#and the only advice i've gotten is 'improve your art'

[yupuffin]

The longer I spend applying for zines, the more I get the idea that not everyone who runs them knows what they're doing...

[revalition]

OCT 5 - CONCEPTUALIZATION

Understand creativity. See Art in the world.

sorry so few drawings in today's (and the really lazy colouring job) I'm very tired and wanted to still get it out. I love love conceptualization!! I'll draw and colour you properly some day.

I drew him with legs in my banner (still a WIP, I need to colour it...) and I'm not sure what I like more... definitely don't ever expect tons of consistency from me haha

Alsoooo... I think I'm going to do mondays off instead of sundays so I don't split up the 4 groups across the break. and volition's realllly gonna need that extra day, I love that guy way too much

anyway! as usual tons of quotes and comments under the cut! conceptualization has sooo many amazing ones, it's too hard to limit it to 29 :(((

PALE PALE PALE

actually me the second I heard about the pale. I've spent a likely unhealthy amount of time contemplating it. I did a science project on the possible ways the Universe will eventually end when I was like 15 and only gotten worse since then, I live for this stuff. It fascinates me endlessly

ily conceptualization and volition. I had to suffer through the unbelievably embarrassing ordeal of the failed poetry the first time, when conceppy stopped it the second time I immediately fell in love.

NO why is turning him down an option??

:(

this was so vivid and sad

the whole revacholian nationhood quest is so delusional... but conceptualization is going to embrace it anyway

art cop my beloved

of course he'd find it artistic... it's definitely a statement I suppose

much love for this, conceptualization comforted me into accepting the sorry cop, like... 30 minutes into my first run

don't be sorry honey I always want to hear your artsy thoughts

Yes this is the poetry fail again... this was actually incredibly painful. Also first day of my first run, walked out of the Whirling over to the lorries. So many moments of 'what did I doooo' over picking 1 INT...

Almost every fail ends up with the failing skill giving you really really bad advice, I love how this time conceptualization is just. desperately trying to stop you from continuing. and he can't!! it just gets *worse*!! I'm not including the rest of the poem, I don't want to even look at it. conceptualization ily for trying to stop the horrors...

hehe conceptualization hates improv

ough I love this one. referring to Le Retour.

un jour je serai de retour pres de toi...

actually me as soon as the hyperfixation stops

silver stars melted down...

ough I love the melancholy of a lot of conceptualization's comments.

this one especially. it's so simple, but deeply, deeply sad. the authors of this game were definitely no strangers to grief.

I love when the skills are silly

I love these, they just make my heart happy

mm... true

hehe

I gain a year of life every time anyone mentions harry's blue soul. ily conceptualization

that's it thanks to the evil screenshot limit :((( I hit it so fast too. I'm going to actually die on Volition day. Maybe I can just type the quotes instead of screenshotting them... there's no character limit hehe

running through conceptualization's other language names through google translate: unconventional, concept formation, abstraction

I like these. Most translate directly to conceptualization, but the ones that don't are always cool.

ough I love conceptualization a lot. I barely heard from him my first run, but maxed him out the second. Him and inland empire and shivers are my lovely poetic boys.

Volition trusting Conceptualization is also extremely!!! important to me. as far as I remember, conceptualization isn't identified as compromised either. He just wants art. Even tells you to "lay off that love stuff, if you can" at one point. I'm very fond of him.

[wejusthereforthefanart]

I've Rediscovered Meet The Robinsons

And now I'm going to make it everyone else's problem by shoving my headcanons in your faces. *And you're going to like them.*

The Framagucci siblings have gone no-contact with their toxic parents. Evidence? Well, I don't have any, I just like the idea that Lewis yearned to be a part of a loving family and fell in love with a girl who grew up in a family with not-so-loving parents.

Art is the oldest, Gaston is the middle child, and Franny is the baby. I can picture Art having a job in high school in order to help pay the bills, which then shaped his work ethic and gave him a passion for his current job. Unfortunately, that also made him a bit of a workaholic.

Gaston was never considered a "forgotten" middle child, as he made sure he got the most attention from the whole town. He's even a record holder for "most banned citizen", as he's prohibited from most of the local stores and restaurants.

Franny is one of the only family members with a criminal record, after she incited a riot in a concert hall when the conductor tried to step on her frog, Frankie. Gaston insisted on putting a printed copy of her mugshot into the family scrapbook.

Bud and Lucille only argue about one thing during their entire marriage--the pronunciation of the word "pecan". It had gotten so intense that Bud spent a week sleeping on the couch, until they both forgot what they were fighting about.

Cornelius and Billie have bonded over their time spent in orphanages. While Cornelius shared his feelings about being abandoned as a baby and never understanding why his mother left him on the doorstep, Billie confided in him about how her parents had regularly dumped her at an orphanage throughout her childhood, whenever they "needed a break". Once she turned eighteen, she left their house for good and began train hopping across her home country.

Tallulah's love for history was Cornelius' original motivation to inventing the time machine, and he allowed Laszlo to help design the prototype so he didn't feel left out.

While Fritz' puppet, Petunia, is modeled after his late wife's appearance, her personality has since become angrier and more tumultuous due to his grief upon her passing. She has even scared off several therapists over the years.

Joe runs a fitness blog in which he reviews workout videos, offering advice to improve the instructors' lessons. While he didn't pursue a career with it, he has a master's degree in kinesiology.

Laszlo and Tallulah have a former step-mother, who the family avoids talking about to the point that Wilbur still has no idea she exists. Her relationship with Fritz ended poorly.

Wilbur started his own conspiracy theory about himself being a time traveler, which many people over the years have believed and discussed online.

Spike and Dimitri are, in fact, related to one side of the family. Which side? Doesn't matter.

[ssalballoon]

i wanna get better at art but dont know how to start ^^' whats a good way to get into studying anatomy and improving as an artist? tysm 💗 love your art soso much

more art converts 😼 yay!!

i think these asks were sent by different people but they're pretty related + a lot of my advice is the same! so i'll answer these together under the cut (it's so long oh gosh)

ok first of all i'm very flattered that people are asking me for art advice but i'm really not the most equipped person to ask TTOTT I've never been deliberately studious with my art so I feel bad offering advice when I've mostly gotten by with just drawing fanart and ocs a lot... my rate of improvement has therefore been slow, but I've still had an enjoyable learning experience so perhaps from that angle my input may help! i'll mainly refer you to external resources that have helped me

For anatomy + drawing humans:

1) I know I'm not diligent enough to sit down and study muscles, so instead I make it more enjoyable by drawing my favorite characters in a pose that targets the muscles I want to practice! (i default to drawing ppl naked because of this lol) This isn't the most efficient, but it serves as good motivation to get practice in. (honestly a lot of my general art advice has the undercurrent of becoming so obsessed with characters to drive your motivation to draw even when artblocked/ struggling with doubts!)

