#but the art is all mine and I genuinely adore it. super proud of myself which is a rare occurrence

[cuteniaarts]

Behold, my latest and most enamouring new obsession:

Malina, Lady of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. As if Red Lotus child OCs weren’t niche enough

[samrosemodblog]

Looking back at my art from the 2010s. I went through and picked 1 piece I drew/wrote from each year that I felt either showed off my best art, my most iconic art, my best improvement, or was simply a personal favorite of mine.

There were a lot of possible choices and it was kind of difficult to narrow it down to 1 per year, since each piece tends to encapsulate so much more than just a single moment per year. Especially with stuff like Motherly Scootaloo or Aria’s Archives encapsulating so much history in a single picture. But under the Read More are my choices at the end of the decade:

     1.) My Old Drawn Blog # 53

Man, the years before MLP existed were really weird for me. I knew I liked drawing and telling stories, but I had no consistent direction on what I wanted to do with my art. I was still jumping between different comics and ideas, and in 2010 I was going through some of the worst depression I’d ever felt in my entire life. I hadn’t even had the experience of being kicked out of the first place I tried to move out of home to yet. It was wild.

As for the ‘joke’ that seems ‘so obvious’ in this post, I had a running gag back then of the face the Flower makes, known as the ‘screaming window’ face. I drew it whenever I needed to draw something screaming in pain or fear for maximum comedic effect. Maybe I’ll bring it back some day lol

     2.) Silent Ponyville

I couldn’t NOT put Silent Ponyville on this list. I was gonna have both 1 and 2 as different spots, but I wrote them both in the same year. That seems insane to me now?? Like WOW, I just WROTE those fics and then they became fandom-wide phenomenons. To the point where even in 2019 I’m still getting people drawing fanart of it, or people telling me “Yeah, I got into Fanfiction because I read Silent Ponyville”.

I don’t know if I’ll ever make a creative piece as universally known in a fandom as Silent Ponyville again, but I sure would love to make an original piece of art that is as beloved as Silent Ponyville one day, if not more so. It’s a testament to the fact that if I put my mind to it, I can create a really amazing horror experience, and I know I do plan to do so again some day.

     3.) Pirate Dash x Dead Rainbow Dash

Who doesn’t love shipping wars that get large numbers of people involved? This is probably the second most involved in the ‘community’ I got, though it was certainly the better experience of the two. And it was all just for silly fun at the end of the day.

And funnily enough I never ACTUALLY shipped these two, I just thought the reactions from the creators seeing them be shipped was hilarious, so it just kind of grew from there. It was all fun and games at the end of the day, and made for a good memory, and a pretty dang ambitiously drawn pic for the time!

     4.) If Twilight Wasn’t a Princess

2013 was surprisingly sparse as far as ambitious projects or art pieces go. I was in full swing with Motherly Scootaloo, and nothing really ‘amazing’ happened in 2013 for the blog. Which was surprising. But Season 4 of MLP DID happen! And it started with the Princesses going missing, and authority over Equestria being transferred to Twilight as the next closest Princess around. And with Cadance ruling the Crystal Empire, I thought, who did that leave to rule if Twilight HADN’T been able to temporarily take the role?

And judging by the length of the comments section on DA, a lot of people found the idea hilarious as well lol. Blue Blood NEVER showed up again for the entire run of the show, and it’s a shame because there was a lot of hilarious joke potential they could’ve done with him. But ya know, the show is what it is is, and this joke still makes me laugh.

     5.) My Time

My first original music video, with a song I had commissioned and everything! While it wasn’t my first video involving music and MLP, it was the first time everything was mine in one way or another. I wish I could write music, but the ambitiously talented AllLevelsAtOnce and Queen Mickey the Sass Master made this project well worth the time and effort put into making it!

And of course, it encapsulates the kind of futures I wish the CMC had acquired, with Sweetie Belle finally achieving her foreshadowed talent of singing. Apple Bloom built the stage, and Scootaloo likely would’ve ended up the choreographer if not for her baby. Sadly we shall only ever have fanon for that.

