I made the comparison initially anyways because much of what I enjoyed in Kaos was what I expected from LO (and ultimately didn't get).

That's just my own two cents though! And I need to make it clear - I am not a Greek person! I have no say or merit within the discussion regarding Greek myth and how it's been appropriated!! - so ultimately... my opinion of these things really aren't as valuable as someone who actually is Greek or studied heavily in it.

So that said, I can completely see the merit in your own arguments that a lot of these "modern retellings" tend to miss the point of the stories they're trying to retell (esp with the criticisms I outlined above) and are often chewed up through a Western lens. The lesser of two evils is still evil. But if we're purely talking Kaos vs. Lore Olympus here as modern entertainment that are both attempting similar things... I'd be way more likely to rewatch and recommend one over the other. Plus there are a lot of adaptions out there made by Westerners / non-Greeks that are incredible and are, at the very least, amazing stepping stones into the world of Greek myth for those who want to learn more about it. Out of the pool of ongoing modern Greek myth retellings/inspired works - Blood of Zeus, Hades/Hades 2, Kaos, Epic: The Musical, Hadestown, Hercules, Percy Jackson & The Olympians, and Lore Olympus - it's not hard to guess which one I'd be the least likely to recommend as gateways into Greek mythology. If those titles were organized in a list of best to worst, Kaos isn't at the top of that list, but it's sure as shit higher than LO 💀😆

[angelcent]

ABOUT A GIRL・❥・S. GOJO

from an old ask: how do we feel about tattoist!gojo?! and your first tattoo being done by him. contains. tattoo artist gojo, tattoo virgin reader, grungepunk!gojo, fluff

lıllılı.ıllı.ılılıı — about a girl / nirvana

✧˚ · . tattoist!gojo is constantly recommended by people because he's known for several things: his pure attention to detail, his versatility in tattoo styles, how light his hand is, and how comfortable he makes his clients feel. he can be a little overwhelming and intimidating, though.

✧˚ · . unlike suguru who can be a bit pretentious and internally judgmental about his clients choices, tattoist!gojo really doesn't care as long as it's not something too offensive.

✧˚ · . his studio is decorated with an assortment of movie & concert prints, as well as pictures he's taken with suguru and shoko or their other friends. at the front desk is his ugly clay coffee mug that megumi made for him as a child that he now uses to store pens. it has a lot of personality and makes you feel at ease when you walk through the doors and fill out your paper work.

✧˚ · . when you first meet satoru, he doesn't take much notice of you because he doesn't want you to feel leered at; it's a common occurance for male tattooists to make others uncomfortable; and you're trusting him with such a vulnerable process, so satoru keeps his distance. keeps it professional.

✧˚ · . as it's your first time, he gives you a rundown of the entire process and is honest—blunt—about the pain you'll experience, but also reassures you that you'll be okay. "anyway, don't give that much though," he grins, absently twirling his pen. as if he hadn't just almost frightened you out of the door. "I'll take good care of you, hm? leave it to me." and he says it with such self assured confidence, that it completely eases your nerves.

✧˚ · . tattoist!gojo texts you a checklist in order to prepare for your appointment—what clothing is best, possible snacks to bring (water is provided), an on-call friend in case you want to be picked up, and oddly, what music you like?

✧˚ · . whatever is your music type is, you walk into his space on the day of your first session with it softly playing inside the shop. tattoist!gojo is talkative; walking you through his entire sanitation process and the tools he'll be using. unbeknownst to you, satoru is observant in his daily life and in his profession. he quickly caught the way your shoulders were drawn up with nerves, how you wiped the palm of your hand over your thigh. and the more you hear him talk, the more relaxed your body language becomes. it's why he does it.

✧˚ · . tattoist!gojo in an old washed out band shirt again. it's what he always wears, and most belong to suguru. his best friend has given up on his clothes being stolen after so many years.

✧˚ · . tattoist!gojo just as talkative when he's finally putting ink on your skin, and it surprisingly keeps your mind off the pain. sometimes you tune him out, but the rumble of his attractive voice keeps you grounded. satoru will talk about anything and everything. he tells you about his first tattoo—three eyes behind his ears on each side. six in total. and how he got them done at this small punk show when he was sixteen and egged on by his best friend.

✧˚ · . tattoist!gojo has ink all over his visible skin— arms, neck, you even catch a peek of more inked skin below the collar of his t-shirt when he leans down. what's cute is all the small doodles in the empty spaces between the bigger pieces, and he tells you how he did most of them himself whenever he's bored. some are done by friends, like a small happy face near his knuckle from haibara.