2) I want to refer you to Sinix's Anatomy playlist! Although Sinix focuses more on digital painting, he gives simplified anatomy breakdowns that include how muscles change shape under different movements/poses, which is crucial for natural human posing. the static anatomy diagrams from Google don't really help for that

3) What's just as important as anatomy is gestures! (especially important if you're used to drawing non-human objects I think!) Making figures look like they have flow to them will sell the "naturalness"(?) to your anatomy. If you have in person life drawing sessions accessible near you I'd recommend trying those out, or if you prefer trying it digitally there's this website!

This helps you not only get a sense of human proportions, but also natural posing! I'd limit the time taken to draw the poses from like 10 seconds to 1 minute(?) for quick gestures, and maybe 1 minute to 5mins(for now!! typically they go much longer) to study human proportions. I'd say don't spend a lot of time on them, repetition is more important!

4) I've also picked up on useful anatomy tidbits from artists online! Looking at how practiced/ professional artists stylize a body helps me focus on what the essential details are to convey a particular form (looking up "human muscles" and being hit with anatomy diagrams full of all the smallest details can be overwhelming! what do you even focus on?! so these educated simplifications really help me) Like Emilio Dekure's work! Look how simplified these figures are, and yet contain all the essential information to convey the sense of accurate form (even though it's highly exaggerated!)

(shamefully admits I've never studied from actual anatomy books so I can't recommend anything in that sense TTOTT)

For general improvement:

1) I highly recommend Sinix's Design Theory playlist and Paintover Pals! (+ his channel in general) You don't have to put them immediately into practice, but I think these are good fundamental lessons to just listen to and have them in the back of your mind to revisit another day. Plus these videos are just fun and very approachable! Design theory fundamentals are essential to creating appeal and directing a viewer's attention, and critiquing others' work/ seeing his suggestions are a good way to practice noticing areas of improvement+ solutions yourself!

2) If you prefer a more formal teaching resource, the Drawabox YouTube course covers all the basic fundamentals of drawing in short lessons. But honestly if I were starting out, this would be a little intimidating for me (and even now it still is! I haven't done all of them) But even if you don't watch them, the titles should give you an idea of the basic concepts that are valuable to pick up. I think it would be nice to keep in mind and revisit once in a while as you learn!

(One lesson I do encourage you to watch is the line control one! A confident continuous line conveys motion and flow much better compared to discontinuous frayed lines which I think is good to practice early by drawing from the wrist and shoulder)

3) As a universal piece of advice: Please please please use references! Use a reference for literally everything, observing is how we learn! You'll find that a lot of things you thought you knew what they looked like are inaccurate by memory alone. Also, trace! This is solely for your practice, tracing then freehanding has helped me grasp proportions when I was struggling! (of course don't post these online if you traced from art)

I've found that being able to compile references into easy to access boards has been very helpful in encouraging me to use references more. For PC, I think they use PureRef (free/pay what you want), and for iPad I use VizRef. VizRef is a one time purchase (which was definitely worth the $3.99 USD price imo)

4) On that note, try building up the habit to observe from media + real life and make purposeful comments about what you see! Like hey, when I bend my knee, the muscles/fat in my thighs and calves bulge outwards, I should draw that next time. Purposeful observation carries over to your overall visual library, and it's a little thing that adds up over time

5) For motivation, get into media you really enjoy, or make your own characters! The way I started art more seriously was by drawing fanart + OCs from anime that I liked ^^ For OCs it really encourages you to draw more because you're the primary creator of their art! Also you gotta see a lot of good art to make good art! Watching visually appealing media (like animation with appealing stylization/simplification) can passively help you learn just by observation.

ok wow I could go on but this is already a lot of information TTOTT my main aim for this reply is basically: don't let anything discourage you from learning to draw!! drawing is so fun and brings me a lot of joy ^^ practicing often will of course help you improve, and the way to incentivize that is by having fun with it! i hope this could help!💞

[c-rowlesdraws]

hi! your art is fucking amazing and as an artist myself trying to improve I WISH I was able to draw as expressively and richly and warmly and beautifully as you! maybe you have already answered this before and I apologize if that is the case, but can I ask what program do you use and what brushes? thank you so much! xxx

Aah holy cow, this is one of the nicest asks I've ever gotten, thank you very much! I've been feeling lately like I still have a long way to go before my art will be at the level I want for it, so hearing this is really humbling and encouraging-- and I'll give you the same advice I've been trying to follow myself, which is that if you keep practicing and studying art that looks the way you want your art to look, you'll improve bit by bit and get there eventually.

As for brushes and programs-- I still primarily use photoshop (+ Wacom Intuos Pro tablet) for digital art, but that's just because I've used it for a very long time-- I'm aware of many other, just-as-good-if-not-better, most importantly free-er alternatives to Adobe products, and it might be only only a matter of time before I switch from photoshop to one of them.

As for brushes, I really love Kyle Webster's brush packs (now available for free download on the Adobe Cloud, since he works for them)-- his natural media brushes have awesome textures to them. I also like Shiyoon Kim's inking brushes-- they're super crunchy. But I also use just the default PS hard-edged round brush with variable opacity a lot.

[gurugirl]

I notice that when I give critical advice (or see it from others) to writers here on tumblr it's not well received. I've never come to you with anything to critique yet but I just wonder why writers are so sensitive here? Do you guys not think you deserve to know when we don't like something?

Took me a bit to answer this. Sorry for the delay in responing.

I feel like this topic has been beaten into the ground at this point anon. Maybe you just haven't seen replies or comments from writers or artists on tumblr regarding this but I'll just kind of repeat what I've said in the past.

It's not that we don't think we need to be better at writing or couldn't grow as a writer, it's just that most of the critiques aren't useful and won't make us better at what we do here.

And on top of that we share our art with you guys for free. You're not paying us for any of this so why you do you feel like you should give us your honest negative opinion when we are just trying to have fun here and have a little outlet for our hobby? If you are paying for something and you don't like it then feel free to say what you think could be improved. But if not? What makes you think you deserve to critique what we do for fun?

