#art block sucks so that's why I'm pushing for motivation!!

[magical-wishies]

Got over my nervousness! Gijinka Magolor and Sunny Magolor are now in the Magoverse, so they'll be accepting asks!

Okay, maaaybe Gijinka Magolor has caught on to some of my thoughts.

Magolors in panels 5 and 6: (lmk if you're iffy with tagging!)

Dream Circus Magolor- @stardustshimmer

DotS Magolor- @blazingstaro

Mags- @opal-owl-flight

RPG Mage Magolor- @jane-purplelight

Anti- @boa35

Hisui Magolor- @moon-mage

Arcane Magolor- @henaphatine

Eggy Magolor- @otterronpas

Echo and Vhamp Magolor- @pastille-pain

Palace Magolor- @theeclipsedcrown

Sam (Socially Awkward Magolor)- @the-spam-specialist

Electric Whiskers Magolor- @extradimensional-catboy

[what-even-is-thiss]

I would like to request some advice: how do you keep creating smth when it sucks?? I'm at 3/4 completed (chapter-wise) with my latest project and the plot doesn't make sense and the characters don't have defined personalities. I need to just push through so it's at least *done*, but I can't seem to force myself to actually do it since I'm just writing as a hobby. any tips for external motivation?? thanks so much!!

Sometimes your brain needs a little rest. The common narrative around writing is that you should write everyday. But not everyone benefits from this. Every time I’ve tried writing every day for a while I’ve just burnt myself out.

Several years ago I wrote fanfiction. And I was writing short pieces every day for months because I loved getting feedback and I was passionate about the fandom I was writing for. But I burnt myself out on writing fanfiction because of that. I’ve never been able to replicate that type of writing schedule since.

Sometimes you need to look at your precious beloved projects and realize that you’re not helping yourself or your art if you decide to just push through.

There’s a lot of things you can do to help writers block. You can take a few days or weeks off. You can read things you like, things you don’t like, talk with other writers and get inspiration from them. You can start all over. Scrap everything. You can try to write your story backwards. You can try to use the most dangerous writing app to scare yourself into working. You can tell a friend “Hey I’m gonna have a rough draft ready for you by Friday. Hold me accountable to that.”

But if you hate what you’re doing, ask why that is. Ask for some outside help. Get someone you trust to mark up your story with red pen. Do you like this story? Are you actually excited about this idea? Is there a character you can cut? A character you can add? Is this even the story you want to tell with this idea? Would you get a different perspective on this if you sat upside down on the couch for a while and went for a walk?

And most importantly, are you being realistic with yourself? Are you holding yourself to too high of a standard? Are you sticking to a writing routine that worked for you when you were younger but doesn’t work for you anymore? Do you need a snack and a glass of beer? When was the last time you called your mother? Have you been eating your vegetables?

Most of all, don’t beat yourself up about it. Writers block happens to the best of us. Remember to breathe.

[here2bbtstrash]

i've been trying to write but i've had the worst writer's block for literally 3 years now. if you experience it, how do you overcome it?

hi anon! i'm so sorry you're struggling with this, especially for so long 😔 i know how demoralizing it can feel to feel 'stuck', or unhappy with anything you manage to get out. i can't promise that i have all the answers, but here are some different strategies that often help me!

fill the well

i think i stole this term from 'the artist's way' but i can't actually remember if her definition is the same as mine, so. when eye say filling the well, what i mean is: i take a purposeful break from attempting to create content, and i consume. i eat eat eat whatever i can get my hands on. poetry, books, music, movies. i go to an art museum, or go see a live performance of something, if i can!

i find that getting myself out of my own head and fully invested in someone else's creations tends to get my wheels turning. and it's therapeutic, that feeling of discovering some piece of art that speaks to you and reminds you that you're a human. it helps reconnect me to the purpose of why i create, the way i strive to give someone else that same experience by writing stories that i hope people can see themselves reflected back in. seriously - consume stuff! NEW stuff! go out there and find a thing that you love that someone else created.