✧˚ · . as much as he tries to keep this professional though, satoru slowly becomes attracted to you over the course of your session. he rarely hits it off with someone so well, and he finds himself listening intently to every piece of information you give him about yourself.

✧˚ · . he can be a bit of an asshole sometimes, but you either call him out on it or bite back. he loves that.

✧˚ · . tattoist!gojo is great at calling to check up on your healing, giving you reminders on how to maintain it until the next session. he can't help but want to hear your voice, so he calls instead of texting or emailing like he usually does. you don't know any better, though. works in his favor.

✧˚ · . on your last session, tattoist!gojo is filled with the pride that never gets old at seeing the piece almost finished. what was once a mere idea is now brought to life and forever inked on your pretty skin. and you seem excited about it as well.

"see, not so bad now, was it?" he hums, wiping at the final touches. he doesn't bother to fight back the smirk. "told you I'm the best." "hm, you're alright. I guess." you tease, chuckling when he immediately looks up at you looking like a kicked puppy. "I'm kidding. thank you, satoru. really. I'm already thinking of what to get next, actually." if he were a dog, his ears would be perked up. tail wagging. he almost wants to barf.

"yeah? you sure you're not just saying that cause you'll miss seeing me?" he jokes, but deep down he's hoping you'll want him to remain as your future artist. even if that's the only way he'll keep seeing you, he'll take it. he's enjoyed far too much the way you make him feel wanted. "maybe I am." you murmur. swallowing your pride, you let the words spill out of your mouth. "but what if I wanted to see you sooner? you said I should go to your friends show this weekend. it'll be my first time, so it'd help to have you there." as soon as the words come out of your mouth, you're already regretting being so bold. satoru is just a friendly guy, he obviously just wanted his friend to get support and probably says that to everyone. so you backtrack immediately. "b-but if you can't or don't want to it's okay! sorry I just—" "'course I want to, buttercup. heh, I said I'll take good care of you, remember?" he laughs a little too loudly, quickly looking down at your finished piece. he wipes at the clean skin, pretending like he's working but he's just hiding his reddened cheeks. he hopes the crack in his voice was only audible to him. doesn't want you to see what a loser he is and how much you affect him.

[inthiseverymoment]

silhouettes emerging: prologue

the vampire isabelle de la rue, upon realizing that she has been erased from history, decides on a whim to set the record straight.

iwtv oc, prologue ~500 words (short n sweet)

welcome to our framing device! my girl is a study of the messy morals of iwtv, deceptive artistic communities through the tdv, the purple-prose-ish-yet-strikingly-earnest storytelling style, and being hopelessly in love with assad zaman. WOOT WOOT

i am not sure how many chapters this'll wind up being but A Lot Is Going To Happen, I Can Promise You That

enjoyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

fic masterlist chapter i

Twenty Twenty-Three, Chicago, United States of America

“...That motherfucker.”

Instinctually, she did a double-take, despite knowing that what the page held wasn’t truly a surprise at all.

She’d been intrigued upon seeing the book in a shop window-something told her that this one was different from the thousands of fictions regarding her kind. That something had proven to be right when she glimpsed the familiar name of Louis de Pointe du Lac on the back cover’s summary; heart pounding in her ears with a somewhat delicious anticipation of decades-held secrets being blown open, she bought the book without another thought. Along with every other possibility, a teenage hope of seeing her name somewhere in this illegal chronicle thrummed in the back of her mind.

But, Isabelle realized, of course it would make sense that her maker would erase her from any history he told these days. The one that quite literally got away did not fit within the life that Armand was trying to fabricate for himself and his apparently-no-longer lover, and keeping up the lie that he had never thrown the Dark Gift upon anyone probably made him a more alluring character to whomever this Daniel Molloy was.

The author was witty, that was certain. She could practically hear the snark in every narrating line that wasn’t Louis’ pensive recollection, and she’d laughed to think of how those three personalities must have meshed and exploded throughout that interview.

She also knew that she needed to set a few things straight.

I’ve been wanting to go back to New York anyway.

~

Twenty Twenty-Three (One Week Later), New York City, United States of America

“Frankly, given the amount of telepathic ‘fuck-you’s from around the world I’ve had the pleasure of receiving, someone else wanting their story told was the last thing I expected.”

“Well, not all of us revere the Great Laws above all else.”

“Glad to hear it.”