Last... and this is something I've said before as well- this is how I feel about what I write here on tumblr. It's my little present to you guys. The only thing I have to give my online readers as a gift. I don't have much to give but I have my writing and I try to enjoy the process and my hope is that you receive it in the way it was intended. If you don't like my gift to you then I really would prefer not to hear some honest critique of something I put all my love into for you.

Along with that little gift analogy, critique and open rejection of a writer's free work feels like when you search for a gift you think someone will enjoy. You feel so excited to give it to your friend. You wrap it up and put a little bow on it, make a nice note and then hand them the gift in anticipation of what their reaction will be when they open it. Only to have all your excitement stomped out when they tell you should have gotten them something different or in another color. That it's not right and they don't like it.

That's kind of how it feels when you want to tell me I should have done something different with something I was excited to share with you. It was meant to be a gift. Not an assignment. Not a paid service. A gift.

But anyway... that's just how I feel.

You guys are welcome to do as you please but just know that your honest critique isn't usually as helpful to us as you might think and it just comes off as rude and uncalled for rather than helpful and winds up just hurting my feelings and making me wish I'd never given you the gift in the first place.

xoxo

[goldenfox3]

I keep thinking I should be drawing instead of writing fanfics because at least drawing I can rationalize as practising for future portfolio pieces instead of "wasting time" on fics which will not lead me to anything but like I'm still flip flopping on whether I even want art to be my job at all because like if I feel demotivated to even draw personal pieces about characters I care about deeply how am I gonna draw stuff I don't care about. Lmao. Or is it easier to draw stuff I don't care about precisely for that reason? I don't know. I keep saying I'm going to draw things other than F-Zero fanart and I don't. I know I'm better than I was before. I know I'm improving. It doesn't feel good enough or fast enough even though I know there's no set deadlines or milestones in life besides death lmao. I feel like I'm having a midlife crisis and I haven't even hit 40. I know hobbies don't have to become monetized. I know their value is in the joy they bring you. I still feel like I'm screaming into the void while at the same time the void is also inside of me. Why am I here. What am I doing. Why did I go to postsecondary twice just to end up in the same place with nothing useful. Did I only go back for the comfort of having my path charted out for me for a while? I went to school to learn to make games but I'm just ok at coding just ok at art just ok at whatever but no studio is gonna hire someone who is just ok at everything and good at nothing lmao. And so I could go solo. But every time I think about trying to work on my pet project from there that my prof and classmates praised as meaningful I lock up and shy away like touching it will erode me or something.

Sometimes I look at Ryu and go your entire fate was decided for you but sometimes I envy that. The way his path forward is always so clear. I envy his conviction. I envy the way Andy always seems to have a handle on things. I crave Bart's advice or Ryu's steadfast support or Jack's way of making people forget their troubles. You always project a little bit of yourself into your writing but I wonder if my insecurities and desires show so plainly through the way I characterize them. I wonder if they become unrecognizable as I bend them towards what I want. Sometimes I just keep clicking between my stats page and list of fanfics page because it feels good to have a tangible record of things I've made and people who liked it even for something as meaningless as this. I've been trying to find a new job for months now and I haven't gotten anything but silence or rejection lmao. I could go back to my old job but the thought of going back to the trapped feeling I had before I went back to postsecondary and spending another 6 years there makes me want to crawl into bed and not come out. Normal people just suck it up and work why can I not do it I can do it I have done it I'm (mostly) able bodied and young and it's been months since I graduated I need to work I don't want to go back to hearing people's life stories dragged out onto recordings and legal proceedings as I lie to the lawyers' faces like not even the retail postings will get back to me which is like. I have a BSc and a Diploma and I still can't find another job lmao. All the shit I'm applying to rn is retail or admin/clerk shit and I'm like. So what did I go to school for. Lmao. I know not everyone ends up in their field but like. Lol.

I don't think I have any mental conditions besides anxiety which the psych found was not at disability level but I don't know if she was testing for like. Depression also lmao. Or is it just the struggles of job hunting in the current tough market getting to me. Sorry to dump this on my FZ blog of all places but I did mention FZ so ✌😔

[obsidiannebula]

but when I put my work out there no one gives a shit. even the AI gets more of a reaction out of others, even if its purely negative. admit it, people only started to pretend to care about smaller artists and writers to stick it to the AI techbros

You're experiencing something that every creative on the planet has been struggling with since forever: the crushing disappointment of "I worked really hard on this but nobody even seems to notice it."

We've all been there. It sucks. We tend to feel a need for recognition and validation when we do or make something. Just about every artist or writer on here has experienced that disappointment, and wondered in despair if it's even worth continuing to make and post the things they make. After all, why put in all that effort to make something and share it, when nobody seems to care? Why keep investing so much into something you love, only to share it and find that no one else appreciates it like you do?

Well, if you've been in creative circles for a while, you've actually probably seen some answers to this question. See, we HAVE cared about our fellow small creators since long before """AI""" was really a concern. For years we've been making and sharing posts to help and uplift each other. We've told each other, don't create with the hope of getting fame and adulation, or you'll almost certainly be disappointed. We've told each other, create for your friends, for the 3 people who are as deeply invested in your rarepair or niche fandom as you are, create for yourself, create for the joy of creation. We've spread posts reminding people that a like is nice, but if you really enjoy someone's art, it helps the creator much more to reblog it, because it increases the work's visibility and reach. We have encouraged people to commission artists- and we have actually done so! See my little icon in the corner there? I commissioned that from a friend, who is a small artist themself. (@oriathura here and on the website formerly known as Twitter, in case anyone would like to commission them!)

The creative community has been supporting each other for a long time, whether you were aware of it or not. I've been on Tumblr since 2017, and have been following artists and writers that whole time, and began posting my own art and writing soon after joining. I have seen thousands of posts of the sort I described, trying to help motivate, reassure and uplift other creators. I have seen friends and mutuals get discouraged by the lack of response to their art, and wonder if they should give up. I have seen them carry on anyway, and I have seen them grow and develop as artists. I have posted my own work and gotten silence in response, and I have persisted anyway and continued to improve my craft and make work that I am proud of, regardless of how many people saw it or validated me through praise.

Because I wanted something to exist, and I made it exist, and I deserve to be proud of that. No matter how many people saw it or liked it.

You didn't ask for advice, but I'm going to offer some, and you and any other creatives reading this can take it or leave it, as you like:

*Find community. Follow some creative people, maybe acquire some creative mutuals. Join a Discord server for artists and/or writers. Get involved with a small group of fellow creators and hype each other up!

