#as the artist it is up to YOU what you consider 'rules' that you choose to follow and when. you know what benefits your art and your goals

[dallonwrites]

I'm reading Real Life by Brandon Taylor right now (love btw) and it's basically showing me in real time what I've thought about prose for a while as someone who mainly learnt from writing "flowery prose"

Brandon is really good at having this smooth, precise prose that I think really works with the type of book Real Life is ("slow" plot, only covers a few days and really sinks its teeth into small moments about relationships across those few days). But I think he's also really good at knowing when to go deeper with the prose and when to keep it simple. Like there's this part that sticks out to me because there's a line that literally is like "the grass is very green and very straight" and all I can think about is how in a lot of writing advice I've encountered about prose and descriptive writing, that would be used as what not to do. That you should use something more "interesting" than something like "very green". But in this scene it worked really well for me because it fit! IMO it suited the rhythm of the scene, the vibe, what the focus was on, the narrator's character voice. The scene already had a lot of atmosphere, emotion, conflict, urgency etc. and this line still effectively added to it in a way that was quick and simple that suited the rhythm/beats. It's not just that Brandon chose not to be descriptive then, it's that what he chose to do what JUST AS if not MORE effective for the moment!

And like I LOVE playing and experimenting with language and prose I think it's so fun. I think a lot of the advice about prose and descriptive writing, things like show don't tell and advice about adjectives/adverbs and using "too simple" words, words like "very", are great introductory tools to intentionally think about exploring your prose deeper. But like all writing advice they will not apply to every writing situation. These advice and craft ideas are important but what's imo more important is understanding when and how to use them to best benefit a moment. Knowing when prose will benefit from being more intricate and descriptive and when something simple and bare will not only do the job but do it more effectively. And it doesn't just vary from writer to writer or from story to story, but scene to scene imo! Brandon has some beautiful descriptive lines in this novel that to me are not inherently "better" than the very green line just because they are more complex, both do what they need to do and are effective in their own moments

And this is all stuff I already felt. I have projects that benefit from really saturated, dense prose and others that benefit from really sparse prose. But seeing an author who I admire a lot use these "simple" descriptions and not just use them, but use them well, because he has thought about what moments will benefit from simplicity and what won't, was really reassuring. Writers trust yourselves!! You know your prose, your voice, your book, and you are allowed to do what others may consider "breaking" the rules if it feels like the right move for your writing

[booksinmythorax]

Some tips from a librarian for today and the future:

Go to the library. Get a card. Borrow things. Buying books is neat, but the books the fascists want to ban are still there, on the shelf, at your local library, and if they aren't, you can request them. While book bans can happen and are happening in public libraries, the vast majority of "successful" challenges are happening in school libraries. You can still get books from your public library, and getting the books from the library tells your library they should keep them on the shelf. Borrowing anything, walking in the door, and/or attending programs all help get your library more funding. Fighting censorship in this way is effective and costs you $0.

Pay attention to local government. Read your local newspaper, or the local-est paper you can find. (You wanna know who can probably help you read your local paper for free? Your local library.) Look up your representatives in your state and local governments, not just federal. Read their biographies online. Find out what they stand for.

When something divisive is happening in your local community (a book ban, a school board ruling on bathrooms or sports, a change in curriculum), show up. No, literally. Show up to the school board meeting, the library board meeting, the county commission meeting. If you can't show up, make a phone call. If you can't make a phone call, write an email. Your voice has the most effect on the local and state level.

Now, counterintuitively, is a really good time to get to know your neighbors. Do not self isolate out of suspicion. We are stronger together. If you need suggestions for ways to get to know those neighbors, your local library probably has groups you can join, or will start them if you ask nicely and promise to show up. Hand to the gods, a once-monthly book club or gardening club or crochet circle might be your difference between total despair and feeling maybe pretty okay.

Only talk about your personal identities and experiences if you think you will be physically safe doing so. Consider limiting your social media posting. Buy a paper diary. Talk to people in person or via secure direct message if you really want to grow relationships and make an impact. Educating others is great and important. It's also most effective when you have an existing personal relationship with the person involved in the conversation with you. Consider starting new accounts without your face or name if you choose to continue using social media.

Avoid talking about others' personal identities and experiences, particularly without their consent. Your friends, family members, children, and partners are not tools you should use to win an argument. Point to the lives of writers, activists, educators, and artists who are out if you need an illustrative example in a teaching moment with someone you know. Others' religious beliefs, immigration statuses, queer identities, and pregnancy statuses are nobody's fucking business but their own, unless they choose to tell others for their own reasons.

[doodlemcjazzhands]

Hi! My friend is a big fan of your art, and they asked me to ask you for tips on how you draw hair. I'm no artist, so I probably shouldn't be the one to ask these questions, but would you mind sharing a few suggestions? Any pointers about your character designs or your art style would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much, and hope you're having a good day! <3

Hiya!! I tried to breakdown my approach to drawing hair here, but these are by no means hard and fast rules! Hope this helps :)

1: The Hairline

I usually start with the hairline. I like to break it down into 4 main sections, that I can play around with:

I like to try to line up the temple section with the ridge of the side plane of the head

Try to have the hairline follow the natural flow and planes of the head

There's a gap between the hairline and the ear (often it gets covered up by longer strands of hair, but if you're drawing a short cut or pulled back hair, you'll probably see it)

2: The Silhouette

I like to draw out the silhouette next. Sometimes I'll use the lasso and fill tool, so I don't get wrapped up in extraneous details.

Try focusing on finding an appealing shape for the hair, and how it will frame the face

Consider how thick you want the hair to be and it's texture

(I find this is also a good time to flip the canvas to make sure the weight feels balanced)

Try to avoid having tangents with facial features, if you're drawing bangs or face framing pieces

Keep in mind how outside factors may affect the hair (like if there's a breeze, or if the character is lying down, or if they've tucked a piece behind their ear, ect.)

Try to keep shape variation in mind. A small shape next to a big shape is often more appealing than 2 medium shapes side by side

I also like to play with a lot of straight/curved line variations to make the shapes look interesting

3: Flow & Volumes

(I usually just visualize this step, rather than drawing it out like this)

Basically try breaking down your silhouette into big volumes, and know where the hair pieces coming from and where they're going.

^For example, the hair on top, is brushed froward, with no defined part, so the chunks that we can see start at a cowlick at the back of the head and spiral out from there. The hair on the bottom however starts at the part, shwoops up, and then cascade down in 2 layers.

^Another note: more layers usually means more volume wherever the layers are placed, longer hair pieces will weigh the hair down, meaning less volume.

4: Details

Once I have an idea of what the hair is doing, I draw out the chunks of hair, following the volumes and flow I've mapped out. Sometimes I'll do a little bit of hatching to indicate volume or texture.

I often like to choose 1 or 2 shapes for my clumps, based on the hair texture, and then repeat those shapes throughout:

Vairy the size of your clumps

Beware of overworking it at this stage, sometimes less is more yk? And too much detail near the face can be distracting

Make lines on the silhouette and lines closer to the front thicker (especially if it's overlapping another line)

You don't have to draw every strand. Sometimes I'll break up big clumps with a thinner inner line, but I try not to go overboard with this. You can also indicate strands by adding little cutouts to the silhouette, like this:

5: Rendering

My process for rendering hair is pretty much the same as it is for anything else. Base colour layer>shadow layer>highlight layer.

I like to use the lasso/fill tool here again for shadows, and then soften them up a bit by going over some of the harsh lines with a pencil brush

For shadows, I usually just do a multiply layer with a lowered opacity, clipped to the base colour layer and then use a bright red or purple colour

Highlights and shadows can also be used to indicate more hair clumps that you haven't drawn in

Try to think of the shadows as big graphic shapes, that fall where the light won't hit, and wrap around the forms of the hair

I personally don't like to go crazy on the highlights, but when I do, it's usually for dark hair, since shadows don't show up as well on darker hair

Shiny glossy hair, usually has brighter highlights with harsher edges

Also black hair isn't usually pure black unless it's a stylization thing or the lighting is reeeally dark

Sometimes once I fill in the hair, I'll look at it and go "ew why's it look dumb now?" Sometimes the warp or liquify tool can help with refining the proportions to rectify this and sometimes you just have to cut your loses and redraw stuff :P

Then as a final touch a may add a few stray strands of hair that break off from the main shape

Ok that's all! Hope your friend has fun drawing hair! Have a great day <33

[mareastrorum]

These are just initial thoughts, and perhaps I’ll learn something that changes my mind on it, but I’m glad to see Critical Role making the leap to their own subscription service with Beacon.