They sat at an outdoor restaurant in Brooklyn, appearing to all the world like a pretentious, nighttime-sunglass-wearing, book-toting father and daughter. In truth, each was sizing up the other; trust was not a thing easily earned to the slightly jaded vampiress nor the world-weary journalist.

The former was beginning to wonder, though, at it seeming more possible with every second that she wasn’t the only supernatural one at the table.

She glanced at his nails, then back up to meet his eyes.

“You too?”

“Yeah.”

A beat.

“Armand?”

“Yeah.”

Another beat. This time, it was Daniel who spoke first.

“...You too?”

She almost laughed.

“Yeah.”

Apparently by habit, he lifted an incredulous hand as if to remove his glasses, then remembered himself and lowered it with a sigh.

“That motherfucker.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“So that’s why you wanted to meet.”

“I have a lot to tell,” Isabelle said, “if you haven’t heard enough already about the toxic-theatre-kid subsection of vampirism.”

Daniel considered for a moment, then-

“You’re okay if my main intention with your story is to throw it back in his face?”

Despite herself, she nearly smiled.

“Absolutely.”

[bladekindeyewear]

[S] 8r8k artist/writer commentary part 2

(Part 1 link) Part 2 of the commentary for the flash just came out on Patreon! I'm reading through for anything especially clarifying or plot-relevant under the cut, skipping most of the fluff and not-specifically-understanding-relevant stuff as usual so Patreon subscribers can enjoy it.

Hopefully we get a hint of clarification on some things like exactly what "Hell Tier" is and how it differs (or doesn't!) from Ultimate Self ascension, and why Karkat thanked her for the "obnoxious laser assist", unless he was thanking Jake to the side when he said that...

Alright, starting my skim through this for useful details... a bit more about the super-detailed Sollux bit, they mention again that he doesn't have his teeth, but specifically also that "he does indeed have both eyeballs, they're just black". (And still blind I'd assume.) Interesting.

OH, THIS I didn't catch: The flash isn't meant to take place over a short period of time, but rather from sunset through NIGHT (the second half of the flash, when Jake rises up, Rose points at her forehead and Vriska does her thing) up to the EDGE of daybreak at the very end.

Kim: We’ve finally reached THE NIGHT! As I’ve emphasized in the last few of our artist commentaries, the gradual change of time and when the events in these past few updates have occurred have very deliberate symbolism to it. Light and shadow played a VERY important role during this flash, and we knew very specifically it had to be night time for the climax of 8r8k. If you think about it, it’s kinda crazy that they’ve been fighting like this for HOURS. Even until daybreak… At the very end of the flash, you can actually see the sun rising JUST a bit over the horizon too…

We have Jake rising up, and the wings, and in a sense Tavvy seeing his father as a more literal God as they say he "has probably always thought"? Good characterization to keep in mind.

Oh, the Rose pointing at her forehead for the bullet is an explicit reference to a famous scene/panel from the manga "MONSTER", I wouldn't have noticed that. A badass if fatalistic shot as a culmination of her "cold" mindstate leading up to this moment, they say. To also quote one of them, "Oh Rose…what are you doing man.".

(Horses and the intro to the final Vriska self-reuniting scene, let's see... I wonder if they'll mention some classpect stuff...)

[KIM:] (Vriska)’s request for Vriska to accept (her)self wholly had been tormenting her for YEARS, literally a looming shadow over her… haunting her… I wanted the irony to be palpable that even though Vriska, clearly an adult by now, was posed with what would objectively be such a simple task still made her feel so small in the face of it even beside her younger self.

The shot of her sadly looking back at her message to Terezi from John's device...

Floral: It was early on decided that Terezi was the bridge between these two Vriska’s, and that despite what Vriska put (Vriska) through or her constant rejection, (Vriska) being able to still empathize her other self was a prime example of what Vriska could be. It’s not about loving someone more than you hate yourself but something crazier and more complicated. I love Vriska.

They note an intentional and almost hilarious contrast between how the adult Vriska is drawn in detail and the smaller (Vriska) is drawn in her old MSPA Hero Mode style... (Vriska) being scared and backing away because of all the bullying Vriska mixed in to the rest of the (four-ish!!) years she's been stuck revisiting her and failing...

((Including shooting at her with a gun, that was still a crazy thing to mix in I don't know what the fuck was up with that, lol. Part of my mind still can't help but distantly wonder if that was a reference to my other username but, naaah.))