box yourself in

this is a strategy i had never really tried before until last year, when i was struggling with wicked "i hate everything i write" syndrome, and the love of my life @gimmethatagustd gave me this tip! it's so weird, but it worked for me, so maybe it'll work for you too! they said that as someone who had to write a lot for school, even when they were blocked as fuck, that sometimes they would assign themselves specific rules or prompts for a piece in order to switch things up~

maybe for you, this looks like churning out a few drabbles, and forcing yourself to make them EXACTLY 100 words long. maybe it's writing something only in dialogue (a thing i actually did once when super blocked lmao!). maybe it's trying a new genre, maybe it's trying to write ~in the style~ of someone else, maybe it's writing member POV if that's not something you normally do. maybe it's looking up specific writing prompts/challenges, or playing some weird game with yourself where you try to fit song lyrics into a piece, or make each new sentence start with the last letter of the sentence before it - i don't know! get crazy with it! don't ask me why, but sometimes giving yourself more rules to adhere to makes it easier to write - or just gives your brain something else to focus on, at least 🤪

show up anyway

i hate that sometimes, this is what works, but it's the truth. stephen king has said a lot of things (including many racial slurs lol 🥴) but one of the not-dumb things he's said is along the lines of: "don't wait for the muse. ...your job is to make sure the muse knows where you're going to be every day from nine 'til noon. or seven 'til three. if he does know, i assure you that sooner or later he'll start showing up."

sometimes, writing is showing up, putting down crap, hating it, and doing it anyway. (this might go along with #2 - maybe your drabbles suck! write them anyway!) turning on the tap and running it until all the junk in your pipes gets out and the water runs clear. it sucks! when i'm in a place where that's all i can do, it's the worst feeling in the world! but there have been times where i've found that my "writer's block" was just me wanting things to come easily, like they do in a moment of fresh inspiration. and sometimes, you don't have inspiration. sometimes, you don't even have motivation. you gotta be disciplined and just do it anyway, and just keep shaking your brain like a piggy bank until something good eventually comes out of it.

rest. but like, actually rest

"but m! you just told us to push through and do it anyway!" okay, yeah, well. sometimes that works, but also, brains suck, and sometimes it doesn't work. if none of the above strategies have worked, or i'm stressing myself out so much that i'm like, actively bursting into tears over writing, that's when i know i need to rest.

there's this idea that i actually use a LOT in life - and not even exclusively about writing. when i have a friend who is struggling to get something done, and i ask them "did you rest?" and they tell me they did, i like to fire back: "did you actually rest, or did you spend the entire time feeling guilty about how you weren't doing X thing?"

guilt, as it turns out, is not rest. thinking about how much you wish you were writing is not rest. worrying about how you'll never be able to write anything good ever again... is also not rest! when i know i'm burnt out, i give myself a timeframe - it can be anywhere from 48 hours to several weeks, depending on severity - and i make a promise to myself: for that time, it is ILLEGAL to think about writing, to feel bad about writing, to want to write, or to even so much as TOUCH a word processor. AGAINST THE LAW, YOU HEAR ME?

i force myself to do anything else. if i feel like being creative, i'll pursue non-writing avenues to do so. but if i don't? i'll do fuck all. i'll watch a season of a terrible reality show. i'll take naps on my couch. i'll eat ice cream or do a puzzle or read a book or learn a language or whatever else. but i don't touch my writing, i don't think about my writing and i do not feel bad about my writing, or lack thereof.

usually, by the time my sentence in anti-writing jail is up (the only kind of prison i believe in lmao ✌️) my energy levels feel restored, my outlook is more positive, and i'm chomping at the bit to get back to it, with a renewed sense of appreciation for my work and my ideas. sometimes you just need to take a break, a real break, and that's okay!

accept it

sort of a continuation of my last one - and i know this sounds kinda dire, but i'm saying this with only love: not every season can be a season of harvest. there are some seasons where the ground is frozen, and nothing can grow. we cannot always be making all of the time. some seasons of life are for other things instead. healing, changing, starting over. i went through a years-long period of really wanting to write, but never managing to get words out when i tried. and guess what? it came back to me, eventually. but for a long time, i had to just... not write. and go live my life. and the world kept turning.