As a lead in: I’m an attorney that has some background in IP law, though it isn’t what I practice currently. I’ve kept in contact with several active practitioners, particularly those that represent small-time creators either in their own independent practice or via nonprofits. I do not have an extensive Rolodex of IP peers, nor do I spend the money to keep up on IP CLEs. I’m just someone who used to know a ton because I did heavy research and work in that space, and that hasn’t been the case for years.

So here’s my thoughts a bit on the IP angle:

The primary reason I’m happy to see this leap is that CR is taking active steps to keep control over its IP. It’s a boring thing to most people, but when I start paying attention to a specific creator (authors, directors, companies, etc.), I tend to be very attentive to how they use their IP. How freely do they license their marks to partner with other creators to make merch? How often do they allow others to make adaptations or derivatives of their copyrights? What is the quality of those products? What is the supply chain like? Are those third parties objectionable in some way? Were the other parties faithful to the original works or marks? Was this a cash grab or an earnest effort to make something worth the price tag?

Honestly, I like how CR run their business. They have a history of tapping fans and fellow small businesses when making new merch or spinoffs. They embrace the culture of fan-made derivative works, both by featuring fanart/cosplay and by sharing their success. Do you know how rare it is for a company to pay fan artists for their already-made and freely posted work and then sell books of it? Let me be clear: CR bought a limited license from each artist so they could print and sell each work in a physical book, then paid the cost of publishing that book with no guarantee that CR would make that money back, let alone profit. I have a copy of the collector’s edition art books: they’re actually very well made and the packaging definitely cost a pretty penny. That’s not a rainmaker idea, that’s genuinely risking financial loss to sell something people could access for free if they wanted to.

The art books aren’t a one-off either. Darrington Press is CR’s separate LLC for tabletop games. (It’s good business practice to split off companies that handle products in different industries.) CR has also made shows based on those games, and the Candela Obscura series has quite a dedicated audience. Everything about Candela belongs to them: the game itself, the rule book, all the art in the book, the web series based on the game, and merch. It’s so successful that they invested in scheduling a live show for Candela later this month. That’s HUGE.

Contrast that with the distribution of Campaign 1 and the first 19 episodes of Campaign 2. CR cannot host those videos themselves; Geek & Sundry still exists and still holds what I presume to be distribution rights (but I don’t have the contract to review). So G&S gets to host those videos on YouTube and reaps the advertising. I can’t speak to whatever share CR gets from that, but considering that CR is locked out of hosting their own copies of those videos, I doubt it’s much, if any, revenue. (If you’re wondering why CR just didn’t buy those rights back, I ask: what incentive does G&S have to sell something that’s making them money for no cost?)

Knowing that background about G&S, I was wary of CR choosing Amazon to host and distribute The Legend of Vox Machina. Originally, TLOVM was not the plan; CR had a kickstarter for an animated special based on C1. It was only because they blew past the goal that CR was able to make an entire season. The reasonable assumption is that choosing Amazon had to have secured CR additional funding for future seasons of the show, which seems evident from how quickly season 2 was announced, Mighty Nein Animated is also going to be a thing, and that season 3 of TLVOM is scheduled for fall 2024. CR had the option of just doing 1 season and keeping it purely in their control, but going with Amazon meant they could animate more of their works. Animation is expensive. I cannot stress enough how doubtful I am that CR would have been able to afford this many episodes and both campaigns if they had not gone this route. As wary as I was in the start, it paid off, and it’s going well—so far. Hopefully CR doesn’t regret that decision if Amazon tries something sleazy. But, as before, we don’t have the contracts and can’t know how secure CR’s position is if any dispute came up.

CR also partnered with Dark Horse Comics to make Vox Machina comics and Might Nein Origins comics. What’s especially surprising is that each of the cast had a hand in writing the MNO comics for their characters, with Matt listed for multiple. That isn’t very common with comic adaptations. Often times, IP owners let comic companies go ham with minimal oversight. Being listed as one of the authors comes with IP rights that have to be negotiated. That means that Dark Horse had to talk with CR about whether that warrants more or less revenue going to which party in exchange for that—or, alternatively, whether the comic gets made at all. That’s a ballsy move. You think people can just demand to write the comics that a publishing company is going to pay to print? Pffft. CR wanted some creative control, and that is a big ask. However, Dark Horse still has the distribution rights, both digitally and for physical copies. You couldn’t buy the comics from CR until they came out with the library edition, a book bound compilation of 4/8 comics. But the publisher is still Dark Horse; CR is just allowed to sell the book directly from their own site as well.

Contrast that with the novels about CR characters. CR partnered with Penguin Random House to publish novels about Vex and Vax (Kith & Kin), Lucien (The Nine Eyes of Lucien), and Laudna (What Doesn’t Break). Liam and Laura were vocal about having some say in K&K, whereas Madeline Roux said in an interview that she had full control over TNEOL. Both of those novels were narrated with CR voices, but narrating a book doesn’t come with IP rights, it just brings in a paycheck. There’s a lot less IP control in there compared to the comics, but this isn’t abnormal for book publishing. To be blunt, I doubt PRH would have agreed to publish the novels if anyone from CR had been a co-author or had heavy oversight over the author or the editing. I don’t think PRH even considered that as an option. Either an author that has already managed to sell X number of copies or nothing. Creative control over a book a huge ask, asks come with reduced revenue, and switching to books from a web series is already a leap. The fact that Laura and Liam had any say is surprising, really.

That was a long meandering tour of what we’ve seen CR do with its IP. The reason I bring up each of these things is that navigating the way to protect an IP in this space is rife with challenges. Different types of IP warrant different strategies because of the cost involved in creating each medium and the challenges placed by industries that have already sprung up around them. Any time that a third party is tapped to create an IP, it’s usually because they already have the funds and resources to create the work, and CR has to negotiate for revenue, creative control, distribution, and—the big one—who gets to be the owner. These are not easy, quick, or fun conversations, and CR is always going to be the smaller company at the table.

Knowing that, I’m not surprised or worried that CR is creating its own independent subscription service with Beacon. It tells me that they’re being careful with their IP whenever they can. A subscription service means they don’t have to trade away distribution rights or give up ad revenue to a third party. They’re in this for a long term investment, and that requires solid income not tied to third parties that can definitely outspend them in litigation in the event of a dispute. A subscription for bonus content is one of many parts in a diverse revenue stream.

(All that said, this isn’t meant to criticize creators that cant afford to do this type of thing. It took 9 years for CR to get to the point where Beacon is financially feasible and a desirable business decision. They have enough ongoing, popular content to warrant paying for a subscription, and they’ve built sufficient trust with their audience that more will be added. That takes time and an awful lot of money.)

As a final note, I take this step as a sign that CR definitely intends to stick around. This isn’t a move people make when they plan on ending the business after the current campaign. I’m glad to see CR is taking steps to secure their foundation and keep making new content.

I’m sure people will chime in on other issues (cost, content exclusivity, etc.), but I hope my perspective gives an idea of why this sort of thing is good for business generally and why it would be good for CR.

[corrodedcoffinfest]

Welcome to Corroded Coffin Fest!

This is a fanworks challenge/event that is all about Corroded Coffin. It will take place from July 1st thru July 31st.

Thanks so much for showing interest in this event during this post! If you have friends that you think would like to participate, please considering reblogging this announcement!

The calendar of prompts is located here:

Since there are so many events going on (and we love to see it!) we've decided to set a word count range for this event, so the love can be spread around to more events.

GUIDELINES:

Ideas for works include: fic, art, gifsets, fanvids, moodboards, edits, playlists, or anything else you can think of to celebrate Corroded Coffin!

For fics, there is a word count minimum/maximum of between 300-1000 words per drabble. We'll use wordcounter.net to check the word counts before reblogging, so make sure you stick to that range!

Do one prompt, do them all. Hell, do them all twice! It's totally up to you. You can pick and choose what you're interested in. And we're not going to police how you interpret the prompt. Just use them as a jumping off point to be inspired by the boys of Corroded Coffin, and then share that inspiration with us! (Not everything has to be band related, we encourage you to explore other parts of their lives, too!)

Submissions can absolutely be connected to other prompts from the event, or even past works, but should still be able to stand alone each day.

Every morning a new prompt card will go up, reminding everyone of what that day's prompt will be.