The final hug moment "like an older sister reconciling with their younger sibling", they're talking about how showing the resolution in this action showed the "acceptance" more than any words could so it made sense to show it in this form here, in the flash, instead of earlier...

Davepeta understandably the happiest about this development among her supporters, and a bit of mention of:

Miles: In many ways the fate of a sprite is to be an agent of someone else’s journey, but 8 years in silent hill is vicious work.

Yup, yup...

Then Vriska is alone and surprised to have "finally accepted herself as a whole"...

Alright, seems we're moving out of the Plot Point and back to the action.

"[Floral:] Her cheshire grin as she totally fucks up Rose’s plan." I definitely enjoyed that, yeah.

They say they wanted it to "mirror Terezi's hand as all of Meat was flashing by", but I guess I still don't get the full significance of their decision to have that huge Meat flashback just before the moment happened... partially to signal Ultimate Vriska's awareness of the entirety of the situation (Light) upon her ascension here if I had to guess, and another excuse to show Terezi as the emotional bridge? They don't quite say here.

Ah, they "decided that the meteor would explode" at that moment in the flash, and they show the blue light blast behind her; I wonder if the laser was let through or if the destruction was an explosion from within as Vriska came out and rescued the others? Was the meteor exploding UPWARD with her ascendant emergence the "obnoxious laser assist"?

Kim: AND HERE SHE IS IN ALL HER GLORY…. HELL TIER VRISKA!!! [...snipping some text...] It’s everything about her, but AMPED UP!!!

I suppose they're mostly focusing on their design choices and not spoiling us on details or "why"s (yet)?

OH WAIT THEY DO TELL US SOMETHING HERE IN A BIT:

Now, you may have been wondering, “what the haell is all the hubbub with this ‘HELL TIER’ nonsense I keep hearing about?” You can actually thank that one for being another Andrew Hussie original! If you’re a hardcore Beyond Canon fan, some of you may remember that it was mentioned Andrew had two mandates for Homestuck’s sequel that HAD to stay from his outline. One, being Yiffany’s character AND……. lo and behold, TWO is Hell Tier Vriska! Her concept and design was one of the first few things we as a team worked on together when this project started up again. While the core of her concept has essentially stayed the same, with our team’s reboot, the direction and purpose of it is what mostly changed. Fun fact, Andrew’s original design notes for her in the outline said she would have red hair, blue skin, and look like an insanely demonic anime pirate lady. Do what you will with that information LOL.

THIS is especially interesting and deserved being quoted in full, my bolding added for anyone curious at some of the differences between Andrew's original outline, Homestuck^2, and the intentionally-loosened-from-his-outline-more Beyond Canon continuation. Because of the intentional differences in tack it sounds like they took in introducing her -- and let me tell you, everything they did with The Plot Point and the 8-year psychology session was BRILLIANT to me and I loved it, personally -- it's difficult to tell what differences there might have been between this and the version Andrew originally had in mind in terms of plot purpose and characterization beyond most likely always being meant to serve as the gateway to get the Omega Kids into Canon, I'd bet. For all we know it could have been more of a Grimbark-like transformation embodying the overembracing of a Thief of Light instead of an ascension from true balance like we saw, but I expect we won't get any answers on differences THAT big between the "outline" and the final plot for a long time, until after the plot is over most likely.

Kim: What we also wanted to emphasize is that this form isn’t exactly like a new state of being like the usual God Tiers, it’s more like a power-up that Vriska has unlocked!

This ALSO doesn't tell us quite where this power came from-- if this is the natural true power of a Thief of Light she's finally tapping into, if this is something "taken" from the nature of The Plot Point's Hell, and/or if this is her Ultimate Self. We simply don't know yet, and they're not telling us just yet!

Alright they're moving on... yep, they gave the "prior Bec Noir"(?) version of Jack an ending by having him serve Jane in that mech and be killed... (I forget, in those hard-to-find snapchats wasn't it Mech Noir and the Felt followers that Jane captured? Eh, this is a detail I feel like I don't care enough to properly reconcile, oddly enough... Although the moon WAS blown apart in this flash so that Jane kidnap snapchat DID happen, was that mecha-Jack actually the former Bec Noir or did they mis-state here? Was it even mecha-Jack? If so then he'd been restored from Mecha status by Jane's Life powers then, which makes some sense. Maybe they're calling him "prior Bec Noir" because of the Bec-Noir-like mecha "BecMech… (Mech Noir?)" he was piloting, so combining them in symbolism. Eh I don't care too much.)

From her in front of the Moon-- I still want to know if she stole Light from the moon like it looked?

