#art and images are not mine obviously

[nonbinarylesbianherb]

don’t think you understand just how feral I get whenever i see butch wolverine fanart like im gnawing at the bars of my cage right now

[brewsbrownies]

⚠ NOT MY OC ⚠ credits to the wonderful ✨ @ann1e-on-earth ✨ for giving me permission to draw (or attempt to draw) their OC, goat girl. I feel like I probably didn't draw her super accurately later on but she was so much fun to draw anyway even if she isn't perfect :)

And speed paint of me drawing her because drawing the background was boring and tedious as you could probably imagine

[yourlocalsimpsonsandsanriofan]

"They never come back... as BOYS!!!!"

-The Coachman (Pinocchio 1940)

[michameinmicha]

current obsession project and some fave pages so far

[xcziel]

@tumblr @staff since you seem to LOVE creating recommendation tabs where you can algorithmically go wild

AND you are also eagerly courting new users (frequently to the detriment of longtime users but it's whatever right?)

so, since one group that is currently being underserved (or even driven away) by like ... every app/site out there INCLUDING this one is artists who are trying to make a living out of their art

WHY NOT make an 'ART' tab that is solely made up of posts by artists?

let people choose to opt their posts out of the tab and slap a very basic filter on it, similar to the gifsearch one maybe, so people can look for art of specific things

this would give artists a boost in visibilty AND appeal to like ex-twitter/insta users who want to scroll fanarts or cool original works or whatever - and if someone wants to commission some artz for themselves they can click through to the artist's tumblr for info

i think if you are very lenient with the moderating, tumblr could pull a LOT of the twitter refugees who just need a place to get their work in front of interested people's eyes

[0lai]

Concept art for a dragon mask

[pyroclastic-lorekeepers]

not a personal but i am a multimuse so i'll request hibiki and kasai (and leo too if you want)

Starting with Kasai because I am *slightly* biased towards Team Magma: The Unicorn.

It's cute, one of the rarer tames, and can still pack a mean kick. It reminds me more of his current journey as a coordinator than his history with Magma, but I think would have still been useful either way. It features all the utility of the regular equus, just with more style and ability to turn heads.

For Hibiki: The Basilisk.

I waffled between this and its smaller cousin the titanoboa, but the basilisk is a little better adapted for use on both land and sea. Given Hibiki's use of seviper and hit and run / poison tactics, it felt too good to pass up.

For Leo: The Tek Stryder.

The Arks are usually worlds where you have to build everything from scratch. The Tek Stryder is the best resource harvester you can get, ensuring Leo will never run out of materials for whatever he's working on next. It's also a fairly solid multipurpose beast; tanky health, decent speed, hits hard, and can even be used as a mobile base.

[rkt-draws]

Meet Blu! (Aka Japheth)

So called "nurse" aboard the space cargohaul ARI. He uh... yeah he's medically trained (???)

[mayamelodyegg]

secret santas

[kalloway]

been a while since I last posted, holy moly haven't had much to show but I am.... cooking, writing-wise... heh

(source: just trust me, bro)

[sweetestberryofthebunch]

Maya Mason x Intern!Reader HCs

We have a solid 10 minutes of screen time and I have MUSINGS so. You’re welcome.

Content/Warnings: Fluff and Smut, NSFW content separated from SFW, afab!reader but no pronouns used, one good girl mention, power dynamics, bitches be switches, mentions of some anal play, free use kink, degradation and praise, Orgasm denial, semi public sex

Tagging @msharkness here u go angel 💚

SFW:

When you started the position, everyone at the Studio pitied you. Maya is loud, audacious and not exactly known to cooperate very well. She has chased many interns right out of the industry.

But you refuse to let her break you. Every task she gives you, no matter how outlandish or ridiculous, you fulfill with bravado, handing her a finishes report just hours after. So of course, she begins to take a liking to you.

Every morning, Maya makes you grab her reusable mug and run to Starbucks. The reusable mug looks good for her image, but in reality she couldn’t care less about the environment.

You know she starts to like you when one day, there’s a second cup on the desk next to hers. When you ask which one she wants her drink in, she rolls her eyes. “Mine, obviously. The other one is for you. Go get whatever you like, before i change my mind. I want my usual!”

All your coffee and lunches are charged from her credit card.

You have lunch with her in her office, where she tells you the latest gossip from set as well as all her frustrations about her idiot coworkers. Seriously, if it wasn’t for her this company would have already failed.

She is short. Definitely shorter than you. At first, she seems very bothered by it. As your relationship develops, she starts to enjoy when you rest your chin on her shoulder or her head though.

She’ll grab you by the back of your head and place you there, your arms wrapping around her waist so she can rest her hands over yours.

As a boss, she’s quite strict and has very high standards. However, at parties and galas she will sing your praises to everyone who will listen, especially A List celebrity guests.

Its how Charlize theron learned your name. A fact that still makes your head spin to this day.

For your anniversary, she gifts you a small necklace with an M as a charm. When you ask how you’re supposed to explain it at work, she scoffs. “Make something up. I thought you’re in creative marketing.”

„Be a doll and fetch me those files from the art department. That’s my good girl.“

„Baby“ „Angel“

Once you go official at work, and honestly even before that, she always has a hand on your lower back, manicure digging into the fabric of your shirt.

She just likes to have you close, likes when people can see she has claimed on you first.