All submissions should include any pairings featured, content rating and any content warnings (CW) or tags that you think are appropriate. Please put the prompt you are fulfilling as well, just to keep things straightforward. A sample could look something like this:

Prompt Day 9: The Hideout, Word Count: 666, Rating: M, Pairing: None, CW: Underage Drinking, Recreational Drug Use, Tags: Corroded Coffin, First Gig, Partying, Eddie, Gareth, Jeff, Freak, The Hideout

Also, please consider putting any explicit material under a read more cut, because anything rated E that's not hidden under a cut will not be reblogged.

For the artists! Your art submission must be posted on the same day as the current prompt in order to be reblogged by this blog. Your piece of art (or other creation) must be Corroded Coffin focused, using any combination of the guys, together or solo. Of course, other characters can be included, too! But you need to have at least one of the CC band members in it for it to count for this event. Thank you!

All ships are welcome, as long as they include at least one member of Corroded Coffin: Eddie, Jeff, Gareth & Freak. (Who I look forward to learning the name of from you all, time and time again!)

Please tag us here @corrodedcoffinfest when you post your work for the day so we can reblog it!

Be respectful of your fellow participants and readers. We're all here to have fun and share the love of all parts of Corroded Coffin.

Definitely feel free to ask me anything if the rules weren't clear in places, or if I straight up forgot something (or if you just have anything else you'd like to ask). You can send an ask/message to this blog or reach out to @thisapplepielife.

Please submit your post by 11:59 PM EDT on the day of the prompt in order to not be missed for reblogging.

 If posting on AO3, please feel free to use the collection associated with this event: Corroded Coffin Fest AO3 Collection after your submission has been reblogged by this account.

Most importantly, have fun! We can't wait to see what Corroded Coffin fanworks come out of this new event!

More info below, including full prompt list with jumping off suggestions, the warm-up rounds for April, May & June, and a spreadsheet you're free to use:

PROMPTS:

JULY 1ST - FIRSTS

First gig, first check, first award, first...anything.

JULY 2ND - IN THE BEGINNING

How did Corroded Coffin come to be?

JULY 3RD - BEST FRIENDS

Who are the best friends in the band in your head? Let's find out.

JULY 4TH - EDDIE

We all know Eddie. Let's hear some more about him today.

JULY 5TH - ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Get them out on the road, in any way you see fit.

JULY 6TH - HEARD IT IN A LOVE SONG

Let's have some romance. Any pairing(s) that tickle your fancy.

JULY 7TH - CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, C'MON

Let them celebrate! Maybe that's a birthday/holiday/celebration show. Maybe it's a wedding, etc.

JULY 8TH - BAND POLITICS

Fight! Fight! Fight! Not everything goes smoothly all the time.

JULY 9TH - THE HIDEOUT

Catch them there, every Tuesday, playing for five drunks.

JULY 10TH - PRIDE

Let's see them celebrate Pride! Or let's see them be proud, etc.

JULY 11TH - JEFF

Let's spend some time with the guitarist of Corroded Coffin.

JULY 12TH - OW!

Injuries happen. Tell me more.

JULY 13TH - SEX, DRUGS & ROCK N ROLL

Tell us about the seedier parts of being in a band! 18+ for adult content, please!

JULY 14TH - AND THE WINNER IS...

It's time for awards season. Do they win? Lose? Let us know.

JULY 15TH - LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT

Press Tour/Interviews. Sometimes they need to promote themselves.

JULY 16TH - STRUGGLING

They're working their asses off, grinding it out, but they haven't hit the big time yet. Or they're struggling in other ways...

JULY 17TH - "THIS ONE'S FOR YOU"

Dedicate a song to someone special.

JULY 18TH - FREAK (GRANT, FRANK, GOODIE, ETC.)

Whatever name you given him, let's all focus on the bassist of Corroded Coffin.

JULY 19TH - IN THE GARAGE

Get them in the garage. Band practice, fixing the van, etc.

JULY 20TH - UNDER THE COVERS

Let them cover some real songs. Or, you know, get under the covers in another way...

JULY 21ST - HATE THIS TOWN

Hawkins. How was it dragging them down? Or, maybe they hate LA...

JULY 22ND - ALTERNATE UNIVERSE (AU)

Use your imaginations and put them into a whole new world!

JULY 23RD - UP AND COMING

They're finally gaining a little traction. Or maybe they're up...and coming. *wink wink, nudge nudge*

JULY 24TH - BEHIND THE SCENES

What's it take to get this show on the road? Or, what are they really like, off-stage? Let's get a peek behind the curtain.

JULY 25TH - GARETH

Bang them sticks! Let's catch up with the drummer of Corroded Coffin.

JULY 26TH - TOUR DATE

Let's focus on a specific show.

JULY 27TH - YOU'LL BE IN MY HEART

Navigating love while on the road.

JULY 28TH - BACK TO INDIANA

Let's go back to Hawkins and/or Indiana. Send these boys home.

JULY 29TH - BEHIND THE MUSIC

You know there's drama. A story. Probably enough for VH1 to come knocking.

JULY 30TH - FAME & FORTUNE

They've made it big! Now what?

JULY 31ST - YOUR SONG

A Corroded Coffin song? A work inspired by a song? A song that makes you think of Corroded Coffin?

WARM-UP ROUNDS:

Let's get a little practice before the full event in July!

Here's a prompt each month leading up to the event to work out the kinks and get in the rhythm of it all!

APRIL 15TH - TAXED

It's tax day. Do they need to pay their taxes? Is this a write-off? Or, are they just taxed from being on the road? Tax them.

MAY 15TH - GET A JOB

Put 'em to work. First jobs, side hustles, etc. Surely they've had some other jobs besides being in the band. Tell us about them.

JUNE 15TH - BAND ON THE RUN

Are they late for a gig? Running from monsters in the Upside Down? On a tour from hell?

Same guidelines as the full event will apply.

SPREADSHEET:

If you'd like a spreadsheet to help you keep track of the prompts and your progress, here's the one I personally use for other events, and will be using myself for this event. If you'd like to use it yourself, just go to File>Make a Copy and you'll get a version you can edit in your own Google Sheets.

Thanks for showing interest in having a Corroded Coffin event this year! ❤️🦇🖤 - @thisapplepielife (and thanks for the help and adding to the prompt list, @wormdebut!)

[sunderwight]

y'know what, I think it's kind of interesting to bring up Data from Star Trek in the context of the current debates about AI. like especially if you actually are familiar with the subplot about Data investigating art and creativity.

see, Data can definitely do what the AI programs going around these days can. better than, but that's beside the point, obviously. he's a sci-fi/fantasy android. but anyway, in the story, Data can perfectly replicate any painting or stitch a beautiful quilt or write a poem. he can write programs for himself that introduce variables that make things more "flawed", that imitate the particular style of an artist, he can choose to either perfectly replicate a particular sort of music or to try and create a more "human" sounding imitation that has irregular errors and mimics effort or strain. the latter is harder for him that just copying, the same way it's more complicated to have an algorithm that creates believable "original" art vs something that just duplicates whatever you give it.

but this is not the issue with Data. when Data imitates art, he himself knows that he's not really creating, he's just using his computer brain to copy things that humans have done. it's actually a source of deep personal introspection for the character, that he believes being able to create art would bring him closer to humanity, but he's not sure if he actually can.

of course, Data is a person. he's a person who is not biological, but he's still a person, and this is really obvious from go. there's no one thing that can be pointed to as the smoking gun for Data's personhood, but that's normal and also true of everyone else. Data's the culmination of a multitude of elements required to make a guy. Asking if this or that one thing is what makes Data a person is like asking if it's the flour or the eggs that make a cake.

the question of whether or not Data can create art is intrinsically tied to the question of whether or not Data can qualify as an artist. can he, like a human, take on inspiration and cultivate desirable influences in order to produce something that reflects his view on the world?

yes, he can. because he has a view on the world.

but that's the thing about the generative AI we are dealing with in the real world. that's not like Data. despite being referred to as "AI", these are algorithms that have been trained to recognize and imitate patterns. they have no perspective. the people who DO have a perspective, the humans inputting prompts, are trying to circumvent the whole part of the artistic process where they actually develop skills and create things themselves. they're not doing what Data did, in fact they're doing the opposite -- instead of exploring their own ability to create art despite their personal limitations, they are abandoning it. the data sets aren't like someone looking at a painting and taking inspiration from it, because the machine can't be inspired and the prompter isn't filtering inspiration through the necessary medium of their perspective.