Floral: I helped animate this part too and god, when we saw it all together, it was amazing. Vriska fully harnessing her light powers to deliver the most relevant strike the Candyverse has ever seen.

--I'm still unclear if how I saw it is what really happened, I'd have appreciated some clarification. Maybe it was just a dramatic pose and stealing of Jane Crocker's continued relevance and power before her strike. They don't explain the flaming infinity on the ground either or what it accomplished beyond looking awesome.

They mention some other inspirations for Vriska's final blow and the rest of the assault you can read on Patreon that don't have specific plot-relevance that I'd cover, there's plenty of that...

Oh pff... they intended Jane to survive this flash, but Just-A-Head-Jane was apparently an on-the-spot idea here that someone tossed in and they laughed about it but eventually took it seriously and followed through with it, and I'm so glad they did, it's absolutely hilarious and emphasizes Jane's full-strength logic-defying Maid of Life powers and I love it:

Spicyyeti: the talking head was outside the bounds of the flash but i suggested it. and everyone kept saying “why not?” jokingly until they started saying “why not.” seriously. think reanimator, or haunted mansion 2003, or lollipop chainsaw, but especially susie summer killer7……

Miles: That call was hilarious because I think the transition from joke to serious was maybe less than a minute.  Literally as soon as we started talking about it I went into the doc for the next update and replaced every dialogue instance of “Jane” with “Jane’s head” and just kept laughing and laughing; it changed basically nothing about how the update needed to be written but an already funny gag was taken to crazier and more hilarious heights.  I guess I’ll save the rest of this for the next commentary, but seriously choice suggestion from Carmi, who saved our lives in so many ways on this animation it’d take an entire other commentary to list them all. Floral: It was an amazing idea and EXACTLY what the flash needed. And honestly the most Homestuck way to handle the conflict.

I'm in full agreement with them on that, Dullahan Jane is fucking hilarious and the best and a super Homestuck thing to do and I love it.

I suppose that's it for all the bits I find most plot-relevant or interesting for this commentary, but again, if you want more about the juicy art details and less plot-necessary revelations, feel free to chip in to Homestuck's Patreon or wait the 61 days for it to become public!

[ladyloveandjustice]

Anime Expo Final Day: Q & A and Live Draw with Witch Hat Atelier's Kamome Shirahama

Sunday was not as bad as Saturday crowd wise, but still a bit hard to deal with.

I got into the second Witch Hat Atelier panel, which was a live draw with Kamome Shirahama! We weren't allowed to take pics of her of course, and she came in the Iguin cosplay and somehow managed to draw in it, but I did get to take a pic of the brush buddy:

And here's the live drawing she did (Quifrey by audience demand) which we were allowed to photograph.

I was taking notes throughout the panel but then the notes app just decided to stop working and I lost it all. But I did write down everything I remembered immediately after, so here we go:

When asked, Shirahama said her influences were American and French comics in addition to manga. She mentioned Akira and the French comic Mobius, as well as a French comic with "cities" in the title I couldn't catch.

EDIT: (According to gaston26 in the comments: "I think she talked about French comics artist Moebius and the french comics with cities in the title is most likely 'Les Cités obscures'. ;)" That sounds right!)

She says she was inspired by the art style and diversity of American comics. She was also inspired by children’s literature like The Neverending Story.

When asked about the diversity in her story, she quickly said that the diversity was intentional and the fact that its even a question shows that we need more diversity. She said, "Nobody would ask this if it was just a romance between a boy and a girl or something like that, so it shows there needs to be more".

When asked how she feels about Quifrey being so popular, she mentioned that Quifrey was going to be a villain but his design was so good she promoted him to a main character.

She stated that she tries to write a story her younger self would read, but she says she was a “twisted kid” so as a child she’d be saying things like “a Pegasus with those feathers wouldn’t be able to fly!”

When asked about the magic system she said she was still actually trying to learn the magic system herself.

She talked about magic as a metaphor for creativity and said her audience is very creative so she feels they could relate. She always wanted to write a fantasy. She mentioned again that she had a mangaka friend early on and that it really made her appreciate what goes into making art and got her thinking in that direction.

She stated that there are no real villains in her story, just people.

When asked about how she comes up with names, she said she “asks Google”. She wanted names where her character would be the only one that comes up in the google search. Early on, with names like Coco and Agott, she didn’t do this, but it made her mad when other things would come up in the google search. When asked if she was inspired by any sort of ethnicity/culture for characters, she asked to pick one, and was asked about Kustas. She said that was a tough question and eventually said she took inspiration from Rome and also indigenous Japanese cultures for him.