At work, she keeps pda on a minimum, she has too many responsibilities for that. But at home, she’s a big cuddler.

Loves to curl into your side or lay on top of you on the couch, loves her hands on her waist.

Adores it when you play with her hair, brush it, braid it, wash it for her when you shower together. Its one of the few times she melts into you, just lets herself relax and enjoy.

Maya is not a big fan of cooking, except for breakfast. Every morning, she will make you the best breakfast you coule imagine. Eggs, warm toast with molten butter, bacon and sausages, a little yogurt parfait with fresh berries and granola.

Her habit of making a big breakfast single handedly turned you into a morning person, because there is no way you’re missing out on your daily feast. Or the view of her in her satin pyjamas and fluffy socks, hair unkempt in a big bun on her head, the freckles on her nose full display.

You sit at your usual spot on the counter, watching her work away. She’ll brush past you, getting on her tiptoes to steal a quick kiss.

Or she’ll cage you in by planting her hands on the counter, taking her sweet time as she kisses you slowly, languidly.

If you’re late for work no one dares to comment on it because she tends to unleash hell on those who attempt to

At work, she has a strict no kiss policy. However that doesn’t extend to other activities…

NSFW:

Her work is frustrating. God its so frustrating. Thank goodness she has you at her beck and call, always there to help her out however she needs at the moment.

Loves to take you in her office, bent over her desk as she lets all her frustrations about her coworker’s incompetence out in you.

Or, when she’s stuck on desk duty, she likes to have you bent over her lap, lazily playing with you with one hand as she answers emails and calls with the other.

Both holes. I would even say she loves to tease your ass actually.

If you’re lucky, she was merciful enough to bite her nails off first. But you definitely had to take the full acrylics at least once when she was too worked up to care.

She made sure to take care of you afterwards, got you an ointment for the scratches and was extra gentle with you the next few days.

You have a free use agreement at work, if she needs to blow off steam, you are always right there to give her what she wants.

„I don’t know why Tyler would approve these candids.“ „I don’t know why you’re not bent over this desk yet.“

Maya makes sure you sit next to her in board meetings. When the conversation bores her, she‘ll just entertain herself by sneaking her hand between your legs. She loves to watch your face as you try to remain composed.

You can tell when she gets hates a pitch because she‘ll thrust into you harder under the table, and when she likes something she‘ll focus on circling your clit instead.

She’s absolutely a powerbottom at heart, and teaches you exactly how to please her and expects you to deliver. It you don’t, she‘ll keep you denied until you prove you deserve her touch.

She can leave you squirming for days, but you better never try to deny her. She will turn into an absolute brat if you do. No one denies her what she wants.

She has a tongue piercing that most people don’t know about, but it’s one of your favourite secrets about her. For obvious reasons.

At home, away from her dumbass coworkers and the fast paced work environment, she is a lot more gentle with you.

She loves to take long, steaming hot baths with you, making out sloppy as you take turns riding each others thigh, movements lazy and slow.

If you really want to treat her, you turn her around and gently thrust your fingers into her from behind, her knuckles white as she gripe the edge of the tub.

At work, all you get from her is sharp orders and degradation, but in the safety of her home, she whispers sickly sweet praise into your ear, talking you through it gently.

Seriously, the only time you can shut her up for a moment is when you have her in your lap, strap buried deep inside her as she rides out her orgasm, head thrown back and nails digging into your scalp. And even then she’s vocal, just not exactly coherent.

After, she will call you a good pet, hers and only hers, her treasure. Always whispered quietly into your ear as your arms are around her sweat coated body, but she means every word nonetheless.

[gghero]

uhhh... squeak a way out? that might have worked better if I'd made any of these characters a rat or whatever. ah well

full lineup and thoughts under the cut!

these were a ton of funnnn I wanted to play around with animal assignments for a while. characters like Akane or Ace already have strong themes going on but I wondered what about the rest and well here we are

my favorite anthro designs are those that really emphasize the size differences between species. maybe these are not completely accurate but they're accurate enough to convey the sense of scale I think. These were referenced both from pictures of the real life inspirations but I also studied and referenced sketches and concept art from the Zootopia production because its kind of the energy I was going for

As I said earlier, most of these assignments are just based on vibes, though there are some fun themes and ideas I also wanted to play with.

Junpei is a ram because I like the idea of him being a herbivore that nonetheless has pretty powerful means to fight in his horns and powerful legs. Also theres an idea somewhere in there about him being a sacrificial lamb of sorts in the plot of the second nonary game

The Fields are very obviously dogs to me. Friendly, intelligent and fiercely loyal but at the end of the day they are carnivores that can and will use their teeth and claws. A personal headcanon of mine is that they're half siblings, so this allowed me to play with mixes too! I knew I wanted Clover to be a Cavalier King since the silhouette allowed me to translate her hairstyle pretty seamlessly, and I kinda became obsessed with Aussievaliers while researching mixes

The Kurashikis as rabbits fits surprisingly well. It's the obvious choice for Akane, and if they weren't related by blood would have probably made Aoi a rat or a badger, but him being a rabbit too fits surprisingly well even from a meta narrative point of view since a lot about his character revolves around Akane. I went with the harlequin variant because I like how it plays with the duality theme for both of them... though Aoi is albino himself so he doesn't have black patches, haha.

