#art has to be fit to their personal subject preferences of what is pretty to look at

[mariathechosen1]

Do y’all remember when there were tons of 25 minute long ‘art critique’ videos on youtube entirely dedicated to telling unwilling tumblr users that their art was objectively bad because they gave their characters body hair?

…what the fuck was that all about?

[colleendoran]

I was curious how you manage to keep features consistent when you draw them? Do you use models? Is there a model for Crowley? He is very handsome.

I don't use models per se, but I sometimes keep files of photos or art that resembles the subject.

Crowley is based a bit on the French actor Alain Delon who was once considered the handsomest man in the world. He doesn't look exactly like Delon, but that is in my head when I draw him. I recall reading Neil and Mr. Pratchett once considered Peter Sellers for Crowley.

There is no reference for Aziraphale because he is entirely in my head and I can't really find anyone who looks exactly the way he does. I recall reading that Neil and Mr. Pratchett thought of Brian Dennehy at one point, but my head canon Aziraphale won. I think a Brian Dennehy Aziraphale would have been amazing, though. Anyway, he is actually kind of hard for me to draw because his facial structure is a bit outside my usual style. His face is a bit long and his eyes closer together than I normally do, and if I'm not careful, he slips away. He appears younger and more classically handsome as an angel than he does in his corporeal form, but I think he's quite fetching as a bookseller.

Michael Sheen is so perfect in this role it is really hard not to leak bits of his performance into the graphic novel edition, but I have to resist the impulse. I am not allowed to use any of the show actors as models.

I adore Michael Sheen. Who doesn't?

Adam is also a head canon character. He is a perfect young Greek God, so that's kind of drawing on a day with a Y in it for me.

The inspiration for Newt I'm keeping a secret. I submitted a number of sketches for Newt. The show Newt dug in deep and I had a hard time shaking him off.

The Them are based on kids I knew. They're in my head, I don't need any photos. They don't really look like the kinds in the show. The book version of Pepper, for example, is a freckled red-head.

Anathema is an amalgam of features that don't come from one person, which I think fits the description of the character. She's also unusual for me to draw but she's easier to draw than Aziraphale. I nail her every time.

Hastur is a caricature of the stereotypical English upper class you'd see in broadsheets 200 years ago. I have a file of pictures of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury for Hastur. I considered making Hastur more handsome in a Duke of Hell sort of way, but I think Hastur likes to be scary. I keep thinking of Peter O'Toole when I draw Hastur, too.

I feel kind of bad basing Hastur on Lord Ashley because he was a wonderful person and I'm sure he didn't go to Hell.

Ligur is a broad caricature of Danny Devito. I obviously can't use a DeVito portrait. That would be wrong. But I can tweak from there and come up with a general idea of the face I want to use.

Beelzebub and Metatron are head canon, and don't look a thing like they do in the show. I postulate some demons prefer to look like their angelic selves, and at other times prefer to be fearsome. Crowley can look fearsome when he wants, for example. In the book, Beelzebub appears as a young man in red flames.

Shadwell was drawn from reference at the direct suggestion of Neil.

Madame Tracy is based on a certain person, but no one you would have heard of. The original source might not be flattered, but I love Madam Tracy. She's really easy to draw because she's a bit over the top. I'm sketching around her scenes right now because I don't have final approval on some things yet. So she might need some changes later.

War is head canon, very easy to draw. She's a knockout. No reference required.

Famine looks a lot like Famine in the show, actually, but that's what Famine always looked like, pretty much. Except he has the grey eyes he has in the book.

Pollution is initially described as being a forgettable white guy, but later described as looking like a romantic poet, which strikes me as being memorable. Because he's only on one page in his forgettable white guy phase, I chose not to make major changes in his appearance between those panels and later when he appears as his true self, because that's a bit more confusing than it needs to be in the graphic novel edition. He's rather glamorous as the essence of Pollution, though. No reference needed.

Dog is a dog.

While I do give every detail a lot of thought, I am sure other people have other opinions. I understand that, and hope you enjoy what I do anyway.

Thanks for your question.

I'm still a bit under the weather, so may be stepping away from the net for awhile so I can concentrate on work. I have a lot of sick time to make up.

But don't think I don't appreciate your interest in the Good Omens graphic novel adaptation. Your wonderful support is acting on me like a tonic, let me tell you.

[ruinofchimera]

Finally, someone had the guts to address this absurd circus around so-called ‘ugly’ characters in books. And look—I’m only human, so of course, I’m going to toss in a few logs of my own into this dumpster fire.

What I can’t—will not—ever stomach is the sheer audacity of some people to dictate how others should imagine characters. The nerve. It’s as if they’re so puffed up with their own sense of importance, so absolutely convinced that their view of the world is the gospel truth, that they feel entitled to impose it on everyone else. Well, let me save you some time—you’ll get nothing from me but a resounding ‘bloody sod off.’ Maybe try therapy if you’ve got that much pent-up energy.

The fandom debates on the matter of attractiveness—dear God, they’re relentless. The second a character’s ‘ugliness’ is even hinted at, the discourse spirals into some surreal parody of itself. And when it comes to Severus Snape, well, that’s where people have really outdone themselves. That’s where the madness truly reaches its peak. You’ve got one half of the fandom—rabid ATYD fanboys and fangirls, mostly—ready to pounce on any art or fancast that doesn’t fit their atrocious vision of Snape with the chant, ‘THIS IS TOO PRETTY TO BE SNAPE!’ And then you’ve got the other half of the fandom who take it upon themselves to issue a rallying cry for ugliness, as if they’re campaigning for some higher cause. ‘Don’t be afraid to picture Severus as ugly as he truly is. I prefer him that way,’ they say, as if they’re handing out some kind of badge of moral superiority for embracing ugliness.

Well, hold on a second—define ‘ugly’ for me, would you? While you’re at it, define ‘pretty.’ I’d love to see you try to box up something as subjective as human attraction into neat little labels. What do you mean he isn’t beautiful? Do you think there’s some universal truth about what constitutes beauty? Have you ever heard of this tiny thing called tastes?

Because here’s the reality: tastes vary. What’s pretty to one person is ugly to the next. Yet, somehow, these people have convinced themselves that conventional beauty is the only standard worth recognizing. It’s almost as if they’ve been so brainwashed by mainstream standards that they can’t comprehend any other version of reality.

And even when you do talk about conventional beauty, do you really think everyone’s swooning over the same faces? Take Ben Barnes, for example—an actor practically deified by parts of the internet. Do you think he’s universally adored? Brace yourself—because he’s not. There are people out there who think Barnes, despite all his fanfare, has a nose far too ugly for anyone’s liking. And guess what? That’s fine. Because beauty is subjective. It always has been; it always will be.

Yet, in fandoms, you’d think some people were personally appointed to enforce these ridiculous beauty standards, insisting that everyone must imagine the characters the only right way. Let me let you in on a secret: just because a narrator calls a character ‘ugly’ doesn’t mean jack. Writers, same as anyone else, have their own bloody preferences. Sure, they can project those tastes onto the page, but at the end of the day, it’s just that—tastes. Nothing more.

Now, take Snape. What do we actually know about his so-called ugliness? A large, hooked nose. That’s it. And from that, you want people to conjure up some grotesque, monstrous image? Give me a bloody break. Who even gets to decide what’s ‘large’ and what’s not when it comes to appearance? It’s subjective, like everything else in beauty. You like a nose that’s straight and button-sized, or maybe you prefer someone who’s practically noseless, like Voldemort? Well, good for you. I’m not here to judge. But do me a favor—keep your pristine, perfectly upturned little nose and your narrow standards of beauty out of my business.

And here’s the funny thing—the absolute hysteria over Snape’s greasy hair. You’d think the guy walked out of a swamp the way people go on about it. But guess what? There are plenty of characters with greasy hair that fans are practically wetting themselves over. Need an example? Loki Laufeyson. That’s right—the Loki. The man’s got exactly the kind of lanky, greasy hair that should, by your standards, render him disgusting. Yet, somehow, there’s a whole legion of fans swooning over him like he’s some fallen god of beauty. Suddenly, greasy hair is mysterious and sexy.

Let’s not forget—Loki is played by none other than Tom Hiddleston, whose appearance is hardly what you’d call ‘conventional.’ He’s not some pretty boy with chiseled features, and yet, there’s no shortage of people who are ready to kneel at the sight of him. So, what happened there? Where’s all the hand-wringing over his greasy locks? Oh, that’s right—there isn’t any. How inconvenient for you and your narrow-minded standards of beauty. It’s almost as if your little squeaks about ugliness are soaked in nothing but shallow, prejudiced nonsense.