Data would be very confused as to the motives and desires involved, especially since most people are not inhibited from developing at least SOME sort of artistic skill for the sake self-expression. he'd probably start researching the history of plagiarism and different cultural, historical, and legal standards for differentiating it from acceptable levels of artistic imitation, and how the use of various tools factored into it. he would cite examples of cultures where computer programming itself was considered a form of art, and court cases where rulings were made for or against examples of generative plagiarism, and cases of forgeries and imitations which required skill as good if not better than the artists who created the originals. then Geordi would suggest that maybe Data was a little bit annoyed that people who could make art in a way he can't would discount that ability. Data would be like "as a machine I do not experience annoyance" but he would allow that he was perplexed or struggling to gain internal consensus on the matter. so Geordi would sum it up with "sometimes people want to make things easy, and they aren't always good at recognizing when doing that defeats the whole idea" and Data would quirk his head thoughtfully and agree.

then they'd get back to modifying the warp core so they could escape some sentient space anomaly that had sucked the ship into intermediate space and was slowly destabilizing the hull, or whatever.

anyways, point is -- I don't think Data from Star Trek would be a big fan of AI art.

[winchester-reload]

Directions: Fill each prompt ON or After each day listed (the 1st-15th of October, then again on the 31st for our bonus day), then post it on your desired social media platform using tag #suptober23. Be sure to include which prompt you're fulfilling in each post. You can write, you can make art. You can do both! You decide. Rules: All posts must be Supernatural-themed. Like, comment, and reblog others' posts. No hate will be tolerated, including actor hate. NO AI. Do not throw a photo in a Photoshop filter and post it as art. Challenge yourself to create. Noncon, incest, and hate will not be reblogged.

To include your work in the Suptober 2023 archive, you must ALSO post it to the collection in Ao3!

In previous years, I've worked diligently to reblog each and every post listed in the tag to include in an archive on tumblr. However, more than a few things have changed in the past six years, including my earlier creeping bedtime. This year, I'd like to move the archive to Ao3 for something more inclusive. That means this year, it's up to you to get your work in there! Authors: be sure to use tags so your stories are searchable! * Artists: mind ao3's rules for images. You may choose to include a clickable link instead of the art itself.

Posting starts October 1st, 2023.

Special thank you to my friends over on Patreon for their help with this year's list! Truly without them, this would not be happening. Consider joining to help support more events like this! For a text copy of the prompts go here! Join the Discord

FAQ's

Why aren't there 31 prompts this year? Because I'm changing it up to something a little less overwhelming for you and me. Fill all the days, and if you're still hungry for more, send me a message and let me know it wasn't enough so I can take that into account for next year!

I posted my work and you haven't reblogged it. What did I do wrong? Probably nothing. I may have just missed it, which will happen. The good news is, it's up to you to include your work in an archive this year, so be sure to do that! Also be sure to tag it correctly using #suptober23, and the day you're fulfilling.

I'm really busy in October, can I post it later? Yes! The collection won't close.

I can't write or draw, is there another way I can participate? Yes, you can support all the creators by liking, commenting, and reblogging their work. It's just as important as the things being posted. Also, I bet you'll soon realize you absolute can make art and write too! There's no skill level required to have fun.

How long do the stories need to be? There's no word length just be sure to make a good effort, and challenge yourself.

Can I include multiple days in one fic? Sure, but don't post early, and be sure to tag for each day both here on tumblr (if you're posting to tumblr) and on Ao3. In the past, people have used each prompt as a new chapter, and that works great for a cohesive project!

Can I repost the prompt list with my posts? Yep. Go ham. Use at will.

More questions for me? Send me an ask!

[neptunedivine]

astro observations pt. ii

hi! I hope you’re doing well! I know it's been a while. I have a lot of things I wanna talk about. But for now, here are some observations I've noted since I've been gone. I hope you enjoy the read!

mutable signs and intelligence ✧ ALL MUTABLE PLACEMENTS SHOULD BE KNOWN FOR THEIR INTELLIGENCE. Since Virgo and Gemini are both ruled by mercury, I feel like this is a given. Sagittarius rules the 9H which controls higher education, so the same thing can be said for them. But then people throw Pisces under the bus…as if Virgo isn’t their sister sign. I feel like people see sister signs as opposites of each other, but in reality, they have their sister’s traits in subtlety.

As a Pisces sun and mercury myself, I understand the anxiety my Virgo homies get, it’s f*cking intense. But will I ever feel it full throttle? I don’t think so and I’m thankful for it.

But yeah, Pisces placements are not airheads, their smart too. I just think their intelligence is out of the ordinary or just not palatable like the other signs.

9H suns ✧ Kind of an addendum to my last bullet, but a lot of 9H and 12H sun celebrities are really smart. I’ve noticed this with Kendrick Lamar because he’s a 9H sun (in Gemini @ 9° -- damn), and he’s considered a conscious rapper (a subgenre of hip-hop that focuses on creating awareness and imparting knowledge). When I think of him, his words always have meaning, they’re not said just because. The same thing can be said about SZA (9H Scorpio sun @ 16°) and Frank Ocean (12H Scorpio sun 4°).

I'm noticing that they're both Scorpio suns at a Cancer degree, I might investigate that more in the future.

When they put out a project, I get annoyed when people immediately have a response (in all I think I get annoyed when this happens to any long-awaited album), because with the lyricism they have, let the words marinate. Their words are never just face value, there's always a deeper meaning.

SZA is also just smart period. She went on this little biology rant a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked but I loved it. Idk sometimes I forget that celebrities have other traits because they choose what they present to their audience and a lot of the time that isn’t intelligence.

✧ Do any other Pisces mercuries talk in funny voices or accents a lot? Like an unhealthy amount? Just me? Okay.

✧ Undeveloped Pisces placements want yes men to their delusions.

LGBTQIA+ ✧ Having mutable + Aquarius Venus/Mars placements and/or aspects could be an indicator of identifying as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Mutable placements are used to changing their mind a lot, so when it comes to who they’re interested in, they might not have a fixed answer. With aqua placements, they’re not used to sticking to the traditional. So going against the grain with who they’re romantically/sexually involved with is a common manifestation.

mars-jupiter and clumsiness ✧ Those with Mars-Jupiter aspects can be clumsy. Maybe because Mars can rule the physical body and Jupiter expands, they may be overestimating their range of motion.

aries/1H mars and headaches ✧ These placements can be prone to headaches, yes because Mars rules the physical body and anger, and Aries rules the head. But you guys are also quick to anger, so you kind of set yourself up for it. Breathe please, I don’t like seeing you stressed out babes.

aries/scorpio placements and tattoos ✧ Speaking of Aries placements, Aries and Scorpio placements, in general, could like tattoos, whether they want some themselves, have them, or just like the look of them. I feel like Venus and Mars placements are attracted to those who have tattoos, while Mercury placements could have the desire to tattoo people/become tattoo artists. If you have Aries/Scoripo in your midheaven, this could be a good career for you!

that’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed the post, see you later!

[writingwithfolklore]

3 Important things about Traditional Publishing

                This post is for people who want to be traditionally published. If you’re down to Indie publish, or are only interested in posting your own fiction online—don’t worry about it!

                First things first, traditional (or trad) publishing is when you go through an editor at a publishing house and they publish your book. They also take a hefty percentage of the profits, but handle the editing, cover design, titling, promotion, etc. for you. Sometimes you may also go through a literary agent who will represent you (send your work and advocate for you) to publishing houses.

                Indie publishing (independent) is when you do it on your own, also known as self publishing. You have more control, but have to build a team behind you to help you edit, design, format, promote, etc. (or do it all yourself). and it can be difficult to get your book in places like book stores and libraries since they usually only do dealings with publishing houses.

                With that out of the way, let’s talk 3 important things I know about trad publishing.

1. Don’t share your work online

If you want to be traditionally published, don’t post any of your work online anywhere. Including little bits and pieces, including excerpts, including characters, including titles. Nothing. Keep it locked down.

                This is because many trad publishing contracts will consider you posting your work online as it being “previously published”, and may reject your work for that reason. To be on the safe side, don’t put any of your work online or submit it to other journals/magazines.

2. Be prepared to let go of some of the decision making.

When you go through lit agents and publishing houses, you give up an amount of creative control to get your work published. They just want to make it as good (and marketable) as possible, so trust that they know what they’re talking about.