Rhino for Seven because he's big, strong and imposing but mostly chill. Lotus as a frilled lizard because the mental image of that temper of hers making her frills go wild was pretty fun.

Kubota is a pigeon because I read somewhere that perhaps his nickname might have been Pigeon if he'd gotten to choose one due to a Japanese pun/onomatopeia thing with "ku/kyu" and pigeons. And there's some fancy pigeon breeds that have crazy feathers that resemble his hair (though unfortunately these breeds struggle to groom themselves)

Ace as a lion is also pretty obvious but it just fits so well. Looks noble and reliable on the outside, subverts things a bit by being a bit of a cowardly lion, but he's still an apex predator that can be pretty brutal

Finally we don't know much about Nijisaki or Musashidou as people, but I wanted Nijisaki to be a canid too so the body swap plot still makes some sense, and I feel like the cultural associations to foxes also works with the cunning second in command vibe he has going on. The silver fox's coat color simply translates into his design better than a red fox. Finally, for Musashidou I wanted a larger animal that looks like it has the kind of gravitas and aura of power he gives off so I thought a walrus made sense, especially since the tusks and rounded head also translated parts of his design pretty well!

anyways thats about everything I have to say about these! I honestly dunno if I'll ever color them because I tragically saved over the file with the separate sketch layer so I'd have to redraw everything... thanks for reading all of that if you made it here!

[puripurin]

— Dance Partner!Yan, who was the embodiment of child star when he was 9 with his flexibility and incredible dance skills at such a young age, made him a little— scratch that, a massive little shit from the numerous praises he was showered with. That was until you stepped foot into the studio he was practicing at with your parents.

You, back then as a 9 year old child, didn't come from a wealthy family, but that didn't stop your parents from saving up until they could afford 2 months of dance practice lessons. It wasn't cheap either as the dance studio became popular from just him alone, but it was worth it for your safety as a child.

Almost immediately, he was infatuated with you. Talking with you, helping you, and just being overly friendly towards you. There was no doubt he was never going to let you go, even as a 9 year old. That's why he volunteered (well closer to asking his parents to threaten his dance coach) to be your one and olny dance partner.

You were ecstatic until you realized that you only had a week left of your dance lessons. Of course, you were sad and kind of embarrassed, but you wanted your parents to spend the money on other things other than something so frivolous, so you never said anything.

That first day when he found out that you weren't coming back was a nightmare. He was screaming and crying for you to come back, and he even lost his voice, so he resorted to isolating himself.

When you eventually came back later that day because of the frantic calls that your parents had gotten, he held on to you tight for hours and was only babbling incoherent sentences. From that day onwards, his parents were paying for you to go to the dance studio so that something like that never happens. Which leads you to the current day him.

Dance Partner! Yan was heavily affected by that incident, so now you and him were together for almost everything. Sleeping, bathing, cooking, and, obviously, dance performances. He always knows where you are, and you always know where he is.

He thinks that you are his one and only and will die on that hill forever. He's even made sure that you and him lost your virginity to one another.

Along with never allowing anyone to be your dance partner. If there was a new person who hadn't been informed of your relationship with one another and insisted on talking to you, his touchiness blows through the roof. He'll start groping you and making you flushed more obviously to deter that person away.

"Now, now, stop getting feisty. You don't think I'm tired of making sure people know that you are mine?"

Awoop, art jumscare that is partly finished. Ofc its Cecil and Clear. Some parts look bad, but idc. Im not planning for art to be my main hobbie, and i rarely draw.

Also, here's some more images? Imagines?? Ummm, whichever one is the corect one.

Also another character added to my ever so slightly increasing roster of ocs. I was gonna write the the other charas but this was siting in my head rent free like, I let you come and live her for free and I don't even charge you rent?? The disrespect i just underwent.

Anyways, it was originally going to be a dance instructor slowly getting possessvie over you and only teaching you lewd dances then it actually became dance partner yan. So un yeah wwoop.

Noy preoofread

[manochulios]

MY NINJAGO DESIGNS (UPDATED)

Ok FIRST OF ALL!!! follow me on tiktok and AO3!! I'm posting my art there and I have a fanfic project centered on Nya (and Morro) that I started writing, I think you might be interested!

Secondly..... YES! After less than a week of posting the first designs, I decided to change some things!!!!! If you compare it to the old post you'll see that there weren't any very drastic changes, but there were a few things that were particularly bothering me and now I feel like I'm satisfied (for now.....)

Obviously, as you can see, I haven't changed a lot of things. Maybe I shouldn't have made this update in a new post, changing the main one would have been more than enough but.... nah.

Colors of the gold armor - I gave them a brighter tone, the old one was very dull

Zane and Nya's boots - brother wtf were those, now they are sooo much better

Zane gloves - I totally forgot about them in the first version, but now he has them!!