Beauty isn’t about ticking off boxes on some checklist of features society has deemed acceptable. It’s personal, subjective, and as varied as human taste. If all you can get behind is some cookie-cutter version of aesthetics, then by all means, live your bland little life. But don’t you dare try to impose that on the rest of us. You don’t get to dictate how others picture characters, just like you don’t get to decide what’s ugly. Beauty’s a wild, unpredictable thing—and it’s about time people stopped trying to cage it with their narrow ideas of what it should be.

[dailycharacteroption]

Leshy Caller (Summoner Archetype)

(art by AlectorFencer on DeviantArt)

I’ve said this before on the blog, but despite some lamenting them not being very mythos-accurate, I do love the leshies of Pathfinder, just cute little guys created by nature spirits inhabiting cultivated plant bodies. What they lack in overall power they make up in their unique abilities and impeccable designs. (and hey, if you prefer a more traditional “green nature man”, the Green Men monsters are also called Leshy Kings, being connected to them lore-wise. It’s a win-win!)

Leshies got pretty popular though, with not just archetypes related to them, but even expanding the concept of vine leshies into a much more robust and diverse ancestry in Second Edition. (and First if you use my homebrew alternate heritages).

But on the subject of leshy-themed archetypes, we’ve covered a few here and there, but now it’s time to tap into leshies through the lens of the summoner class!

Indeed, these so-called Leshy Callers bond with an eidolon that takes a leshy-like form. This eidolon might be part of an extremely powerful nature spirit, a smaller, more individual spirit, or something else. Either way, they sport-a plantlike form and a generally leshy-like personality.

Such a bond can happen many different ways, just like other eidolons, but the goals of such beings, and presumably that of their summoners, differ a bit, even from wild caller summoners that conjure their own plant-like eidolons.

On a side note, it’s worth mentioning how one can justify how 2e summoners can vary in casting traditions with archetypes like these, though admittedly mechanically they still are arcane casters.

In any case, this archetype offers plenty of planty fun with a leshy twist!

As mentioned above, the eidolons of these summoners are composed of extraplanar plant matter and a natural animating spirit, making them very similar to plants, particularly for unchained summoners.

Their base forms, however, are based on various form of leshy, ranging from cactus,conifer, fungus, leaf, and seaweed, having mostly the core set of forms from the original introduction with the exception of gourd leshy.

Don’t think that leaves the summoner left out, however. Instead of extraplanar monster, they learn to summon natural ones instead, and add several leshies to their list of summons!

While the archetype itself is rather simple, the leshy eidolons can be quite fun and useful, especially when upgraded with evolutions! Aside from having a less utility-driven set of summons, however, there’s not much mechanically that sets them apart from other summoners, so build them as you see fit!

Two important things to remember about these summoners and their eidolons is that while they may not have the exact same powers as their counterparts, these are still the same sort of nature spirits as normal leshies, albeit with extraplanar bodies and a bond with their summoner. With that in mind, try looking up info on leshies of that type and see what resonates when coming up with their persona. The other thing is that while they are leshies, their bodies are much larger and stronger, built for more direct combat over the typically debilitations, stealth, and trickery of their kin, which also might affect their characterization.

Finally, the base forms for the leshy eidolons are actually super simple, so feel free to use them as a template for homebrewing your own to get the other leshy types available, as well as potentially completely unique ones.

Ten years ago, Vana of Woodstone held the guardian of her village, a leshy named Quickening Seed, in her arms as they succumbed to their wounds. Since that day, she has trained to become such a guardian herself, the human developing the magic to summon forth leshies to aid her. Sometimes, she thinks she even feels Quickening’s presence in her eidolon as well.

They say that the Garden of the Ancients is a hidden valley, one where strange creatures such as wolpertingers and other curious beings both benign and dangerous can be found. It is said that nature spirits are born there, and the locals learn to summon them forth when their need is great, and they do, especially when strangers come looking for plunder and lost secrets.

Splitriver the Leshy Gardener bears his title with pride, the brambly-old leshy having watched over and cultivated the creation of more of his kind for generations. Though he doesn’t often take fleshy students, those that do can learn a lot about bridging the gap between the arcane and the primal, as well as how to summon his kind to fight.

[toadsong]

BEASTIE ADOPTS - PT 1

Since I'm sick and out of work for a bit, I decided to make some adopts. I've been working hard on these for a few weeks, so enjoy! Pricing + availability below the cut!

What is an adoptable?

An adopt is a pre-designed character that I create, and you can buy to be able be able to use and claim as your own character. You can use it for pretty much whatever you want, as long as you follow the rules below!

INFO + RULES:

Once you buy the adopts, they’re yours. You’re welcome to redesign, alter, give away and/or trade as you see fit. The only thing I don’t allow is reselling for a higher price (same or below is fine).

You’re welcome to use them for any setting that you please! Headworlds, writing, video games, go nuts.

The placeholder names, personality, and info are just.. placeholder/concepts! You can name them whatever you want, give them any pronouns, personality, lore, whatever! I won’t feel bad lol

Once I receive payment, I’ll send you a full size, transparent, unwatermarked image of your adopt!

I can hold them for up to a week!

If one is on hold, you can still message and ask to be next in line if whatever they’re being held for doesn’t work out.

AVAILABILITY + PRICING:

Base price for each adopt is currently $60 USD, however, you can check out some discounts at the bottom! They're numbered left to right.

"OIL ON THE WATER" - OPEN

"ORION" - OPEN

"JAWBREAKER" - OPEN

"DEEP HUNGER" - OPEN

"FISHBOWL" - OPEN

"LOST TO THORNS" - OPEN

DISCOUNTS + DEALS

Yeah, we know this is what you’re here for!  I’m going to offer several discounts and deals, which are subject to change, and may or may not pop in and out! This is my first time trying some of this.

COMMISSION BUNDLE If you buy a character from me, you can also get a get a commission of that character for 25% off to come with it! This only applies once, and has to be worked out around the time of purchasing the character. You choose the type of commission you’d like! Commission info is here.

PASSION DISCOUNT If you do a piece of fanwork for one of these characters- come up with extensive lore, a piece of art, a piece of writing, etc- and I can tell you actually put some effort and passion into it, then you can get them for 30% off… making them $42! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy and I’m not going to judge you by how ‘good’ your work is- again, it’s only judged by passion for the character. If I can tell you genuinely enjoyed it and had fun and will love the character you get (instead of having them simply sit on a dusty shelf or resold, etc), you get the discount! If you’re worried about the work taking a while but you want to wait until it’s done to buy them, no worries! I can hold a character for up to a week for you.

BONUS LORE If you wanna shell out an extra $5, I can help come up with something much more fleshed out as far as lore/backstory goes! Names, backstory, personality, all the bells and whistles. I can also work with you to fit it into any preexisting lore or characters you might want them to be worked with! Once again, you’re welcome to change any of this- but I’ll work with ya on it to make sure it’s something you like!

TRADES I’m a bit iffy on art trades or character trades, but I’m not going to say they’re out of the question. You’re welcome to ask!

If you're interested, you can message me here on tumblr. We can discuss here, or move to discord if you'd prefer!

[illarian-rambling]

Character Introduction: Mashal, lucky number six

For a moment, Mashal wondered if a brief spring rain had passed overhead, turning the leaf litter glistening and wet. It wasn’t until the light from his eyes hit the shimmering ground that he realized all the moisture was red.

Strewn about in a fiendish halo were the remains of the two bandits. A hand here, a face there—less than mincemeat, really. He could see a leg crushed in the exact approximation of his jointed grip. Mashal felt as if vomit should have been flooding his mouth, but his only reaction was the faint whir of gears. Guts dripped from the trees…. Iron in his mouth….

“Mashal!”

The robot whirled toward the sound of Astra’s voice, heady and rich even when strained by terror. There was a prickling pressure around his eyes, though he didn’t know why.

“I–” He paused, trying to wipe the dirt from where it clogged his vocal output, but the joints of his hands were caked in a slurry of bone and gristle, trapping them in closed fists. That cold was back now, trapping him in its suffocating embrace. “I’m over here!”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Mashal regretted them. He was dangerous! He could still feel that icy voice slavering away in the back of his mind. Kill her, run, hide, anything, do whatever it takes!

Yet, words could not be unsaid. Faint it might have been, but Astra picked up on his voice and soon the witch pushed her way into the glade-turned-abattoir. Her piebald face was shadowed with fear and speckled with a bloody constellation of its own. It was her eyes though, that made Mashal take a step back, that made his excuse for a heart crumple in like tin foil. Because reflected in them was a shining devil, bathed in gore. Riveted and rusting, like some mechanical horror that had torn its way out of a man’s skin.