     6.) Demonloo

Love or hate the wedding arc of Motherly Scootaloo, this will always be one of, if not my top, favorite panel from the entire arc. Scootaloo looks just so appropriately menacing, and the effects placed on her are glorious. And then of course, I love the little twist of “That’s not just an audience visual effect, she actually looked that way in the comic” rofl

Motherly Scootaloo was a trip that got weird with my inclusion of magic and magical beings from the show, so much so to the point that if I were to ever remake the whole thing one day, a LOT of that would be toned down. Probably to the point Chronus wouldn’t exist. But hey, things are the way they are, but I will forever love the art of this arc.

     7.) A Motherly Scootaloo Christmas

If there ever was a picture that basically summarized the entirety of Motherly Scootaloo, it was this picture. Pretty much ever major character of the stories over the years was in the picture (minus Starlight) and showing their relations to everyone pretty much. I remember this picture basically killing me when I was drawing it, but was really proud at the time of how it came out. Of course, I could see how to improve it now, but I’m not gonna lol

It’s still crazy to me how many years Motherly went on for, and how much time and effort was put into it. But I’m still glad I did all of it over those years. It taught me so much about art, and about myself, and in the end, taught me the skills I needed to make art a true career for myself. And I’ll always love it for that. And introducing me to the best friends I’ve ever had, of course.

     8.) Twilight-Midnight is PISSED

Look. I recognize the Aero crossover had some convoluted issues with it, but god DAMN if I didn’t enjoy drawing that fight scene! I GENUINELY loved every panel of it! I can only hope that in the future the fight scenes I draw will be just as fun to draw as these were. And as visually impressive!

That’s ultimately why this won my pic over say, the time-glitch arc with her Mom. The explosions, the action lines, the visual foreshortening, I’ve never seen such visual improvements in a single update from me quite like I have these entire scenes. When I push myself to be amazing, I can pull off some fantastic art, and I need to do it more!

     9.) A StarTrix Christmas

2018 had a LOT of really good choices. Like. Too many choices. So many art pieces I was super proud of, so many pieces that showed growth as an artist, was a personal favorite, that people loved... So in the end, I went with the piece from the end of the year that is still a piece I hold up as truly a cultivation of how much effort I can put in to a picture.

Also it’s Christmas related. I LOVE Christmas. Never enough Christmas.

And as much as I hate FriendLight Glimmer, I still ADORE StarTrix content. It’s the good food for me, one of the rare things that the later era of G4 got right for me. And since I can make them be however I want in fanon, making them a GOOD loving couple was top priority for me, and I just adore them together. I truly do. And this picture is beautiful because of the love I put into it.

     10.) Fate of the Lost Princess

I couldn’t NOT put Fate of the Lost Princess on this list. It’s too important to me, means too much to me, and shows my growth as an artist the most. And of the pages of Fate of the Lost Princess I have done so far, the piece of Tina and Noah on a bus stands out the most for me because, I ACTUALLY managed to make it look and feel like they were on a bus! I was so worried about this page and I spent so long working on making it look right, and in the end, I succeeded in a way I never thought I could!

It feels good to end the decade on my original webcomic, showing just how much I’ve grown as an artist. Going from a successful fanartist, to a successful original artist, that still does fanart on the side, but I’ve grown into my own person now.

I’ve lost track of how many times I tried to start an original comic, only to stop working on it and let it fade into obscurity. Fate of the Lost Princess is the most effort and work I’ve put into an original comic before, and I’m so proud of myself for not only getting as far as I have, but proud of how much effort I plan to put into it in the future, and how much effort I’ll put into the comics beyond Fate of the Lost Princess.

It represents everything that is me from the last 10 years, and I hope it’ll be the fantastic start of the 2010s I want it to be. And I couldn’t have picked something to be more proud of to wrap this decade up with.

[tamlenlovedmahariel]

Eshalinjune ‘Shalin’ Mahariel, Hero of Ferelden, and main protagonist of my Origins rewrite with the question: “what would change in the story if Tamlen and Mahariel had a child before the events of the prologue?”