Kai and Nya eyes - in the old version they already had matching eyes (main color in their own color palette and pupil in the color of their siblings), but I made Nya's eye color more towards gray and Kai's towards brown, instead of the dark -cyan-almost-green and amber that they had)

Nya's hair and sleeves - I left her hair a little closer to her original hair, I felt that in the old one I ended up giving her a hairstyle more similar to mine in real life..... oops? I also changed the flowing sleeve to a more well behaved one similar to Kai's, I don't know if I totally like this change to be honest

Marks on their body - Lloyd now has marks from the oni transformation!! although they are not that visible from far; Nya and Cole's marks are better done than before and Zane has more robot features (although these three in particular are more visible under his clothes *wink wink*)

Jay has goggles now :D

Some close ups (I swear I don't know what I'm doing wrong for the images to be saved in SUCH poor quality)

Some headshots

So I guess this is it? NOW I'm gonna leave these designs alone. I already posted on my tiktok too, so if you can stop by and give me a boost I'd really appreciate it!! I'm already working on the individual images of each one with some headcanons and more specifications on the details of each one's designs, but it will probably take a while. I also plan to do a part two of the designs with some secondary characters, but that totally depends on my willingness and willpower LOL

see you soon <3

[mc-survivalist-steven]

(Heya! Ooc related: I’ve actually been thinking of starting a Minecraft ask blog myself. Do you have any advice on how to get your foot in the water? Are there any communities I can join to connect with people more easily?)

/ooc HAHAHA- Oh man.

To start off, do note that: This is entirely MY perspective and MY experience. I'm gonna tell you ALL I know, so the good and bad will be included. Always take advice with a grain of salt.

IT'S GONNA BE SUPER LONG, FAM, SO IF YOU AINT INTO READING ESSAYS IN SOME NICHE HOBBY just scroll all the way down 👍

Also, I've been an outlier in this community for prioritizing askblog and storywriting (than jobhunting. DO NOT BE LIKE ME.), so, please don't use me as an example and find what's the best askblogging style for you.

▦ Note: edited at 26/03/25 for better readability and extra elaboration on some parts.

1. Know the scene. (Currently? p bad lmao)

Here's the first bad news: You kind of entered at the timeframe of Highest Difficulty (tm) at the moment. I'll be real with you right now, the community is very inactive atm. I can't blame them. A lot of people I know have real life priorities to do. I myself am only here because I'm doing askblog mid commissions and jobhunting.

With that said, you CAN still open an askblog, you just have to realize that the following will occur:

↪ Lack of the interactions/asks you hope to have. ↪ Lack of notes/validation. ↪ Lack of people who would plan with you or join events. ↪ Lack of interest.

And this WILL suck. It'll get to you. It got to me, obviously. But I'm still going because, again, I am an outlier, and TECHNICALLY I also have a goal I always look forward to to keep creating, which ties to...

. .

2. Your type of Askblog. (Neutral. This depends on you.)

Note first that you CAN always experiment and change styles midway if you don't feel for it. I only find mine because I've been here since 2013, LMAO, so don't be too pressed as a beginner.

But knowing the type of person you are, how you create, and your limits in creating is important. Knowing where you also want to steer your blog is important. Your skills are also important.

So your askblog MUST depend on what kind of content you want to do.

↪ Do you want to do askblog just for fun? Then limit the amount of effort you put into it, else you burnout when you don't get the validation you want. ↪ Do you do it to practice art or writing? Then put your SOUL into it. Just know it'll be slow and slow = also slow engagement. ↪ Do you do it to tell a story only? Not really an artist? Might want to commission someone for RP emotion icons and flex off your writing chops. Do know ppl prefer images rather than text.

This will be the core basis of your motivation for the blog. If you lose sight of this, you will burnout/quit faster.

I suggest if you don't know what to do: Do it for fun first. Do it blind. Notes will start very small, mostly 0 and max at 3... but if you have no expectation, you will take it less painfully. This is important, especially when you start off. And overtime when you start to solidify what you actually wanna do with the blog, you may switch gears. People will follow it if they're interested! So just keep trying.

. .

3. How to Run an Askblog (The hard part lmfao)

Bro I cannot stress ENOUGH that I cannot read people and especially you. I cannot tell you how to run your askblog. Your vision of your OC and story is purely yours, so only you can unlock the secret of what makes your blog 'you'.

But I can tell you what USUALLY works in nabbing people's attention and want to interact with your OCs:

↪ Endermen OCs. (e.g. askendy) They are super popular. No shade to Endermen blogs, it's just what works + the endermen community is the largest rn. ↪ Great artist and replies with images. (E.g. Askzub) Sorry to all the text only askblogs / those who answer with too much text... but if you wonder why people engage less, it's probably that. ↪ Great event hosts, aka blogs who knows how to rally up the masses in a collaborative effort to spice up the community. (e.g. rnotsleeping, 'Monstrosity of the Night' event) ↪ A continuous story featuring duo/trios with engaging storyline. (e.g. hexavexen and ask-vulcan-and-toby) ↪ A gimmick that is simple but interesting. Keep it to one sentence, e.g. mine: 'Retired herobrine with one eye.' (this caught the attention of a LOT of people surprisingly.) ↪ Characters that copies canon minecraft design concept to a T, but has some kind of story people wanna see. (e.g. Enderbro.) ↪ HUMOROUS/SOFTCORE blogs. Ironic, slice of life, or funny. We need more humor tbh. (e.g. hiiamramy (i love this cute blog lmao))

Again, these may or may not work for you. This is the trend that I just frequently see. You can make whatever you want, but know that these are what I see usually climb up to the top.