banging your head against the wall when it's not coming out won't solve anything. if you've tried it all, and it's still not happening? it might not be your time right now. and you might be doing yourself more harm than good by trying to force what's not, in this moment, meant to be. so deep breaths. chin up. know that it is okay to move on to the next season, and trust that it will come back when the time is right. life is long. nothing is forever, good or bad. there is so much more out there for you. infinite possibilities. i really do believe that!

sorry for the rambling lmao 😓 but hopefully you find some/any of this helpful!!! i'm here for you if you ever wanna talk more about writing struggles, bc i am no stranger to them. i love you! fighting!! 💜

[caspalooza]

2022 Art Summary & Reflection!

A proper blog post, this one! ;D I'll be talking your ear off about my art under the "keep reading" break, if you feel so inclined. Otherwise, please appreciate my 2022 art overview (ooooh. aaaah.)

So! 2022. Oh, 2022. Yeah, this year SUCKED! BIG TIME! Or at least, it sucked in terms of my, ahem, artistic journey (sparkle emoji). Graduating high school and stuff was cool. Anyways, I feel I should be unhappy about my art progress (or lack thereof), and I suppose to a certain extent I am, but at the same time I have a hard time blaming myself for this one. I had so, SO little energy this year, and almost any time I did have energy, I was weighed down by mental blocks, art blocks, creative blocks, you name it. Getting anything finished was very mentally draining, even more so because I wasn't getting any practice, meaning my art abilities weren't quite up to snuff, which discouraged me even more! In the past, whenever I've become discontented with my art, I've liked to do what I call BRUTE FORCING improvement!!! but I just didn't have the energy to do that at ALL this year. My main and possibly only consistent motivator for drawing was my oc, Jesper (this really was the year of Jesper for me, holy jeez!).

But right now, I'm thinking AHEAD! To the FUTURE, BABY! Because I REALLY want to make some progress by the end of 2023. Even though my rendering got a lot better in 2022, I improved pretty much NOT-AT-ALL when it came to the fundamentals. That bothers the HELL out of me and I want that to change next year. I can't describe how it is to SUFFER when I want to render something because it's fun, only to spend hours rendering GARBAGE and looking back at it 5 minutes later and realizing, "Hey wait a minute! That's GARBAGE!"

Lucky me, I'm in a pretty good state of mind about my art right now, and I feel myself fixating on it again (which is pretty good timing since I'm on winter break now). So here are my main improvement goals for 2023:

DRAW MORE and FINISH MORE ART, even if it's SHIT! Which is finally a realistic goal for me since I hate so much of my art that I'm highkey just desensitized to it at this point.

Pay WAY more attention to composition and use of negative space! And not just in color, which for some reason was what I thought negative space exclusively referred to until an embarrassingly short amount of time ago!

Similarly, pay much more attention to pose readability! These poses should be CRYSTAL!

Keep pushing expressions, not just in sketches but FINISHED ART!

And finally, I want to stop worrying so much about making finished art. I want to draw whatever the fuck I want even if that amounts to drawing a guy standing in the void 20 times in a row. If that's what I have energy for, that's what I have energy for! At least it's SOMETHING!

And of course I'd like to improve somewhat with proportions and anatomy and shading and such, but I'm not feeling the urge to focus too strongly on that stuff right now.

My relationship with my art is and has always been that I just want to get it to a point where I don't hate looking at it, because really the only reason I draw is because I either want to vent my love for something and/or because I like looking at my ocs. That's sorta why after improving so much in my first few years of learning to draw humans, I slowed down a ton. It wasn't out of laziness, I was just content, and why would I want to spend all my time and energy practicing when It was already good enough and I could just draw my ocs NOW! I have no professional aspirations for my art. My art's for me first, and I hope it stays that way.