Read it here and follow #eshalinjune-mahariel for updates and art

finally done! ouf, took me so long but i’m super proud of it. Eshalinjune ‘Shalin’ Mahariel is the dalish main i’m writing a story about. it’s a rewriting of origins, but what if mahariel and tamlen had a child prior to the prologue. given who the dalish are and the importance of children, she would never leave her child behind. so there you have it, a tale of parenthood and learning to love people you never thought you would ever stop hating. shalin loves her companions deeply, becoming fast friends with oghren who is her best friend throughout her adventures, then falling in platonic love with sten, who she often jokes is the husband to her soul. both she had no problem forming lasting, meaningful relationships with, but her hatred of shems is like a second skin. she will never know how to do more than care for wynn, shale and leliana,  too estranged from reality to truly grasp the struggle of the dalish or endear themselves to shalin. but, defying all her own morals, she finds herself begrudgingly more fond of alistair by the minute, eventually finding in him a man she wants to see profoundly happy. morrigan, once realizing shalin has suffered greatly, all her life, and yet came out stronger and revengeful, opens herself to the dalish. when shalin isn’t sleeping with zevran, she alternates and shares morrigan’s furs. late into the night, they whisper secrets to each other, eyes deep into the other’s, and in each other, they’ve found a sister they won’t ever let go of. her mabari’s name, ici, is the only private joke she has with leliana, and an essential emotional support for shalin. with his almost people-like intelligence, shalin never hesitates to have him babysit ishal while she takes a nap or smooches zevran in the bushes (his words, not hers). she adores this dog to pieces.  this is the tale of how eshalinjune mahariel found a clan away from her clan.

oc templates from @eerronblack​ (here) @windupzenos​ (here)

photos & art are either mine (shalin & ishal in template 1 ; pictures 2, 3, 4 and 5 in template 2) or from pexels, which is a free resource and stock pictures site which i cannot recommend enough if you want to make aesthetic boards without stealing someone’s pictures

if you wonder why i format my posts, using and abusing of italics, bold and lists, it’s because i’ve noticed, as someone with adhd, that i’m much more able to read long blocks of texts if they have ‘breaks’ in them, in the form of formatting. so i’m doing it both for myself and for other people who might find it useful. sorry if you dislike it, but this is the difference between your aesthetic preference and my comfort, so you’ll have to deal with it, and i’m genuinely sorry if that makes you leave

[dimancheetoile]

Eshalinjune ‘Shalin’ Mahariel, Hero of Ferelden, and main protagonist of an Origins rewrite with the question: “what would change in the story if Tamlen and Mahariel had a child before the events of the prologue?”

Read it here and follow the #eshalinjune-mahariel for updates and art

finally done! ouf, took me so long but i’m super proud of it. for those interested, Eshalinjune 'Shalin' Mahariel is the dalish main i’m writing a story about. it’s a rewriting of origins, but what if mahariel and tamlen had a child prior to the prologue. given who the dalish are and the importance of children, she would never leave her child behind. so there you have it, a tale of parenthood and learning to love people you never thought you would ever stop hating. shalin loves her companions deeply, becoming fast friends with oghren who is her best friend throughout her adventures, then falling in platonic love with sten, who she often jokes is the husband to her soul. both she had no problem forming lasting, meaningful relationships with, but her hatred of shems is like a second skin. she will never know how to do more than care for wynn, shale and leliana,  too estranged from reality to truly grasp the struggle of the dalish or endear themselves to shalin. but, defying all her own morals, she finds herself begrudgingly more fond of alistair by the minute, eventually finding in him a man she wants to see profoundly happy. morrigan, once realizing shalin has suffered greatly, all her life, and yet came out stronger and revengeful, opens herself to the dalish. when shalin isn’t sleeping with zevran, she alternates and shares morrigan’s furs. late into the night, they whisper secrets to each other, eyes deep into the other’s, and in each other, they’ve found a sister they won’t ever let go of. her mabari’s name, ici, is the only private joke she has with leliana, and an essential emotional support for shalin. with his almost people-like intelligence, shalin never hesitates to have him babysit ishal while she takes a nap or smooches zevran in the bushes (his words, not hers). she adores this dog to pieces.  this is the tale of how eshalinjune mahariel found a clan away from her clan.

oc templates from @eerronblack​ (here) @windupzenos​ (here)

photos & art are either mine (shalin & ishal in template 1 ; pictures 2, 3, 4 and 5 in template 2) or from pexels, which is a free resource and stock pictures site which i cannot recommend enough if you want to make aesthetic boards without stealing someone’s pictures

if you wonder why i’ve been formatting my posts a lot recently, using and abusing of italics, bold and lists, it’s because i’ve noticed, as someone with adhd, that i’m much more able to read long blocks of texts if they have ‘breaks’ in them, in the form of formatting. so i’m doing it both for myself and for other people who might find it useful. sorry if you dislike it, but this is the difference between your aesthetic preference and my comfort, so you’ll have to deal with it, and i’m genuinely sorry if that makes you leave