MEANWHILE, here's the parts that I think DEFINITELY make blogs stand out:

↪ Utilizing your asks in a smart way. (More at #4) ↪ Askblogs with APPROACHABLE quality. Askblog is about interaction.You may want to make space for people to include their OCs (TO A DEGREE) with you and also experience your stories with you. ↪ Characters who don't annoy the viewers/other askbloggers through asks. I cannot stress enough how merely annoying people can get you so much flak. ↪ Characters who tries to interact a lot with other blogs, but isn't intrusive about it. Keep it cool when you try to interact with bigger blogs! They're all riddled with anxiety just like the rest of us.

But also, here's the deal: If you want to break the market, you got to put in some effort. Basically, the same as marketing every products and yourself. You gotta post often, draw often, and send asks (THAT WORKS for both you and your target blog) often. Sometimes you hit the jackpot, most times people ignore you.

It's par for the course. If you think something isn't working, though, always ask for criticism. Just... know that most ppl are too nice to tell you where you went wrong, so, uh... Idk? Ask someone who you trust and is willing to be upfront with you, I suppose.

. .

4. Utilizing ASKS holy shit this is so important to me

You know how in 2013 everyone spams asks so much that you have like 80 asks per blog in a week? And that 'if you spam me or send asks that is unfitting to the blog, I'll delete it uwu' mindset?

Don't.

Let me let you in into my secret. Asks are RARE these days. Baiting for them is even harder. Only your friends will send you asks, and overtime they'll run out of things to ask. If someone sent you a humor ask and you want to throw it away... well... What if I tell you not to?

Here's what you can do:

When you get an ask that feels too humorous or OOC or trolling, weigh how much you can twist it to fit YOUR narrative. For example, this is the ask I got.

Imagine getting this 1 year ago at the peak of Steven getting stuck in the Nether at a break apart state. Your first reaction would be: 'Man, this makes no sense. I should delete it.'

Nope. Weigh it first.

Can you utilize this somehow? Usually, id either answer it in character and then end it with some kind of lore reveal. (e.g. your character sees this and goes 'no! I never did this! ...or did I...' -flashback about an enderman friend they've forgotten-) so you still answer accordingly BUT also reveal something about your character!

See? This engages viewer's interest while also accommodates the ask. Everyone's happy.

Do note some asks can't work like this no matter what you do. You can bank these for future happenings.

...and if the asks are highly uncomfortable, or clearly a troll you can't utilize, or just 'hi.'? Probably just delete those, yeah.

. .

4. pt2, Baiting asks.

Baiting asks is like fishing. You gotta know when to reel and when to hold. Lemme explain.

The basic on this is: don't make your ocs TOO mysterious, but also not TOO open. TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE INFO ABOUT YOUR OCS WILL NOT HELP EITHER PARTY! Especially when we are in a drought like this! So yap, reveal, hide ONLY the most important secrets they have, and then reveal it slowly through asks and flashbacks.

Make askers feel that they unlock your ocs more (satisfaction on their end) and you get to infodump on them who your OCs are in a slow pace (satisfaction on your end.)

"But Doe, I can't do this if I don't even get asks."

I grab you gently.

Then drop lore posts.

I notice a lot of askbloggers refuse to post ANYTHING unless they got asks. DON'T. DO THIS. Realize that people usually don't ask because they have NOTHING to ask about. GIVE them something to ask about!

And remember! Do it in a trickle. BOTH in your standalone and answer posts.

So reveal in a consistent, slow trickle way. Give people things to ask about, while also not be too protective of your secrets and reveals.

.

.

4. pt 3, throwing asks.

I BEG OF YOU. SEND ASKS.

You send asks in return to getting asks. That's why non-anon asks is IMPORTANT. It lets people know WHO you are! SO THEY CAN SEND ASKS BACK AT YOU.

Here's my formula:

↪ Read the blog about 20 posts back and figure out something you can ask about. ↪ Ask 2 asks IN CHARACTER, PROPERLY. (format: "your ask here" > Line break > @.yourblogurlhere) This allows you to extend an olive branch for interaction (and future character relationship (friendship, enemies, rivalry, etc)) with the character, while staying in character. [E.g. "Hey, man! I noticed the sweet ride you have outside the house. Is that yours? Because I got a lot to talk about if you like cars!" - @.software-bugs-b-gon] ↪ THEN SEND 2+ MORE ASKS IN ANON with differing styles and personalities to give them MORE FOOD to continue their blog. This allows you to be slightly mean or out of character and gives YOU more ooc leeway to pry the character open further.

Now you just askbombed a blog with 4 asks! That's 4 POSTS OF CONTENT! You're happy, they're happy. YIPPEE!

AND IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO GOT AN ASKBOMB, please either return it or spread it to other blogs. Please.

P l e a s e. . .

5. Keeping it fresh.

Like a comic, people gotta come up with new story ideas else the blog stagnates.

If you aren't a story driven blog, letting people do M!As or just do silly 'scenes' and 'situations' work. Think of it like a slice of life or a sitcom.

Shit happens, and your OC is put into it. Let people ask things that help drive them around!

If it's story related, breaking it into arcs and story events will also help you introduce something new per arc and thus, not stagnate!

. .

6. I am tired of askblogging, and I want to take a break. How do i come back from that?

By, uhh... By just coming back?

