#another warmup sketch turned into … whatever this is

[xxlumos]

Let me look at you 💖

[keyboardandquill]

How being bad on purpose can be the best thing for getting things written

It’s some of my favourite advice to give fellow perfectionists. Having trouble getting started? Put some awful prose on the page. Make it as bad as you possibly can. 

Think of it like scribbling on the first page of a new notebook or that first stain on new furniture or the first scratch on a new car. 

Why? Because you'll feel a little disappointment, followed by an immense sense of relief. Stop taking yourself seriously.

Here’s why it helps. 

It clears out the creative pipes

Have you ever turned on a tap that hasn’t been used in ages? It coughs and sputters and wheezes, but eventually the water starts to flow. And boy is it ugly water. Who knows how long it has been sitting in the pipes. 

They’re doing road work near my house and had to shut off the water for a day. When we used the tap the first time it came back on, the water ran muddy and gross for a good, long while. And even after it looked transparent, there was still a gritty texture and taste to it for a while after that.

But once I left the tap on for a while, eventually fresh water started flowing from it.

So, instead of trying to get pure, clean prose to flow from your fingertips the moment you sit down, make sure you clear the pipes first.

Write the worst paragraph you've ever written. Make it bad on purpose. Let all that muddy water flow away.

It acts like a warmup

You wouldn't expect an athlete to run a marathon without warming up their muscles first. Even artists warm up with sketches and studies before working on a main project.

Creative writing works the same way. Putting down whatever comes to mind will get you into the right headspace. It doesn't matter if the words you write are any good because you're simply exercising.

Don't stop at just one paragraph. Write another bad one, and another, and another until you feel it start coming out easy.

Blank pages are daunting, so make them not-blank

Pretty simple, right? We hate sullying something new—see my previous comment about new notebooks and furniture and cars—for fear of doing irreparable damage. And while it's a lot harder to buff out scratched paint than it is to hit the backspace key on your keyboard, the effect is the same.

You know that tactic of taking off one or two of those "take a number" tags on a posted flyer to entice more people to take some? Do that to yourself.

Your brain will go "Ah, a first paragraph already exists! Time to keep writing."

Consider: you don't have to be perfect, so don't try to be

Ruin the illusion of perfection to prove to your gremlin brain that it's perfectly okay to do something imperfectly.

We're meant to enjoy the act of creation. It's difficult to do things we don't enjoy when we make it into such a big thing in our minds, right? So if you've over-inflated it, let out some air.

Relax. Enjoy the process of writing. It's going to go through revisions before the final draft anyway, so why not have a little fun while you're at this stage?

tl;dr: Don't take yourself too seriously. Go write some nonsense. Keep writing nonsense until it flows freely. And have fun with it!

[kessielrg]

Comeback Kid: Part 3

Summary: More third person additions to the chaos rp that @chibi-mushroom​​ and @animacreates​​ are doing.This time, Sabrina has spontaneously decided to break up with Ventus after what could amount to a nervous breakdown. In the aftermath, she is forced to take all her vacation time and become reacquainted with one of her favorite hobbies. But is it enough to get over Ven, or will the memory of him be too much to ignore?

Rating: K+

Word Count: 2,492 words

Part: 1 | 2 | 3

If you liked this story, please reblog!

---

In dance, the phrase 'one more time' was its biggest lie. It was always 'one more time' before you ran through the routine seven more times. It was very common for a class to sometimes run five to ten minutes over just because the teacher wanted to make sure everyone had the right steps down. The only good thing about having private lessons meant that you could almost end the session whenever you wanted. Roxanne wasn't that bad either- no surprise, Max was pretty good at finding genuine girls.

Not much smaller than Sabrina, Roxanne was a lovely redhead with a habit of twisting her hair when she was nervous or excited. When dancing, she kept her hair up in a high ponytail with a little strand hanging down on the right side of her face. Sabrina didn't want to admit it, but Roxanne was pretty good as an instructor. Just a few days under her tutelage and Sabrina was once more accustomed to her dancing shoes. It also helped that Sabrina was there four times a week. She would have been here six times a week if her family wasn't closely monitoring her. It was like being a preteen all over again.

“The recital isn't that far away, but if you want to, I'm sure we can squeeze you in.” Roxanne offered after the first week. At this point, Sabrina had gotten a refresher on the basics, so she and Roxanne were working on a short routine for her to further develop her old skills. “You can use this routine we're going through and everything.”

“I've got all the time in the world, Roxanne.” Sabrina prudently informed her. She couldn't look at her teacher because she was currently stretching a leg on the barre. “I can be here every day of the week if I wanted. As long as I'm home before 10. I'm on a curfew.”

“Any particular reason?” Roxanne asked, not meaning any harm. “I noticed that someone usually drops you off. Max mentioned that you were trying to recuperate from a bad breakup. Is that still the case?”

Sabrina's body tensed. “Yeah.” she grumbled. She switched legs before telling Roxanne, “Apparently, coming home and screaming like you've got witnessed a murder means you've had a mental breakdown and need to take a month to recover. If that.”

“Oh, wow.” Roxanne marveled. “I didn't know. I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else, then!”

“Let's.” came the agreeing hiss.

“I know!” the bubbly instructor said. “The local radio station is going to be interviewing some staff here at the studio for a little sketch they're doing. Something about hometown heroes or hotspots? Either way, I'm one of the staff that volunteered to be interviewed, so I may have to leave our session for a bit to talk to one of the hosts.”

“When is this happening?” Sabrina questioned, putting her leg down so she could give Roxanne a hard glare.

“Next Monday, I believe.” Roxanne grinned. But then she noticed Sabrina's dark expression and seemed taken aback. “You don't mind, do you?”

“No, I guess not.” Sabrina replied, her voice rather dark, before she got down to the floor to straddle the wall. Maybe the pain from the stretch warmup would distract enough to not be bitter.

. . .

“Lengthen your body a bit more. Good. Now lower your leg slowly… Perfect!”

This routine was becoming second nature at this point. Roxanne would sometimes stand near Sabrina to help her balance a bit when they had to review certain positions, such as at this moment. Not that Sabrina particularly enjoyed the -literal- hand holding. Still, someone would have tutted at her for not accepting other's help- let alone from her own teacher. She could stomach this for now.

The girls were interrupted when Roxanne's phone started to go off. She carefully let go of Sabrina before going on over to see who it was. She gave the phone a rather funny look as she answered it.

“Hello?” she asked. Sabrina only half listened to the conversation as she got some water from her water bottle. “Is he here? That's great! I'll be out in a moment.”

Roxanne happily twisted her hanging strand of hair. “He's here!” she happily announced to Sabrina.

“I'll be back in a jiffy. Feel free to go through the routine again, or whatever else you'd like.”

Sabrina gave the instructor a rather disinterested hum in response. It didn't phase Roxanne in the slightest. She happily smiled before heading on out the door. Sabrina looked back to where Roxanne had left, then her gaze fell to the one-way mirror next to the door. It was placed there so parents could watch their children dance. Sabrina had a good feeling that other people used it to peep in on whoever was in that studio at the time. She knew that at least one single parent on Mondays looked in on her while she practiced. He wasn't particularly cute and his kid was a brat, always asking to go to the bathroom so they didn't have to be in a class they didn't even enjoy.

She had a feeling someone was watching her now, and the thought made her grimace.

Besides throwing a towel up at the window, there wasn't much Sabrina could do about it. So instead she went to the stereo and flipped through her music playlist. She didn't know how long Roxanne would take, but she wouldn't spend her time just sitting around for her. Sabrina clicked her tongue as she went through every song she had, not liking a single one at the moment. She finally paused when a song with a relatively good beat started to play. Her expression hard, Sabrina carefully stepped away from the stereo to the center of the room.

She looked at herself in the mirror as she started to move her body to the music. It was like she was experimenting. The routine she and Roxanne were working on led emphasis more to her legs and upper body control than much else. But this time, Sabrina just went with whatever felt good. Quick foot movements, seductive little hip tilts, her arms used to bring her chest up a bit higher as she continued to watch herself. Sometimes she'd close her eyes- phantom images of a certain someone crossing her mind as she moved her body just the way she wanted. She never once got the chance to 'service' him like a professional. The idea just never came up before. Now it was the only thing she could think of.