She said she doesn’t use screentone because she’s "lazy" and prefers to work with her ink pen. When asked about her assistants she said they are the best ones at doing speed lines, which she’s "bad" at.

She said Quifrey and Olruggio were partly inspired by people she knows- not in looks, but in personality. She said traits like being strict on the outside and sweet on the inside (I imagine she's referring to Olruggio there) were inspired by those people she used as models.

She also mentioned that she draws very fast!

And that's about all I got down.

After that, the day was kind of rough, as I temporarily lost my wallet but fortunately someone eventually turned it in to lost and found. I went to Little Tokyo and attended the pop up Akiba Maid War café there. I got a Ranko cookie! The maid who served us mentioned the cafe's rivals like the poison the drinks and did the spell thing. We got a singing performance where both our maid and the woman playing Manager danced, with Manager intentionally doing it very badly. It was fun!

And that's all for my con report! Hope there was some interesting info! I'll be posting cosplay I saw and art and merch I got later.

[l3earfat-st]

hello… well first of all what i'm about to write might be a bit long, i apologize in advance for taking up your time. i'm actually a bit hesitant. i've asked this from other artists and they've been quite rude to me. i don't know if i'm asking for something wrong but if so please politely refuse.

i'm going through a bit of a depressing time, i'm trying to draw simple things to take my mind off things. i have no intention of becoming a professional for now, i just want to draw chibi.

that's what i asked the artists, reference. i want to draw jake sully, i need someone to guide me in a simple way. i need someone to show me the basic rules, show me how to draw thick dreadlocks. like a little guide…

i like your drawings in general but i like your chibi drawings so much differently. you draw so beautifully, especially the way you paint… i will always wonder how you do it. i don't want to steal or copy, i just want to draw chibis close to your style until i find my own style. i have no idea how to draw those hairs in different poses, head movements and i am sure there is a rule.

i don't know if i should write to you or not but you are really my favorite artist and i want my style to be close to yours. i would really be happy if you could help me, really

Hey there! 😊 First of all, I'm so happy you decided to reach out to me! I'm more than happy to answer any questions or help anyone who’s just starting out or wants to learn any techniques I can share. I recently answered some technique-related questions on my Instagram, and I’ve saved some in my highlights if you’re interested—hopefully, they’ll be useful!

I totally get how it feels to learn on your own, and sometimes just a little bit of advice can make a huge difference.

Also, just to mention, I’ve answered this question before on my IG too—about starting to draw by copying or drawing in the style of artists you like. (As long as it's not tracing or claiming others' work, of course!) I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. Eventually, when you practice by using techniques and styles from different artists, you’ll start finding your own style too. I did the same thing, so no worries—you’ll find yours soon enough! 😊

Now, let's get started! I’ve made two videos—one on how to draw chibi Jake Sully, and since this is my blog where I post Sleep Token art, I also included how to draw Vessel too! 😂😂

And just a heads-up: English isn’t my first language (and I'm not great at it), and I’ve never made a video or taught anyone before. So, if anything is unclear or confusing, feel free to ask anytime—I’m happy to help! Have fun drawing! ✨ Jake Sully

Vessel

[kidspawn]

hi... here to bug you.... please tell me anything more about trc masterchef au... I used to watch masterchef Australia all the time when I still lived there should I get back into it?

LISTEN I GREW UP WATCHING THE CATTY CLUSTER FUCK THAT WAS MASTERCHEF US ABSOLUTELY WATCH IT OMG?

okay okay okay i'm going batshit i might actually have to write this it's driving me nuts. here, allow me to focus on some more behind the scenes drama because there is something so delicious about that. it's in the confessionals, darling. AND THE DREADED TEAM CHALLENGES.

MASTERCHEF AU PART ONE

Team Challenges serve their own turbulence but surprisingly Ronan does... really well on them? Gansey and Ronan, to the surprise of many, actually work very well on a team together. This occurs during a duos cook, and it becomes evident fast that when it comes to cooking literally all Ronan wants to do is fucking cook so he's more than happy to let Gansey take the reins and just direct him around. Works like a charm. Gansey is kind of the "Ronan whisperer" of the cast, and people are quick to point out their easy friendship and synergy. Most group challenges will feature them together. Ronan and Blue also work well together, especially during the tag team challenge. Where Gansey kind of tempers more of Ronan's "out there" ideas, Blue kind of feeds on it and they push the other to get a little more creative and push boundaries. It's also funny to watch them cook together because the camera will pan by and Blue is being beeped out every two words because Ronan seriously what are you doing that's not how you roll that did you ever learn to cook a protein where the hell did you get training from??? But the end result is good. They're on the same wavelength in regards to cook styles, both being family taught and valuing more traditional techniques with an artistic flair. So its a seamless transition.