*Learn how to tag your posts. Don't spam a bunch of unrelated tags, of course, but learn how to add plenty of relevant ones. Lots of people follow tags for characters, fandoms, and even the "my writing" and "fiction" tags- I know I do. That will put your post on the dash of some people who are following those tags. The more people who see it, the more likely it is to reach the people who will enjoy it- because no matter the subject or even quality of the work, there IS an audience for it. Following and posting in these tags may even help you find community!

*Make something with no intention of ever sharing it. If you love to create but find yourself discouraged and frustrated by a lack of positive response when you share your work, make something just for yourself and keep it to yourself. Learn to appreciate creation for creation's sake, for the joy you can bring yourself. If you're feeling really bold, make something and then destroy it. Rip it up, burn it, hit delete. Art is valuable even when it is fleeting.

*Create for an event. One of the best things that ever happened to my writing was participating in TAZ Pride Week 2018. I wrote a new fic every day for 8 days, pushing the limits of my creativity and writing skill. I tagged each work with the event tag, allowing others to find it and the organizer to reblog it to the event blog, which lots of people were following. Many people saw and enjoyed my work as a result. I saw the work of numerous others and was inspired. I even gained my first artsy mutual (aside from my irl friends) because of this event, so this can also help you with building community! People organize art and writing events all the time, especially for fandoms. Seek these out and see how you can get involved!

Sometimes, creating can feel like thankless work. But that doesn't mean it has no value. If it meant something to you, it was important. And it may become important to someone else one day. Some of my works that flopped hardest on publication are the ones that still get the occasional note or AO3 comment here and there months and years later, because they appealed to very few people, but those few people are very excited on the rare occasion they find something that scratches the particular itch they have!

When I was in 7th grade, we read Summer of My German Soldier. I don't know that I'd recommend the book to anyone else; in truth I don't remember much from it, aside from the main character getting a bad perm. But one quote from that book has stuck with me my whole life. It led to me the understanding of creation as a powerful, almost sacred act, regardless of how many people view it. For "there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral."

[oliveroctavius]

What inspires your art? Like, how did you come up with your art style, how happy you are with it and if there are any other artists that inspire you?

Asking a few people as a way to understand and grow as an artist at a crossroads. Have a good day.

This is a fun ask! Not sure how helpful my answers will be to you, but here they are.

I've honestly put little to no thought into "coming up with" an art style. I'd say that what comes out of my brain and hands is maybe only 1/3 calculated stylistic decisions, with the rest being "what is most fun for me" and "what is easiest for me". I draw a lot of faces because I enjoy caricature; I do most of it in scribbly mechanical pencil on scrap paper because that's what I usually have on hand.

My one big starting point is that when I started drawing at age ~12, I was copying characters out of The Adventures of Tintin. I learned just enough from Hergé to get simplified human figures I didn't hate and then went iteratively on from there. Mostly I just drew short humorous fancomics for myself and never colored them.

In high school I considered going into an art career, so I took art classes. At the time I thought they were fun but mostly irrelevant to the stylized character art I drew in my class notes every day... but looking back my comic art drastically improved 2015-17, so maybe I was wrong. I eventually decided I'd go into tech instead and leave dressing as a hobby, which I think was the right choice for me.

The closest I've ever had to a Style was in the music fanart and OC comics I did in college. The imagery mostly came out of my own brain, and I worked out what tools were easiest and most enjoyable: multicolor sharpie pens and India ink with watercolor washes; binary or hard edged brushes on digital work that I could fill in quickly with the bucket tool. I accepted that I wasn't a great draftsman and got scribblier and more manic.

Since then I've gotten back to the world of fancomics where I try to pastiche the original inking style—I've done Jhonen Vasquez, Steve Purcell, John Romita, Jack Cole, Scott Wegener, and C. C. Beck (though that one was way too ambitious and I may never finish). But I'm not doing this because I want to absorb them into my default style, though I certainly learn things from it. I do it for the project itself, because I feel like there's a lot of characterization and world-rules built into the way different art styles depict their worlds. I have great interest in stories which use restricted or contrasting stylization on purpose to convey meaning.

It's also just fun, which is my first priority. But I do think my technical skills have been regressing a bit from lack of use + perhaps from using others' work as a crutch too often. It's a little embarrassing, but it is what it is. I'm sure the trend will reverse if/when I put more time into full pieces and daily practice again.

Oh, and I did make a list of favorite artists back in 2018 which holds up. If I had to extract some advice from this meandering post, it would be to figure out what methods and tools make your artistic workflow easier and consider how you want to make those part of your "style". That's extra true if this is something you're going to be doing for long periods of time like a job.

[gible-love-nibles-archive]

Eternal Diva Fic (Part 13)

This is where all the Softness (tm) is folks; this is the "Clare is indulging" part lmao. Then again, this entire section of the story is me indulging. This entire fic is me indulging. You signed up for this at this point.

No warnings here, pretty sure! Just a nice soft penultimate chapter :]

Word Count: 1.6k / Previous / Next

“What are you up to?”

I jerked in surprise. It was Descole again, leaning on the doorway.

It had been a couple of days.  At least that was what I guessed.  Time was hard to gauge when there weren’t any windows, and I was lousy at keeping track of time anyway.  

Despite Descole’s advice, I had barely gotten any sleep.  Believe me, I tried.  But my eyes wouldn’t stay closed or I couldn’t settle down.  So most of the time, I took out my notebook and just doodled away, hoping that would help.

“Drawing,” I said simply. “Can’t sleep.”

"Again?" was all he said as he came in. It didn't sound accusatory, but I took it that way.

"I've been trying to sleep, alright? It's just been with... everything! All of this!" I let out a short sigh. "I know that's not your fault, but..." I trailed off.

The masked man just stared at me. I might've been seeing things... but he looked a bit sullen.

"I'm not going to force you to sleep. If you can't, you can't. Simple as that."

There was a stretch of silence. Neither of us moved (not that I could move much anyway).

I could tell Descole didn't want to leave just yet. He had been doing that quite a bit, finding random things to talk about to stretch out these visiting times. I didn't really get why; none of it seemed useful to him at all.

“Could I see what you’re drawing?” He finally settled on that as he sat and settled on the other side of the bed.

I blinked. "You actually wanna see my art?"

"It's something you're passionate about, no? You carried a notebook with you to an opera house of all places, and you're fast at it. How long have you been drawing?"

"All my life, basically? It's just something I've always done."

"Fascinating..."

“…I… guess you can look. If you really want to.” I passed the notebook over to him.  I didn't have anything to hide; it wasn’t like there was anything embarrassing or weird in there. “Just don’t expect to be amazed or anything.”