She was a bit disappointed when the song ended. At the same time, she didn't realize how much of a workout she had given herself. Her chest lightly heaved as she caught her breath. She wasn't quite aware that the door to the studio room opened up until she saw someone with fiery red hair enter with Roxanne. Sabrina immediately spun around to give them both a dark glare. Roxanne didn't seem to notice Sabrina's annoyance, the newcomer (who had to be a good six feet at least) just grinned at her in a smarmy way.

“Sabrina!” Roxanne happily said, “Come meet Lea. He's that radio host I mentioned earlier.”

Sabrina remained rooted in her spot. It didn't stop Lea from casually walking over to her, extending his hand in hopes of an earnest handshake.

“Pleasure to meet'cha!” Lea grinned. It didn't change Sabrina's outlook on him in the slightest. “Your name is Sabrina, yeah? You wouldn't happen to be the same Sabrina that used to work at the police station with Sora, are you? The one that was fraternizing with another cop. Ventus, I think?”

Sabrina's face immediately paled. Without meaning to, she grumbled under her breath, “Shit.”

“So you are her!” Lea gleefully marveled. “Sora's got a lotta respect for you. Makes Kairi jealous sometimes, you know?”

Sabrina just gave him a stiff nod- unsure if she was going to kill Kairi first when she next saw her, or Sora. Maybe both. Both sounded incredibly tempting at the moment. Then she could steal their kid as a peace offering to Ventus. It would be the perfect revenge.

“How do you know Kairi and Sora?” she asked instead through clenched teeth. She did accept his handshake, although her grip was a bit too hard. Oh well, she had to assert dominance over this moron somehow.

“I'm Kairi's brother if you'd believe it.” Lea snorted. He pulled his hand away with a little shake, but didn't say anything about it. “We don't get to meet up as often as we'd like, but when we do…! Phew, her man really knows how to tell a story.”

“Sora does have a chronic 'won't shut up' problem.” Sabrina agreed with a sneer. She folded her arms in front of her chest in defiance.

“Now, I wouldn't put it like that,” Lea laughed, placing a hand behind his neck. “But he is animated. Hopefully having kids won't knock that out of him too much.”

“Here's hoping.”

From there, a dead silence fell between the two of them. Sabrina casting daggers at Lea from her eyes, while Lea likewise felt a bit out of place. There were few people who made him feel small. Kairi when she was peeved was one of them. This girl, Sabrina, was starting to become another.

“Well, I, uh, should let you girls get back to your lesson.” Lea stammered, hoping to get out of the room as fast as possible now. “It was a pleasure to meet you guys. Roxanne. Sabrina.”

Roxanne gave a happy wave as Lea left, Sabrina just continued to give him a hard glare. Once it was sure that he had left the building, Roxanne immediately turned to Sabrina to take her by the hands.

“You were a cop?!” the bubbly redhead asked. Sabrina’s whole body tensed as she tried to get out of her instructor’s grip.

“Roxanne, now isn’t the time…”

But Roxanne was too in wonder to do much else.

“Well it’s no wonder you got such refined upper body strength!” she went on. “You can’t really tell because you don’t show off a six pack or anything, but do you ever look at yourself in the mirror? How your abs just contract and expand in this beautiful way?”

“How does that even-?”

At this point, Sabrina might as well give up making Roxanne change the subject. She was going to have to excuse herself to leave early today if this kept up. Why did talking about the past feel so much more draining now? It’s not like it was anything she was -too- ashamed of. Were the memories draining because she worked to the point of exhaustion? Was it because of the people she spent time with? No, that couldn’t be right- would it?

Either way, Sabrina was sure of something;

If she saw Lea again, it would be far too soon.

. . .

Sabrina looked at Roxanne like the dance instructor just told her Ventus had recently punted a puppy.

“Don’t worry,” she tried to tell the unamused dancer, “You’ll still be able to do your single routine at the recital. But I think it would be good if you tried a pas de deux as well.”

“With who, Roxanne? Because I don't know anyone else in this studio, and I sure as hell am not just going to start shaking hands with the first guy that walks in.”

Roxanne very quickly twirled her strand of hair in excitement. “Oh, but I think you already know who this is. He’s been a super quick learner for our first session. You and him can come up with a routine for the recital in a snap.”

Sabrina just continued to stare. “No, I don’t think I do.”

“Just trust me.” Roxanne told her, even putting a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be here on Thursday. I’m going to get you two started as soon as possible.”

Sabrina emitted a low growl of displeasure. Even when she had freedom, she was still trapped. But she was patient… to a degree. She decided to humor Roxanne and waited dutifully for her new dance partner. The odd feeling that the certain someone was blonde kept nagging at her. When the door to the studio room opened, she had to physically keep herself from strangling the six foot, fire red haired mutant that actually did come through the door. He even acted all surprised and thrilled to be with her- that fool.

“Hey Sabrina!” he cheerfully greeted. “Roxanne was telling me that you're looking for a dance partner.”

“I am not.” came the prudent reply. She even folded her arms in displeasure as he walked further forward.

“Ah, too bad.” he teased. He boastfully pointed to himself before adding, “Because you got one right here!”

“Behind the beanpole in front of me, or are they somewhere else in the building? It would be rude to not tell them they aren't wanted to their face.”

“Ha, ha.” Lea retorted in a dry tone. “Look, Roxanne’s kinda already gave me the spiel that you’re not that trusting toward others. I ain’t gonna knock that outta ya because it’s your business. But you’re a good dancer. You put a lot of heart into what you do. Now, I may not be the best, but I want to work with you.”

Sabrina held herself tighter. “Why?” she sharply questioned. “What do you have to gain from it?”

“Do I have to have anything to gain from it?” Lea wondered right back, his hand sheepishly reaching behind his neck. “Maybe I’d just like to dance with a talented partner? Do I hafta go through a whole interview process?”

She wasn’t going to lie, it sounded incredibly tempting. But this wasn’t the police station. This wasn’t even her trying to find some good trait in a super lousy county treasurer with delusions of grandeur. She didn't know Lea well enough to know what he'd do at all. Not knowing if she couldn't trust someone was like being vulnerable; she couldn't allow it, and she wanted it even less. However, she likely wouldn't even be in this spot if she didn't open up more. She flinched, not for the first time today thinking of someone else. If she could have just stopped being an abusive monster and just talked to him like he wanted…

“Fine.” she finally grumbled. Her fingers digging into her arms as she looked back up at Lea. “But only until this next recital. After that, I don't want anything to do with you.”

“Alright, geez.” Lea retorted, unsure if he should be grateful or even more wary. “Dancing with one guy isn't going to change your whole outlook on life, kid.”

Sabrina recoiled a bit. Lea didn't know it, but that was exactly what she wanted to do.

[kurtstinypurse]

30 Klaine Headcanons Asked & Answered!

thanks for the request, @yas5416!

this is really long, but I’d like to think it’s a good time. I’m answering for my idea of present-day Klaine unless otherwise specified. great mix of SFW & NSFW headcanon prompts below the cut!

pls reply w any opinions on these!!

list is rebloggable here

SFW

1. Who cooks?

They both enjoy cooking and work well together in the kitchen. Kurt’s a stress baker, and he likes to try new recipes to challenge himself when he has the time, but Blaine is the one that throws together easy weeknight meals, and he also likes to pack Kurt a lunch when he has extra time in the mornings.

2. Who’s the messiest? The cleanest?

Blaine’s a pretty clean guy, thanks to his private school upbringing. Kurt’s not messy, per se, but he is a bit more cluttered because he has more stuff. Kurt loves to organize, though, and he goes on organize binges every couple months when he’s stressed. He probably got really into the KonMarie thing, but didn’t really keep up with it. Kurt’s also a messier eater, growing up with Burt. Adding Finn into the mix, he quickly learned to eat fast if he wanted to get his fair share at the dinner table. Blaine’s a really neat eater, especially after moving past the cronut/cheese puff incident. 

3. Who fixes the vehicle after a breakdown?

Kurt, of course! He picked up a lot of car knowledge and has a pretty varied skillset thanks to growing up in his dad’s shop. He loves doing it, too. Especially because it turns Blaine on.

4. Living space has a leak! Who fixes it?

They bicker. Blaine tries. Kurt calls the landlord.

5. Who buys the groceries?

They go together. They make it a point to spend every Monday together, since it’s their dark night each week, and that includes grocery shopping. They make a little date out of it, probably get brunch beforehand or find a farmers market. 