[sxftie]

The only picture from New Years because honestly I was just enjoying being around my friends with a chill night in playing some board games and screaming early 2000s pop and high school musical songs until 4am that being said I wanna be all reflective for a minute because while it doesn’t feel like it a lot really did happen over 2018 that I need to shine light on because they’re things to be proud of

1. I went to therapy - I’d been to see countless psychiatrists and doctors and had rounds of therapy before 2018 I finally got to see a therapist who genuinely listened and helped me a lot and honestly probably even more than I know though unfortunately I ran out of sessions with her and it’s been hard but it’s made me more hopeful that there is help for me it just unfortunately takes going through the motions but it is very much worth it!!

2. I managed to go to 2 concerts by myself!! Whattttt!!! I don’t leave the house really at all because I’ve still so much to work on with my agoraphobia & social anxiety but I pushed myself to go to 2 shows alone and that’s major for me and I’m so proud! Even though it was supposed to be 3 and I didn’t go to one because I was far too overwhelmed I’m glad to say that I didn’t beat myself up over it either which also is a big deal!

3. I started posting my more unconventional make up looks and I know they’re not super spectacular or photographed well I don’t really care because I’m proud to have started doing that I enjoy doing them so much and I haven’t enjoyed creating in such a long time it makes me incredibly happy

4. I’ve slowly been trying to stick up for myself more which is so hard for me since I usually keep quiet and I’ve a long way to go but it’s a start!

5. My self esteem has improved!! Even if only a tiny tiny little bit! Progress is still progress✨

6. I made amends with a friend who this time last year I wasn’t speaking to and it hurt my entire being to even think about and it’s such a weight that’s been lifted and I hope that goes for her too!

7. I’ve a deposit down to go to Disney world in September which blows my miiiiind I’m so excited! It’s still not a 100% thing yet so it may not happen but I’m hopeful and fingers crossed should find out very soon if it is gonna go forward!!

8. I got to hang out with an artist I adore and make art with her and a group of super lovely and wonderful people and I would really love to do it some more hopefully!

9. I started listening to some new music and podcasts which both were low key goals of mine over the year! Particularly I wanted to try and listen to more female artists because I don’t have enough of them in my musical repertoire and I wanna support them!

10. I’ve started to allow myself to be vulnerable about certain feelings a bit more again only a little bit but I’m working on being less embarrassed by/of myself!

2018 felt like it lasted forever but also I can’t believe it’s over and although I don’t remember a lot of what went on what I do remember makes me feel proud and it has allowed me to at the very least lay down some foundations for 2019 so I can continue to try and love myself and improve myself even if it takes longer than I would prefer it’s wild how even the smallest things eventually will add up and you’ll see you’re a lot further along than you would have thought and that doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult or that there aren’t any points of heartbreak and rough spots!! I’m proud of myself and will continue to try and make myself proud in 2019 🖤🖤🖤

[joonsjeon]

I recently hit 1K followers and wanted to take my time to thank the people that have been by my side throughout that journey! 💛 :’) I’m glad I could meet so many amazing people and make new friends. I appreciate every single one of you and I am wishing you all the best for whatever it is that you’ve got planned at the moment and also the best of luck, health and happiness for the rest of the year!!   I have been on tumblr for quite a while but this is the first blog that I really put a lot of heart and effort into because with each day that passed I came to appreciate the community on here more and more... so I guess all I wanted to do is say thank you for making my time here feel so special & worthwhile and that goes for mutuals and followers alike! 💕✨🌸���💐💫💗🌿💖✨🌺 (If there’s a 💌 next to your name it means I couldn’t help myself but write a smol letter for you under the cut)