The sensation crept back in—the ice, the pain. I shouldn’t be feeling pain. The acid-needle ache in his arms and legs, his everything. It wasn’t a malfunction. Nothing ever is, ever was. Mashal felt sick as he looked down at his trapped hand. Hands that couldn’t be his.

No, no, the sensation was worse, so much worse. It was a memory.

So, I'm going to do this introduction a little backwards. Mashal's backstory contains some pretty big spoilers for the whole of Mystery of the Mortal God. Feel free to keep reading if you don't mind things like that, but you've been warned. The backstory will be at the very end.

I'll start with his personality. Mashal has no memories beyond waking up in Astra's wagon, so many of his quirks and habits are a mystery to him. He's a kindly, honorable man, with a strong sense of what's right and wrong, and a desire to protect people. Yet, he's not brash in the slightest. He's soft-spoken and appreciates even the smallest beauties in life. Probably, this is connected to his stellar artistic abilities. He enjoys listening to stories, hoping to one day be able to tell stories of his own.

Darker things lurk in his mind as well. It frightens him, how paranoid he can sometimes be around magic and its practitioners. It can also be alarming how certain he is in his morality. Mashal makes decisions based on what he knows to be right, sometimes to the detriment of those around him, especially when he doesn't understand the whole situation.

As for what he looks like, Mashal is a human-shaped robot standing at a towering 6'10". His face has some basic mobility (he can move his eyebrows, eyelids, and the corners of his mouth) but nothing special. His plating is bronze with steel underneath, and his eyes glow white. He wears loose-fitting, highly concealing clothes and a bandana over his head. These are usually patched, because he tears clothes easily. He covers as much bronze as he can due to a strange sort of robotic body dysmorphia.

Fun facts now!:

He's great with animals, especially horses, though no horse could support his weight for riding.

Graphite is his preferred medium, and landscapes are his preferred subject for art.

Despite his anxiety around it, Mashal is actually getting pretty good at picking up runes and mechanics.

He speaks Skysheerian Elvish and has no idea why.

He hates the rain because he's scared of rust and frightened of the sea because he knows he'll sink to the bottom with no way to get back up.

He has a bit of a stutter when he's nervous and his voice tends to go a little static-filled.

He's very curious about Unitian-made robots who were raised around other robots.

His hypothetical favorite food is honey. He just likes the way it looks.

He once scratched the paint job on Astra's wagon, painted it back in the night, and never told her. This is the one time he's ever lied to her and he feels terrible about it.

He teaches Mercher's Day (a fat tortoiseshell cat) tricks when Astra is asleep.

Now's where we get into the meat of things. Spoilers will follow.

Sir Mashal Darezsho was born in the Sulu'Okan city of Bouerco as the second son of the noble Darezsho line. With his older brother taking care of the whole heir thing, young Sir Darezsho was allowed to do as he pleased. Most thought he would go the path of the scholar due to his modest sorcerous talent, however, the young man was enraptured by the sword from the moment he was allowed to hold one. When he was sixteen, he enrolled in officer training for the Sulu'Okan army, the fiercest fighting force within the Republic's grander military. When he was twenty, he was knighted by High Lady Zuli N'Jogu herself.

Sir Darezsho served his people by protecting the roads between Sulu'Oku and Skolan with both sword and sorcery. The borderlands is a crime-ridden area, so he had his work cut out for him between bandits and selkie raiders. Thanks to the efforts of him and his company of fellow knights though, the borderlands became a marginally safer place to travel through. He ensured that they all upheld the Sulu'Okan military code of honor to the utmost degree.

Things changed with Sir Darezsho when he accepted a small assignment in the border town of Bekridge. An alchemical distillery had been experiencing a string of thefts and wanted someone to investigate. Thinking the job would involve scaring off a petty thief at most, Sir Darezsho went to stake the place out alone. This mistake would cost him his life.

That night, a door appeared from thin air and a figure stepped out, a half-moon grin glowing from under a shadowed cowl. Sir Darezsho tried to fight, but he was no match for the powerful sorcerer. Vermir spirited him away into her demiplane. And there was where Sir Darezsho died.

Mashal wakes up some time after this. All he knows is his name and that he is lost. And that his metal body feels so terrible cold. He just wishes he knew why....

Hope you all enjoy my sweetheart robot! Lmk if you have any questions. Next up will be blueboy, Ivander Montane!

@amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks @bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast @goldxdarkness @the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Ok, I'm finally writing this, the Ezra and Huaisang connection, aka how I came to feel some kind of connection to this gremlin. I can't tell when that exact moment happened and by that time I had finished the donghua and started on both the novel and web series. In general, I tend to get attached to characters similar to myself, but me and Huaisang doesn't share that much, the biggest difference being him fine with seen as useless and frivolous, while I'm the exact opposite, terrified of being seen as useless, lazy and good-for-nothing. He's also considerably more social than I am. I also tend to rp more "hero-like" characters and although Huaisang isn't a villain, imo, he's definitely not a hero either (the first mdzs character I thought of rping was actually LXC). So what made me steer out from my comfort zone?

Well, we aren't completely different, Huaisang and I, but I'm not going to go into details about that. I'm just going to write about main things that made me love this lazy, cunning, lovable gremlin. This might end up being a bit rambling and it will be very personal. Might end up being long too. I will probably not re-read it, so if it ends up sounding weird or grammatical errors and whatnot, sorry about that. And yes, most of it will be about me since I need to explain shit for anyone to get it.

I was born during a blizzard, it was -40C at the time, this was all a rather unlucky sign since children born during storms are said to bring chaos. Therefore, my parents... ok, I'm kidding. Well, not really, I was born during those conditions and tradition says that will bring chaos, but it has nothing to do with what I'm about to write, I was just thinking about how to start and this popped up. Sorry, sorry.

Let's try again. For as long as I can remember, I've always had a love for art and beauty. I used drawings to communicate before i could properly speak (which I have no memories of). I always loved to draw, but also appreciated others' art, including crafts, sculptures and so on. As a very young child, I could randomly start crying because I found things so beautiful, which also included music and the sounds of words. During early childhood tests, my parents were always told I seemed gifted, if not particularly sociable and communicative. I was a sensitive child, who cried easily and frustrated easily. A child that was either constantly moving or could sit for hours staring, who froze in the middle of things and just daydreamed (I'm still guilty of this) or who could just flop down and take a nap whenever. My three main interest as a child was: drawing, reading (in which ancient China ended up being a favourite subject xD ) and walking around in the forest where I lived watching nature and animals, especially birds (we had several different bird houses, since both my parents are nature lovers as well). This all sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? And it was, at first.

I was repeatedly told off for being too sensitive (funny enough, I was also told off for not emoting enough, all this is still a mystery to me), for not being attentive and sociable enough, for being lazy, for being too chatty (but also too quiet, once again this weird thing where I'm still not sure where the limit goes). Hearing this and other things enough times and you start to realise you're wrong and I started to do my best to change. This was also when I realised that people prefer too little over too much, so even if I couldn't grasp what was emotional enough or chatty enough, if I kept myself stoic and quiet (even when I wanted to and could speak), that was more acceptable than me "overreacting" and "never shutting up". I was still an outsider though, something I would always be and still am. No matter how much I've tried to fit in. At least I still had my interests. For now.

As I grew older and things like job and career starting to creep into my life (around the age of 12, since that's when they start asking you about high school and by then you need to know if you want to study a theoretical or practical program and also what kind of that you want, you can't mix and match subject in the way you do in the US, for example) and I had no answers to what I wanted to do. All I know I liked, and wanted to do, was read, write and draw. I was repeatedly told that's not a career and I should stop with those fancies and not waste my intelligence on "aesthetics" (by this time, I had been in three class plays with fairly prominent roles in all three and I started in the church choir at the age of 8). Hearing this over and over, as well as being severely bullied (by both students and teachers), I basically stopped drawing and at 16, I quit the church choir too, saying I needed to focus on my studies, in reality, I had begun to develop pretty bad anxiety (this all culminated in my early twenties when I basically shut myself in in my flat, it's gotten better since, but I still struggle to talk to strangers or show anything I've created out of fear of rejection and ridicule as well as me being extremely sensitive to criticism. And yes, I do miss the acting and the singing sometimes, especially the singing, I've always loved that too). And yes, I did not choose the "art program" in high school, I went to the "social science program - focus: environment, humans and society" (a mix of science and social science). To keep things short, I eventually got my current diagnoses and began drawing again, which helped. I still don't do it as much as I should. I also still don't allow myself the rest my brain seems to need. I do allow myself to cry when needed when I'm alone now. To make it even shorter, I started to try and find my "true self" again. This included being honest about my transmasculine gender identity. And then it came again. The negativity. How I couldn't be things because "real men" aren't this and that way again. Scared of being unaccepted, I once again hardened myself. Now it also included stop wearing nail polish and getting a more traditional masculine appearance and just generally removing anything "feminine" with how I looked or acted: no emotions, no crying, no softness. Hell no. I just wanted people to believe me when I said I'm not a woman. Since that was it. I wasn't, isn't, a woman, but I'm also not a man and not until I moved her to the UK did I find out that you can be neither and still also be masculine (I'm not going to go into details about my gender identity here, feel free to ask if you want to, but to quickly specify it, I'm a transmasc agender).