6. Going out to eat: Who pays? Who orders the most food? And who has dessert?

In high school, Blaine liked to pay for their dates. He ordered more food, but Kurt almost always went for something lighter to save room for cheesecake. Nowadays, their money all comes from the same place, anyway, but everything else still stands...but with a little less cheesecake, because Kurt’s metabolism ain’t what it used to be.

7. Would they go to the beach?

Blaine has definitely dragged Kurt to the beach for a weekend trip. Kurt grumbled about sunburn and sunscreen and skin damage the whole time, but he got to see Blaine tanned and shirtless, and he got to feel Blaine’s skin warm from the sun under his fingertips, so...

8. Who knows how to swim? Who doesn’t?

They both know how, but neither get the opportunity very frequently. When Blaine has the chance, he likes to swim for exercise. Kurt’s more of a floater.

9. Is someone multilingual? Do they try to teach another language to the other? How does it go?

Neither of them are fluent in another language, but Kurt knows a good bit of French, and Blaine’s absorbed some Tagalog from relatives, though he can understand it much better than speak it himself. Kurt has tried to teach Blaine a bit of French, but somehow they always end up distracted...

10. Any pets? Or plants?

Kurt is a cat person, and Blaine is a dog person, so they compromise and get one of each. Kurt insisted on a low-shed, hypoallergenic dog, but somehow he doesn’t seem to mind it if the cat sheds. Blaine likes to take the dog for runs in Central Park.

11. Baths or showers? Together or separate? Any bubbles or bubble fights?

They really like bathing and showering together when they have the time, but it’s more intimate than sexual for them, and it’s kind of a rare occasion because they like to take their time. They’ve tried shower sex, but they never really got the hang of it because it’s overrated, anyway. But they both really enjoy washing one another’s hair and taking care of each other. Blaine will surprise Kurt with a bath when Kurt’s working late, and sometimes Blaine will join him. Lots of bubbles.

12. Can they stand silence? Who talks the most? Who talks the least?

In the early days, they were almost never quiet. They had so much to talk about. But as their relationship became more intimate, they both learned together to appreciate the beauty in silence and the closeness it can offer. Nowadays, they co-exist a lot, Kurt on his laptop and Blaine reading a book in the same room, or Blaine quietly playing piano while Kurt sketches new designs. They both talk a lot when they’re excited or passionate about something, and if one is excited about something, the other gets excited, too. 

13. Who stays up late? Who sleeps the most? Does the other have to force them to sleep/wake up?

Kurt tends to be an early riser, but Blaine likes to sleep in when he can. Blaine still tries to wake up early and make Kurt breakfast in bed every once in awhile, but he rarely succeeds in waking up first. On their days off, when they don’t have anywhere to go, Blaine’s a total koala and wants to cuddle all morning, so Kurt has to drag him out of bed. Eventually.

14. Who is the highest maintenance? Does the other mind?

They’re both high maintenance in their own ways, so neither really minds. Kurt is picky about the sort of food and products they buy, and he can be pretty short with Blaine when he’s stressed. Blaine’s the more high maintenance one when it comes to their relationship, though. He needs a little extra validation, a little extra love, but once they got married, Kurt finally understood what Blaine needed. He makes it a point to be affectionate in small ways, like frequent little touches and extra words of affirmation when Blaine’s stressed, too. 

15. Vacation ideas: who decides them? Where would they go, if anywhere?

They don’t have much time to travel, and they typically use their few vacation days to visit Burt and Carole in Ohio. When they do have the time, though, Blaine likes to pick out spots for weekend trips, and then Kurt will plan the details. I can really see them spending a weekend or two in a cabin in Maine. They’ve got a bucket list mega-European vacation tentatively planned for some time in the future.

NSFW

1. How often do they have sex, if at all?

If at all. HAH! They both love having sex. Back in high school, they scheduled it to ensure they took advantage of as much empty-house time as possible. During college, they were able to freely have sex as much as they wanted, which ended up being at least something most nights. Nowadays, they schedule it again because they are both so busy, but staying physically connected is very important to both of them. It’s not so much scheduling to tick the box, but scheduling to make sure they take advantage of the opportunity as often as possible. 

2. Who brings ideas? Who initiates?

Kurt brings most ideas to the table because truly, Blaine’s just happy to be there. Whatever pleases Kurt pleases him, too. He totally gets off on Kurt getting off. Blaine’s also always ready to get f’ed at the drop of a hat. He’s almost always been the one to initiate unscheduled sex, and though sometimes Kurt plays hard to get...he usually ends up caving.

3. Any kinks they clash on?

Kurt really doesn’t get Blaine’s whole bird thing, but he’s not mad about it.

4. Oddest place they’d have sex?

Other than some drunken make-outs at bars and a little bit of car sex, they’ve only had sex out of their living spaces once. They both fantasized about hooking up at McKinley, but neither were brave enough to do it. Kurt was slammed with work and school and they hadn’t had sex in over a week, which was an eternity for them. He was having a really rough shift at the Spotlight Diner one day, and when Blaine popped in for lunch unexpectedly, Kurt kinda snapped and just had to have him right now, Blaine. So he dragged Blaine into the storage closet and had his way with him. Buuuut they almost got caught, and it scared them enough to stay away from any repeat performances.

5. Favourite positions?

Blaine likes eye contact, so they usually have sex facing each other. When Kurt does bottom, he usually likes to ride Blaine. But when they go a little harder and a little faster, Blaine’s face down, ass up, and Kurt’s completely covering him.

6. Dom/top? Sub/bottom? Any switches?

I will die on the hill that Kurt is a primary top, and Blaine is a primary bottom, with an 85/15% split. Kurt’s pretty dominant in the bedroom, but not particularly to BDSM levels. Blaine really really enjoys pleasing Kurt and letting Kurt take whatever he needs from him. That’s what makes him feel loved and safe.

7. Genital headcanons?

Kurt’s got a pretty big dick. Blaine’s not small by any means, but closer to average. Blaine’s got that thicc ass, though, so y’know.

8. Favourite erogenous zones?

Kurt is really sensitive in general. The neck is a big erogenous zone for him, and his nipples are, too. For some reason, biting Blaine’s earlobe really gets him going, and his inner thighs are a big one, too.

9. Quickest turn ons? Immediate turn offs?

Kurt gets really turned on by Blaine wearing his glasses, wearing sweatpants, curls flying free, just looking generally unkempt. He also finds Blaine to be really sexy right when he gets back from working out. Blaine’s pretty much always turned on.

When they lived in the loft, Rachel’s vocal warmups were an instant mood killer. Now that they live in their own place, there’s not much that comes between them and getting laid.

10. First to orgasm? Last to orgasm? Who comes the most? Does someone ever end up unfinished?

Blaine struggled a bit with premature ejaculation when they first started having sex because he was just so eager. Thankfully, he also has a pretty quick recovery time, so he can usually go twice. Kurt usually gets Blaine off once so he’ll last longer when Kurt’s actually fucking him. Kurt’s got pretty good stamina, so he’ll fuck Blaine until Blaine comes and then keep going because Blaine likes the feeling of oversensitivity and, again, Kurt taking what he needs from him. Also, when Blaine comes, he comes a lot. They don’t really have an issue with either of them not finishing, but Blaine had trouble finishing once or twice after they got back together because he was still feeling a lot of guilt about Eli and cried a lot during sex for awhile.  I think about this too much lol bye

11. Favourite romantic gestures during sex/orgasm?

Lots of “I love yous,” lots of kissing. Blaine gets in moods sometimes where he just wants to kiss every square inch of Kurt’s body and make him feel beautiful. Kurt usually gives Blaine permission to come, not as a kinky thing, but as an intimate gesture. “Come on, it’s okay, I’ve got you” kind of thing. 

12. How are their afterglows?

Blaine is really, really cuddly. He just wants to gaze at Kurt and hold him and kiss him and tell him how much he loves him. Kurt likes the afterglow, he does, but he also really wants to shower after. But Blaine usually wins out, because who could resist?

13. Who’s loud? Who’s quiet? Does one try to make the other louder/quieter? How?

Neither of them are particularly quiet, but Blaine’s more of a babbler while Kurt’s a moaner. Blaine’s an endless stream of “fuck, I love you, Kurt, Kurt, Kurt, Iloveyousomuch, fuck,” while Kurt is just moan-y. Kurt probably held back on the moans when they were first having sex, but Blaine encouraged him to be vocal because he gets off on knowing Kurt’s enjoying it. So Kurt moans now, pretty unabashedly but not too loud, with the occasional “fuck” and occasional “Blaine” in the mix.