That said, I'm hoping for a lot of changes in general in 2023, some of which aren't strictly related to the visual arts, necessarily! All my ocs and their lore are to be revamped (and some are in the process of it already) to recapture their original vibe which I have missed oh-so-much. I don't want to rush myself with that process, but once the ocs are all set and the basic lore is all set I would love to try making some short comics about them. I don't know if that'll happen this coming year, but it's something i'd like to work towards. I had actually already started working on a comic and had the first few pages thumbnailed before I realized I really, really didn't like the way some of my ocs were characterized. Like, I'm not suggesting they were PROBLEMATIC or something, they just didn't feel right. Like they weren't quite themselves anymore, and I had lost their essence. Also, it was probably a bit too ambitious for a first comic project, anyways. All's that to say, I've an interesting path in front of me! I hope to make some cool stuff this coming year, a healthy mix of epithet erased fan art and original content! And who KNOWS what other fandoms will destroy my life along the way!

[ripspaghet]

STUPID CUPID | 01

↳ series m.list | 00 | 01 | ongoing

→ pairing: jimin x reader

→ word count: 3,309

Prologue Summary; You and Jimin have been neighbors since you were four years old and hated each other ever since. It isn't until the two of you head off to college that fate, or rather, a certain baby with wings, decides its time to teach the two of you a lesson.

→ warnings/genre: bodyswap au, enemies to lovers, slight smut, eventual smut, slow burn

</3

It's not always in the dead of the night, or the middle of a downpour, that the people we love decide to leave us.

A splash of yellow paints across the canvas of a blue sky, wings fluttering against a cool breeze. Curious little things - butterflies that is - the way they flutter about and land on anything colored brightly, your windowsill for example.

The people we love often leave during ordinary days, just like this one.

Holding your breath you inch the tip of your index finger towards it. Of course, you know butterflies aren't meant to be touched. Though, what four year old is going to pass up something as pretty as this? As you itch closer it startles, but not from you. An abrupt slam of a door shakes your walls and you turn a cheek to the retreating insect. You stare at your bedroom door. Pushing yourself off the windowsill, you make your way over, feet brushing against the carpet floor, and out the door.

"How could you!" Another slam ricochets through the house and you flinch back, nearly retreating to your room, "How dare you!"

After that moment in life, you were no longer the type of person to let serendipity rule you - so, it's only natural that you ignore it when it falls into your lap - turn and walk away as if it'd never been there, to begin with.

A week before the Switch

It hadn't been long since the sun peeked out from the horizon, but the warm body next to you is what stirs you awake, limbs stretching and contorting. Going against your better judgment you let a heavy lid peek open, only to snap it shut again. 

"I saw that." An arm snakes around your shoulder and pulls you into a toned chest, his sun-kissed skin warm against yours.

"Then you should apologize for waking me up." You try wiggling out of his hold, but he follows you, nose nudging the crook of your neck while his slender fingers press into your hip bone. 

"Stay."

You sit up, "Let go," Pushing the blankets from your sweaty skin you realize you wouldn't be getting any more sleep with him beside you - the literal sun himself. 

His sleepy gaze follows you as you move towards your dresser drawers, "Come back. I'm sorry for waking you."

It takes only one glance to determine his motives, almond-shaped eyes flickering up and down your bare skin. He lays on his side, an elbow propping up his head, fingers combing through dark messy hair. You can't help but let your gaze wander down over the thin cotton sheets draped across his lower half. A smile ticks up the edge of your lips. More often than not, this guy has a way of forcing you to convey urges you push down. It's one of his many endearing qualities that annoy the living hell out of you.

"Come here."

Rolling your eyes you push your drawer shut again and make your way back to the bed. As soon as you slide back into his reach his hands are on you, tugging you to his lap as he rolls over. He looks up at you - eyes lowering to your exposed chest then waist, where his hands begin to wander up. When he reaches the swell of your breasts his fingertips graze along the supple skin, eliciting a sharp intake of air from you, "Say it."

Your eyes flutter open, annoyance coming full force, "That's a little cliché, don't you th-" His thumb and forefingers clamp down on your nipples and a submissive whine falls from your lips. 