Anyway, this is where Huaisang enters. Here is this fictional guy where many of my bad traits and many does dislike him for them, but he doesn't give a shit about that. He is unapologetically himself, and as much as Mingjue complains about him, I think we all know he indulged his didi, making him feel loved for who he is for most of the time. And not only is Huaisang unapologetically himself, he prides himself for his artistic interests, his sensitivity, his uselessness and laziness. My mind made a 360 at that and then... once I realised, I cried. I'm admitting that. Why did this fictional character get to be what I weren't allowed to be? He's even a (cis) male! Outrageous! Yes, I admit that too, I got angry and jealous at a fictional character. It went over quickly. Instead I started to love him and also realise that if someone could come up with a character with these traits that were loved and had friends and so on, then maybe, just maybe, I'm not completely wrong and broken?

Huaisang has partly helped me to try and start taking steps to find who I am now. I'm working on growing out my hair, I've bought nail polish again (only used black so far, but I have a lovely pale mother-of-pearl pink next to me I want to use) and I want to wear beautiful clothes again (still needs to be comfy though), even if I haven't dared checking out the women's section yet (since the men's one are boring and we all know it), but at least the will is there now. I'm trying to get back to drawing and painting more again, but that's also effort since it requires me to take things out and put it away each time. I've returned to some bird watching though.

Huaisang might not be the best fictional role-model you can have, but I think I needed him, still does, he makes his gremlin comments to me sometimes (obviously, I know this is me talking to me). He definitely drives me insane at times (I'm too much of an "Orderly Lan" to him), but it's worth it. The true charmer he is, he managed to even charm me into stepping out of my boundaries, both as myself and for the type of muses I usually portray.

Now, where can I find a real life Mingjue for myself? xD

[ailesswhumptober]

Hello! I'd like to participate in this event, but I've never written whump before! Perhaps not while intending to! What do I need to make sure to include and what's optional?

That's awesome that you've decided to start, welcome! It's great to have you ^^. We have a lot of new people this year so don't worry, you're not alone. So whump is a pretty vast genre, it can cover a lot of ground, and there isn't really a check list of "do's" or "don'ts". It's really just what fits your story or your art best for you! Whump isn't super simple to explain, since it is somewhat subjective, but one way to put it is extreme hurt/comfort (sometimes without the comfort) with a lot of focus on the hurt. A lot of people also focus heavy on the recovery afterwards, and some people feel that it's mandatory to really show the hurt to make it whump, but that's mostly your prerogative and your comfort level, especially if it's your first time. Just remember to have fun! You can also do OC's or fandom, it doesn't matter, and that can also help you with what you want to do. How would this character react to a situation in which they're injured? What if they've been captured with no chance of escape, and the person they've been captured for isn't known for mercy? What if your character has been poisoned or fallen ill, and is too scared to speak out about it? It's all about putting characters in situations and seeing how they react, where the story takes them, and sometimes how they struggle to survive even after it's all gone down. In terms of the event itself, all you need to include it the tag #ailesswhumptober, and include one(or more, depending on your preference!) of the prompts ^^ Happy Whumping, I hope you have a great first time! >Mod Radio

[absideoncollective]

The Absideon Collective's Braindump

Hi we're a system of 6 people and a secret other person™ who goes by the Absideon Collective, Seraph(im) et al.

We use both singular and plural pronouns to talk about ourselves so it may get confusing whoops. I'm bodily an adult, with the collective pronouns being They/It/He in order of preference, I have italian nationality and have lived here all my life (but moving abroad pretty soon) and I am inclusive of all good-faith identities. I'm pretty sure there's a name for that but I don't know it.

More under the cut

About the System

Some introspection has lead to the conclusion that the endogenic label fits us better, so we're using that. We are an endogenic system despite the fact that we do indeed have trauma. Yes that's a thing. And to be slightly more clear, it's mostly about the origins of one person in the system who's pretty much considered the first split and if they split because of trauma or just because. If we were to count everyone's origins and see if we have more endogenic or traumagenic members, we'd still be endogenic.

There are currently 7 people in my head (I will update this if this number changes). We are very stable and don't usually get new people for any reason. I find it really interesting that we have no introjects of any kind (to my knowledge) and I have been told we are monoconscious. The definition of that whole category of terms seems very vague but eh, what can you do.

Boundaries

Anyone can interact. I don't think DNIs work so we don't have one. If someone who believes I don't exist wants to interact with me I'd rather tell them about the massive cognitive dissonance that it would be talking to me and leave them alone. If you're here in bad faith I can't stop you but I can block you or ignore you which is enough for me!

Intros

Apparently names are fine with everyone so here goes

Khoi :: Hii I'm Khoi I use They/It pronouns. I enjoy coding, drawing (I don't do it anymore though </3) and psychology. I also have a newfound love for writing thesis-like documents for various subjects, namely trauma/dissociation and now also speculative history centered around norse culture and religion?? Oh and I'm a norse heathen - I may talk about that in here. That's about it though.

Var :: (waiting on him to front to write it)

Callahan :: im callahan, im 18, i use he/them pronouns and i dont use tumblr much. I draw and like doing art projects from time to time, the most recent being designing some pngtubers. I can also code and im making my own website and stuff. Thats it

Ash :: (waiting on them to front to write it)

Marcus :: (waiting on him to front to write it)

And that's it have a nice day!

[koalammas]

Tagged by @rochastocade

1. Are you named after anyone?

Not that I know of. Had i been amab, mom would have named me after the man she believed should have been her soulmate (but wasn't my dad). They met in Italy while she was interrailing and her wristwatch died when he introduced himself. (His name was Alex)

2. When was the last time you cried?

Around and after April 19, after hearing the news of Moon Bin's passing.

3. Do you have kids?

No, but I would love to have someday. I'm just not in a situation where it would be wise for me to raise a child, I feel.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

No, that's not really my speed.

5. What is the first thing you notice about a person?

Outfit and overall expression of self. The manner in which they treat me. (I mostly meet customers. You can tell instantly which ones are nice)

6. What’s your eye color?

Green. The type of annoying green that ya authors wax poetic abt lol you know what I mean

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

These two are not mutually exclusive. A satisfying ending is more important, but I would prefer if its also a happy one. I'm trying to watch more scary things.

8. Any special talents?

I can pop most of my joints. I love organising and categorising things for myself and for others. It's pretty difficult to deter me.

9. Where were you born?

Ivalo, northern Finland. I have not lived there since I was a toddler

10. What are your hobbies?

Gardening, bullet journaling, digital drawing. Tabletop rpgs (starfinder and dnd, we used to play pathfinder). Reading and trying to be more active in watching different movies. Id love to say video games but ive only really played The Sims 4 and Acnh lately. Running when the weather allows it.

11. Do you have any pets?

Not anymore, but I used to have an older gentleman miniature poodle who was too tall to actually fit the miniature category. I love him dearly. One day I would like to get another dog, probably another poodle. I love how particular they are about things.

12. What sports do you/have you played?

I used to compete in swimming until I started high school. I've also danced a wide variety of genres from ages 7 to 19, and attended a couple of national competitions for modern dance. I had to quit because my joints got too fucked up and I fell out of friendship with my back then bestie. Now I just run and do home youtube workouts because I don't like going to the gym.

13. How tall are you?

161 cm ish I think? Which is like... 5'3 or sth

14. Favourite subject in school?

I've always loved languages, and had incredibly supportive teachers both in finnish and English as a foreign language. Swedish as well, but I never quite clicked with those teachers on the same level hence why my Swedish is more ..so-so. Art obv. Honestly? Everything else except for maths, physics and chemistry I found enjoyable. Oh and .. social economics? Probably would have liked the subject but I hated the teacher. Aside from those, learning new things has always been a joy.