14. Lights on or off? Do they look at each other? Or is someone embarrassed?

In the beginning, it was lights-off, gentle candlelight only, per Kurt’s request. He was a bit embarrassed about eye contact at first, but he got over the embarrassment soon enough. Blaine really likes eye contact.

15. Open or closed relationship? Do they sometimes share?

They absolutely do not share. They probably have one of those “celebrity freebie lists” where if they were approached and asked for sex they could go for it. Buuut...once they started becoming more successful, and that became anywhere close to realistic, they both decided to shut that down real quick. Kurt is for Blaine, and Blaine is for Kurt, and that’s all.

[jejciu]

i wish u branched out more in ur art ... :'( its so sweet and soft and still can be so rich and dark theres so much potential ughh u never miss ........and gawd i know its never gonna happen but! whatever midground is id love to see snippets of the story expressed in drawings and such ah! anyhow have a great day or night, ur drawings and Especially watercolors never cease to be a source of inspiration and ily pls remember that im always here refrshing ur blog in excitment :3

idk what is this ask im drunk and sappy and felt a need to write it

ugh yeah sadly im aware my art isn't really diverse.... that's mostly bc I really really suck at most stuff outside basic bust portraits. but also it hurts when some people just assume I share everything i draw, that I never look up references or tutorials and never even try to experiment or go for something more ambitious.... the truth is, i practice a lot, I just really hate how most of those drawings turn out (God, just yesterday I was drawing for the entire afternoon, i wasted so much paper and still have nothing to post......). when I go for full body drawings, my artstyle seems to have gone m.i.a. and it just looks as if I traced another drawing, and when drawing dynamic poses everything still feels either terribly stiff or unrealistically bended in uncomfortable ways, it really sucks. I wish i could draw scenes from midground! maybe short comics, even! i really do. I wish I could give more to people who happen to think my artstyle is pleasant or are somewhat interested in my ocs. its all really disappointing, even tho I know I don't really owe anyone artistic growth, that even if i literally never did anything besides front-facing mercies, I wouldn't have to change for anyone, as long as it would bring me joy. But I do wanna evolve and get better as an artist..... and god, I feel like the more I try, the more inferior I feel to all the real artists who post a detailed realistic and fully rendered portrait with a caption of "Just a simple warmup sketch" and like, get 15k notes and their commissions cost like 200 dollars. like I'm so far fucking away from that it's unreal.

Anyway thanks for the kind words, I'm happy my drawings bring u joy and since I've done a lot of illustrations to midground in the past (back when I thought I'd draw one illustration per chapter and put it in the pdf of the story lmao... Or drawing covers for each book and all that) maybe I could try to redraw some of them as practice.... I don't know. But still, thank u, it's really sweet of u to say all that, I really appreciate it! Messages like that make me feel like its all worth the work, if I can inspire even one person. Thanks again, I hope alcohol went easy on u and u didn't have to wake up hangover this morning.

[the-heroic-changeling]

The Infinite Slime

So I wrote another 1,000 word short story as practice, wrote it in like an hour and a half with no real polish. This time I was inspired by two things: velvet worms, and the ridiculousness of the Silver Age of Comics. It’s kind of an odd combo in all honesty, but it’s fun too. So please, enjoy these writer equivalent of an artist’s warmup sketch. Tagging @akirakan @ayellowbirds @majingojira @muceybbds @jogress @filipfatalattractionrblog not sure if you would interested in this silliness, but it’s there if you want it. 

…………

The calm of a sunny day was shattered in a rumbling of the Earth. The small Virginia campus convulsed like a dead man’s bowls, the students and facility struggled to steady themselves, unused to the danger of an earthquake. The buildings were not built for a tremor of this magnitude either, cracks began to race through the halls like bubonic plague through a body. Outside the parked cars rocked from the quake until their alarms began to screech, overwhelming the poor humans with a cacophony of shrieks.

As these victims of the shifting earth clutched their ears, falling to their knees, one student spotted a motorized skateboard whizzing down the street. Riding atop the Slimemobile was the famed superhero, her fifteen pairs of legs clutching the board, her head raised up so her slime glands could take aim.

“It’s the Infinite Slime!” the observant student realized, though their shout of excitement was lost under the screaming car alarms. They stared wide eyed as the superhero fired spirals of slime out of their third head segment, coating the nearest student’s ears with goo. He relaxed as the screaming alarms were muffled, even as the superhero rode away to help more of the students.

As the superhero rattled by on her skateboard, the enby bent their head, letting the Infinite Slime splatter slime over their ears. As the cooling goo reduced the sensory pain, the enby waved at the superhero, who wiggled her front pair of legs back. But the Infinite Slime couldn’t stop, she had to help all of the civilians caught in the quake.

She charged at one of the cracking buildings, debris shaking loose from the earthquake’s damage even as the tremors stopped. The Slimemobile skidded to a halt as the Infinite Slime reared back, before she fired narrow spirals of slime, sealing over the cracks with their power.

“How can a mere velvet worm have that much slime?” A student signed with his hands, and the first student to spot her signed back in a passionate flurry of signing. Neither of them could hear with their ears muffled by slime.

“That’s not an ordinary velvet worm, the Infinite Slime’s glands are connected directly to the Slime Dimension, a realm of pure slime. She can tap into that endless supply of slime at will, and direct it with her natural velvet worm instincts.”

And before the crowd’s eyes the Infinite Slime had sealed up the cracks in the Arthur Ashe Hall, before restarting the Slimemobile with a rev of her motor. She rattled over the brick walkways, heading towards the nearby clocktower, whose bell was still trembling from the quake.

“Wow, I heard this town had a superhero, but I didn’t imagine she would be so powerful,” the student marveled, even as Infinite Slime fired blasts of compressed slime in tight circular motions, launching the goo high until it plastered the cracks in the building.

A crowd began to gather as the Infinite Slime raced to a custodian who had fallen in the quake, her leg torn and bloody. With careful aim the superhero sealed up her cuts, stopping more blood lose.

“Thank you…” She nodded in thanks, even as the superhero turned around to travel through the rest of the campus, firing quick bursts of slime at the buildings with only mild damage.

“I heard she was the treasured pet of a physicist, and when the doctor’s experiment exploded she became linked to the Slime Dimension.”

“I heard she was the physicist herself, and was transformed by the Slime Force to better manipulate the Slime Dimension.”

“That’s ridiculous, a human can’t just become a velvet worm.”

“But she’s way smarter than an ordinary velvet worm, she even built her own Slimemobile.”

“Well, I heard the explosion not only empowered the velvet worm, but merged her with her owner’s consciousness. That explains her power and intellect.”

“Yeah but physicists aren’t mechanics, it wouldn’t explain how she could build that—”

“Shush, come on.”

As her adoring public had chattered and argued, the Infinite Slime had continued on in the meantime, plastering up another crumbling building. But the structure kept shaking, the insides had become too weakened. She could see several students trapped inside, banging on the door, but it appeared to have been locked by the tremor.

The superhero twisted her head back, before snapping back forward and unleashing a rapid burst of slime. The force of the goo plowed into the doors, knocking them aside. Quickly the students ran and wheeled out, diving for the soft grass in the open campus.

“Please, Jacob is trapped under rubble on the second floor, in the computer room. Is there anything you can do?”

The Infinite Slime revved her vehicle before rocketing forward, going up the wheelchair accessible ramp and through the open doors.

The building quaked like ice shredding concrete, but the Infinite Slime was levelheaded. She fired slime rapidly, glueing the crumbling walls and ceiling with wads of slime. The slime would buy her time. 

She knocked open the doors to the stairway, before firing two cords of slime. They latched to the top step and she pulled, hurling herself off the Slimemobile up the flight of stairs. She then scurried around the corner to the next set of stairs lassoing it again and launching herself to the second floor, even as rubble continued to fall.

The crowd continued to watch from the outside, as the building shattered and splintered light an pine after a barrage of lightning had torn it asunder. As the building began to topple everyone held their breath, clutching at whatever they could grasp.