"I said, " He hisses, lips pressing against your sternum, "say it."

You let out a sigh, "Hoseok, "

A satisfied smile lights up his face and he releases you, letting his hands fall to your thighs, "Good girl,"

You snort, trying to distract from your flushed cheeks, "What are you getting at?" You nudge the fingers that caress you, "Don't tell me you want more this early in the-"

"I do," He leans in, speaking between slow and teasing kisses that he places along your neck, "but," He sighs, "I do need to ask you something first."

"Ask me what?" You pull away.

"Ah, " He groans, "won't you let me soften you up first?" Hoseok has always been like this, avoidant of serious topics and more than active during the sexual or unimportant ones.

"No."

His eyes shift away from yours, finding your pastel sheets more interesting, "I don't want to ruin this."

"Oh, yeah?" You begin to pull away from him again, only his grip on you tightens.

"Alright," He hums, snaking his arms around your waist, "will you be mine then?"

You freeze against him, staring with wide, unmoving eyes, "Excuse me?" 

"I know, but I care about you. I even-"

"No." You shove his arms off to crawl out of the bed.

"You don't have to say it back. We can just-"

"No, we can't just. We had a deal. You were supposed to tell me if you ever developed feelings. I'm not the slightest bit interested in a relationship, or you for that matter."

He rolls his eyes as you put your clothes on, "I've always had feelings for you. I only said I didn't so I'd have a chance."

You freeze, turning to look back at him as he sits up, "Seriously?"

"I'm in love with you ____." He smiles as if he's just said the simplest thing in the world. Like it's easy for him to just give away everything he is to someone else - someone like you no less. A person who couldn't give a rat's ass for his so-called feelings.

You let out a dry laugh and turn towards the bathroom, "Love, huh?"

"Give me a chance to prove it and I'll have you falling for me in a week."

"I have no interest in love, Hoseok."

Hoseok clicks his tongue, "So cold, you won't even budge an inch?"

"What is it with men and not knowing what the word no means?" You pick up your toothbrush only to feel hands smooth over your hips and enclose you in a pair of strong arms. Where your skin meets him, a flame blooms, though you choose to ignore it to instead squeeze toothpaste onto your brush.

"Say you'll think about it."

You turn around to face him, your chest touching his, "If I say that, will you get out?"

He nods with satisfaction.

You place your toothbrush in your mouth and push him away from you, "I'll think about it."

"Good, " He smiles, "I'll be going overseas to visit my sister this weekend. By the time I get back, you'll have decided. Right?" 

"Sure," You feign interest and begin brushing your teeth.

"'Think about it', as if." You scoff, "I've told him a thousand times over that I'm not interested. After this, we're done. I've already blocked him."

"I mean, I can't blame the guy. You've been going at it for over a year now."

"Jin," You grab the finger his pointing at you accusingly, "he knows next to nothing about me."

He hums, taking his hand back, and passing you a paper bag that's filled with your favorite breakfast pastry, "I just saying, maybe you should give him an actual chance this time."

"Why?" You raise an eyebrow as you take the bag from him, "So he can prove me right?"

"You haven't been in a real relationship since high school. You can't act like you know what it's gonna be like."

"How much different can relationships be now? They're nothing but trouble. I fail to see how that can change just because I'm older." You furrow your brow while picking at your food.

"Relationships aren't trouble, they're work. You're just too lazy and cold hearted to see that."

You groan and take a drink from your coffee, "Whatever, as if you'd understand. You fall in love with everything with a pulse."

He nods at you, unashamed, "Love is the seasoning of life - to live without it is to be dead."

"You're so melodramatic."

"Alright, change of subject. I've been hearing whispers from people." Jin smiles brightly at you.

"Oh? And what's that? More gossip?"

"Gossip?" He scoffs, "I'll have you know that this is top-quality news I'm gathering day to day and I ought to be running an article for this school."

"Tch, " You take a bite out of your breakfast, willing yourself to ignore your elder.

"Anyway," He huffs dramatically, "as I was saying, this Valentine's Day there's going to be a big party at the Jjang house-"

"There's always a big party at Jjang."