15. Dream job?

Honestly? Something that won't drain me and actually leaves me with savings and a will to live.

Bonus: any significance to your blog's name: its the finnish version of my main blog's url, koalamb. Literally just a mashup of two fun little guys who are both known to be .. not the smartest cookies out there.

Tagging @varsbaby @moviestarmijoo @zeesqueere @seekingthestars @sapphicshawol @alexanderfuckingwept @phoradendron if you're up for it, but honestly if you see this and want to do it you can say I tagged you xoxo. Feel free to ignore, but I'd love to learn more abt mine moots

[fahrenheit-aqua]

Ratings + Insights on the Kaiju Paradise gootraxian redesigns

So the 3.1R update came out and gave me a bunch of furries to brainrot about. And as an enjoyer of Furry Character Design myself, I felt like reviewing most if not all of them.

Know that these are all personal opinions and art is, as always, subjective and disagreeing is okay!

anyways....

KAIJU

Originally a pretty good design. Average "gozilla-esque" look, the redesign is essentially a polishing so it fits more with the newer gootraxians. Looks cute, looks cool, still looks iconic. 10/10

CATTE

Once again, just a polishing of the original design, I like the whiskers, they're cute! Though I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of the washed out colors, and the bucket standing straight on their head. The one ear sticking out was cute. 8/10

FED

A design polish. Which is the treatment that the whole Wolf Quartet as I like to call them got. Well at least now I know that they're wolves. Still a pretty plain design, though the eyes look cool. 5/10

FIG

Can't get more "just a polish" than that. Fig is a pretty anecdotal gootraxian in itself... The texturing of the fur is a nice addition. 10/10

GHOSTFOX

At first I thought it didn't really need the polishing treatment. Until I got another look at its render and yeah, lol. Their face looks weirdly elongated, and the tails have become wispy, likely to emphasize the 'ghostly' look. Though I very much preferred the old fuzzy tails that emphasized the death by electrocution. But I guess it's one or the other.... 6/10

GLUBBY

Formerly known as Feizao, as it's more of a replacement than a redesign (because I'm including them too. Why not?)

Aside from the obvious design having to derive completely from the original, I feel like Glubby is cute and interesting! But it is dragged back completely by how poorly it translates to the 3D roblox models, making it look.... ugly. Unfortunately. 5/10

HAZZY

A really good redesign, holy shit!! I used to really dislike Hazzy because of how plain it looked and it was a pain to unlock it. But the buff not only made it grow on me a bit, the redesign made it actually top tier to me haha...

The hazmat suit patterns, stitches, fucked up and evil attitude are all incredible additions. 11/10

TOXIC RABBIT

A gootraxian that was in dire, dire need of a redesign holy shit lmao. Well it certainly looks more like a rabbit now, but once again, why the desaturated colors...? There's also not much of the evil gremlin energy is used to have. 5/10

SPRINKLEKIT

I started playing Kaiju Paradise, honestly, kind of late... So I didn't exactly experience Conekat firsthand. What I can say from what I see.... Sprinklekit is so much more superior, sorry Conekat fans.

Though I've heard Conekat could merge and have 3 heads so... points goes to them. I do like the sprinklekit variants though, strawberry is my favorite. 10/10

SLIMEPUP

Ah yes, the slimepup. Simple but effective and cute design, the lime color is actually my favorite! The floppy ears definitely makes it look more like a pup. Its artwork is reeally cute! buuuuuut, the design really doesn't translate well to roblox models, unfortunately.... 6/10

SLIMEHOUND

The slimehound looked super cool in artwork.

3D model had me disgusted.

2/10

SHORK

A very plain design that desperately needed an upgrade. And that is a good upgrade indeed! It's still shork, but at least it's not... boring. 10/10

SHADE

Another one of the wolf quartet. Shade is a little cooler than Fed to me. Its redesign is pretty good, it has its own color coding now! Congrats on losing your achromatic palette, Shade! 10/10

PLANTIX

Just a polish, and a very straightforward one too. The new tail looks really cute, I could play as plantix just to look at the flowers on it. 10/10

MOCHA

Mochi is. Very forgettable to my eyes, sorry Mochi fans...

The redesign makes it look more goat-like, I like goats. Oh, and the fur pattern resembling latte art is a really neat touch. Now I know it's a coffee dragon! Mochi/Mocha is boring to me, but it's undeniably a good design. 10/10

LEMONSHORK

Congrats on her transition!

More seriously, I think all the shorks have had the best redesigns haha. I always liked lemonshork design-wise, but the redesign actually looks like it smells and tastes like lemon. True advertising! 11/10

MANIC

Carneline was... my favorite gootraxian among them all. Its design was cute, effective and unique, its color palette was really good and balanced. I understood it being cut from the game so I wanted to welcome Manic with open arms.

But the design just... didn't translate well. It's also so... Monochromatic, so much redder. And the eyes have a busy design. The cyan sclera with fuschia irises is a simplistic yet perfect design. The purple fur contrasting with the red crystals was real neat too.

Manic doesn't look bad, it's just... not as good as Carneline.

....At least Manic's hot in its concept artwork... 2/10

DAGODA

Just like with Glubby, gotta push the drama aside. I really like raptors so there's bias there... People think Dagoda's ugly, I personally really like it! It's no Fashui (one of my old favorites), but it's no big downgrade either.

Although I wish it at least had a few glowing features, given it's a power outage/blackout gootraxian, and that's what made them special. The little lightbulb tail on Fashui is what made it cute...

7/10

MELONSHORK

Okay, I said all the shorks had the best redesigns... BUT.

Melon shork has... the opposite problem of toxic rabbit!

Why are the colors so saturated??? It looks closer to an actual watermelon, but it just looks... not that great. The pastel colors were much nicer. Maybe some thicker, more abundant stripes would make it more melon-y? I don't know...

4/10

PSEUDOSHORK

Now THAT is a redesign I fell in love with instant-fucking-ly. This might actually be the best redesign, if not just my favorite!

From a plain pink shork to this absolute murder gremlin, who bleeds gatorade and laughs at death. The asymmetrical fangs are a really cool touch too.

Top tier/10 Would make this my fursona.

HEBI

Okay, I respect Carneline and Panther's creator to have stepped down and dissociated from the whole concept but daaaamn why were those designs so good...

Panther was peak, unfiltered edginess that was still somehow cool.

And just like with Manic, my issue is the eyes... Hebi doesn't look like a shadow-lurking predator, but more like... a goth clown. Don't get me wrong, it's a really good design on its own! But compare it to Panther?... Man, I miss being edgy.

5/10

BUCK

Why is it red?

Why did they make it red?

It's a blackout gootraxian, not power outage. Why is it fucking red?

??/10

JAMMER

Ooooh the blackout wolves... They have been done dirty. The new patterns and fur colors look nice but Jammer looks too... silly. Too cute... I miss the cool attitude it had! And the outline glow really doesn't look nice either. It feels out of place, it doesn't feel like the Jammer is actually glowing!

no VIP variant can salvage this.

0/10

NIGHTSHADE

I don't have much to say about this. It's just like Jammer. The blackout wolves were done dirty. At least Nightshade kept its original vibe. 2/10

NUCLEAR RABBIT

Absolutely nasty. And I mean it as a compliment. That rabbit will give me every disease and call me a slur. 10/10

SINOX

I didn't have a big opinion on Sinox until I actually saw it in a blackout ingame. And thought "omg it's fucking gorgeous!"

The back is super sparkly, on top of the particles it sheds. Sinox has been given so much more personality, and really went all the way with its concept! That being... a glowstick in a rave. 11/10

WISP

Same creator as Carneline and Panther, and somehow the original design is so.... bland and uninspired. How? That shork doesn't feel very "lantern" to me. On top of looking quite plain.

Wisp brings justice to that idea. This shork is indeed lantern!! Also I really dig the bones. Is it see-through flesh? Is it just not there? Who knows! This design bangs

10/10

[enthblaze]

Good morning (or afternoon or evening or whatever but for me it's morning), here is an incoherent list of facts about Roselyn Althea Jones because I feel like gushing about her (list is subject to be added to):

- One of her go-to vocal stims is Baby Girl. The only way you are safe from being called Baby Girl by her is if you make it explicitly clear that you are uncomfortable with it.