And then with a screech of rubber on brick the Slimemobile peeled out, with a man laying atop it and the Infinite Slime pounding her legs against his chest, giving him CPR.

“Thank goodness you were here,” a medical student said as he took over giving the man aid. The Infinity Slime bowed in thanks, and the crowd cheered for their hero.

[puppy-the-mask]

This was longer than I meant it to be and went wildly off track

I had an epiphany, it’d take forever but Kit would randomly be laying on the couch and staring at the ceiling until she suddenly sits up and shouts

“I CAN RE-MAKE MY ONLINE FRIENDS!!!”

Thus the beginning of her making a new blog and devoting it to random art while she searches up whatever blog names pop into her head at the time and looking at what they post/what they’re like/how they’re doing without UT having been made. She found the other her’s and it’s full of recipes and such so you never know how much things online were affected. So she got to post about her stories and stuff too. Before she found the other her she still used a new name just in case. ‘Kit-The-Bit’ she draws herself as a little green floof cat and had taught herself how to draw cats for that specific reason. She even asked the guys if she could do drawings of them and posts random warmup sketches of the whole crypt.

This leads to her finding some secret accounts from some of the skeles that she hadn’t known about before.

Blue had a gaming channel; Rus ALSO Has an art blog (which she went back and tagged him in everything which started an online back and forth); Papyrus does Vlogs and reactions (the biggest channel of the group) as well as Chef and Bones(chef also does cooking vids); and Stretch, Sans, Pluto, And Lust run a prank channel together; Stretch also has a secret writing/prompt blog but nobody knows who he is. He thought he got caught once when he saw Kit using one of his prompts but she’s oblivious as heck so he just sees her every now and then in his notifs

She also expands her fandom repetoir to get more into other interests since she can’t gush about UT and it’s AUs

Funfact: Papyrus had a major stream where he collabed with Blue and the whole house (plus some guests) were out into a tournament, turns out that some followers have a conspiracy theory about Paps’ new relatives that live with him (cause this isn’t the first time he’s had relatives like this for the ones who were around since day 1) a few of them are spot on about the Multiverse with some sort of machine and when Kit is watching over the chat she reads one that asks about ‘the machine’ everyone theorizes about (paps once had a house tour and disregarded the basement for obvious reasons which is what kinds sparked this) so she asks for the story behind that. She’s like “oh” and another person asks the general question to the new skeles ‘are you from another universe?’ And Kit just takes over like “yep, I am a chaotic-universe-hopping-entity that wanted to be here and then I was” She gives them what they want while also making it sound way to out of line so they follow her to a wild and untrue new theory. By the power of omitting details and technicalities Kit didn’t actually lie to the followers so nobody could tell. She backed it up and turned many a person off of the conspiracy cause she said that she knew cause she lived there. “Never seen an actual machine like the ones your theorizing about unless it was the microwave.” Which is true, she can’t see that well and she was so focused on the skeletons that she actually didn’t see the machine itself. Even when the Mafia skeles visited in tHE LOUDEST WAY POSSIBLE she was focused on them, not the machine behind them.

Basically- Kit remembers the internet and remakes old friends plus some skeletal schenanigans

[ask-bolthead-crew]

Hey,really out of the blue,sorry,but do you have any tips how to keep drawing when im never even remotely happy with what i draw?I get the urge to draw something all the time but when i have a pencil in hand and a paper in front of me i just freeze,i get so terrified because i know its not gonna come out the way i want it to so i just dont,i dont draw anymore even though i want to,and i want to improve my art and do things but i just cant get over the wall. Sorry to bother, feel free to ignore

// So the first thing to remember is that you are DEFINITELY not the only one.Art is hard, especially when you're not happy with what you're doing. I feel that way a LOT. Another thing to keep in mind is that a bad drawing never killed anyone.Sometimes you have to make a schedule for yourself... one you get past those first couple of hurdles of thinking "this sucks," it becomes a lot easier.I'm not saying you have to be proud of everything you do. In fact, it's the complete opposite. For every good drawing you do, there will be about 100 fuck ups. There's this strange expectation we put on ourselves that everything we do has to be good, and honestly it's an unrealistic expectation.What you CAN do, however, is just get into the habit of forcing yourself to do it... even if it's just a few doodles a week.What I do is I have specific characters I'll doodle as a warmup... they're my go-to guys. Kid, Killer, Heat, and Wire are four of them... But I also have my own character, Muffler, that I'll use.These become go-tos for trying out new things or getting back into the swing of drawing. They're characters/things/whatever that you eventually feel comfortable enough drawing from memory and can draw anywhere.The biggest thing is creating a no-judgement zone for yourself. If you don't feel comfortable drawing, you won't. Simple as that. Once you allow yourself to mess up, or make some bad drawings, it becomes more like second nature. Every drawing you make is a step towards bettering your skill. Think of it as a tool, not a finished product. If you get frustrated, don't tear out the page and throw it away or scribble it out. Turn the page or go to a blank area and start again. Allow each drawing to breathe and exist, even if it looks like crap to you. You never know if it might spark an idea at a later point in time, and even if it doesn't, it becomes a record of how far you've progressed... and trust me, you want those.I understand how difficult letting go of that judgement can be. It's similar to writing- just allow yourself to vomit images onto a page first. Don't go into anything thinking, "This is the end-all-be-all, and will be a completed image." Life doesn't really work that way. I'll sometimes redraw sketches for asks three times before I finally go, "fuck it- good enough."The finished pieces will come later, and chances are you won't even recognize it when it's a solid work of art until like... a week after you force yourself to be done with it... especially because, as artists, we're forced to stare at the damn thing until we drive ourselves crazy.Learning when to call something done was also really difficult for me. What I started doing was, once I got to a point where I would make changes and then immediately erase them/try to fix them, I called it done. I'll leave you with something my mentor told me about a year ago:Art for me is not a passion. I don't LOVE making art. In fact, most of the time I'll look at something I've done and go, "wow this is garbage."Art is an addiction. I don't do it because I like it... I do it because I HAVE to. If I go too long without drawing, I feel physically (and mentally) ill. I get depressed and restless. It's these times when it's even harder to pick it back up again. Sometimes I wish I could be content working at a computer for a company. Unfortunately, that's just not how my brain is programmed.But sometimes you just get the strength to push through that block, and you will make some pretty incredible stuff eventually. It just a lot of mental gymnastics and a WHOLE lot of understanding and allowing yourself to make those 100 bad drawings before you make that one good one.You'll get there, I promise. It sometimes just takes looking at things from a different perspective.

[illkickyourbass]

☕  🖍️?

☕ Do you do warmup sketches? Do you have any to share? 

Warmup sketches are really and truly a drawing I draw to procrastinate another drawing, lollllll. More often than not I’ll just wind up turning the sketch into something with full color and etc. (tbh Tattoo Ranmaru is one of those drawings). I guess they’re more like little experiments between the big projects!

I do work a lot with “scratch” sketches, tho (like using a post-it note to cough up some ideas or organize visual thoughts), and sometimes I’ll collect some doodles on a canvas while I work out more story-like ideas. Here’s one relevant to this blog, back from when I was working out the Shining Quest Ranmaru redesign: 

🖍️When did you start drawing? 

Haha, I’ve always been a doodler! I started seriously drawing (like career-y kind of seriously) about 5 or so years ago, I think, but I’ve always kept pen to paper to do stuff with whatever thing’s gobbling up my mind – and that’s almost always been rock and metal, lollll. 

[myloveholtzy]

My Second SNL Experience!

Again, super long post filled with every detail that I can remember!

Let’s start with the day BEFORE the show! I got off my plane and got into a cab to pick up keys from my sister’s boyfriend. Got out of the cab, walked 2 blocks and stopped to check my phone for directions. A lady came up to a guy standing next to me and said, “Sir, we’re filming right now. Could you please move? I’m sorry, but we can’t have you stand there.” So I thought that was weird because we’re standing right outside Radio City Music Hall, who would film there? So I walked by and saw MELISSA MCCARTHY DRESSED UP AS SEAN SPICER. SHE WAS EVEN ON THE PODIUM.