0-9 @11mark @4yugy 💌 @2seokk a-h @actualkpopgarbage @admincl @ahgamark @bangtan-the-scene  @baby-namjoon @cuddly2jae @cuddletuan @carameltuan @defsbeom 💌 @demongyeom 💌 @defsmullet @euphoriakkook @fiirtyoongi @gothyugyeom @hearteu33 @heartoftae @hoodiejaebum i-o @ibegin @ilufelix @iridescent--wings @jacksonwangblog 💌 @jaebumskitten 💌 @jajajaebum @jingyeomie 💌 @jj-nyoung @jungkookio @kaiskitten @kooksluv @kthsv @lattegyeom @loeyars @lorna-lehnsherr @m-arkyien @mahelene @markbeommie @markeu-poo @markiepoohismysunshine @marksonbiased @marshmallowmyg @mayjay-got7 @mochabam 💌 @mochimood @morkdaily @mumbleybummie @nnamgi @ohjinyoung 

p-z @paradisejaebum @parkhabits @pekotuan @sapphirebluemt 💌 @skatertuan @softjnyoung @taetaetuan 💌 @theycallme-tunathot @thirstyrapmon @timetohajima @wenchgyeom @wooooooooooozi @yugifs

4yugy/ Katie My beautiful queen & loml Katie!! ✨💕 you are the sweetest, cutest most adorable package of milk I have ever seen! (yes that picture will forever be stuck in my head fdsghjkl) I don’t even have words for how much you mean to me and I could never even begin to describe how deeply I care for you 😔💞 you’re the Jin to my Jungkook and the Yugyeom to my Mark. You never fail to make me happy with your adorable snaps and your cute voice… it’s like music to my ears when you speak german!! ☺️ You always make me feel so loved and I sincerely hope that I can make you feel the same way... If there’s anything I want it is to meet you irl my cute precious peach lover, get you your favorite german food and then work on that list we started a while ago :’)) please don’t ever change, you are the most precious beautiful person I have ever met and I love you so so much 💕💐✨🌸💗 Jacksonwangblog/ Karo Have I ever seen somebody love Jackson as much as you do? No I did not. Will I ever meet someone who loves him as much as you do? That is very unlikely because that boy owns every little piece of your heart 🤧💞 even all the way back before we started talking I just admired how much you love him :’) ✨ You are such a kind and warmhearted person which not only makes it easy to talk to you but also automatically puts me in a good mood while talking to you and like… thank you so much for that? 🌸 Even though we didn’t talk for a while it made me very happy that we started again heh and obviously, the best of luck to you for those got7 tickets!! 💛

Jingyeomie/ Abby: Abby!! 💖 you are so so so sweet, nice, kind, humble and lovely 🤧 It amazes me how positive you always are and idk I just want to protect that precious heart of yours?? when we talk I can’t help myself but smile and exactly that is why you deserve all the happiness in the world :’)) also.. you are soo talented!! and I know that I have said this before but your headers are such works of art! 💞💐💫 I’m still in love with mine I probably won’t ever stop loving it fjshs and again thank you so much for making it!! Hopefully you will get to see your precious yugy & jinyoung in Paris soon and if not there then I hope you get to see them another time. I love you a lot and I’m really happy that we are still talking after such a long time... all the best for you and hoepfully you’re already feeling better 😌💗 mochbam/ Jem Jem 💛 first of all let me put out there that you are so talented!! Your gifs and edits are so so beautiful, every single one has put a smile on my face when I saw it 😌💖 All the time and effort you put into them, I just wanna thank you for loving our 7 boys the way you do!! Plus I bet BamBam is a proud boyfriend as well, not only is his girlfriend talented but also super pretty and lovely and cute I could ramble about this for days fkjsks. But seriously, the way you love him is absolutely adorable and it makes you feel so warm inside? To know that Bam got someone out there supporting and loving him the way you do?? 🤧💞 Anyway, I am thankful that we started talking because it is so easy and fun and honestly, you made my day so many times… Be strong and always be you, “Jem aka the sweetest person on the planet” - I love you!! 💘

sapphirebluemt/ Ashley My fellow mark stan Ashley!! 💗 To be completely honest, I don’t exactly remember how we started talking? But in the end that doesn’t even matter because I am just really glad /that/ we did!! And what’s even more important is that right off the bat we had such funny but also incredibly supportive conversations about... certain guys lmao and I really trust you a lot because of it! 💞💫 When we talk there’s just so much positivity? Idk I really appreciate our talks and most of all I really appreciate you because you are such an amazing, genuine and kindhearted person!! Don’t let anybody ever take that away from you and I wish you all the best for your future and that hopefully some if not all of your wishes and dreams come true 💜