                This means they may choose your title, you may not have any control over the cover image, they might even ask you to get rid of a character or change the ending or any other amount of larger edits. You are allowed to reject some ideas, but choose your battles. Taking this feedback and making these edits is what will get your work published, so if that is your goal, be accommodating, trust that they have so much experience and will make your work better.

3. You should NEVER have to pay them

If you’re paying a traditional publisher to publish your work, you are being scammed. The money works this way:

The reader buys the book for say $20.

To make this simple, let’s say $20 then goes to the publishing house.

They take 50%, so $10 goes to your literary agent (if you have one).

They take another 50% so $5 goes to you.

Never, ever should the money be flowing the opposite direction where you are giving money to these businesses to publish your work. I will say it again, if you are paying these people, you are being scammed.

This is really important, because I knew a girl who was working three jobs to get her work published. They were asking for almost 20K. My heart absolutely breaks for her—she just didn’t know that that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

Whether it’s 20k, $100, or 3 cents. You don’t pay them.

(Of course, if you’re in indie publishing this is a whole different story. In indie, you pay people to do any of the work you don’t want to do. If you need an indie editor, you pay them, if you want an artist to design your cover, you pay them. This rule only applies to trad publishing!)

Anything else important that I missed?

[david-talks-sw]

"Bring in the flamethrowers!"

The above moment from The Clone Wars gets brought up a lot to illustrate Ki-Adi Mundi or the Jedi's moral decadence, a fall from grace caused by the war.

Figured I'd point out a couple of things in support of Ki-Adi!

1) Simple answer: the situation called for it.

The Geonosians attacking Ki-Adi were:

enemy fighters

with the element of surprise

who could fly and were thus harder to hit with the clones' blasters, hence why more wide-ranging weapons like flamethrowers were called for, as the clones were getting picked off one-by-one.

Time was of the essence, men were dying, Ki-Adi made a choice.

Wanna know what Jedi choose when a Geonosian isn't actively trying to kill them? They save its life (and get praised for it by their peers).

2) In-universe, the Geonosians are assholes.

From Attack of the Clones - The Illustrated Companion, 2002:

"Geonosians are a physically intimidating race conditioned to live and work in caste-segregated hives. The vast majority of Geonosians are subservient to the ruling caste, and throughout Geonosian society, there is evidence of a biologically engineered class system. Some Geonosians have wings, while drones do not. [...] The blind obedience of menial Geonosians makes them an easily exploitable workforce for the upper classes, who have built a highly profitable business manufacturing Battle Droids, Super Battle Droids, and Droideka Droids for the Trade Federation and its allies."

"For unusually intelligent Geonosians unlucky enough to be born into the lower castes, participating in the games provides the only chance they will ever get to escape the misery of their downtrodden lifestyles and the rigid social expectations of the upper classes. Triumph in the arena is often a hollow victory, however; while lower- and middle-class Geonosians may win the right to talk to their superiors, they can never earn their respect."

Okay, so the winged upper class are obviously elitist bastards, but how is that even remotely relevant--

-- oh. But hey, two of them don't have wings! Those are members of the drone caste, and they're all begotten underdogs, so--

"If there is one thing that unites Geonosians of all classes, it is their xenophobia. A traditionally isolationist species, they fear espionage attempts by rivals eager to learn the secrets behind their latest droids."

-- oh. Huh.

Bottom line: yes, they're sentient... but they're xenophobic, have an elitist caste system, and earn their living by forging weapons that melt your insides or blow up planets.

Now sure, this notion has been explored and deconstructed in Star Wars: Rebels...

... and I'm not entirely sure if the quoted info still holds true in current Disney canon (the lore is from 2002, after all), but if you ask me?

On a normal day, ol' Klik-Klak would be actively trying to murder the entirety of the Ghost crew for daring to even step their dirty non-Geonosian feet on his pure red planet.

3) Out-of-universe, the Geonosians are just "bug aliens". Nothing more.

The production team of Attack of the Clones referred to them as the "termite people". The script describes them as "winged creatures" who are heard "chuckling" once Anakin and Padmé are sentenced to a gruesome death. At some point, the storyboard artists considered introducing the Geonosian workers like you would a horror monster.

Hell, the whole Lucas decided to base them on termites is because his house was besieged by them.

They're not people, which is why they're not designed to look like people. They're purposefully dehumanized so that when one of them gets killed by our heroes, it's ethically "okay" and the audience doesn't need to stop and think "oh my God, that's murder!" or "hey! that's racist" whenever a clone calls one of them a "bug."

A similar logic is applied to the stormtroopers, who have face-covering helmets that dehumanizes them.

Functionally, a stormtrooper is a fascist goon, nothing more.

Same goes for the Geonosian. It's a bug alien, that's about it.

4) The flamethrowers were probably just added because they're cool.

Dave Filoni described how the decision to add flamethrowers came up, and it doesn't sound like George had deeper storytelling motives:

"You know, we're going through the tunnel with the Geonosians and George is like: “Yeah, well, here, we'll have the-- the tunnel and the flamethrowers. Yeah. How about that? ‘Bring in the flamethrowers!’ have Ki-Adi Mundi say ‘bring in the flame throwers!’” And it's like “flame—- What? Flamethrowers?!”" - Dave Filoni, “Return to Geonosis” Featurette, 2010

It sounds like he came up with it on the spot.

The flamethrowers aren't indicative of "the moral degradation of Ki-Adi and the Jedi Order." They're likely just in there 'cause they're cool (and if you've played Team Fortress 2, you know that's true)!

At the end of the day, when it comes to the Geonosians, I think that there's a certain irony to how their story ends.

They gleefully created the battle droids that tore the galaxy asunder and the Death Star, a weapon that enables the Empire to commit genocide... but fell victim to genocide themselves, at the hands of an even bigger monster.

They reaped what they sowed. They're not meant to be mourned.

And it's nice to see this aspect of the narrative doesn't get ignored as much as I would've expected.

I came across this video that basically rips into Ki-Adi for using flamethrowers, and I was ready to roll my eyes when I scrolled down to the comments section...

... but then, a happy surprise!

Most of the comments disagree with the video's stance! For once, logic prevails over anti-Jedi bias.

So yeah, that put a smile on my face.

[meabh-mcinness]

I really loved your Narnia courting headcanons!, can we get the same but for Kalego and opera?

You sure can! We’ll start with Kalego and then do Opera in a separate post because space~ totally not because I find them harder to write hahaha😅

Main Masterlist

Kalego Courting Human!reader

Much like his older brother, it’ll take a minute for Kalego to even admit he likes you, much less try to court you.

But for a completely different reason.

Whereas Narnia wouldn’t want to because you’re human, Kalego wouldn’t want to because he seems to have some less than desirable thoughts towards “love”.

Likely due to the way he was raised I will strangle whoever came up with the Naberius rules, I swear He seems to be the type to believe love is a distraction rather than something to seek out or even want.

Probably doesn't help that you're related to a boss he hates and a student who constantly causes trouble. Not to mention who your security devil is.

Also, he probably doesn’t know you’re human still, at least in the beginning.

Because let’s be honest, at this point it’s not so much that no one trusts him with the secret so much as you just literally forgot to tell him and have assumed he knew, since both Shichirou and Opera do, and he's always involved in things that happen.

(This leads to a very funny confrontation one day when you kinda just throw out some knowledge about the human world in comparison to the Netherworld.

“You act like you’ve been there.”

“Well of course I have, it’s a bit hard to be born a human down here. Although I wouldn’t be too surprised if there's a small colony or two hidden somewhere. As a race, we're rather adaptable, it's why Iruma and I can attune to different situations so well.”

“…born as a what now?” 😐)

He may have a tiny fit about this at first.

Humans are considered weak and fragile, after all.

But he gets over it.

Once he finally admits to himself he does in fact fancy you, he still won't make a move right away.

Kalego is a surprisingly cautious demon, and he doesn't want to risk the humiliation of rejection, or make either of you uncomfortable.

He will however choose to be around you more, subtly testing the waters with your reactions to different things.

He isn't very good at it, though.

You ask to borrow a pen since yours has run out of ink? He'll hand one over with only a bit of snark, his fingers purposefully brushing against your palm and linger for a moment or two longer than necessary.

You complain, only to him, about running out of your favourite brand of something? The next day, you have an "anonymous" gift of that very thing.

He is only slightly less petty to you. Whereas other 'newbie' teachers will end up with piles of work as tall as them, yours is maybe half that.