I freaked out lol I just kept walking back and forth, trying to sneak a pic. I was kind of unsuccessful but whatever. At one point she was 2 feet away from me. I could’ve poked her lol

Okay so @amnesianda won the twitter contest (the same one I won in April) and scored the tickets! We got there an hour early, just in case a celebrity pops up out of no where again lol So last time, they immediately gave us purple wristbands (for floor seaters) and we still have no idea why. Maybe my email was so depressing that they took pity on me lolol so this time we got black wristbands and we were a little disappointed but whatever, bc we got floor seats last time! We wandered the lounge again to look at the slide shows and eventually sat down. We probably looked way too giggly and excited! Two pages came up to us and ask if we won the twitter contest. They asked other questions like, “Where are you from? Are you big fans of the show? What’s your favorite part of the show?” Then they asked us to take off our black wristbands and gave us purple ones!!! We freaked the fuck out. We were rude and obnoxious about it lmao @ anyone that was in the lounge, IM SO SORRY we were just insanely excited and we couldn’t control it! Amnesianda​ was like rolling on the couch 😂

Kate was even crazier in the warmups than usual!!! SHE DID A HIP SWIVEL THING AND I DIED HOLY SHIT I think we made eye contact, not 100% sure lmao at one point she got REALLY close to Vanessa’s face, making her giggle ❤️, and then she got REALLY close to Sasheer’s face lolol

While we were in line, waiting for our seats, we saw Alec walk into his dressing room and Sarah Schneider came out! She gave some hugs to her relatives (mom?? I’m not sure). Y'all, Joan from the monologue is related to Sarah Schneider 😂 that’s why she got the special tour! That was amazing she’s so sweet jwjdwkmdmd ALSO I WAS IN THE MONOLOGUE FOR 10 SECONDS WOW I accidentally accomplished a fantasy of mine 😂 if you look closely, I’m clapping way too hard and my cheeks were hurting bc I was smiling and laughing so hard!

I loved all of the sketches so much LOL in the first sketch, Kate and Bobby were giggling at Melissa getting slammed with pies 😂 they really couldn’t stop laughing!

For the conference sketch, they moved the floor seaters on the right, so Cecily, Sasheer, Vanessa, Mikey, and Bobby were like 5 feet away and I saw the whole sketch up close! They’re all so sweet to each other 😂 Mikey was teasing Cecily and he was like poking her or something and then Sasheer and Vanessa joined in. They were all tickling Cecily for a few seconds lmao and I think Mikey poked Bobby too, or he had his hand on Bobby’s knee or something lol and right before the sketch started, Mikey poked Cecily one last time and she slapped his hand away lol YALL I CANT BELIEVE I WATCHED MELISSA THROW A PROP AT THEM AND SHE USED THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER ON MIKEY ASFHDKKS also that part where there was a mess-up with the dolls and she accuses Glenn of messing them up, Bobby smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at Melissa (idk if they showed this or not but it made me laugh)

After the Debette Gouldry sketch, Kate kissed Melissa on the cheek ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Everyone was really professional! Not a lot of quirky backstage things for me to share this time lol

I didn’t get to take pictures with everyone after the show but TBH I’m fine with it lolol I didn’t expect much but I’m happy bc my show experience was better than last time and last time I had an awesome experience after the show. So it balances out!!

It was too late for us to get a good spot to meet the cast so we just awkwardly stood in the back. Kate came out first and took a few pics and left. Amnesianda gave her a present (photo album with Nino memes lmao) and my letter so she said thank you!

I’m so glad I got to meet Sasheer! I missed her last time. I got a picture and told her I love the weekend update bit that they cut out from the Louis CK show. SHE WAS DANCING WITH A SPARKLY CAPE IM SO MAD THAT THEY CUT THAT OUT. She said thank you so much and sjdjskdk she’s such a sweetheart!

Beck and Kyle came out together because they're bffs 😂 beck took some pics with some people and left. Mike O'Brien was there! He used to be a SNL cast member! He, Kyle, and Beck kind of all held hands and were yelling a lot lolol

Aidy came out and I got a picture with her!

YALL I SAW ABBY ELLIOT!!! I have a HUGE crush on her! She used to be on SNL and she was on How I Met Your Mother and she was in Life Partners! Adfhgkdk I adore her! I ran over and asked for a picture and told her that I’m a big fan

❤️ In case you didn’t know, Bobby voices one of the main characters on this adorable show called We Bare Bears. It’s so cute I love it and he plays my favorite character, Panda! I made 3 mini tsum tsums of the 3 bears and added Velcro to them so that they stacked up, like they do in the show. I was nervous about this lol I was so worried that my gift looked stupid, I almost didn’t give it to him. He was SOO happy!!!! He said something along the lines of “No way! Oh my god thank you!” He gave me this huge hug!! We took a selfie but then he was like “Wait! Get one with the bears!” Ajdjsjdk I can’t believe he loves my gift! Apparently he showed his wife and she also loves them!!

I got another picture with Vanessa!

Alex is so sweet, I always have like good interactions with him. Amnesianda told him that she liked his Anderson Cooper eye roll so he rolled his eyes for her pic 😂 I told him that I wanted a video of him doing it but he didn’t hear me so he thought the video was a pic rip me but I caught him doing it like 3 times on video 😂 (I’ll post the video later)

I got a picture with Steve Higgins!! I saw him last time but he looked exhausted so I left him alone lol

I met kxtemckinnon from twitter! You’ve probably seen her a lot, she’s the blonde girl with the Ghostbusters bomber jacket! She’s so sweet!! We talked for a while

Also, we saw a couple of actors from the Big Bang Theory, including Jim Parsons (my pic of him is way too blurry)

That’s my second SNL experience! I’m so so so happy with the way the night turned out! I’m exhausted and I’m sitting at the airport waiting for my flight ❤️❤️❤️ I just can’t believe it, 3 years ago I was suffering so much from depression and anxiety, I honestly didn’t think I would last this long. I’m a lot better now!! I’m still fighting!! I feel like this year is just making up for all of the things I had to go through years ago ☺️ I’m just so damn grateful THANK YOU FOR READING THIS I LOVED EVERY MINUTE ❤️

[dangerouslyclosetothesurface]

Mission Crit 6 Weekend

MC4 Alleycat, Friday: (Strava) - Met up with Jacob at our usual spot (Masonic and Geary) and went down to Cupid's Span. There were many more people there than usual alleycats. This did not deter us. - Manifest #1: South Park, Transamerica, Beale St Plaza.  - Went towards South Park, but I cut over kinda late on Embarcadero because traffic, but fortunately was still going in the right direction.  - Mini-manifest: Clyde/Lusk, Willie McCovey statue, 51 Federal.    - Jacob took us to Willie Mays statue instead. Also a bunch of people were congregating toward us, and I looked on my phone and realized it was something across the way (also I could see the statue in the distance) so I did not follow the main bunch.    - Then Clyde/Lusk, then a brief hiccup when we went down the wrong side of Federal and made an unnecessary loop. We still got it though.  - Continued onward to Beale St.  - Then to Transamerica Pyramid.  - Mini-manifest: Empire Park, Peter Macchiarini Steps, 555 California.    - Empire Park was right around the corner. Then the steps, which we had to run up because ain't no fuckin way I be biking up or down that shit. Then 555 Cal.  - Back to Cupid's Span - Manifest #2: Civic Center, Alamo Sq Painted Ladies, Duboce Steps at Buena Vista, Dolores Park (upper corner where the urinal is).  - Civic Center first. Went down Mission cuz fuck Market. I ain't tryna dodge no buses. Lost Jacob at 1st or so, kept gunning it down Mission, got a red on 6th so cut over to Market and made it to 7th between the lights, then it was a straight shot down McAllister. Waited for Jacob, then we headed off to Painted Ladies.  - Grove (hit that fuckin stupid light at VN) all the way up. Climbing got rough at the last bit.  - Then Steiner to Fell (thank god it was the downhill portion from Steiner on) towards Panhandle. Up Baker. Up all the way. Jacob caught up with me because he took Broderick (smart!) and ran up the steps. Also, Duboce Steps look great. Good job, rotation apprentices!!!!! Also I miss BV.  - Then we took 14th (Duboce was too steep and scary for me) and did a sort of wiggle situation. Someone at Market and Noe said something hostile to me that I didn't understand. I got to Church and 18th and as I was going down 18th I knew I should go inside the park, but the light was not to my favor, so I just went up Church like a chump. Got one block, then legit had to walk from Hancock to 19th. Then got back on and met up with Jacob. Then we were home free. Dolores to 18th to Guerrero to 16th to Valencia to Market to Gough.  - Pas Normal at 149 Gough end. - Results: 17th/18th and 3rd WTF - Stuck around to get my racing stuff and a bit of swag, shot the shit with Jacob, then we headed out. - Market to Wiggle home. - Got home, unloaded racing materials, packed, swapped out my wheels for my H Plus Sons/Phil Wood and applied chain lube to everything. Then went to sleep.