He thumbed through my notebook quietly.  He just made quirky little expressions at my work and didn't say anything. After a little while of flipping back and forth— enough to almost make me nervous— he handed it back.

“Hm.  You were right.  I wasn’t amazed.”

“Gee, thanks—”

“Because there was nothing of me in there.”

I gawked at him for a moment. “Really? That's your only takeaway?”

“The only negative takeaway. Your style is charming and extremely expressive, your linework and handwriting is neat, and you somehow do it so quickly. I'm very impressed, dear."

"Wait, you... like it? Like, really you like it? You're not pulling my leg here?"

His smile softened. "Absolutely." But that softness went away fast for slyness. "But! If you want my opinion, your posing could use improvement."

"And drawing you will help with that. Totally not because you want free art of yourself." I couldn’t help but snort. “No thanks.  Your hat looks awful to draw.” I pushed it down over his mask so it would cover his eyes.  He chuckled as he fixed it.

“I could model for you, if that would help.” His smile may have been smug, but he was serious.

“I’m sure you have better things to do than be my model.”

“No, my schedule’s all free now with Ambrosia discovered. I'm very open and very available.”

“Well, I heard there’s another lost city out there that I’m sure would be a real head-scratcher for you.  They’re calling it Atlantis.”

“You--!” He playfully shoved me a bit (though it was more of a nudge), and we both couldn’t stop from cracking up.

~

Another random day, I couldn’t sleep again and Descole visited again.

“Is there anything that will help you sleep better?  You’re really starting to worry me.”

Asking the masked man why he was fretting over me so much never got me a straight answer.  I just dropped it after a while.  

“I dunno.  Time’s just… weird down here.” I was about to say it wasn’t that bad, but I swallowed it.  Of course it was bad; if I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t healing (or at least healing with nothing else happening).

He hummed for a bit, then seemed to get an idea. “When I was a boy, my mother used to read me a bedtime story every night she could.  I was out cold right as she finished.  Maybe the same will work for you.  Besides, it must be dreadfully boring here with only one thing to do.”

“...You have got to have something better to do than read me a bedtime story.”

"Please, dash your concerns.  You’re my guest; of course you’re going to take up my time. I'm not going to just leave you alone like some caged animal.  And besides… I want to.  So, do you want to hear a story or not?"

I was taken aback a bit.  He wanted to, genuinely? “Um… sure.  Why not?”

A warm smile slid onto his face. “Thank you, dear.”

I liked seeing that smile. Certainly better than... all that on top of the robot.

He went over to a little bookshelf I hadn’t noticed in the room before.  He dragged his finger across the spines, looking for just the right one. He gingerly pulled out a smaller book. “Ah, here it is.”

The cover was mainly blue with a blonde boy standing on the moon with yellow stars in the night sky.  The title:

“The Little Prince?”

“Have you read it before?”

“I’ve heard of it.  I’ve always wanted to read it, but I could never find it anywhere.”

Descole’s smile grew wider. “Well then, I’m honored to be the one introducing it to you.”

And that was how the next few days went: Descole would sit on my bed, reading The Little Prince.  He had a voice ready for every character, and it always got a laugh out of me. 

Eventually, I’d always fall asleep (most likely leaning on him because I peered over his shoulder to read the words or look at the pictures).  He didn’t leave me settled there forever (or maybe even very long), as every time I woke up, he was gone.

~

"Hey, Descole?"

"Hm? Yes?"

We had just finished a reading of The Little Prince, and the masked man looked exhausted. From context clues, it seemed like he was working on another plan for some ancient site or city or what-have-you.

I figured he wasn't going to tell me anything about it, so I didn't say a word. I was probably going to get roped into it somehow anyway, knowing my luck.

But something had been nagging at me this whole time, nibbling at me. I felt like if I didn't get it out soon, I was going to explode. So... might as well while we were both still awake.

"...How do I say this...?"

"Really, is it that bad?"

Ok sir, this attitude was not helping. "N-No, it's not bad! It's-- the opposite of bad actually."

"And you're having this much trouble getting it out?"

I sighed, and then steeled myself, gripping my blanket. "I just... wanted to say: your voice on top of the Detragan was... really nice...?"

Silence. You could've heard a pin drop.

...Why had I said that? Why did I say that?

Augh god, he was going to be just insufferable now! He was never going to let me hear the end of it!

But, to my surprise... it was still quiet. I hazarded a look at him.

Descole looked stunned. He was staring right through me, all sorts of gears and cogs turning in his head. The great mastermind Jean Descole looked... flustered.

Once he noticed me staring, he puffed up like a startled cat and pretended to cough into his sleeve. For a split second, it looked like his cheeks were flushed. But I wasn't sure.

He stammered. "Yours was... as well."

Silence once more. After a few seconds that felt like a few hours, Descole suddenly darted for the door, not saying a word.

"H-Hey!" was all I could get out before the door shut. I let out a short sigh. "Bad idea. Of course it was."

~

I settled into some kind of rhythm eventually: eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner; find some way to pass the time in between meals with or without Descole around; and once night came along, listen to him read. 

Every meal was cooked by Raymond, though Descole sometimes told me that I ate some of his cooking offhandedly.  I always told Descole that I could tell which parts he cooked: the worst-tasting part.  It was just me teasing him, and he recognized that.  Honestly, I couldn’t tell which parts he cooked, if any at all.

The masked man and I had pretty easy conversations at the start, but things started to get more… awkward as time went on.  Genuine compliments that caught either of us off-guard, and then Descole would hurriedly excuse himself and leave.  Words way too sweet for their own good.  Eventually, we started talking less and less. 

After we finished The Little Prince, he didn’t pick up another book for us to read. He'd just hand me one he'd thought I liked and hurried off again.

It felt… hollowing.  I wanted to say something about it, but I couldn’t just force him to talk if he didn’t want to.

Raymond reassured me during all this. “He’s… lost a lot, lass.  I suppose he’s just steeling himself for when you leave.  He’s enjoyed your company, and he’s preparing himself for when it’s all over.”

It… didn’t make me feel better.

Eventually, I was finally feeling better and could move about the sub.  Which of course, meant it was time for me to leave.

[invader-777]

How did you get into animation? Im 23 and feel its too late to get into it

HI HI HI!! So sorry I'm responding to this so late! I had work yesterday and I have been so tired out from the physical labor, on top of other personal drama I don't want to delve into.