There's not really a secret sauce to this, I feel like. Do note I am one of the more well-known askblogs out there, so I can just come back anytime and still have people waiting for me. I know that much. But still, not EVERYONE waits for me, y'know? So I just treat it like I'm starting over. No expectation, no grumpy because people aren't waiting for me. I just write for myself and to entertain, and those who like will come back and those who don't can leave and this is okay. This is normal! Don't lose hope.

It's kind of depressing to say 'just don't expect too much,' but it is actually the mindset you need. Do it for YOU, mainly.

And if you somehow deep, deep down know what you have isn't working out?

It's fine to quit! Or restart. Whatever works for you.

But also, quit with honor! Keep these in mind:

↪ DON'T JUST POOF. Believe me. You may be surprised how many people will be sad you're leaving, and what's worse is leaving things open ended will bite you in the ass. I've seen it happen. THRICE NOW actually. None of them ever ends pretty... I'd suggest just taking a hiatus before breaking the news. ↪ Take note of everyone you plan with, and contact them. Tell them you are quitting, and open up a conversation on what they can do in your absence to not break their story midway. Just- just keep open communications going? It'll suck then but it'll cover your bases. ↪ Tell your followers. Obviously LMAO. ↪ If you have the balls, ask them to anon message you on what you can do better for next askblog. People will be more upfront when they are hidden in anon, so you will get some nasty comments. If you want to pursue better writing/art/askblog and you can take the heat, try it out. If you CANNOT take the heat, DO NOT DO THIS. Especially when you quit for mental health reasons. ↪ This is just me to you, don't delete your blog, man. Just close your asks and let it up for good time's sake. I can't tell you what to do with your blog, though, but I prefer archived blogs over deleted ones.

. .

7. Last one I promise: HAVE. FUN.

Askblogging isn't a full time job. You do it because it's probably like a lite-comic for you. (me.) Or maybe it's a place to showcase your OCs. (me.) Or maybe it's because you are insane and you just want to yap about stories and humanity and touch that SOUL in everyone and understand complex emotions in niche situations that wrench your guts (also me.)

No matter the answer, have fun. The blog is for you to LARP as your character and interact with others. Find your community, find the people you belong with,

and most importantly: FIND THAT SWEET SPOT OF WHY YOU CREATE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Just have fun. It's your blog, your rules. I am just an old man who likes to see more blogs show up, so whatever your decision is:

Make your own damn fun, okay?

.

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ALRIGHT THATS MY YAP HERES THE TLDR:

The scene is currently dead, but make one anyway. Just don't expect much from it atm. You will start on Highest Difficulty, and I don't blame you if you can't garner interest no matter what you do.

Decide on your type of askblog. This will be your core, so if you lose motivation you still have the core to fall back onto. Why do YOU want to make an askblog? What is it for you?

Askblog isn't easy to run. You have to keep your eye on trends, other blogs' stories (you are invested in) and events. Some things work and some don't. But most importantly: Post a lot, include pictures if can, send asks and interact a lot with others!

Know how to utilize your asks. They are SCARCE. Don't just throw away asks that 'makes no sense' and try to twist it your needs. b. Additionally, learn how to bait asks by feeding your viewers bits and pieces that makes up a big secret/character of your OC. Give them something WORTH asking. c. ADDITIONALLY throw a lot of asks. Send some in character and a LOT in anon. Make some askblog happy. We need asks, after all.

Keep it fresh. Don't let the blog stagnate.

If you don't think it works out, it's ok to Quit or Restart. But please do it with other people in mind. Quit with dignity.

Finally, HAVE FUN. Do what it takes to keep the fun fresh for YOU.

. . .

For communities, I suggest LiLaira's MC discord community just to find people you can vibe with. You can then do your own smaller discord community to yap MCaskblog with, preferably those you are chill with and can rotate ideas with.

Joining here also will give you access to the Tumblr MCaskblog community, which helps with your MCaskblog feed.

(both are currently low activity though, just a heads up.)

I'm sure there are more communities out there that I don't know of. Just research who are behind them and be careful with what you choose!

I myself is in the above MC discord. If you wanna yap OCs with me, I am the kind of bastard who camps in the oc discuss channel, sooo... I guess I'll be waiting! :D

[soulfulazrael]

Stolas and Stella. Shallow conflict that could be so much more. Conflict of two Hells and torment of the immortal.

So... another post that probably will be another long Yap fest of a weirdo who has only the brainpower to make threads on a cartoon. Eh. Could be worse. My drive to make this post was sparked by this one image (or well... two).

Great... Very subtle... Deserves a medal don't you think? Ah well. Today's subject as you can tell from the image presented here is RELATIONSHIPS! Or rather one set of relationships that has been bothering me and inspired me to do better in my own work based on this show. This disaster that is the Stella/Stolas/Octavia dynamic is one huge problem in my eyes and I will explain that below with some thoughts of mine and why this particular image sparked such vitriol in my peanut brain.

I think the biggest and most noticeable problem that can be seen straight away in this one picture and entire show that... it is just so damn simple. Way too simple and 1 dimensional which this show tries to parade as something meaningful and deep. I mean one look at it and you can see all of the problems. Stella is made into a laughing all evil bastard. Octavia FOR SOME REASON is just angry at Stolas and makes a mean face which makes no sense given how they interact. And Stolas is presented as some tragic, deeply hurt figure when he is in fact the architect of most of his own miseries, but the show seems to believe in that horseshait.