- She is a Barbie girlie first and a person second. One of her most treasured childhood memories is finding a handwritten note from Barbie herself on top of the DVD cases with her most beloved Barbie movies, Princess and the Pauper (aka the Best Barbie Movie Ever) and Magic of the Pegasus (Barbie Comfort Movie number 1 of 4), with brand new DVDs inside because the old ones got so worn out they no longer played.

- She doesn't know what the fuck her gender is outside of the concept of pink.

- Her pronouns are she/her and pink/pinks! She usually uses she, but somedays prefers pink.

- She cried the first time she played Undertale. The first time the line "Despite everything, it's still you" came on screen, she had to physically put the controller down and put her head in her hands.

- She enjoys experimenting with eye makeup! She has yet to find a foundation that doesn't set off her sensory issues, let alone contour or concealer, so she's stuck with elaborate eyeshadow and eye art, which she's cool with.

- In a similar vein, she hates the feeling of Casey's facepaint. There's a super sick selfie of Rose and Casey with Casey's facepaint on, Rose's facepaint was photoshopped on. She despises the feeling of it, she can't even look at the containers for too long.

- She's autistic, and got diagnosed at fifteen.

- Pink owns several different pairs of rollerskates because they look pretty. Pink's better on rollerskates than pink is on the ice.

- She hates being cold.

- In addition to being a Barbie girlie, she's also an MCYT girlie! Her favorite youtubers are Shubble, LDShadowlady, and Markiplier.

- She is astoundingly good at learning languages.

- Pinks hair is long and curly and pink adores taking care of it. Seeing pinks curls be pretty and healthy makes pink happy stim from just a glance in a mirror.

- She jumpscares so. easily.

- She gets bitey, sometimes. Like she'll see a stray finger and the impulsive thoughts will win and she'll go *chomp*. *bite*. *attaka* even.

- *Slaps roof of car except its Rose and I accidentally knock her headphones off her head* This baby can hold So Much Rage In Her.

- Her brain is playing music At All Times and if she doesn't like the music her brain is providing her, she will blast different music through her headphones. It might be loud enough to give her hearing damage later down the line, but if she can't feel it rumbling through her bones than what the fuck is the point?

- Somehow, she has gotten several girls at school to crush on her without even trying. She has no idea how, and it drives Casey insane.

- When pinks emotions get really overwhelming, pinks magic will have what pinks family calls 'fits," in that she will inadvertently make things start to float and glow or pinks big emotion will literally be emanating off her.

- She hates eye contact.

- She and Casey have stupid nicknames for each other; Casey calls her Freckles, Rose calls him Bandana.

- Her most common nickname is either Rose or Ro.

- She once threatened to stab her brother if he made her fuck up her eyeliner.

- Pink and Casey have an elaborate handshake that ends with them bonking their heads together.

- Pink can do a *killer* winged eyeliner, but she has to use eyeliner pencils directly on her skin cause liquid eyeliner squicks her out, but she can handle liquid eyeliner *overtop* of pencil eyeliner.

- She once hotwired a motorcycle and stole it from the Purple Dragons, that thing has become her pride and joy and she keeps her stolen prize at her dad's mechanic shop because he's teaching her how to take care of it.

- Rose and Casey are known to unceremoniously and unexpectedly smacking the shit out of each other with pillows. The Cain Instinct is. So strong with these two.

- Casey is her favorite person.

- Despite what her grades may say, she does actually enjoy learning new things.

- Her best classes are dance, choir, and whatever language class she's taking (she's working on her third language credit).

- "You can't handle the uber instincts of my uber autism. Observe." *fails to flirt with her autistic crush*. /ref

- Her vocal range is fucking *insane*, she can go up to whistle notes and down to low tenor. Bass is where she has to draw the line tho :/

She's so baby girl, I love her sm <3

Also!! Food for thought!! What would Giovanni think of Rose? 👀 Or, whats your favorite little fact (or facts) about Vanni?

stop...if i didnt already love Rose before- THEN I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HER NOW

omg SHES AN LDSHADOWLADY STAN?? QUEEN SHIT !!! LOVE HER FOR THAT

AND AUTISTIC??? pink and i are the same fr fr,,,like how did u make it possible to make a charactee so lovable?? i will give my life for pink

oh i am gladly taking all this info and shelving it for later, i love little details about characters, they make me so happie

as for Vanni...he's more so curious about her as to wary. Rose, i think, would intrigue him, but i think they'd be quite good friends

i will say tho, i think Van would be a bit intimidated at first lmao but then he'd find her pretty fun and honestly? they'd be a chaotic duo

Van doesn't often break out of his responsible "eldest brother" role but Rose would deffo get him to loosen up a little

AND FAVE FACT!!!

Van is semi-verbal !!! (projecting onto my boy fr) as he grew up, he got better at handling it and now often appears to communicate pretty well, but there's days where speaking is a little too hard and communicating comes to a standstill

as tots, the boys and Splinter learnt sign language to help Van during those days, and during the farmhouse arc, it became a common form of communication bcs Leo had to rest his throat as well

Casey & April also learnt sign language, simply bcs it would make their lives so much easier, and also bcs whispering during missions wasn't always the best way to go about things. being silent was an important part of being a ninja, after all

[mercykatze]

Hey there, I have some questions about selling zines in Australia? I apologise if it’s rude to ask about stuff like business, but I simply can’t find this info anywhere, so please forgive me.

How much do you stock per convention? Does it depend on where you’re selling? Do people buy original works? How did you start, how was that experience? How hard is it, as a beginner seller in Brisbane, to find venues to sell? How do you print your zines, at home or with a service?

Many thanks if you do answer, if not no worries. :-)

Not rude at all, I'm happy to answer!! Clove and I are big advocates of Zines For Everyone so the more people who have this info, the better!!

Clove and I both wrote out our answers so I'll put them under the cut here because they got pretty long! We are Passionate abt zines <3

For new zines at cons, it depends a lot on the content of that particular zine as to how much we print. Like with our old art compilation zines for example, that's a popular 'genre' right now so we printed about 12 of each. For something more obscure/niche like cloves MediZine, we printed about 5 from memory. If the zine sells well or even if people just seem to like it (even if they don't buy) we try to up the number a little or keep it steady at 12-15. Even if it doesn't sell super well, we still try to keep 3 or 4 in stock because you never know when you'll find the right person for it.

At least at the locations we sell at, there isn't a huge difference that I've noticed when it comes to zine sales. At cons there are zine hunters who hit up anyone who sells zines and we end up trading almost as many as we sell! Same goes for the nonbinary festivals that we've attended.

Original stuff absolutely sells and in my experience often sells better than fandom. People who are into zines are usually into supporting original works from artists too. Honestly as long as the zine is something you're passionate about, no matter the subject, someone will love it.

We make and print all of our zines at home. A lot of the time we use Electric Zine Maker which is a really helpful and easy to use tool and it prints guidelines on how to cut and fold which makes it super simple. And once you know the basics of zine making, it's also super easy to make one in your preferred art program and convert it to the right dimensions.

I skipped the venues question because clove is writing up an answer too and has more experience in that particular place than I (Jay) do. (I kinda just stole a seat at their goldnova table one year and never left haha) I'll post eir response down here vv

sorry I have A LOT TO SAY because I love zines and I love talking about what goes into selling merch !! there really isn't a lot of info out there about it, so this is basically a general summary of all of my thoughts on the matter. I tried to hit all of the points in your question, but this can act as a general guide as well for anyone who wants to get into making and selling zines.

first off I want to say YES people buy original works !! people will buy Any merch you have if they can see that you have passion into it, and zines are one of the most passion filled things out there. zines also help boost the sales of everything you're selling, as when you explain the zine and your passion to them, they will want to buy more things to support you. zines and original works are also a good option to have for people who want to support you, but aren't into any of your fandoms.

location and event are really big factors yes and there's no one size fits all. I usually print around 6-12 of each zine, but this is with the expectation of giving out a lot of them for free or in trades. zines also aren't our biggest item so it might be different if that's all you're selling.

for selling in general, I jumped straight into the deep end and started selling at the biggest con in the city when I had just turned 17. I did not make all my money back but it was a blast. I wouldn't recommend this as a business tactic but it sure was a fun experience!!

as for selling zines in particular, I started off by overthinking it all which I do NOT recommend and is the antithesis of zines. a lot of fandom zines these days are high production which is brilliant but puts a lot of pressure on a medium that started off being low budget and fun. the most important thing about zines is to have fun and make stupid shit. of course you will also want to make gems and you will, but don't let that stop you from making a zine that's just a list of things you saw on a walk once. people will buy it and they will love it.

we print at home for most of our zines. they will come out janky, that is okay!! I've looked into some professional printing services for some larger projects, and I have been recommended the site mixam for that, but I never went through with it for whatever reason. if your home printer isn't that good, officeworks has cheap self served printing. but honestly a simple Canon ink jet printer is under $100 and if you buy ink refill packs online (check out inkstation) it pays for itself. I would also recommend downloading the program electric zine maker as another tool in your pocket for making some quick and easy and super fun zines, especially for 8-folds.

honestly we only have experience selling at the larger and harder to get into venues, since we both work full time so can only afford to do 2 or 3 big weekends a year rather than lots of little ones. I would recommend joining a Facebook group for local merch artists as people often share events and their application dates there. the community is very kind in general in Brisbane so don't be afraid to reach out and ask the hosts of smaller venues. even if you don't get in you will learn something for next time

zines are also special in the way that they're often used for sharing ideas on top of just selling. I would recommend next time you go to a con or art event to bring some of your own zines and offer trades to anyone whose zine you like. I always make it clear that I'm equally happy to pay to purchase one of their zines so they don't feel pressured, but I find that about 70% of artists are happy to trade. this helps get your name out there and to build strong connections in the community

I hope some of this helped. I hope to see you at the next event we sell at with some zines to trade :) whether or not you're officially selling there!!