Taetaetuan/ Ven My lovely Ven!! 💞 You are one of the first people I started talking to on here and that was quite a few months ago… I loved every moment of it though. Talking to you is so much fun and has definitely made me laugh more than once, whether it is BTS or GOT7 we’re screaming about it doesn’t matter. We always find something :’)) I appreciate you a lot, thank you so much for sticking around and being the lovely person that you are! 💕 And I am still and will forever be jealous of your trip to Korea djsahd, thank you for sharing that experience with me!! 💫 You deserved to go and you deserve to go again and again because you are amazing 😌 You really just deserve everything you wish for. I know life has been crazy for both of us and we don’t talk as often as we used to because of it, but I feel so much joy when we do catch up with each other or when I see your name on my dash again. Thank you for being you! 💗✨🌸 Defcult and by that I mean the most amazing people on this entire planet earth: defsbeom, demongyeom & jaebumskitten Honestly, I gotta start off by saying words could not do justice how much exactly I love you guys? :(( This chaotic trio means so so much to me that it even goes beyond what one would call love... You are like family to me, the sisters I never had but always wanted 💕 I just know that I can count on every single one of you guys and it doesn’t even matter what it is about because the amount of support that is happening within this group is absolutely out of this world 🤧💖 (and so is the teasing for that matter) Our chat is weird in the most beautiful way and I can’t even tell you how many times you guys have made my day because I did stop counting at some point, sorry. The defcult itself doesn’t even exist that long and still everything about it feels so natural and like it has always been there 💞✨💐Thank you so much for dealing with my annoying (and sometimes drunk) ass all the time djagkshf I wouldn’t know what to do without you – and I actually mean that :< My defmom, defpup & defbat I love you extremely much and it means the world to me that we have found each other… you just took my heart and made it yours 💛 (alongside Jungkook that is because he’s still the number one bunny :3 ) The crystal balls 🔮 say that we will have a brilliant future with lots of love, good fanfiction that will take our souls, weird dreams where you suddenly reject and disrespect your own father and even more love for us and our precious boys :’)) 

[kalonsugar]

If you want any of these removed just message us or send us an ask! <3 I got these from the Kalon Item Giveaway being held by rnirai

@ lordren - ren, introducing you to this community has been an amazing, lovely journey, and i always feel so lucky to share the experience of this community with you. youre so talented and watching you grow has been such a delight and i know others feel the same. not to mention how hardworking you are outside of cs, too. you inspire me, ren, and motivate me not just on cs but in everything i do! thank you, i love you so much! @ néktar - star is literally one of the sweetest people ive met. ive never caught her in a bad moment, and speaking with her is always a highlight of my day. she's incredibly helpful and easy to talk to, and i adore listening to her many ideas due to the fact that literally all of them are so brilliantly imaginative and perfect. star has true talent, as well as true kindness, and im very very very happy to consider her a friend! @ ȶigressa - probably my first real friend in the community around a year ago, and still someone i consider a friend to this day. tig is incredibly gifted and honestly hilarious, there's never a dull moment speaking to her as she always knows how to brighten the conversation. she has a genuinely good heart, and deserves every bit of praise possible. she works so hard and i am very proud of her! i also want to thank her for keeping me company last summer; i wasnt in the best place but we stayed up and chatted all the time. it was incredibly kind of her to keep me company, even when i was in a bad mood.

- toadkind

Trollish - Okay so I really don't know how to start this but, I first messaged you in the kalon community to do my hm custom and you've actually accepted it, and Keeko turned out amazing. But we kind of met in a different community bc you did my RU for furtopians although nothing was really thought of since you were an artist & it was your job, but in this community we started talking more and kind of gossiping about ourselves, but it just stopped, so I just came here to say that, Trolli, you're absolutely amazing so please don't let anybody tell you otherwise. Colour - Uhh, I'm bad at starting things. First of all, I'm loving Raymond's and Elfie's relationship although we don't really talk about them, but ever since we started talking on Skype I think that we've gotten at least a little closer?? I know that I'm a weirdo and I honestly dont even know why you stick around, but I enjoy your company and just the little things that we may joke about, and you do help me a lot, and you're honestly super sweet, so thank you for being my friend <3 If I'm ever too much for you, just say so and I'll calm myself down lmao Jello - So, jello, you've disappeared on me and I know that you most likely won't even see this, but you were my first ever friend in this community and I really miss talking with you. The start of our relationship was the mateship between Aiko & Celeste and their relationship is still a favorite of mine. Especially when they had their kits hh, developing and roleplaying them were really fun. You're honestly really funny and nice and I honestly want you back in my life because you made everything better, so I'm hoping that you'll come back to me soon, although you've never messaged me on Skype. Karmel - Well, we don't personally know each other but that doesn't mean that you aren't great. You're doing a great thing for this community and I'm honestly so happy that the community is amazing. I know that you're really sweet and nice, and I honestly hope that we can talk more and get to know each other better, but I know that you're busy so pfft, that probably wouldn't happen so aaa