Just as I said in Narnia's, I think demons start courtships with gifts!

I think he'll probably give you something along the lines of practicality, but specialized practicality.

Perhaps a leather-bound notebook with a pretty one of a kind design on it. If you're the artist type, he might get you the highest quality brushes with your name ingrained on them.

I still stand by that Kalego is the silent acts of service, gift giving and quiet quality time type.

He's a confirmed rich boy, and so has no issue giving you gifts he thinks are worthy of your station.

Definitely not into PDA. The most you're getting out of him in a public space is an offered elbow and a hand on your back to guide you in crowded areas. If you're lucky, you might get a hand to hold.

I don't know why, but hand holding with him just seems super OOC to me. But him placing a possessive hand on your back seems far more in character.

He's an old school lover by personality and training.

He is better at initiating at home, but not by much.

Will hug you randomly when he needs comfort, though. Buries his face in your neck to inhale your scent until he has nothing but an empty brain and you.

While he's bad at initiating touch, he's perfectly fine with you doing it. Just gotta warn him before you do bigger things.

Want to rest your head on his shoulder while you both grade? AOK, as long as you're in private.

Want to sit in his lap while you both read, sharing a glass of wine, music playing in the background? He's more than OK with that.

He also enjoys having you pet his head. Enjoys the pressure of your fingers against the spots where headaches had been forming, and then are chased away by your skilled ministrations.

Also, I feel like he would enjoy ear messages?

I personally think that much like Narnia's been confirmed to have a seriously good sense of smell, Kalego has seriously good hearing.

He says "Silence!" so much, even when the people around him don't seem that loud, because they actually are that loud to him.

Better than normal senses are both a blessing and a curse. For him, though, it's mostly a curse.

He works in a high school filled with loud teenagers and just as loud co-workers. His ears are probably practically bleeding before the first period has even started.

Which is why he enjoys the ear messages. Helps the pain go away.

When it comes to you, though? He's never been happier to have it.

He loves music, but he's found no better rhythm than your heart beat and has never heard a better vocalist, even when you're sick with a scratchy voice.

You are quite literally his favourite song.

Hope you're brushed up in musical terms, by the way. He will use them a lot.

Despite his love of music, he probably doesn't get much chance to talk about it. So you're going to bear the brunt of everything he wants to say from the "The lyrics are atrocious, but the melody is quite lovely. Though they could stand to add a piano bit here and perhaps a few more strings." to "Have you heard so-and-so's latest album? It's really very good compared to other things coming out lately. It almost seems like this band knows what they're doing. Almost."

Although let's be real, hearing him jabber on about his interests is not going to be a chore.

Speaking of interests, I hope you're OK with cacti because they are everywhere.

He likes to collect them and takes great joy in caring for them.

Will occasionally compare you to one, but he means it in a good way.

Not in a 'you're really prickly' way, but in a 'Much like their beauty, yours is incomparable and unmatched before anyone else's' kind of way.

He'll also do things for you without prompting.

Running low on items needed for a beloved hobby? You'll suddenly find them replaced the next day.

Need to eat, but you don't have the energy to cook? He'll either cook for you or have a spontaneous restaurant date.

He'll always have a fresh steaming cup of tea for you in the morning. Or your whatever your favourite drink is if you don't like tea.

On a side note, I feel bad for you coffee lovers because I'm pretty certain it doesn't exist in the Netherworld, and it doesn't seem like there is a counterpart to it.

Have fun going cold turkey! -Love from a tea enthusiast

He will play music for you!

And if you also play an instrument? Even it's just singing or a light clapping of the hands, he would love to duet with you. Having a partner to play music with is literally something I can see him looking for in a partner.

If you don't play an instrument, but like to dance? He would more than love to see you dancing to his music.

It makes him feel things he didn't know he could feel.

If you can't music or dance, don't worry! He's more than happy to just play for you as you listen.

If you're interested, though, he'll be more than happy to teach you.

Little at home dates teaching you to play the piano or the violin, or any instrument you want to learn, is one of his favourite ways to spend time with you.

Line Break

He's quite distressed though when he realizes that by courting you, he's exposing himself more to the Sullivan family. He had to call out for a few days from the headache it gave him and wanted to cry at the fact he'd have to be related to the two demons he hated most, plus his favourite problem child.

Unlike Narnia though, he's incredibly helpful with raising Iruma since he practically already saw him as his own pup anyway. (Lets be honest, all of the misfits are his kids, even if he won't admit it.)

He brings the stricter side of parenting to your softer one to help balance it out. Iruma is quite happy with this arrangement, since now he has another parent to bring pride too and encourage him.

Sullivan cries a lot at Kalego blocking him from a good portion of his overboard ideas when it comes to you and Iruma. It's one of the few times you can see Kalego and Opera working together without complaint.

He's also a real guard dog when it comes to you.

He is fully willing and able to fight off anyone and everyone who decides they want to have a go at you. Even if it's his own family members. Whether it be members who have gone rogue coughNarniacough or members who think that courting is beneath Naberius's, especially unranked demons, he'll fight them all.

Listen, I have a headcannon that the Naberius clan uses highly ranked surrogate carriers and just don't do courting/marriages because romance would be a distraction.

Kalego fully believed in this until he met you. Now he's fighting the other family members (i.e his father, because his uncle couldn't care less) into submission because he refuses to give you up.

Speaking of Naberius headcannons I'm pretty sure they all have dog tails, and while Kalego usually hides his, he'll let it out and about for you. When you're alone, of course.

He refuses to admit it out loud, but he enjoys your fingers running through his tail fur, move your fingers just right, and you might even get to see it wag a little.

Will occasionally sit down next to you and just plop his tail in your lap for the pets while pretending to have not noticed and be doing something else.

Also, he's addicted to you even if he's very good at not showing it.

He's not pleased to go an extended amount of time without seeing you.

Will be extra grump and waspish during that separation period, and then will actually be slightly touchy when you're back.

Especially after the HeartBreaker exam, he will be keeping an incredibly close eye on you, and will be making lots of excuses on why you should be spending time together. From schedule/training planning for the misfits, to paperwork discussions when on school property, to a lot of at home dates when you're not at school.

In other words you have your own personal guard dog.

[mywitchyblog]

Hey, so I really need help with something. So in my YouTuber DR, I scripted someone as my brother cause he’s close with my friends in that dr. But here in my cr I have to admit that he’s kinda cute, and now I’m wanting to make him my s/o in a different dr. But I also wanna keep him as my brother in my YouTuber dr, and it feels weird with him being my brother in one dr and me dating him in another dr. What do I do? Is it really that weird or am I just overthinking it?

Hey love, let’s fucking get into this. 💅✨ First of all, babes, you’re overthinking this whole “is it weird?” vibe way too hard. Shifting between DRs (Desired Realities) isn’t about being stuck in the rules—it’s about embracing your hot, multidimensional self and exploring whatever the hell feels meaningful to you. 💖 What’s the tea? 🍵 It’s that relationships in different realities are context-dependent, period. Scripting someone as your brother in one DR and your S/O in another isn’t weird, love—it’s just giving nuance.

Oh, and let me blow your mind real quick—you won’t even feel awkward about it while you’re in a DR. ✨ Why? Because your DR self’s awareness is totally aligned with that reality. Your YouTuber DR self will see that person as your friend, full stop. They won’t even consider them as a lover, because that’s not the narrative in that DR. 👏 You’re not dragging your CR (Current Reality) consciousness into your DR—your awareness adapts to the vibes and roles of the DR you’re in. So no awkwardness, no weirdness, just vibes. 🪐💖

Why It’s Not a Problem:

1. Context Is Queen: 👑 In your YouTuber DR, this person’s role matches that world’s energy, like duh. ✨ In another DR, they’re your romantic partner because that reality’s narrative is bringing the vibes. 🪐 Each reality has its own rules, its own truth. Own it.

2. It’s Giving Exploration: Shifting is about letting yourself experience every angle of life. If you think this person is cute in your CR, then babe, why not explore them as your bae in a DR? 😘 It’s about letting your heart and creativity run wild like the bad bitch you are.

3. Multiverse Realness: Infinite realities = infinite possibilities, hun. If the multiverse can handle you being a millionaire in one DR and a broke artist in another, it can absolutely handle a little sibling-to-S/O flip. No biggie. 💅💫

4. DR Awareness = No CR Drama: Listen up: your DR self isn’t sitting there thinking, “Oh, weird, they were my sibling in another DR!” That’s your CR brain overthinking. In your DR, your awareness syncs with the roles and dynamics of that reality. You live it, you feel it, and it’s completely natural. No CR awkwardness tagging along, okay?