He narrows his eyes at you, "If you'd let me finish I was going to say, they're making it so that everyone who shows up has to wear red and a mask, or you're not allowed in."

You swallow your food and cough, nearly choking, "Huh?"

"Yup, they finally got sick of all the hate the art department dishes out on them."

"Can you blame us?" The booth cushion dips beside you and you turn to see another one of your friends now leaning over you to steal a piece of your breakfast, "My grandmother could throw a better party than those guys and she's dead."

Jin chokes on his drink, "Jungkook! Your poor grandmother!"

You snort, "Hey, Kookie."

Jungkook gives you a goofy smile as he chews before turning back to Jin, "My grandma is alive and well, Hyung. It's only a metaphor."

"A metaphor?" Jin sputters, "Do you even know what a metaphor is?"

Jungkook shrugs and smiles when you pass him a bag of donut-holes, "Not exactly."

"I think what he said can be implied as a metaphor."

Jin's eyes cut over to you, "Yeah, well, you're as much of an idiot as he is, if not more so." A sack of donuts slaps against your chest and you catch it before it falls into your lap, "You two need to go before you're late to that practice again."

"Alright, but before that how'd it go with that girl Yuna?"

Jin's eyes snap back in your direction as he sucks in a sharp breath of air, only to choke on the egg sandwich he'd been chewing. Coughing profusely, he lets out a croak, "What the hell?"

You bite your lip to keep from laughing, watching as your friend wipes the egg off his face, which is more than you can say for Jungkook. He's cackling so hard that people in the cafe are starting to turn their heads.

"Honestly, I bought you both breakfast and now you're harassing me in public," Jin grumbles under his breath.

After a bit more "harassment" you and Jungkook leave Jin to head to your practice. As strange as it is for an art major you've had an obsession with sports since you could remember. So, you joined one of the few sports teams available at your university your freshman year. You also convinced Jungkook to join alongside you. Convincing him wasn't that difficult either, seeing as both of you are extremely competitive. All it took was a bit of taunting.

"Early as always you two." A hand pats your shoulder and you laugh nervously.

"Sorry, Irene."

"Whatever," She drops her sarcastic tone, replacing it with a cheerful laugh, "just hurry up and get changed. I swear you do on purpose."

You turn to look at her,"Do what?"

She glances at Jungkook, who's already left you behind to get changed, "Oh, nothing." She pats your shoulder again with what you might call a forced smile, "I wouldn't want things to be awkward."

You raise a brow as Irene leaves you be to start warm-ups, "Okay?"

Irene is the team captain and a good friend of yours. It's hard not to be her friend when she's so easy to get along with, although you've shared a few weird moments with her that suggests something to do with Jungkook. You've suspected for a while now that she may have a crush on your best friend, but being unsure you refuse to help her or get involved in any way. Jungkook hates when you meddle with his love life, which you learned from experience when you tried to set him up with a girl in your anatomy class. Long story short, Kookie was forced to turn that girl down and was upset with you for a week about it. Ever since you've refused to help any of the girls that have approached you to get to him.

Once in the dressing room, you quickly change clothes and lace up your shoes after tying your hair up.

Love just isn't something you should involve yourself with. Whether it's for yourself or your friends. Who knows, maybe bad luck with love runs in the family.

You leave the dressing room and approach where Jungkook waits for you on the court, "Warm ups?"

"Yeah," He nods, "Irene wants us to catch up with the others. So, she's probably going to give us more to do once everyone is finished. Let's get this done as fast as possible."

"Alright, full speed ahead." You playfully bounce on your toes a few times before making your way to the other side of the net across from Jungkook as he tosses the volleyball from hand to hand, "Show me what you got, virgin."

He laughs, "I think you have the wrong idea about me."

"Then you shouldn't have a problem proving it, right?"

"Just ask your sister."

"I don't have a-"

"Wait nine months."

"Huh?"