- Kaori Miyazono.

imp.- you're honestly the first friend //and only one :')// I made in this community! and the first person who can deal with all the crap I have to say,, even though you don't see it you are a very caring person, you're so generous, thoughtful and kind! You always say that Ive done too much but in reality you've helped me more than I would of, I'd doubt I would still be in this wonderful community without you! I know this might seem small compared to others who give so much gratitude to so many wonderful people, but just know that you brighten my day so much when I talk to you. I don't know what else to say, I'm just so grateful to be your friend and I just hope we can still be friends :D!

- Akame-chan

Zailune: I just want to say how amazing you are! Your art is stunning, so unique, your kalons are beautiful, and you're such a kind person! I've always admired you! BuzzyLee: You are so, so kind. Our community needs more people like you. Your art is just... So amazing! It's so kind of you to just... Give it away a lot when you could sell it for so much! Sixbane: Your art. Just wow. There are no words for how much I admire both you and your art. I've always looked up to you! happysparrow: You are so, so sweet! We've had so many great conversations and you've been so great to me! Your art is just beautiful and your kalons are all so unique and loved. Karmel: You are so amazing for being able to keep up with us! I admire your ability to run this species so smoothly! I think that's all my brain can come up with for now!

- Bailey-Boo

To my dear friend, Shadow9119. Although you might never read this as you've decided to retire from ChickenSmoothie, others just seriously need to know of your kindness. I can be a difficult person to deal with (On account of many emotions and just the daily stuff I have to put up with in my school life) it's nice to have someone to fall back on when no one else would hear me out. Coming into a new community is never an easy thing and they've always been there since I first joined as an outsider to aid my struggles of just fitting in to this ever growing community and I just can't get over how sweet of a person the are. Love ya, Shad!

- Credit

[ginaziegler]

Hello nuggets. I have just gotten home from a busy day. I am currently writing this from the soggy discomfort of my current attire. I opted to make a pit stop to catch the sunset and ended up getting caught in the rain. No piña coladas were consumed in the process. Is that still a relevant reference? It has been another busy week. My head is still coming down from the week de anxiety. and I’m still sorting out residual stress. There’s been a lot going on lately. I know I repetitively say that, but my list has not gotten shorter at all this summer. Right now it’s more so a scroll. My list gets filled quicker than I can do what’s on it. It has been fairly stressful, but there are a lot of good things on the list so it’s better to have it that way than the opposite.

I’ve also been a bit stressed about my birthday which is also quickly approaching. In a little over a week I will be turning 30. Yuck. I’ve already had a quarter and mid year breakdown about it and have since gotten over it. However, that feeling has been slowly creeping back. The “What have I done with my life?” and “Why am I not further along?” questions have been seeping back in. I’ve been throwing around the “F” word for a bit lately, but I am very aware that it’s my anxiety just trying to tell me that I’m a “Failure.” It’s easy to feel inadequate when you look at things from the perspective of what you haven’t done yet. It’s a terrible habit to get into. It’s bad for your noggin and for your overall health. That’s straight up mental science for you! Looking back on things, I have accomplished so much. There is plenty to be proud of. I’ve been trying to take some time to reflect on that and really take note of the progress I have made. For every thought my anxiety tries to throw my way, I kung fu kick it with something great I’ve done! I have been doing a photo of the day each day for the past several years. The photos are centered around the highlight of my day. Going through those really puts things into perspective. I can visually see the progress and feel less and less like a failure. I feel more and more like the person I am meant to be. I see me growing in the correct direction, nearing where I am meant to be in life. I know this whole failure talk isn’t true and I’m doing my best to ignore it. If nothing else, it gives me one hell of a drive to prove it wrong even more. So take that, anxiety.  “Fantastic” is the new “F” word. Or maybe it’s “Functional Enough.” I can think of a few more appropriate “F” words but we haven’t got all day here. Only 10 more days of crisis mode and then I just have to deal with it and all the terrible ailments and bad knees that life has to offer. Yay, old age! 