To answer your question, I'm still trying to get into the animation industry, so I'm not a certified professional yet. Emphasis on YET. I will be turning 25 in 5 months and I still haven't had the job opportunity come my way. So if you think age has any factor in getting into the career: rest assured that age has no limit in this industry. To get further into detail, I'll add a read more about the intricacies that I've learned from the animation industry so far <3

So the animation experience varies from person to person. I've had friends who started their careers with big studios right after we all graduated art school by age 22. You have people like me who are still looking for a job in the industry by age 24, and show no signs of stopping. I've seen plenty of artists over 30 and 40 barely getting their foot in the door into the career. Don't let these young content creators or success stories of infamous show runners make you think you're too late to get started in animation!

As an example: J.G. Quintel ,the creator of Regular Show, took what I believe was 10 years to get started at Cartoon Network after graduating from CALarts, and spent those 10 years after graduating working retail and register jobs.

Consider your factors in life. For me, I grew up with a town that never favored the arts, so I thankfully had the financial support to go to an art school in California for a couple of years to expand and improve the skills I previously had. DO NOT THINK THAT GOING TO ART SCHOOL IS A MUST! Plenty of artists in this career have gotten successful without ever having went to college. Unless you think you need it and you have the money, then start researching where you'd want to attend, look at the intuition and alumni reviews and etc.

As far as portfolio advice goes, my professors have taught me one thing I keep in mind: ✨QUALITY OVER QUANTITY✨. You can have a small and dingy or big and fancy portfolio, but recruiters will not care. As long as you have the skill they're looking for, that's all that matters. Do not be afraid to draw something outside of your comfort zone - flexibility in your skills is a bonus. Anatomy and cafè/life drawings are a must to show companies you know how to draw humans and animals. Most importantly, try to cater to the specific job in the industry you want to aim for. If you're looking to only be a storyboard artist, show thumbnails, rough sketches, and your own animatics/storyboards projects. And vice versa appplies for the other positions out there.

My last pieces of advice: DO. NOT. GIVE. UP. This profession relies on passion, optimism, resilience, preservation, and determination. The second you give up, it's over. Obviously this doesn’t mean you can't draw for yourself or take a break; but do not get discouraged from being denied or ignored from the opportunities you apply to, that you don't see the point in it anymore. These, at this time, are extremely common, but they aren't a reflection of you as an artist or as a person. This is why you constantly need to practice as much as you can, thus going back to never giving up. That way, when you apply again, you'll be better than you were before, improving your chances of getting hired even more.

Do not worry about your age and thinking that it's too late for you. In this industry, it's never too late to start your career regardless of your age. Stay vigilant, do not give up, and always practice on improving your drawing skills! I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor 💖 here's to one day working with each other🌸

[swamp-spirit]

I was going to make an offhand joke post of "the reason I don't want your unsolicited writing advice isn't because I don't want to be a better writer, it's because I think you're a shit critic." but then I wanted to get into like... why pretty much all unsolicited writing 'advice' is worse than useless and what good writing advice actually is.

(a lot of this is geared towards fanfic because of the recent trend of Grand Defense of Unsolicited Fanfic Critique)

So I have done a LOT of creative writing critique. I've been in multiple writer's groups, creative writing classrooms, online groups, and worked as an editor. Overall, I've been told my critiques are pretty intense but worth listening to. I don't think anyone I've edited for, even the ones who really like my edits, would say I'm too afraid to hurt feelings to give good advice.

Good advice, however, is about communication. As an editor, the first thing I do with a writer is have a conversation about what they're looking for. What effect are they going for? What flaws are they already aware of? What do they know feels wrong but can't tell why? Unsolicited critique, by nature, means you have not done this. You don't even know if they ever want writing advice.

Pointing out issues with somebody's writing only works if your points are good. Good points are only helpful to point out if you have actionable advice on how to improve. Actionable advice is only helpful if you can convince the other person to listen.

If you don't actually consider these points, you aren't fixing their writing, you're stroking your ego.

So let's go through these in reverse order.

Have you given them a reason to listen?

So, first of all, there's the common refrain that not every writer wants to get better. Like, if I ask how a shirt I'm thinking of buying looks and you go "eh, it bunches up kinda weird", I appreciate it. If you walk up and tell me the shirt I wore to a party isn't flattering, I'm pissed. If I threw on a ratty shirt to grab 3AM groceries, I'm even more pissed, because I'm not trying to look cute, I'm trying to get the groceries. Not every singer is training for the chorus. Some people just love singing.

Even if somebody actually wants advice, not all advice is created equal. As somebody who's sat through a lot of English class critiques, a lot of opinions are... bad. The first few lessons, you have to get a good gauge on who you should listen to. Was that scene actually hard to understand, or did this person not pay attention? Did that scene actually get 'too weird', or does this person just not like horror? A writer who gets random critique doesn't know if it's a response lots of people would have, or if you're the 80th random jerk who saw the tagged pairings, ignored them, and are now finding ways to justify a ship they don't like as bad writing.

And yes, getting somebody to listen to your critique also involves being nice! As it does with everything! People are more likely to listen if your opinion is A) asked for and B) doesn't make this feel like shit. Helping somebody improve their writing, like any kind of coaching, involves keeping their spirits up. And the best way to know if somebody wants advice (and if they want it here and now and from you) is whether they, you know, tell you they want advice.

Is This Advice Actionable?

For a while, a comic I'd put years of work into had exactly one comment: "The writing's good, but you should work on the art".

It was disheartening, but mostly it was hilarious somebody thought it would be helpful.

My art is weaker than my writing. I've worked hard at both my whole life, but it's 100% my weak point as a comic creator. If you want to make a comic, you gotta draw or be able to pay, and I couldn't afford my art, let alone somebody better. After years of hard work, "consider getting better at art" is the most useless, condescending advice I've ever gotten. (including the time somebody's review of the same project slowly explained to me that many writers use outsiders to a culture to make exposition easier)

Often a writer KNOWS the pacing is bad. They KNOW somebody feels out of character. Helping them actually fix those problems means sitting down and having a conversation. You can't assume they haven't considered the obvious solution. Perhaps they know the scene moves slow, but they can't figure out what they can remove. Perhaps they need a boring scene to set up the mystery later. Helping fix those problems takes somebody who can sit down, listen to what they know, and offer practical advice.

Can you pick out what's important?

One of the first skills you have to build in critique is choosing your battles. If I'm talking to an eleven year old, I'm not going to dig into every weird sentence structure or cliche. My advice will probably be some compliments and a polite attempt to explain 'maybe your plot should have some conflict' or 'you probably don't need your action adventure to show your character waking up and going to bed every day'.