[fresh-buttered-bread]

15 questions untagged

Were you named after anyone?: Simon from popular work The Bible. I liked the story of him being a fisherman, he had worked all day and not caught anything, then Christ asked him to put down his net one more time and though he complained, he did it, and then caught a whole net load of fish. It reminds me that no matter how bleak things seem or how much hard work and how long it can take to reach abundance, keep trying, keep believing. My birth name was not after anyone and was one of the most popular names in my generation

When was the last time you cried?: damn like every day over something heartwarming or something. but I had a biiig cry when my trans tape didn't work and hurt

Do you have kids?: no, I may adopt someday if I get married which I might like to, or raise their children if they have any. But I would prefer a partner who did not want to get pregnant, I just have strong feelings about adoption. However raising kids is probably not right for me so I'd like to work as a volunteer 'big brother' or babysit for members of a church a lot or something like that

Do you use sarcasm a lot?: Sure, not constantly but maybe a little more than average or that I'm comfortable with

What’s the first thing you notice about people?: If their fit is good

What’s your eye color?: hazel. mid-forest green with a strong gold ring around the center

Scary movies or happy endings?: Most scary movies have pretty happy endings, all things considered. I do like scary movies and used to be a HUGE fan of them, but I like heartwarming stuff too. But I do think I prefer a movie that leaves me feeling disturbed, concerned, sad, etc

Any special talents?: Digital and traditional painting and illustration, physical non-digital sculpting, sewing, fashion design, video game making, essay writing/research, I used to do poetry and lyric writing, I practice singing but I would not classify that as a talent I am "good at", used to play piano a bit and viola more before that - my sight reading is pretty damn good, video editing, cooking is decent but more so my sandwich prep is excellent

Where were you born?: in the same town I live in now. the hospital was closed after my birth and was semi famous for being haunted and has since been torn down and turned into apartments

What are your hobbies?: of stuff not listed in my talents: model kits and puzzle building, gaming I suppose, watching supergreatfriend, Jerma, and the Watcher Boys; praying, meditating, and studying religions; walking and scootering outside, collecting hot wheels/toys

Have any pets?: nope. waiting to hear back from a rescue if they'll let be get their beautiful cat. if not I will get a bird in a few months or so

What sports do you play/have you played?: gymnastics and figure skating as a kid, and I loved swimming, then I wanted to get into soccer but couldn't. Played DDR. I roller bladed and biked, biked quite a bit and am planning to get into it again. I got into body building a bit as a teen and am back into that now. I occasionally try tricks with my scooter but I am not into breaking my limbs again so I don't do it much

How tall are you?: 5'2"

Favorite subject in school?: art *fart noises*. But really everything, I even loved math until I got older and the dyscalculia and difficulty with abstract math started hittin. Biology was my fav science course.

Dream job?: In a communist world where you get paid for low tier jobs and everything isn't managed like shit and I have accessibility for my disability - no shot, a grocery store worker. I love answering questions and helping people, I love organizing things, and sometimes you're like.. the only person that some people will see that week, especially elderly people. You can be really helpful if you know a lot about all the different products. It's not just an underappreciated job in the typical 'fuck low wagers' sense but also I feel like people don't get how unlike a specalist store you may only visit every now and then unless its for your job or a very active hobby, a corner/drug/grocery store is a really important part of your neighborhood! And I'm really good at it!

[in-my-feels-probably]

Hi! Congrats on 900!! May I have a romantic grishaverse match up please? I go by she/her and am bi with no preference, so any gender is fine.

I’m about 5’5, dark blue eyes, medium length hair thats kinda too dark to be dirty blonde but not so dark that its light brown with slightly lighter blonde highlights throughout. Ive been told I typically wear what would be considered 90s type of style but leaning away from more feminine things tho I’m not opposed to dresses and all. 

I do get pretty anxious when thrown in certain situations rather that be talking to a group of people or just one person. But on occasion and definitely when I get to know someone I never stop talking. I am a ranter and rambler which means I could be ranting about something that happened and then start talking about something else that may or may not be related to the original subject. Basically I will always find something to talk about though I do enjoy listening to other people talk. I am considered the mom friend because I tend to be the most logical. Im also a very determined, stubborn person who usually is kinda pessimistic but still has a huge imagination. And despite all the anxiety I am usually a relatively confident person and am not afraid to take up for anyone I care about. Also I am pretty good in school despite having a kinda bad memory. Also an INTJ, Sagittarius, and Ravenclaw. 

I absolutely love writing and have for the longest time rather that be random original stories I make up or the various fanfics I have(lol). I also love drawing and painting and recently realized I’m actually pretty good at making art related to animals and the occasional landscape. I’ve also been a big music fan since I was a kid, I honestly dont know what I would do without it. I also really enjoy reading when I get the chance, like I could spend hours getting consumed by whatever I’m reading. Which also travels into me when I’m watching things. As in I spend a good bit of time just binge watching new or old shows. I also really like walking around and enjoying nature. Theres a few nature trails I love going on and would go to the zoo every weekend if I had the chance. Which also goes along to my love for animals. Also I do like going to random places with my friends. 

And thats about all I can think of to say, hope it wasnt too much lol. But anyways, thanks in advance :)

hi!

thanks for participating :)

since you have no gender preference, i’ll tell you which of both the girls and the boys i ship you with, and then do the full detail and blurb with who i think you’re a better fit for.

i ship you with jesper and genya!

but i’m gonna go with genya for this, hope that’s alright :)

id consider genya to be a pretty hyperfeminine person. she really values her looks, and cares a lot about aesthetics. however, she’s definitely the type of person to care way more about personality and intellect than appearances. that’s not to say she wouldn’t be attracted to you, because she would be. but she’d just appreciate that you looked at her as more than a pretty face, and you cared about her enough to get to know her on a deeper level. she’d think you were so smart, and she’d feel lucky that she found someone who truly understand her beyond superficial things.

genya is a very confident person. she’s very dignified, and can easily carry a conversation. she’d have no trouble talking to you, and would consider it a personal challenge getting you to open up to her. she’d love watching you get excited about the things your interested in, showing her a side of you she didn’t often get to see. she didn’t care about what you two talked about, she just liked listening to you talk. in group situations, she’d take the lead. she’d make sure to keep an eye on you, never letting you be uncomfortable.

i think, despite what other people might think about genya, she’d have a lot in common with you. she’d have a natural talent at drawing, and she’d have a few books that she really really loved. she’d appreciate poetry as well. when you got into writing, she’d be so supportive. she’d love listening to any of your new work, and she’d give you ideas. i think she’s secretly a fantasy reader, fond of the idea of escaping into another world. you’d take her on walks into the forest nearby, taking afternoons to yourself. you’d both really enjoy the peace and quiet, and it would be a big refresher for her.

genya is also a very logical person, she definitely takes on tasks in the way a mother would. she’s also incredibly stubborn, and would win just about every argument or debate you two ever had, and you’d be content to let her win. after the darkling attacked her, people would begin to talk about her, and call her ruined. it would be the only time you’d ever see self conscious, and it would break your heart. you’d do all that you could to reassure her and make her feel beautiful, and tell anyone who made fun of her to piss off, or there’d be consequences. otherwise, you’d have to get the king involved, and nikolai would be more than happy to step in and help you.

she’d put on a front, but you could tell when things were getting to her. rather than bombard her with questions, you’d let her open up to you at her own pace. she always would, it just would take a little time. taking her into the forest would make it go a little faster because she’d feel more relaxed and at peace with you.

you’d try and get her mind off of whatever was bothering her, especially if it was because someone said something about her scars.