I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but I work at a theater that does a huge haunted house every October. It may sound a bit odd that we’ve already started working on it…in August. The building has officially begun so my mind has been totally fixated on halloween mode. I’m talking pumpkins, horror movies, fall leaves, the whole shebang! There’s going to be a whole lot of painting that needs to get done, so it’s very nice to start that process now. For those of you unfamiliar with building a haunted house, there is a ton of work that goes into it. Each year we redesign our haunt to bring new themes and new designs. That means that each year, most of our maze needs to be repainted, built, and assembled. Characters need to be created, ideas need to be sorted out! There is always work to be done! We’ve already started painting, which I’m pretty excited about. There are tons and tons of walls that need to be distressed which is funny because if you drop the “di-” you get what the entire theater feels for the month of October! I’m hoping that starting early will relieve stress as we get closer to our opening. However, the realist in me knows we’ll be working hard until the day we open (and let’s be honest throughout the run as well). It’s something I look forward to and am very excited to spend time working late nights with the people that I absolutely adore! It’s worth it for the people, alone. It’s a family that I am so happy to be part of.

Speaking of Halloween, this past weekend I got to meet some pretty neat people! I woke my butt up early and drove out to a horror convention! I went to check out some amazing art from local artists and crafters, and meet some of my childhood favorites! Most of them have made some pretty memorable appearances in some horror based films, while others have made appearances in other films! This weekend I was able to meet Kathy Najimy of Hocus Pocus fame. She is an absolute delight of a person! What a sweet woman! She’s such a huge part of the halloween season, so I was very much so excited to meet her! I also met THE Pinhead from the Hellraiser films, Doug Bradley. Though he may look terrifying in Hellraiser, he is probably one of the kindest people I have met! Kill Bill’s Vivica A. Fox was a joy and absolutely hilarious! A genuine human!  My elementary school crush, Devon Sawa of Final Destination fame was just as lovely as I could have hoped he would be. I not so secretly loved him in Wild America so it was really nice to chat about that for a little bit! My 90’s heart was swooning hard over the Sawa. Plenty of Teen Magazine posters of Devon existed in my youth, so now this photo of him and I can exist in adulthood! I was also able to meet Joey Lauren Adams from Big Daddy and Chasing Amy this past weekend. She was super sweet and took the time to chat!  I didn’t stay too too long. There was so much to see, I was on sensory overload.

Kathy Najimy

Vivica A. Fox

Joey Lauren Adams

Doug Bradley

Devon Sawa

This week has also been pretty great for the short films I have been working on with some friends of mine. Both of our films (@BaeShortFilm and @ScarletCircleSF) have been selected for a few more festivals which we are very excited about! Tomorrow one of our films, Bae, will be screening at a Drive-In Theater which is so, so cool! I have never been to a drive- in, which is a little blasphemous for a film/theater nerd like myself, but I’m looking forward to it!

For now, I will leave with these abridged and scattered updates! I swear I’ll be better to you, internet friends. I know I’ve been neglectful, but a short post is better than no post, amiright? Perhaps 30 year old Gina will be a better, more controlled writer. Maybe she will be wittier and more majestic! Maybe she will win the lottery and hire a ghost writer to secretly write blog posts only to have it unveiled in a very public internet scandal. Who’s to say? I cannot wait to share more in the coming weeks as always! There will be more adventure posts! I do have a few still in the works! There will be a boat load of haunt talk because I do not exist for most of September and all of October outside of the haunt. Expect all kinds of halloween/horror/fall posts! After all, this is my favorite time of year! I adore you, I think you’re all doing great. Now tell me what horror or halloween movies I need to watch this season, because I’m ready for it! Until next time…

-Gina

    If it’s Wednesday, this must be Gina’s new blog post. Hello nuggets. I have just gotten home from a busy day. I am currently writing this from the soggy discomfort of my current attire.