Mission Crit, Saturday: - Woke up and went to get charsiu because I wanted to test my 48x15 wheels. But it was SO FUCKIN WINDY that I determined that I would just stick to my normal wheelset (QR Shimano front and Mavic M4 rear), which is 48x16. Cuz I wanted to make sure I had absolute control, and figured I wouldn't need the extra gear inches cuz wind? Also I bought way more charsiu than I planned (2.4lbs) and had to hold the large foodcontainer in my hand while biking in the wind because I stubbornly refused to bring a bag. - So I swapped my normal wheels back on, ate 0.6lbs of charsiu, and went for some warmup turns and such around my hood (Spreckels/Rhodie Loop/Bison Paddock) ~7mi. Left my straps on because I thought straps would be more challenging to do hairpins in. - Then headed out to the course to set up at garage and get there in time for open course laps. Took a really chill Clement -> GGP, and then someone from the men's field stopped next to me at the edge of Stanyan, and said hello, and I decided to follow him down Oak. Oak was actually a lot smoother to ride than Panhandle (there were like twenty billion peds in Panhandle, also). Made it to course and said hi to Josh at SFBMA tent, then went to garage and put my stuff down with Ariel and Sydney. - Got settled, swapped over my pedals for clipless, put on my shoes, got my bike and shoes and *watermelon helmet!* approved at the bike check station. - I decided I wanted some Clif bars and fortunately Safeway had *the best flavor!* (pb banana, with chunks of dark chocolate). It was a pain to go in and out of the course though. - At 1:15ish we did open course laps, which felt alright. I was a little intimidated that everyone was surging around me, but it was a good warmup, basically. - After that, men's qualifying heats started. I watched the first two laps of the first heat, but that made me more nervous so I went back inside to wait for my qualifier. Also went to change out of my unfashionable-bum fashion and into my bike clothing. - Around 15:00 we decided to try out these Tacx rollers that were there, and I noticed that my front wheel was kinda tilted weird? It may have been the rollers but it also may have been me. So I took it over to the bike inspection and this man was like "QR is not legal. You can't race on this wheel." So then I asked around, including asking the person who a-ok'd my bike, and some course marshalls, who radioed my question to the officials, and they were all like, you need a different front. - THEN I spent a good fifteen minutes scrambling before I asked Josh if he had a front wheel, and PRAISE the lord cuz he did and he was like ya sure you can race on mine. Took my bike over and he got it sorted in minutes. Then walked back over (had to wait to cross the course while the last men's qualifier was going on) just in time to pump up the wheel fully and get ready for my qualifier. - QUALIFIER: lined up and such. I was very amped to go into the first turn (hairpin), but everyone else was kinda chillin', and I found myself going too fast, and had to commit to doing the hairpin on the inside, which was mad sketch, cuz I basically cut off everyone who was going at a reasonable speed all organized and lined up, and I am not proud of it. As a result, everyone else then picked up speed and started fuckin surging. In my mind I was like holy fuck why did I just do that what have I done. But whatever, it was too late, so I was like, ok guess this is my life now. It was going ok, but I was confused and frightened and not very focused, so I neglected to do the only thing that matters (one of), which is looking through the turns, so at 18th and Treat, I was fuckin looking at the barricades instead of through my turn, and unknowingly did a sketch move which another rider yelled at me for. Then that freaked me the fuck out, and I was like holy shit what did I do why did I get yelled at, and then I just kinda let them go ahead so that I could be away from people and thus not endangering them ha Anyway it was fine after that. It was very windy, and I was falling behind, because I am very weak at endurance, and I kinda felt it at like 7 laps to go (this is too soon to be feeling that way), and a few riders caught up to me and tried to let me use their wheel, but even then I was too slow, and my Treat and Harrison turn was too sloppy (as was my hairpin). Made it 8ish of the 10 laps before motos caught up with me and pulled me. - Many, many, many people were cheering for me, which was awesome! But then I felt like I let them down. - A small group of people were really into my watermelon helmet and they told me they were cheering for me! That was nice. - Also, I found the rider that yelled at me to apologize and ask what I did wrong, and she explained that I slowed very suddenly and she and another rider on her wheel almost plowed into me as a result. She was super gracious about it, and explained that I really want to move my whole head and shoulder when turning, so that my whole body and bike will follow. I've been given this advice before, but I guess I hadn’t really internalized it. - After that, I had to wait for finals, and I still felt kinda bummed out about not finishing qualifiers, or bummed out in general, even though logically, I knew I accomplished what I set out to accomplish, which was to qualify (I slotted 31st? which seems reasonable). Killed some time listening to music and trying to smooth over my mental struggles and feelings of failure, ate some sushi from Gus's, as well as all three of my Clif bars (I didn't buy enough), drank some cold brew for energy. It was mostly overcoming a mental battle with myself. Got on rollers again for a bit, did some stretches, killed time, walked around to look at tables. - FINAL: resolved my internal conflict, and set my mind to do two things: look through turns and breathe. We lined up, and going into the first turn, a bunch of people in front of me went too close to the barricades and toppled over on themselves. Subsequently, a few people directly next to / in front of me also toppled over (nothing serious). I caught the slightest bit of that crash, and my shoe totally just ripped open. But then we all got up and had to gun it. I was like, tryna fix my shoe and it was definitely busted. That made me more cautious. Anyway, then I basically stuck to Sydney's wheel and used her line as a mental guide. Also, I kept repeating to myself reminders to breathe and look through turns, which was extremely, EXTREMELY helpful. I stayed focused and did not think about weakness or struggle. Just concentrated on making every turn as safe and natural as possible. I was pretty nervous about hairpins though, because my fucking left foot was not at all secured to anything. Fortunately, I've ridden without foot retention so many times (why, Jessica) that it was tolerable. Thank you previous self for doing dangerous shit to prepare for this moment. I was basically riding Sydney's wheel and not really passing anyone because I was afraid they'd use my wheel? And also to conserve, but then I realized I could be going faster and thus should be pulling, so I got next to Sydney and was like yo stay on my wheel and then we went for like another lap or so, but it was not enough, and moto caught up with us and we had to exit with 18 to go, ha. - Overall, I was way more pleased with my finals result than my qualifiers. Felt like I had the correct mindset in finals, and I just needed to nail down a better strategy. That part I can definitely work on, and is much easier to do than overcoming self-doubt. - Changed out of my jersey, swapped my pedals back to straps, shotgunned a beer with Sydney, and watched the rest of women's final, which was so inspiring. Went to return Josh's wheel but we didn't have a pump so I just kept it for the time being. Thought about heading to the afterparty at Thee Parkside but felt way too tired so I just headed home. On the way home I stopped by Halu to grab a celebratory drink (they also fed me a bit), and caught up with the homies there. It was nice. - Home. Shower. Sleep.

[comicteaparty]

April 25th-May 1st, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble  chat that occurred from April 25th, 2020 to May 1st, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What is your warm-up routine before you write or draw something related to your story?

Page, Rambler Extraordinaire!

Honestly? I don’t have a formal warm-up, but I definitely like to have my fingers all warmed-up and ready for lots of typing! I really need to get in the mindspace for the particular image/idea being portrayed, though.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

1) Seek out music that matches the energy of the page, 2) Draw some circles/spirals/hatchmarks to loosen up, 3) Pick the easiest thing on the page and finish it first to build momentum, 4) Repeat Ad Infinitum

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

-listen to music from my playlist -read some fanfics -watch YouTube videos from my subscription -get some tea -stretch/workout -wear my comfiest clothes

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

i'm also another one that listens to music before doing story stuff. (sometimes either is a favorite song/song i'm obsessed with atm or one that matches the current scene)

Eilidh (Lady Changeling)

I usually reread my comic so far and listen to some music I associate with it to get me in the mindset and excited for it

eli [a winged tale]

I have a warm up character to go to! Usually I try for some gestures before getting right back to the panels. It gets the rustiness out of the way for me!