You have to meet writers where they're at. New writers are easy to overwhelm and discourage and need a few broad, easy to understand tips. I often tell the best writers I work with that if I'm bitching about sentence structure and flow and word choice, they're doing something right.

Do you know what you're talking about?

I talked about this some in point 1, but even kindly phrased, actionable advice has to be, well, good. The main type of bad advice is people mistaking things they dislike for things that are bad.

My readers like my nerdy exposition, but a lot of people are going to find it boring. That's fine! It's not a problem with me as a writer, and it's not a problem with them as a reader. We've all gone looking for clothing in a soup store. I'm certainly guilty of going "why is this romance story so focused on the romance instead of [thing I like]", but... well, usually I wouldn't say anything. The story isn't for me. If it's my job to comment, I'm going to separate "this is not a strong method for telling a love story" from "I wish this wasn't a love story".

Like most things, writing is easier to critique than to do. Anyone can pick out a plot point they hate, but it takes a lot of work to really understand why you hate it. Not just "I didn't like this death because it was unsatisfying", but knowing why you weren't satisfied, what narrative expectations and structural issues played into that dissatisfaction, how to fix them, and what the costs and benefits of different possible fixes would be.

Most of the critique you consume is probably not advice

Book reviews are not advice. YouTube essays are not advice. Tumblr posts about why you hated a show's finally are not advice. These are directed at other viewers, not creators. They are intended to share information with others, process our opinions, or just share our reactions. In fact, most of the stuff that's made is made with the assumption creators will never see it.

Just like writing a restaurant review doesn't mean you know how to help in the kitchen, being able to pick media apart doesn't mean you're good at helping people put it back together. If you're 'offering advice' to a thirteen year old on AO3 sounds like a video essayist taking down the Game of Thrones Finale, you have taken a wrong turn.

tldr: If you don't have the skill to tell if your advice is wanted, you definitely don't have the editing skill to give advice worth listening to

[cherokeegal1975]

Mental Health Advice Please

Okay, so I tried to get help through Medicaid because I have issues with getting jobs and depression. Lots of depression. I deal with it though my art when I can. But, the help I got with the assistance of Medicaid, is MIA. They haven't helped me. I've been told to be patient, and I've been more than patient. Apart from improving my resume, they haven't helped me at all. I can sort out my own head. It takes me a long time, but I do get there. I need resources to get me some much needed independence. I'm not handicapped, just financially impaired. Been that way for a long time. My heart is broken because my dream of living on my own has died and I've been living with this heartbreak for about 20 years now. It's not my only issue, but the bulk of my problems will be resolved if I can get the fuck out of this house!!! Sometimes it has gotten so bad for me I wish I was dead. I'm not a suicide risk, but I hurt that much inside and I manage to pull myself together every time. But, the problem is never fixed.

So my question is, what do I do if I'm flat broke, can only use Medicaid and where else can I get the help and resources I need to help myself? I feel like I'm dying inside often and there isn't a day that goes by where I don't think I hate my life. I'd do something about it if I could, but I don't know how. Any advice I can use? Keep in mind I don't have a car, or a license...or any insurance except Medicaid. I'd be homeless too if it wasn't for my mother...I hate living with her and her asshole husband. Neither are easy to live with and sometimes their downright mean. I need to escape. Can anyone give me advice I can actually make use of? Please? I'm so lost.

I make it a point to sound perky and cheerful online. With good reason. But sometimes, it's really hard to keep silent. Usually when I speak out, I quickly regret it. Please don't make me regret this. I don't need pity. This isn't what this is about. Just help. I don't even know how I pull myself back together when I have my rare meltdowns. Or even how I manage to keep going sometimes when I'm so depressed and deeply angry. Sometimes I can't, but I have no choice. I live with mean people who want me to be in this box of shut up and do as your told and always be obedient. I'm going to be 50, not 12! I'm so sick and tired of being dependent on these two grumpy and sometimes mean old people for survival. I never asked to live my life like this. I feel so permanently stuck...trapped even. I don't see a way out...and the future I see is so hopeless. But I keep moving forward because I have to. This isn't a choice. Nor is it bravery. It just is.

[bluravenite]

Hi! So I just got an iPad and Apple Pencil to start drawing with and I was wondering if you had any advice for someone just starting out? I just love your art so much. It can be about just drawing in general or drawing digitally. I've got Procreate on my iPad. Thank you for your time.

Oh hi!! I'd love to help! I've been drawing digitally for about 7+ years now but only started using procreate in August! Art is about continuous improvement!

I'll try to go as in depth as i can below the cut ⬇️⬇️

I would also like to make it clear that i am a mainly self taught artist with no formal art education!! So anything i say pertains to my OWN experience learning and what has personally helped me!! But it may be different for you depending on your level!

(this is a very long post sorry for ranting so much lol i just want to make sure you can actually take away some good lessons from this!!)

At first it was very confusing and frustrating because i was used to Clip Studio with a drawing tablet on my laptop, but what helped me get comfortable was doing lots of studies at first, nothing serious just kinda going through each brush, playing around a lot, drawing portraits of people and doing some life drawing exercises!

These are some of my first procreate drawings i did!! They were portrait studies where i was trying to get a feel for the program.

I do recommend doing lots of studies as soon as you can, do a mixture between drawing for your own personal amusement and also more serious studies, but mainly what has helped me is getting into a hyper fixation (lol it's funny but it's true)

The key to familiarity and improvement is consistency, draw A LOT!! Take notes every time you do something you think needs improvement then note it down and then practice that! but don't lock yourself into trying to be good at one thing only, If something is stressing you out, just leave it and work on something else.

As for drawing in general, it depends on what you want to improve.

I recommend if you want to improve on anatomy, what has helped me a lot is using resources online to practice how you would inside a classroom.

Watch videos on gesture and figure drawing, and google websites that give you life drawing poses (dm me if you need i can share some resources I've used before!) And then try to learn how to do that.

That's what's helped me most with poses, using a combination of gestural and structural drawing

However when it comes to anatomy, that gets more complicated, looking at real human bodies helps a lot, but you also don't need to study and memorize the 7000000th muscles of the body and how they attach to each bone. However, ART IS ABOUT OBSERVATION!!!