With that Jungkook tosses the ball up and jumps for it, landing a harsh slap on it that sends it hurtling through the air toward you - only, you're caught off guard when someone suddenly shouts at you and your head whips around. The ball slams into your chest, knocking the wind out of you with a dramatic 'oof'. And stood there, at the entrance of the gym, is a group of dance majors that you can't stop yourself from scowling at. Especially, when you notice him silently avoiding your eyes at the center of the group.

The one on his left laughs, having seen you land firmly on your ass, "Did you both see that?"

"Glad we came in late today. We could've missed it, right, Jimin?" The other nudges him.

He hums in response but doesn't look in your direction, just continues toward the dance studio.

Sixteen Years Before the Switch

"She's pretty isn't she, Jimin?"

The boy shifts his gaze before hiding behind his mother's leg.

"Why don't you go play? I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"Can I?"

She nods with an encouraging smile, "She won't bite."

Jimin was only five at the time, you four and typically, when two children are neighbors they become friends, sometimes best friends for that matter, but that just wasn't the case with you and Jimin.

"Hi, I'm Jimin. Me, my mommy, and daddy live next door."

You didn't respond, just continued playing with your blue toy truck, quietly ignoring the boy next to you.

"I like the color of your truck."

You glanced over your shoulder at him, only to quickly look away again when you met his eyes. His presence was making you nervous, you only wanted him to go away. But, he didn't take your rushed gaze as a sign to give up and go away, if anything it only made him think to try harder and that's when he reached for your hand, "Let be friends-"

"Leave me alone!"

Sure, you didn't necessarily bite him, as his mother had suggested, but you sure as hell pushed him away and ran. Admittedly, it wasn't Jimin's fault. Moving to Busan had been the beginning of the end for you. Your Mom hoped that maybe Jimin and you would hit it off. After so much change in your lives, she wanted at least you to be happy, even if she wasn't. Though, the similar interest in sports and sweets made no difference. The bickering never ended between Jimin and you. Coaches were forced to put one of you on the bench, while the other played, or someone was getting hurt. If your families ever had dinner together, you fought over dessert.

"You'll only get hurt."

"Me being a girl makes no difference in my abilities to plow you into the ground, Jimin!" You throw the soccer ball at his face, landing a satisfying thwack.

You think Jimin grew to hate you for it. Not that it mattered at the time, since you disliked him first.

"But that's the last piece, Momma."

"Jimin is our guest ____. Don't be rude."

"But-"

"No buts."

You glared at Jimin across the table, wishing your legs were long enough to kick him from where you sat.

The older you got, the worse it became.

"What did you say?"

Your teammate scowls back at you, "I said, you're a girl and outta act like one."

"And who are you to say what a girl outta act like?" You shove him into the lockers just behind him and he yelps in surprise.

"Hey," 

You pause, head-turning to the left where the entrance to the hallway is.

"Don't you think you're being a bit reckless?"

Stepping back from your teammate, you sigh, "Great, just what I need."

Jimin has always been the popular type, loved by everyone for acting like someone he isn't. That's probably what annoyed you the most about him when you got older, he was never himself. He always lied about what he thought or how he felt to please others while acting completely different when no one else was around.

"Leave him alone and go to class, ____."

"Or what?" You laugh dryly, "You're talking as if I'm bullying this guy when he's the one who-"

"Didn't you hear me? Are you deaf?"

Your glare sharpens, "Oh, I heard you, Park."

Long story short, that was the first time you'd ever been suspended. Your mother was pissed, to say the least, and you quit the soccer team that year.

A week before the Switch

Jimin eyes you from the entrance of the gym, expressionless as his friends cut up on either side of him. You can't help the scowl that contorts your face, nor the tension that builds up in your shoulders. It's been a few months since you've seen him on campus and you'd almost forgotten about him, until now.

"You alright?"

You take Jungkook's hand and stand back up, "Fine." You dust off your bottom with a sigh. Another thing, none of your friends know about Jimin. Seeing as he is someone you wish you never knew, it makes sense that you avoid even the subject of him like the pledge.

"Let's start over, you hit this time." Jungkook passes you the ball then turns to head back under the net.