Perspective is Everything

You’re not breaking some sacred shifting rulebook (because lmao, there isn’t one, bestie). What you’re doing is reveling in the freedom of shifting. You’re not just living—you’re slaying by shifting to realities that fulfill every side of you. ✨ One DR highlights family bonds; another serves romantic feels. That’s not weird; that’s range. 🔥

Think of it this way: Every DR is like a standalone Netflix show. 📺 In one, they’re your sibling; in another, they’re your lover. Nobody side-eyes fiction, so why would they here? 🖤

Tips for Your Iconic Peace of Mind:

1. Script with Intention: Write down your vibes. ✍️ Be clear on what feels right in each DR. Toss in a little note about boundaries if you need it—you’re the HBIC of your realities, babe.

2. Affirm Your Power: Say this: “I can shift to realities where relationships evolve however I choose, and that’s iconic.” Repeat it until the doubts sashay away. 🪞💕

3. Enjoy the Damn Journey: Don’t waste energy wondering if it’s “weird.” Shifting is about you. If it feels right, then it is right. Period. 💖✨

So, no, it’s not weird. It’s art. It’s freedom. It’s you being a multidimensional goddess. Go script that romance, keep slaying your YouTuber DR, and remember—you’re killing it, babe. 👑💅✨ Keep being iconic, and don’t let anyone dim your shine. ✨🪐💖

[marzipanandminutiae]

Madame Marzi I must defer to ur wisdom

Recently you rb’d a painting with some younger ladies and in the tags talked a bit about short hair in Victorian Times

Do you have any reference for how shorter hair was styled at the time? I’ve seen plenty of paintings and such with VERY short hair (post illness or perhaps childbirth) where all you can really do is smooth it back, but what about that awkward, past the shoulders sort of stage where it’s too long to just brush back but too short to do much to? Surely they had some styling guides..?

(Also, a side question— how old would one be before going from shorter skirts to adult/full length ones?)

The two little girls in the garden (probably preteens-young teens)? Yes, I did!

It's hard to find images of women with in-between hair lengths, and I'm not sure why. Possibly because they'd find ways to put it up with false hair, whereas hair too short to put up is more obvious in photos. This could also have to do with the type of woman who has pixie- or bob-length hair voluntarily vs. mid-length: the latter is more likely to be attempting a grow-out, and thus to try her darndest to do The Culturally Accepted Long Hair StylesTM where a lady who chose a much shorter look wouldn't care. If that makes sense? Because, indeed, some of the women with very short hair were not ill or postpartum: ladies could, and did, choose to eschew long locks back then. It wasn't very common, but it happened.

(Nicole Rudolph has an excellent video about localized short hair trends for ladies during the Victorian era.)

You see a lot of these bob-type looks in photographs where the hair is center-parted and either naturally curly or curled on purpose, around the mid-19th century:

(1850s or 60s)

(Author, feminist, and abolitionist Anna Elizabeth Dickinson- no relation to Emily that I know of, though Anna was also a queer female writer around the same era -c. 1860s. She wore her hair short all her life, so it was voluntary in this case.)

(Also 1860s.)

Pre-Raphaelite muse Fanny Eaton frequently appears to have chin-to-shoulder length hair, though given that she was Black with a corresponding hair texture, it's hard to tell what the actual length is- it may be long and looped up in the 1850s-60s styles popular when she was most commonly painted (most free Black women in England and the US wore styles also popular with white women, to the best of their abilities given that fashion plates assumed European-textured hair as the "norm"):

(Fanny Eaton, 1861. Also worth noting that we have no images of what her hair looked like when she wasn't posing for fantastical paintings.)

I've never actually seen an image of a Victorian woman with mid-length hair outside the context of theatrical or artistic images from the end of the century, now I think of it. Huh. It's a mystery, I suppose!

As for skirts, while in earlier periods children had basically worn miniature adult clothing, it became fashionable around the 1830s-40s to dress girls in short skirts and boys in short pants. The usual rule was knee-length until around age 10, then mid-calf-length until somewhere between 16 and 18 when skirts would be "let down" and the girl would start wearing her hair up, becoming a young adult in the eyes of society. (Contrary to popular belief, this had nothing to do with marriage- while you were theoretically eligible for it when you started dressing as an adult, girls/women younger than 20 were still often considered a bit too immature to marry. It wasn't forbidden, but many people thought it unwise. And yes, unmarried young women did still wear their hair up and their skirts long.)

...unless she preferred her hair short, which as you can see, was an option!

[zaundadsbigbang]

Zaundads Big Bang 2025 Schedule & Rules

Sign-ups open in exactly one week! So, just in case you didn’t see them yet, we're sharing our schedule and rules with you again!

Schedule:

January 20th: Sign-Ups Open

February 16th: Writer Sign-Ups Close

February 17th - March 2nd: Prompt Submissions

March 9th: Artist Sign-Ups Close

March 10th - March 23rd: Prompt Claims

March 24th - March 30th: Matching Period

March 31st: Teams Announced

April 1st: Creation Period Begins

May 1st - 5th: Check In 1 - Writers should have written around 2k of their story or be able to provide a detailed outline of the whole piece. Artists should provide first sketches/layout/design ideas.

June 1st - 5th: Check In 2 - Writers should have written around 4k of their story. Artists should have started work on their pieces.

July 1st - 5th: Check In 3 - Writers should have written around 6k of their story. Artists should provide layout/design ideas for their second piece.

August 1st - 5th: Check In 4 - Writers should have written at least 8k of their story. Artists should put finishing touches on their first piece and have started work on the second one.

September: Posting Period

Rules:

General:

- This is an 18+ event. If you are found to be younger than 18, you will be kicked out.

- We will not tolerate harrassment of any kind. Anyone behaving hatefully towards other participants or in general will be kicked out.

- Use of gen AI is prohibited.

- This event is Zaundads focused. Other background ships are allowed, but the main focus should be on Silco and Vander.

- You can write about whatever themes or topics interest you. AUs, canonverse, Dead Dove, NSFW - the sky is the limit. As long as you tag everything responsibly, anything goes.

- You do not need any previous experience to participate. Writers and artists of all skill levels are encouraged to join!

- You can sign up as both an artist and a writer, but please keep the workload in mind.

- We will have a Discord server for all participants to talk about their projects and for us to communicate about organisational matters. The server will be mandatory to join.

- Check-Ins will be conducted via email and the event Discord server. Make sure to check both your provided email and Discord regularly!

- If you miss more than TWO Check-Ins without contacting a mod, you will be considered dropped out and we will start looking for a pinch hitter.

- Please do not discuss your works publicly. We want them to be a surprise when they are posted!

- If you need to drop out or need extensions, message the mods so we can work something out for you!

For Writers:

- You will be expected to write a story with a minimum wordcount of 10k.

- This story must be completely new, previously unpublished, and stand on its own.

- You and your team will be able to choose a posting day later on. Your complete story must be posted on this day.

- Stories will be posted on ao3. When the time comes, make sure to add your story to the designated collection!

For Artists:

- You are expected to complete one main artwork (fully rendered illustration, in colour or black & white, digital or traditional) and a secondary complemetary piece, the details of which are up to you and your partner (this could be a sketch, a playlist, a moodboard, a podfic, cosplay pics, etc. If you are unsure about what is allowed and what isn't, just ask us!)

- You and your team will be able to choose a posting day later on. Both of your completed artworks must be posted on this day.

- The platform you post your art on is up to you - the event has accounts on Bluesky, Tumblr and Twitter, so at least one of these is mandatory.

For Pinch Hitters:

- You might be asked to step in if a writer or artist drops out.

- You can sign up as a regular participant and let us know you'd be willing to pinch hit, or sign up only as a pinch hitter.

- We can't guarantee that you'll be able to participate, but are endlessly appreciative of everyone who is willing to pinch hit in case of dropouts!

All relevant event information, as well as links to our other socials, can be found on our carrd:

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out here, via email or through our ask box!