I like to think Adam and Ronan have one of those duo cooks that seems like its going to crumble at first? When they're paired together for a blind wall challenge (where contestants cook on opposite sides of a wall and have to produce an identical dish without seeing one another) its with the intention of sabotage because they don't really seem to get along? They actively snipe at one another every chance, make snide comments in confessionals and in the damn kitchen. They're catty and mean. So they get paired together and everyone waits with baited breath for the episode to drop. And the whole time they're yelling and insulting and calling each other names (one of the judges comes over and asks them to calm the hell down and Ronan goes on about how he is being perfectly fucking civil it's Adam who has the problem and Adam snorts and Ronan whips around and insults him in fucking Latin (????) and Adam corrects his grammar and tells him to go back to kindergarten to reconfigure his social skills and the judges just fucking leave at that point.) But come to time and their dishes are, somehow, near identical and everyone is absolutely baffled but theyre on some next level shit. Subsequent episodes show the two being relatively more civil and even playfully teasing so its obvious they've talked or worked through something. At one point Ronan chooses Adam for a team challenge as his first pick and the internet loses its mind.

(Anyway two years later, as someone suggested to me, there are photos of them at a city farmer's market looking very definitely coupley and people realize oh that was sexual tension ok right on. #pynchiscanonking whatever people stream the show again and lose their minds picking up clues and hints)

More Individual Character Ideas:

Adam excels in baking - it's very technical, clear-cut rules, there's little room for a margin of error. He's a whiz with it, actually, had all the proportions memorized. Fuck, he's mastered a souffle. ("The dreaded cheese souffle" jfc i can hear Gordon Ramsey's voice.) Actually, before he applied to the show, he studied it. Scrutinized it. Found his weak points and figured out what he needed to know before even sending his audition tape in. He was especially cautious about the persona he'd put on. He crafts a false parentage, makes up some story about a mundane home life, doesn't clue them in to his scholarship or the circumstances of him coming here. It costs a lot of money, but the promise of more is a gamble he was willing to take.

Actually, I think Adam handles the stress of the competition relatively well? He's used to sleep deprivation! Behind the scenes, the producers will actively force contestants into states of sleep deprivation to incur heightened emotional responses. I think Adam, practiced in self restraint and sleep deficiency, is more or less himself. It's an advantage, to be so accustomed working with so little. Another point in Adam's favour is he isn't as quite... isolated as the others, because... well, he's not really cut off from anyone the way the others are. He's excelled in solitude, and so the no contact of it all is just a state of constant being. Emotionally, Adam is literally at his baseline. This is a severe advantage, against contestants pushed to their limits for the first time. While Adam teeters on the verge of his physical, emotional, and spiritual limits at every milestone.

However, it's hard to compensate for lack of cooking resources and background. Adam hints, vaguely, once in a confessional (they ask incredibly probing questions) that he's unfamiliar with a lot of equipment, a lot of techniques, because he's so self taught. It's a point of pride he is as good as he is without professional training, but he can't help but envy the others for seemingly having that extra support.

Cue an offhand comment about Gansey being pretentious. Once again, it's an offhand statement wrestled from him during an especially stressful shooting day. Producers, being the meddlers they are, not only move Gansey and Adam into the same hotel room (they do this, btw, to create further emotional distress. they move contestants with opposing views/personalities into the same room to induce more tension and drama for views), but they also make efforts to pit them against each other. Gansey is given the opportunity to take someone's mixer away, during a cupcake challenge. He picks Adam because he genuinely sees Adam as a threat. Adam takes this horribly and decides this means Gansey thinks he doesn't deserve to be in the competition. Adam, in a rare show of emotion, (the live tweeting fans are going crazy btw, because Adam's shell never cracks) is so furious he actually botches the cupcakes. And Adam is like... the baking guy. It's horrible. Gansey feels awful, and when given the opportunity to save a competitor, he saves Adam. Adam views this as a perverse practice in humiliation, to show him crumpling and yank him back. He refuses to be saved. Luckily, the only real issue is the overwhipping (somehow? without a mixer?) of his frosting and a mild crumb stuck to his liners. The flavour is there, which is what matters. He's cleared to the next stage. But he's now furious with Gansey. And so begins this long winded rivalry between Gansey and Adam.