With a solid nod, you force yourself to relax, putting all your tension into your fingertips that now grip the ball.

Jimin just so happens to also have a love for the arts, which has lead to the two of you attending the same university - him being a dance major and you, art. Luckily, you rarely see each other since dance majors normally reside on the opposite side of campus. On the off chance, you do see him it's always because of volleyball practice or one of his friends, who just so happens to be an art major.

"____, earth to ____?"

"Sorry," You toss the ball up and slam your hand against it, sending it through the air and over the net.

"Nice," Jungkook bumps the ball back to you. You run for it, the feeling of eyes following you.

You have a sinking feeling that something super annoying is in the works.

.

.

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To be tagged send an ask🏹💌

[le-wendigogo]

Hey, I'm trying to get used to doing art again and was wondering if there were any methods of becoming more confident with what you create/ overcoming art block. Love your art btw!

Hey thanks! Actually, to be quite honest, i struggle with confidence as well. I don’t think there’s a single artist that doesn’t, even to a small degree. 

Now some people would say things like “don’t compare yourself to other artists” and, fact of the matter is, that’s impossible. BUT there is nothing really wrong with comparing yourself especially if you do what I try to do. I’ll compare my art to other fannibal artists for example and think “What is my art lacking? How can I fix the proportions? How can I get better at backgrounds? What can I do to make my line art better?” and I seek out the answers in other art that I like because that is how we grow as artists. I do not seek to replicate, but I want my style to evolve based off of what I’ve learned. There are still many things I need to work on, but compared to my earliest art on this blog I feel I have come a very long way.

I would recommend watching youtube tutorials. Not only are they informative, but they also give insight into another’s perspective and often times you’ll find someone who you can relate with. It showed me that there are others who share my issues with art and they’re about to show me ways to overcome and improve.

I wish I could find all the vids I have seen, but this vid is a part of a playlist and I found it to be very useful. It has a long intro, but even the intro was worth it because he breaks down some concepts verbally before actually showing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ufz75UvHs&list=WL&index=5&t=61s

(Also, don’t seek out speedpaints hoping to learn from them because you won’t learn much. They’re good entertainment and that’s about it.)

As far as coming out of an art block goes, there’s no solid answer for that in my opinion because we’re all different. For me, Hannibal brought me out from my years-long art rut and now drawing is all i ever want to do above having a social life and all else.

Do some self-assessments. Ask yourself why you chose to create art in the first place? Was it for the simple fact that you love it? Do you do it to cope with something? Do you do it to seek out popularity? What was your muse before? Ask yourself these kinds of things because sometimes we get into art blocks because we lose sight of why we do what we do. 

We sometimes feel that our art is insignificant compared to others because it may not get all the attention we feel it deserves and so we sometimes ask ourselves, “What’s the point?” I ask myself that from time to time, but I just remind myself of positive things. I may not be popular with a huge base of fans like some other artists, but there are some people who like what I do and honestly that is good enough for me. It uplifts me knowing that even a couple of people like what I do. I have my set of insecurities I constantly battle with (my close mutuals can attest to that), but I just simply remind myself of the positives. 

If you’re ever asking yourself “why does no one care about my art no matter what I do?” Don’t give up so soon. Nothing happens over night with art. Go back to what I mentioned before. Look at the art from artists you look up to. Try and break down what you think they did to achieve it. Surround yourself with what inspires you whether it be other art, anime, music, movies, architecture, flowers, etc. I know it can be hard to find the motivation, but once you finally push yourself and say “I’M GOING TO DO THIS” and actually do the thing, then you’ll find it’s quite easy to get sucked into it.

Finally I just want to close this long ass post off to say that as long as you put your heart into it, then it isn’t bad art. Some people may be more proficient at certain techniques, but no artist is really better than another. If you ever feel discouraged, try and remind yourself of the positives. Sometimes ranting to a friend can help. Don’t have anyone to rant to? I’ll listen. Idk if this answer will help you at all, but I’m hoping that it at least somewhat points you in the right direction.