And at first one who only has this picture as any sort of context may say that "It's okay. The wife is obviously an evil capital B, but the daughter in this whole equation adds to the complexity and the feeling of that the dad also screwed up heavily".

Except to anyone who actually watched the show this makes no sense because Octavia has literally NO reason to ever side or ignore her mother's stupid and malicious behavior. It's one thing where you want to include a complex dynamic where the sides are more blurred and another where you make one side so obviously WORSE. Not to mention stupid and seemingly unable to hide any of their douchebaggery.

And it's another issue of the show as a whole where it just cannot for the life of it have complex antagonists and most of them are pretty much the same damn archetype. Both shows do that in fact. Because both HH and HB work in the same way. They all have the same kind of snickering abuser who loves to torment their victim and they are about as smart as average Twitter Blue buyer. I mean can you tell me ANY sort of difference between someone like Val, Stella, Crim or Mammon? Any of them? Besides their designs and people they abuse? You probably have to think it through and I think it goes to show how all of them are so damn similar to each other. To the point where they are all almost exactly the same boring character.

And funny thing is? It didn't have to be this way. And this second image feels like more of an insult for two reasons.

Still not perfect, but it's better somewhat And the reason for that is... it feels like actually a bit subtle. You have less cramming in of how terrible Stella is. Octavia being a more oblivious child and Stolas while caring for her being more absent minded. That creates an interesting dynamic and Stella has some air of mystery to her where she can be taken in many directions.

They just chose the absolute dumbest one. And that's why this image makes me mad. It shows they COULD do better, but choose not to and that this art serves no other purpose than just to say STELLA LE BAD. And they have no other agenda with it. No other way to interpret it because of that second stupid one. It narrows and destroys so much potential. Almost as much as that picture of baby Stella from Circus.

And I think another big issue I kind of mentioned before is this parade of complexity. It wants to put on facade of being complex and having something to say, but it really doesn't. It provides a very simple and dumbed down story with clear good and bad side where one side is cartoonishly evil to the point of being moronic while other one is paraded as a victim to end all victims and they put in a dress of sad crying scenes and the daughter being pissed for no reason at clearly good party because the idiotic plot demands it.

And other big issue... Is that this does not explore ANY interesting ideas. No interesting dynamics. No interesting implications or provides any sort of value to the world or explores anything in this world of HELL. Where you can make the world feel wild and interesting and the ways this world shaped those people. The ways those people are broken. The ways you can expand on this conflict beyond the surface level idiocy.

And I want here to present an example of a story rather similar... that did this right. So right it's almost comedic. I am talking about a story of Bloody Baron from Witcher 3 so for all people who did not play this almost 10 year old game (holy shit W3 came out almost 10 years ago... Can you slow down time?) then I must warn you. For the rest who did play or don't care. Enjoy.

Seems appropriate. Bloody Baron questline is probably one of the most impactful, complex and interesting conflicts I've seen in any game. A story of abuse, trauma and pain in a family of Bloody Baron, his wife Anna and daughter Tamara. amazing writing, great voice acting, great characters all that good stuff. But let me tell you why it's so good.

First off. The characters. They are all very well written and are very believable. Bloody Baron especially is a sad mess of a man. An ex veteran, drunkard and abuser who tries to find his wife and their daughter she took with her when she escaped from him after their recent fight. A fact Geralt is not aware of, one of many he and us by extension are not aware of.

This may already sound rather familiar and stay with me because it gets better. What works so well with character of Bloody Baron is that while he is at first a completely unlikeable person that gets worse over time as you discover more filth in his story, he is also extremely human. He is no caricature and you can tell why he became the way he is and you can tell he is full of great regrets and despite his actions still holds a lot of love for both his daughter and wife. He is someone who did terrible things to his family, someone very rash and very brutal, but he is not a total and complete monster. He watched his own other child die partially as a consequence of his own actions. Lost his family. He lost almost everything besides an army of men that couldn't give less of a shit about him and a home in a dreadful swamp full of monsters. His character greatly explores the mind of someone very broken, someone who lost himself to alcohol and ended up making a ton of terrible mistakes and now tries to atone for them. But we also see in flashbacks that he can be also a caring man as he helped Ciri and little girls she saved. He is no less of a terrible person because of it, but it adds humanity to him.

And other two characters in this do not fall far behind as well. Anna especially is also a very broken shell of a person. And despite what one may think she is also not innocent in all of this as she is someone who first cheated on the Baron after he went out to war. Leaving him for some other man as he was putting his life on the line for them (while also falling to alcoholism as well). And when she was confronted about it and when her lover got slaughtered by Baron she broke and started to try to kill him and herself which started the abuse from Baron who only found this to be a good way to calm her down and Anna herself was a clearly traumatized woman who was now in a cage with the Baron.

And in between all of that was a young, very scared child of both. Tamara who saw only the abuse her mother received and felt like it was all her father's fault for everything breaking apart around them and eventually devoting herself to group of Eternal Flame as a way of handling her situation. She still received lots of love from her father, but could never see him as anything less than a monster.