Gansey is so vocal about his admiration of other competitors. And people love Gansey. He's quickly a fan favourite, because he's (seemingly) low drama, just appreciates his peers and the art of cooking. He gushes about Blue, about Adam, about Ronan and Henry and even Noah, who got screwed over in an early challenge despite being incredibly skilled. The issue is there's a lot behind the scenes no one sees. Gansey is earnest in his admiration, but he does say the wrong thing. He makes a backhanded compliment every once in awhile, offers to show Adam how to perform a highly technical skill during cooking classes, gives Ronan advice for his dish ideas, asks Blue to show him a family recipe of hers, offers to pay for her time, etc. And it is all well intentioned. He wants the competition to perform their best, but it comes out condescending as anything. So all people really see is Gansey getting kind of shit talked by Blue and Adam for no damn reason and with no context.

(I also like the element of Gansey being a chef in defiance of what his parents want, but he doesn't really bring it up? Public image and all. Helen is called in for the family reunion episode and everyone loves her and wants twenty more please.)

Ronan here actually comes from a family in the food industry, his parents own a restaurant, and after his dad died he started using cooking as a way to really reconnect with him. Technically he's inherited the restaurant, because of course he did, nevermind he has littld interest in business - all he wants to do is cook. It's like second nature to him and he can't fathom anyone really wanting to step away from that. But he goes on the show anyway, for whatever impulse and fuck you declan he could manage. (Declan is tearing his hair out over Ronan jumping on TV after a relatively public murder investigation on their father but whatever fuck you Declan.) So I imagine cooking comes from a deeply personal place for him.

Henry and Ronan don't fucking get along. Which is odd because Ronan works fairly well in team challenges with nearly everyone (the world was shocked) but he cannot stand Henry and vice versa. Henry is always trying to do something fancy and new age and Ronan sees it as reducing the quality of the ingredients they've got and can't stand it. In his opinion, there's no need for all that fluff. You should be able to cook with a cast iron and a spatula and you're fine. Henry calls him boring, likens him to a bull in a china shop from the balcony, and will typically target him when he gets an advantage. (Henry and Gansey are neck and neck for winning challenges.) He admits Ronan gets fired up and he thinks it's kind of funny. They work on a team together once (kitchen takeover probably) and Ronan absolutely refuses to listen to Henry and their team loses to Gansey's.

Blue has a huge personal connection to cooking, and it really feels good to point out I think the show would rely heavily on her familial influence. She cooks a lot of dishes her (??? several??? how many aunts does she have? how many mothers? is that just a commune what??) family showed her, and she's constantly speaking on respecting ingredients. She grew up in a household that values the heart of ingredients. She has a vegetable garden. She has an ecology degree. A big big thing for Blue is making something extraordinary with minimal and/or simplistic ingredients. She manages to imbue a lot of flavour and skill into what should be otherwise bland and monotonous recipes. I think if anything tripped her up it'd be someone giving her an ingredient she hasn't worked with before. Something very expensive, something she hasn't tasted prior much less worked with. But I adore the idea of Blue kind of saying fuck you to the idea of thousand dollar proteins and excelling in bringing home cooked meal to an elevated level. Side note that at least once she and Gansey did a team group challenge and argued over proteins and she at one point said he hides behind fancy ingredients to hide his lack of skill (this is early on in the show) and he gets genuinely hurt by this and makes an effort to kick with more standard ingredients going forward to show Blue he can cook, he absolutely has the skill to be here, and this is him on a damn plate.

Finally (for now) I think an Adam and Gansey tag team challenge would be absolutely hilarious because they would not communicate. It could have gone well, but my earlier mentioned context has really established (hopefully) that they're emotionally drained and pissed at one another. It gets to a point where anytime Gansey tries to ask Adam to do something different (before the timer goes off) Adam takes it as a direct insult and bucks his heels in. Gansey isn't exactly innocent, as he kind of steamrolls and ends up redoing a lot of Adam's work without necessarily needing to, and they get crunched for time, but it is important to note its Adam digging his heels in and refusing to take critique from Gansey specifically. He's good with judges but something about Gansey's feedback sets him off. Adam gets sent home that night, and there is an Adam and Gansey hug (they exchange numbers and talk after the show. btw.)

i will gladly do more i am enjoying this so so so much