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Ooh I love your warm ups, Eli!

eli [a winged tale]

Thank you! It’s easier for me to get into a routine when I have something fun to draw first (with zero expectations)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I don't always need a warm up, but doing panel borders for HoK makes for an excellent warm up. It gets my brain switch gears to comic mode. Music is great, but I only turn it on for important moments (or illustrations outside of comic). There are certain moods that... recur in important moments in my story, and I have playlists for those. e.g. 'sad emotional intimacy'

eli [a winged tale]

I love how music influences our work! I would love to hear all your playlists if you have them easy to share

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

ooooh @eli [a winged tale] i like the motion in your warmups! They're very fluid and nice to look at @keii’ii (Heart of Keol) Keii, I agree with separating playlists for moods! I usually just group them all in my favourites and mentally search for them

DanitheCarutor

Gosh I'm one of the most boring people. Lol I don't have a routine, I don't need one since I'm always in comic mode. Like, all I ever draw is comic pages. I don't have a script or anything that requires writing, so no need for a warm-up for that. I just jump right into it.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Sounds like you live on the edge which is the opposite of boring 8)

eli [a winged tale]

^

DanitheCarutor

I dunno, it would be cool to do warm-up drawing. That would sure help for gesture/color/anatomy practice. I just don't have the time, a page takes about 4 days to finish without outside distractions, so I have to get to work right away.

eli [a winged tale]

If you can jump right in, that’s great! For me otherwise I just stare at the inks and wish it would colour itself

DanitheCarutor

Ffff I'm like that with dynamic shots where the perspective points are off the page, and I have to tape scrap paper to it, and sometimes my ruler isn't long enough. Working in a traditional medium can be such a pain in the ass sometimes. Lol

This panel is a good example.

Top view perspective lines went way off the page, I hate it.

Anyways, that's my complaint for the day.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

When I draw warm ups. This was of my 'for practice' comic art. I wanted to practice the vertical scroll storytelling. A lady gets her purse string cut, and the thief runs off. Whenever I want to figure out action scenes, I do little character interactions. It helps me learn more about certain character behavior(edited)

eli [a winged tale]

Nice! Practice comics are great!

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

yeah it's really good too!

it's also a great way to possibly have new stories/series

kinda like.....brainstorming, but applied

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Thank you Eli, Shadow. I try to combine my knowledge of storyboarding, since vertical scroll sequences, are similar to that in some regards.(edited)

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

I.... Don't do warm up. I just... Start drawing(edited)

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

dang Holmea you living the risky life

that's brave

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

I am pretty sure of my skill. Should I warm up?? Could be super to start warm ups! I check my mail, find out how we are doing online with our comic and just begin to draw. I guess since I have done it professionally as a 2d animator, and there is not really time to warm up, that I have learned to just start

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

I do warm ups for everything! though what I define as warmups depend on each creator. For me, it begins with stretches and sketching, ill doodle things i need to get out of my head so i'm not distracted by those ideas- they usually involve studies, certain character interactions, or thumbing out pieces I want to tackle later! I may sure to draw everyday to flex that too, so its also important to be able to relax those creative muscles with some pre-work!

also! my warm ups vary with what medium i work in. if Im working in watercolours, i practice fine pencil work and get my lines as loose as possible. when it's comic (so mainly inking) i do what I described above with character studies and what not

kayotics

I’m really bad at remembering to do warm ups. I should.... actually do them more, but the time I have dedicated to drawing is usually pretty limited

Deo101 [Millennium]

Because I usually finish off whatever I had been working on the day before, warmups for me are kind of the process of starting a new piece. All the sketching and thumbing to get my next idea out work pretty well for warming me up, and then I feel ready to go by the time I'm needing to do things like lines. I also get music going that fits the mood of what I'm working on, like lots of people seem to do! I also need to remember to do stretches more :/ And I usually get myself some kind of drink, tea or something, to keep me company while I work ;)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Sounds like you are pretty busy, Kayotic. Yeah warm ups can be a good practice before diving into a big illustration

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Weirdly I don't think I've ever done warmups for illustrations. Only comic work!

Probably because illustrations, I just do them whenever I feel like it, so my brain is already ready (i.e. I don't start if my brain isn't ready)

whereas comic... I can't just wait for my brain to get ready. I need to keep updating it.

Page, Rambler Extraordinaire!

Pro-tip: if you decide to not do anything and procrastinate, you don't have to warm-up!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

hmm, can't say i've really tried warming up for art before, but i've heard it can really help! What are you guys' art warm up routines?

Deo101 [Millennium]

For me it's just kinda mindless sketching til I hit what it is I wanna be doing

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Make panel borders (not really a routine though, at least I don't think it is)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

When I do watercolor, I usually don't do warm ups unless I'm planning from thumb-> sketch ->color thumbs and figuring out local colors for watercolor then doing my watercolor flats from there

Deo101 [Millennium]

Instead of staring at a blank screen and waiting, making little circles or scribbles or drawing like. Some arms or something til, eventually, my brain thinks we're working and then it's like "ah yes! Here we go!"

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

but digitalllyyyyy I shoullddddddddd

my brain when looking at my comic: "aight time to do the thingy lmao"

Deo101 [Millennium]

If I've already got a sketch waiting to go I can jump right in though

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

idk, I should but my time is usually limited so I haven't done a warm up in a while lmao.

now I have the time, I probably would

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ohh i see

like some quick sketches

i see how that can help- whenever i'm figure drawing or drawing people in a cafe or something my later ones are always better

how is making panel borders a warm up? don't you have to do that anyways?

Deo101 [Millennium]

Lines with intent! Doesn't matter what the purpose is, same kinda thing as drawing a bunch of straight lines in a row or practicing ellipses a bit

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's something I can do with my brain turned off. While I do it, it wakes up the comic-making part of my brain

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

oh ye

Deo101 [Millennium]

Which I'd encourage doing things like drawing a ton of ellipses or straight lines, it gets your hand into the groove so you can draw stuff right the first time

Do I do it often? No But I do encourage it

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ah i see keii

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

So for me, the panel borders can function like a warmup without being a "ritual." Kinda like if you're... say... hiking, walking from your parking spot to the trailhead can be a warmup even if it's not a ritual and is necessary anyway

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

ooo that's an interesting way of putting it

... man I really should consider warm ups often. I have been touching my sketchbook less and less so lmao

I do find making small thumbs and coloring them in relaxing for me, not sure that count as a warm up but its something I like doing when planning out watercolor illustrations lol

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Relaxing/chilling/ "reward after a long day" arting is also an interesting topic, though not 100% suitable for this week's question...

I find it interesting how a lot of people seem to like, make cute ship doodles, whereas I uhhh

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

lineart is the easiest for me to do though. I don't have to think much about it

maybe i should like line a page as warm up?

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'll drop some examples in art share in a bit

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

ooh please do(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

That sounds like a good idea! Worth trying

Feather J. Fern

I actually read in a artist self care comic "Draw Stronger: Self Care of Artist" that you are supposed to stretch and stuff before you art so your body is warmed up for long periods of sitting. Things i draw before getting into main art, the one line challenge where you draw something using one line, gesture drawing warm ups, and always becuase it's something I recently been doing, is drawing a thumbs up on a page that I can erase later or keep in a sketchbook as in like "Good job "(edited)

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I don't have a warm-up routine before I sit down and draw / write comics. Besides making a cup of coffee before I dive right in. (edited)

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I don't follow rules

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

i don't really have any warm up routines. it helps that 3d art is less physically demanding than drawing. during/after my work, i try to look away from the screen and relax my eyes every so often, but i can't think of anything i specifically do before working.

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Another dive-right-inner here. I mean, I do loose pencil sketches before putting down lineart, but it's not like a separate warmup drawing before the real one, it's just the start of the real one.

If my brain isn't in "comics mode" and I need to get a page done...I find a nice secluded spot, sit down with the blank sketchbook, and stare at the empty paper until ideas start clicking into place. Unrelated sketches would be a distraction at that point -- same as checking twitter, just one more excuse for my brain to focus on something other than the page.

Used to do the seclusion in local restaurants( whether it's a nice place or just a plastic fast-food table), but obviously that hasn't been an option for a while :/

varethane

My warmup is working eight hours at an unrelated job l-lol

eli [a winged tale]

Haha aw that’s a mood

Miranda

Oh boy do I feel that

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

oh that got real