Look at yourself in the mirror and make note of how your body moves!! How do your muscles pull and stretch your chest when you lift your arm up? How does your body accomodate the extra skin on top of your shoulder when it's moved up? How does your ribcage stretch and your skin bunch up when you stretch your torso to one side? When you are sitting down how does your body accomodate? Looking at all these things taught me a lot more than trying to memorize the scientific name for the 3rd ribcage muscle that I've never had to name lmao, learning however the GROUPS of muscles can help!! Especially when drawing buff men 🥹👍 they have like 7 different muscle groups in the torso lmao, AND LETS NOT TALK ABOUT THE BACK MUSCLES CUZ DEAR GOD I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN THAT FAR YET IT SCARES ME🧍🫶

I am also currently trying study more my value distillation when drawing (see picture), that's something i struggle a lot with when working with light and shadow!! So I'm trying to get better at it, (a good YouTube search on value distillation) will give you a good idea of what i mean.

There are very many good resources out there but i will say this!!!

Don't oversaturate yourself with knowledge because it will stress you out when you know all these academic terms and cannot apply them into your work.

Watching one video will give you some information on how a technique works, you can then rewatch it and try to work along with it, and then practice it a couple more times on your own, but don't expect to be good at it, or understand it immediately.

Drawing is about continuous improvement and you never really should stop learning and experimenting.

PLEASE!! if you ever need help with anything!! Do not hesitate to ask other artists!!

@coreyvoss has helped me figure out a couple things and i am sure neither he or i are opposed to trying to help you out finding some resources if you need! I am eternally grateful for Corey's expertise and encouragement!!

I am very proud of you for already taking initiative to want to learn and engage with the community, i am really honored to know that you like my work, it's the only thing i could ever ask for, and i wish you the best of luck in this journey!!! Digital art is a great tool for artists, but remember, you make the art not the other way around💖🫶

Sorry I'd there's any grammar mistakes, I wasn't expecting such a long post but i genuinely do hope you are able to take something helpful from it.

[cactiired]

Did you have an 'awkward art' phase, and if you did, how did you deal with it? I've been doing art since high school and I'm at a point now where I hate everything I draw 😅 I love your art, I think your style is incredible and inspiring. Thank you for sharing it!

I've had dozens of awkward art phases throughout my life. They come and go but something that helps me is to think that my eye improves faster than my hand. I don't know if that's like scientifically proven or anything but it definitely feels that way whenever I reach a point where I feel like I " lose all skill" in art.

When it comes to long long phases like that you just have to learn to enjoy the process of drawing not necessarily the end product.

I understand and I am also guilty of feeling discouraged whenever things don't end up looking like I want them to but you have to remember the most important part is to just draw. Train your muscle memory. Do things you enjoy. Because if art only becomes about improving or being good at it that can stifle your motivation.

Setting goals is good. But never set your goals too high. People say you need to get out of your comfort zone to improve which is true but getting too far outside of it can overwhelm you. Set them just comfortably above your current skill level.

Taking breaks is also important. Sure, drawing regularly is the best way to improve but it won't get you far if you try speedrunning the improvement process. Take your time and be more gentle with yourself.

Also, take care of your needs outside of art. Stretch your muscles, go outside for fresh air, eat and stay hydrated. I'm only 18 yet I've neglected taking breaks when drawing for years and ended up with chronic back and neck pains.

Sorry for getting a little bit off track but this is just something I've noticed and the advice I have gotten from other artists. Have a great day!

[idv-hc-center]

Congrats on making 200!!! Can I get matched with a male survivor? I'm a gender fluid afab who's petite and curvy, I have long brown hair and dark brown eyes that are almost black. I enjoy a lot of creative hobbies like writing, needle crafts, sculpture, drawing. And as much as I enjoy running I have a few chronic illnesses that makes it hard for me to do. I love animals of all types and flowers too. Personality wise I'm shy around new people and really nervous around groups, but I can be charismatic and sociable once I warm up to people or have someone I'm comfortable with. I have my highs and my lows, but I try to stay positive and kind/helpful to others. I also have a bit of a temper and can be quick to judge, but I've gotten better at controlling that and improving on those faults. I always strive to be a better person and try to take it a day at a time!

lol a first matchup,,, I hope it's not that bad,,,

I match you with Edgar Valden!

First of all, you share a passion for art, even if in your case, it's just a simple hobby. Of course, it's not the only reason why I think you would be a great couple!

Although I think that at the begging of your relationship, there would be some type of rivals-to-lovers situation.

Because of your nervousness around new people, when you met him, you really didn't talk, and well, Edgar took it completely the wrong way.

I don't want to call him self-centered, but he got used to people being intimidated by him, whether it's because of him being a great artist or him being rich. He thought you were simply intimidated by him. That's why you acted this way.

During one of the matches, you were decoding together. You didn't know him that well at this point, so you just sat in silence when suddenly you heard Edgar's bored voice.

"I know you're intimidated by me, but you could at least try not to show it." Edgar scoffed, being sure he was right.

And that just made you angry. How big of a douche he had to be to think like that! What a narcissist! And even though you tried to control your temper, you couldn't stop yourself from responding in a sarcastic manner.

Edgar was shocked by your response. But before he could say any snarky remark, hunter teleported to your cipher, and you had to separate.

This whole situation left a bad taste in your mouth, and you decided to avoid him. What a narcissistic asshole!

Days went by, and you continued to throw each other's way snarky comments, and other survivors were just confused.

You seemed like you would like each other, but no! You continued to argue almost every day!

After two weeks, others couldn't stand it any longer. If two of you were in the same match, others knew it would be an easy win for hunter because of your constant arguing. They decided to do anything they could to bring back the peace.

And the approach they took was cruel but weirdly effective

They locked you up in the same room, which also happened to be one of the art rooms filled with different paints, clay, and brushes.

For the first minutes, all they could hear was banging on the door and screams to let two of you out.

But after a while, it got silent (what kind of terrified others) but surprisingly none of you committed murder.

You started talking, about art, to be exact, and somehow you bonded over it.

He expressed interest in the fact you partake in these various art forms, and you showed interest in his talent.

And by that moment, you had basically already fallen for each other. None of the people in the manor knew how that happened, but they were happy for both of you.

But of course, none of you wanted to confess being scared the other would just mock them. Your teammates had to interfere once more set and you up on a date. Everything went well after that moment, and now you are a sweet couple!

You still argue, but it's more like an old couple bickering. It never escalates to arguments like those you had before getting together. Both of you try to work on your short tempers, and that is quite adorable!

You inspire each other as well as give advice about your different mediums of art. Edgar even tried to pick up sculpting at some point, but he got quickly frustrated.

You are basically unstoppable in matches and you carry most of the time!

No one expected this situation to end like this, but at least it's way calmer in the manor now!