“look,” you’d smile, holding her hand. “there’s a caterpillar on this tree! he’s beautiful, isn’t he?”

she’d smile softly, watching it inch up the trunk. she’d stay quiet, making you frown. you’d sigh, squeezing her hand.

“do you know what metamorphosis is?” you’d ask.

she’d shake her head.

“it’s the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. it goes in one way, and comes out looking entirely different. metamorphosis means transformation, or change in shape.”

she’d look at it solemnly, watching it climb. “it doesn’t know it’s going to look different soon. don’t you think it’ll miss how it was before?”

you’d frown at her words. she may have been looking at the butterfly, but you knew she was referring to herself. she was missing her beauty, at least in the way she considered herself to be beautiful. to you, she was still the most beautiful woman you had ever seen. even more so, especially since she was strong enough to keep going even after all that had happened to her.

you’d turn to her, cupping her face in your palms. she’d flinch ever so slightly, but you’d gently calm her, running your thumbs along her cheekbones.

“i don’t know what he’ll feel, darling. yes, he’ll look different. but that doesn’t mean he isn’t beautiful…he just looks different. but he’s still the same on the inside, isn’t he? just with a new form. he hasn’t changed, not really. he just looks a little different. but beautiful both ways. don’t you agree?”

she’d lean into your touch, giving you a soft smile. you’d pull her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“you look beautiful today, by the way. just in case i haven’t told you that yet.”

she’d grin, clutching you tightly to her. “so do you, darling. so do you.”

—

hi again! hope you enjoyed this :)

[joannerowling]

Hey, that's my line!

You at least have read the essay (or some sparknotes on the essay), which to your credit is better than 99.9% of the anti-JKR crowd, i'll give you that. However, the person who taught it to you was a baboon.

"essentially saying what the author was TRYING to convey is irrelevant in comparison to what the text ACTUALLY conveys"

Nope. The point of DotA isn't to say that the text "ACTUALLY conveys" anything. That would imply there is one real, correct way to read the text, which may not be what the author intended. The point Barthes makes is that ANY interpretation can be AS correct as what the author was trying to say and his intents/life can be irrelevant if you, the reader, wish it so. Which means, as i'm sure you'll have gathered, that while you are free to have your own interpretation of a text that goes against the author's explicit intent, other people are free to call it a) biased and/or b) bullshit.

"there is some debate about the value of this method, but it is almost universally preferred by academic literary circles."

I diagnose you with acute Americanitis. There's a reason why Barthes exported himself to the US, other places weren't all so ready to embrace his theories and declare all previous analysis grids for literary criticism dead and burried. (He also didn't invent the concept of reading the text without external parasitism, only radicalised it.) The consensus everywhere else is pretty much that Death of The Author is one method of analysis for a text amongst many, just as valid and useful, considering text analysis isn't exactly a hard science. As pompous as he was i don't think even Barthes himself would argue otherwise, since, again, "there is no such thing as one correct reading" is the entire backbone of his work.

"jkr's attempts to retcon/add/change elements of the books outside of the narrative"

Not all those words can be applied to what JKR has said post-release of HP. Add, certainly. Change, i can't see an example of - elaborate on would be more correct. Retcon isn't appliable to anything she has put on either twitter or her own website (save perhaps for the nature of Grindelwald's feelings for Dumbledore and even that is ambiguous; also, that was technically never in the actual text, so can it be considered a retcon? Debatable.)

Besides, it's ironic that you'd consider things like her embracing a reading of Hermione as Black, for instance, as "retconing" (bad!), considering that making room for a different interpretation of a character fits precisely with what Barthes was trying to promote in Death of the Author. Therefore i kinda want to ask, purely from a scholarly perspective, what the fuck is your problem?

the literary norm to decenter authorial intention that has been a standard since Barthes’ 1967 essay.

There is no such "norm" or "standard". As if literature analysts had that kind of power! xD Fans have interracted with creators and asked for supplementary material or commentary on it since forever, regardless of dear Roland's opinion on the subject. It goes for absolutely every art form, by the way.

jkr’s excessive interest in exerting control over her fiction does encroach upon both lines, however, as she tries to alter the potential interpretations of her work without any textual basis and problematises academic interest as well as just the leisure associated with understanding

Again, whether JKR's interest in "exerting control over her fiction" is excessive or not is entirely subjective, so you can spare us the jargon.

what they are doing is (unsuccessfully) separating the art from the artist which is a dumb as fuck concept anyway but also notably different to what death of the author is [...]. although they might seem fairly similar they actually assume completely different things.

You are right about that but not in the way you think. Death of the Author DOES encourage you to shun all integration of the author's life into analysing a text, because when Barthes published it, it was in reaction to what he perceived to be an excessive focus on authorial intent AND the impact on the text of its author's biography. However, "separating the art from the artist" (ou "distinguer l'homme, l'art et l'œuvre") has little to do with the study of literature. It's a post-WW2 political debate that involved all of society and questioned whether artists who had been connected to Nazism should be the recipients of stately awards or praise and should be taught at school.

if we ‘separate the art from the artist’ this is negated. suddenly we cannot analyse the text with any kind of seriousness as the foundations of the text have disappeared. you cannot separate jk rowling from harry potter because so much of the text is built upon white english middle class sensibilities.

Translation: "We cannot separate JKR from her writing, because then, i can't blame my outrageous lack of reading comprehension on the caricature i've drawn from her ethnosocial background."

It's truly impressive for someone to have reached the correct answer (Harry Potter is JKR's creation and belongs to her) to that dumb debate, by being wrong from A to Z.

you people don’t know what death of the author is.

it’s from Roland Barthes’ essay of the same name about the viewpoint of academic interpretation. the essay argues that literary criticism should base itself around the reader’s interpretation rather than authorial intention. essentially saying what the author was TRYING to convey is irrelevant in comparison to what the text ACTUALLY conveys. there is some debate about the value of this method, but it is almost universally preferred by academic literary circles.

crucially, it does NOT refer to amputating a writer from the ownership/creation of their work for whatever reason. so people claiming death of the author to justify buying harry potter stuff is just plain wrong. what they are doing is (unsuccessfully) separating the art from the artist which is a dumb as fuck concept anyway but also notably different to what death of the author is.

death of the author does have some relevance to jkr if we are thinking about her attempts to retcon/add/change elements of the books outside of the narrative (i.e. on twitter and even on pottermore to an extent), as it problematises the literary norm to decenter authorial intention that has been a standard since Barthes’ 1967 essay.

(this does get tricky though if we are thinking in terms of popular culture rather than academic standards, as authors commenting upon their work and elaborating on the world their characters inhabit is a perfectly acceptable thing in modern publishing. i would say jkr’s excessive interest in exerting control over her fiction does encroach upon both lines, however, as she tries to alter the potential interpretations of her work without any textual basis and problematises academic interest as well as just the leisure associated with understanding)

this is mostly in response to people saying that death of the author doesn’t work when the author is alive and /no/ you are thinking of ‘separating the art from the artist’ which is a separate but not unconnected idea.

what annoys me about this is that it not only completely misuses death of the author but also suggests that separating the art from the artist can ever work. (it does not).

although they might seem fairly similar they actually assume completely different things. decentering authorial intent does not mean that the artist is unconnected to their output. if we were to analyse The Importance of Being Earnest, ignoring Wilde’s own experience with living a scandalous double-life would be short-sighted. we can’t isolate literature from their contexts and death of the author doesn’t try to do that. The implicit attributes of Wilde’s life seeping into the play’s narrative is a fact and we can talk about that without considering what Wilde intended. What Wilde wanted in his narrative is irrelevant, whether he intended the parallels to his own life is irrelevant, the fact that these similarities are there is interesting. The artist is the creator, a very significant factor in the text’s construction, but they don’t get to decide what their text means with any more authority than the next person.

if we ‘separate the art from the artist’ this is negated. suddenly we cannot analyse the text with any kind of seriousness as the foundations of the text have disappeared. you cannot separate jk rowling from harry potter because so much of the text is built upon white english middle class sensibilities. what we write and how we interpret what other people write is based on our identities, and who we are. you take that away the book might as well be empty.

so yes separating the art from the artist doesn’t work in jkr’s case because it never works, and what you are talking about is definitely NOT death of the author.

if someone wants to buy crummy wizard hats then they should go for it, but pretending that you’re safe from blame is ridiculous .