All of them in this scenario... probably feel oddly familiar. And it's funny because in many ways they ARE like Stolas and Stella and Octavia. But roles are somewhat moved and the conflicts feel far more real. Tamara is not for some reason seeing the abuser as lesser evil seemingly. She sees the abuse, but doesn't know a full story much like Geralt or anyone else. Baron in this case is in many ways like Stella. He is someone who abuses their partner and goes into violent rage when they leave them, but unlike Stella you can tell there is this lingering love for his family that further fuels this abuse and brings more pain to everyone while Anna is a broken mess of a woman who cheated on her husband and paid terrible price for it and kept paying as... she sold her upcoming child to terrible witches. Or rather she wished for it to die and for it sold her soul.

And this I think is what makes this story all the stronger. It's not just the tragedy or realism. It's how it ties into the world of Witcher as a whole where we are introduced to some of the most harrowing set pieces of the game and some of the most disturbing villains in the game who also simply act upon their nature as deal makers with Anna and simply know something about Geralt's own daughter Ciri (who they tried to eat). It expands the world and uses it in a meaningful way and pushes more interesting ideas like the side of Anna caring for children at the swamp that are meant to be devoured by witches. Another Hell that ends either with her complete breakdown or death, but also either suicide of the Baron or redemption as he tries to save her and no longer drink or abuse her. While Tamara no matter what has to also face her own consequences of having to forever be tied to Endless Flame, but also putting faith in her father in the good ending and possibly ending with their relationship beginning to heal.

And all of that feels natural. This kind of story definitely can be told anywhere, this kind of story doesn't need this setting, but it further enriches it. And I think another big part of this story I like is that it doesn't try to paint any side as being in the RIGHT. Because in this kind of situation NO PARTY is in the right... And as someone who did went through similar thing... I respect that. And that is why I cannot accept what HB does. In this situation there are no good guys or bad guys... Just people who keep making mistakes (and don't worry, family may be a bit broken, but I still love both my parents no matter how far one may be).

And it is funny because story of Bloody Baron in many ways is how the whole situation with Octavia and her family SHOULD look like. A very harrowing story where there is no place for good or bad sides. Where you have to choose FOR YOURSELF who is more at fault. And the game leaves that decision to you. It does not tell you what to think. It tells you to think. One of the writers who made that whole story said once "I do not like likeable characters. I like interesting characters". And I think that is also where the writing suffers. It tries to paint one side as "likeable", but because of that it removes so much complexity from the character by excusing all of their awful behavior or painting them as ultimate victim. And do not try to tell me also that because Stella is so easy to hate then they are well written. That's not true. Making hateable character is the easiest thing in the world. Just put everything bad in them and make them not like protagonist and oppose them. That's it. It's lazy.

And that also makes me so mad about HB because they were CLOSE to making something good. Not exactly the same as Bloody Baron, but something of it's own that could also be good.

I personally make a fic called "Song for the Quiet Bird". There I partially explore characters of Stolas and Stella and Octavia and I try to paint the entire situation in a more gray light where each side is not truly in the right. Where both of them are in their own ways broken people. And to do so I also try to use something I wish Viv used which is Immortality of Ars Goetia which could have been a thing, but Viv decided to make Stolas like 30 because then you have cute Stolas and Blitzo arts as kids.

In my version both have lived already for 800 years. They lived already for a long time and there is eternity waiting ahead and both cope in their own ways that were taught to them by the world of Hell to not lose themselves to eternity. Stolas is a selfish hedonist who cares the most about his own pleasures and even though he cares for Octavia it is very easy for him to lose himself in his own desires and pleasures as he mostly cares for himself the most and anything that is extension of him. Meanwhile Stella is a cold, distant and very duty focused character. Someone who while trains Octavia for the longest time does not involve herself too much with her own daughter, barely seeing her as one. Someone entirely focused on the prosperity of the family as a whole, someone who does not believe in value of individuality or personal joy and instead focuses on the good of everything else solely. This good being judged by her and her views that value subjugation and order compared to Stolas's love for chaos and selfish freedom.

In this case both sides are very broken. They both have to live through their own Hells made by their own choices that add to the fact they were born into the world of Hell. Neither one can really truly coexist with each other and both long ago abandoned any hope for true understanding. And in all of that the only real victim and good party you can find is Octavia. A person who suffers because of this clash of ideals and has to cope in her own way with suffering both she and her parents go through. All of them suffering.

That's at least how I write it. Something where you cannot pin to one side being terrible or evil. Just everyone being broken in a terrible world you have to fight with to make something better and both in a way... gave up. Until of course Moxxie comes along there for Stella and his presence helps her develop... but that's another thing.

I also have some quotes below from my fic to show my approach to both Stella and Stolas as characters. First one is Stolas and Octavia having a chat in the most recent chapter.

And here below is a scene between Stella and Moxxie where there is some discussion about theatre plays of Hell and difference between human and hellish ones delving into also her own view of the world (this IS a Stella/Moxxie crackship fic... just a big slowburn). From one of the earlier chapters.

Both I think probably show their own deep flaws and ways of coping with their own realities.

Now I don't say I want my ideas to be in the show, but more complex ones. Ones that are not just this... thing we've been fed for all of Season 2 and partially in Season 1 which could have been taken in a better direction, but it never was and just like one image here ruins another, here season 2 retroactively ruins the 1st one. Stella/Stolas/Octavia dynamic just has potential to be so much more than... whatever HB is now.

Well that was stupidly long and I can't imagine many people getting here, but hey. I wrote it and it's already too long to not post it. To whoever came this far I thank you and hope you will leave your opinion on this manifesto. Hope it was entertaining at least.