[lovebugs-and-snakecharmers]

LBSC Sprint Challenge January 2025

The LBSC Sprint Challenge is now open for writers and artists! The prompts are:

1. "You're going to be really successful, I need to marry you while I still have a shot." 2. In an attempt to get her to relax already, Luka gives Marinette a "Honey Don't" List. 3. Friends with benefits consequences 4. Who betrays you once, will betray you a thousand times. There is no need to drink the whole sea to realize it is salty. 5. A gives a not really encouraging, kind of insulting, completely unrehearsed pep talk. B: "That's your pep talk?" A: "...yeah, it's a little rough." B: "A little...as a friend, you are dead to me." (Leverage) 6. Wildcard - pick any previous challenge prompt, or play LBSC Smooch Roulette to generate a prompt!

You have until Wednesday, January 29 to complete your 3 15-minute sprints/45 minute art sprint and post the results. Once you’ve completed the sprints, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions and make it feel complete, and whatever work you feel appropriate to get your art to a state you consider ‘finished’).

Please note you may sprint in the language of your choice, and you can either translate the final fic before posting, post it in the original language, or both as you choose. You can join us on the LBSC discord or sprint on your own! Just be sure to tag @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers in your final post so we will see it and reblog it. The rest of the rules can be found here under the cut.

Rules!

We’ll post a beginning and end date to the challenge, and a prompt.

Writers, If you choose to participate in the event, write for that prompt in up to three 15 minute sprints. No writing outside the sprints until you have completed all three! After the 3 sprints are complete, you have 24 hours to edit (which can include some new writing to smooth transitions, etc). You can also choose to break that 45 minutes up differently if you find a different split works better for you.  After those 24 hours, post what you’ve got. Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on AO3 or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

Feel free to sprint in whatever language is most comfortable to you! You can post it in your own language or translate it before posting, or both!

Artists, you have 45 minutes to sketch and 24 hours to do any cleanup or coloring you’d like to complete. You can split your 45 minutes up however you like, or not at all. There’s no requirements on your finished piece, just aim for whatever goal seems challenging but achievable to you.  Tag your posts with @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers so we can reblog it to the LBSC blog. If you post your work on Instagram or somewhere other than Tumblr, you can leave a link in our ask box or in the appropriate discord channel so we can be sure to promote it. After the designated challenge end date, we’ll compile a listing of the submissions and post it to the LBSC blog.

If you’re wavering as to whether or not you think you can accomplish anything in 45 minutes, we really encourage you to give the challenge a try. You may be surprised what you can do! Feel free to join us in the discord linked above so we can encourage and cheer you on.

Obviously, this has to run a bit on the honor system and we won’t be tracking your times, but please do your best to honor the spirit of the challenge! If your sprint fic becomes an Entire Thing (these things happen sometimes) and you want to continue it, feel free! However, please still post whatever you’ve got after your 3 sprints with the tag. No fair busting out a fully polished fic or art without showing us what it looked like at the challenge stage!

We want to keep this a positive space and event! This does NOT mean that you can’t write or draw anything critical of a character or episode, but it isn’t the space for character bashing or hate either. Please keep the characters in character and save the more speculative work for another time. NSFW sprint works are permitted but must be tagged appropriately (please use “NSFW LBSC sprint challenge” for easy filtering on the blog) and with appropriate warnings.  (More FAQ about the process here)

This is a Lukanette blog and a Lukanette event, so while Lukanette does not need to be the main ship, it needs to at least be included or referenced and considered endgame (in other words, they don’t have to be together by the end of your work, but the intent is that they’re headed in that direction). The decision about what qualifies for reblog rests solely with the LBSC moderators. If a piece hasn’t been reblogged within a couple of days, either the mods felt the piece didn’t meet the criteria or it was simply missed; you are welcome to reach out in the asks to inquire which. There are plenty of other spaces out there for other ships and OT3s, and people are welcome to use the challenge rules and prompts to write for their own ships! They just won’t be reblogged to the LBSC blog, and we ask that you please not use the event tag (a modified form is fine - “InsertAlternateShipName sprint challenge” instead of “LBSC sprint challenge,” for example).

Happy sprinting!

[rithshell]

first post to offer is: a big dump of my version of the koopalings......... cause i finished it yesterday and i just want to talk about it.

!!! DISCLAIMER !!!

The events here happens about years later of the original koopalings. And things got a little angsty in the process.

TW: Mention of surgical injuries.

Larry Koopa:

- 15 years old, second youngest koopaling.

- Rockstar, have a punk rock band with three friends.

Larry is the most rebellious koopa of the seven. He gets in trouble often, and it's not the type of trouble like breaking a ceramic jar or just be noisy. Nah, he gets in trouble with the police and break stuff in every concert he have. Pretty much a punk.

The most responsible one is Ludwig, making sure he doesn't get lost in the middle of the night, or intoxicated in every concert or party.

"He's just a kid" they say. "An angry kid" Ludwig corrects.

These situations made Ludwig have to get psychological help for Larry. For now, is going well, even if it's a long process.

Lemmy Koopa:

- 13 years old, the youngest.

- Juggler, circus artist.

Even if Lemmy is the youngest koopaling, and seems to be quite childish, he's quite mature when it comes to business. Since he's clearly not old enough to work in a circus, he's controlled by the crew of the Koopa Circus, which are the ones supervising Lemmy to not get hurt while doing his shows.

He's positive and the sunshine of the family, always cheering up his siblings. The closer brothership have is with Iggy.

Morton Koopa Jr.:

- 18 years old.

- Blacksmith of the castle.

Morton is actually the one that people considered that changed more. More after... What happened. Why does he have a scarf on? Easy. His jaw is broken. But like... Dislocated, almost tearing off his face. It's not pretty sure how did it happened, Bowser prefers to blame it on Mario. But what is sure, is that Morton became more intimidating after that, only seen inside his workshop, blacksmithing weapons for the Koopa Troops.

Despite the fact he's now mute, and is forced to eat specific food, Morton still have a kind soul and is a great company for his siblings. He loves to hear the new stories Lemmy have for him, attend to Larry's concerts, make a friendly fistfight with Roy, listen Iggy ramble about his new experiments, help Wendy choose her new dress, and listen Ludwig's new pieces.

Roy Koopa:

- 22 years old.

- Fighter, former boxer and street fighter.

You can think Roy as the typical 'bad boy vibe' guy. He's tough, easy going, smug... Everything you can expect from a boxer. He works with Wendy, though Wendy is more careful and intelligent while fighting, while he is more impulsive. It's not surprise Wendy won more trophies than Roy, but that's not a impediment for him.

Curiously, Roy and Wendy are the only biological siblings in the koopaling family. They don't like to remember how they started to learn how to fight...

Iggy Koopa:

- 23 years old.

- Scientist, specifically focused on biotechnology.

Iggy is a nerd. A crazy nerd. As far as his siblings know, Iggy didn't do anything too... Dangerous to experiment. More than mix some chemicals that ends up with a nosebleed and dizziness, or chemically modify a plant that actually would make the ceiling go broken. Yeah, not more than that.

But Iggy always talk about being a God, and have a strange fascination over human species. How the bodies works, how the human mind can go miles away...

The only rule is "Princess Peach must stay away from Iggy Koopa."

Wendy O. Koopa:

- 25 years old.

- Fighter, co-partner of Roy Koopa in the ring.

The only girl of the family, and the one that is obvious she grew with only men in her around. Wendy never leaves her coquette side when it comes to fighting, after all her muscles look good in a pretty pink dress that matches with her ribbon.

Wendy is not only a fighter, but also responsible of the younger ones, Larry, Lemmy and Bowser Jr. to be exact. She's a great help for Ludwig and also a great older sister, in all honesty.

VERY noisy though, if she wants to make a scandal, she won't think twice in doing it. But besides that, she's a sweetheart.

Ludwig Von Koopa:

- 30 years old.

- Musician, classical composer and professional piano player.

It's always "Ludwig is so fine" but never "Is Ludwig feeling fine?"

Ludwig is tired. Periodt. But even if he's tired, he still keeps his responsibilities in check, always acting authorative, and the one that takes most of the decisions commanded by Bowser or Bowser Jr., though he never takes Bowser Jr's suggestions. It's letting a kid rule the world, and he thinks that's pathetic.

Oftenly Ludwig prefers to pass time in his room or outside of the castle, live his adult life. Sucks at social interactions whatsoever.

He's the one that have more mental struggles, but refuses to get external help. Everytime that's mentioned, it causes an argument.

____________________

i think that's the whole thing i wanted to dump. all the other stuff works like in canon but just years later, if that makes any sense.........

i may draw more of these and also ill present my koopa oc later!!1!1!