#for the record this is about hobby art and not professional level things

[hope-of-virgo]

goals 2024

so it's around about the time of year where i make resolutions, and fortunately my schedule will start clearing up around may. perfect time to fill up my schedule again.

compete in a pole competition didn't get to do this last year due to getting surgery about 6 weeks prior to the performance date, and was like "hmm better not push my luck on the recovery". turns out that was a great decision, i was out of action for about 3 months after a complication. i've got my song picked out and a basic idea of where i'm going with the choreo, and that's a decent amount of the work out of the way. there's also a distinct possibility that my aerial dance sport will impact negatively on my career if it ever comes to light, so i'm determined to actually accomplish something in that space before i'm forced to choose between my sport and my job. also, not to mention the elephant in the room, but i'm also approaching 35 years old and on a functional level your body does start to break down as you get older. i might not be able to do it forever, and i'd like to do something cool while i still can.

change jobs didn't just do a social work qualification to not use it. child protection is hiring anyone with a qualification and a heartbeat, to the point that they're hiring people on working holiday visas to fill the skills gap. my current workplace is getting even more toxic than usual (@gotouhitori and @tamaaya68000 have been trying to convince me for l i t e r a l l y years to change jobs, ever since that one awesome time i came home from work and tried to do the big yeet. turned into 3 weeks off work due to mental health instability, and nearly 3 years later i'm still fucking there, somehow. work's in the process of hiring a "change management consultant" not just for the hospital redevelopment but also for the electronic medical record, and "change management" and "layoffs" typically go hand in hand.

take a course in data analytics my area of professional interest is, amongst other things, how harm minimisation practices and other proactive measures save the social services system money in the long run. i already have qualifications in accounting and statistics, and i'm not likely to want to stay in client-facing positions forever. typically lobbying government etc tends to be more effective when you can present actual dollar amounts as to what inaction is costing them, and in these Troubling Economic Times, they're looking to save money wherever possible. my clinical coding quals also come in handy here; they added a 5th character to some f-block codes to track presence of methamphetamine, for fuck's sake, you'd be stupid to not do something with that data. the intersection of social issues and healthcare has been interesting to me for years, and there's definitely room to affect change in that space.

change my ~*aesthetic*~ i've basically been living in my work uniforms for the last 5 years, and i'm trying to create a better work-life balance, which starts by changing clothes. a recent discovery is that an aesthetic i really enjoy in my personal life is "cool art teacher", even if my work attire still trends as "slutty librarian", which isn't something i'm looking to change. i've also never had the chance to do anything with my hair, and it's going to look a bit like a midlife crisis, but it's part of the Process.

hit platinum in a competitive game league is the low-hanging fruit on this one, but i'm not sure whether there's a high enough population on the oceanic server to get decent competitive matchmaking integrity above mid-gold. i'd do magic arena, but there's no ranked competitive for the only format i'm interested in (historic brawl), and i'm not looking to sink like $300 into keeping up with standard.

finish some knitting projects i cast on a crop top this time last year and it's still not fucking done. i'm kinda gun-shy on the entire hobby due to suffering a bit of a trauma last year, and i tend to put down whatever i was doing at the time the trauma happened. case in point: when me eating was so intrinsically linked to someone specific and then they broke up with me, i ate barely anything for nearly 18 months.

start collecting movies, music, and tv shows on physical media i'm generally against piracy when there are other options available; i'm kinda cracking the shits with a lot of digital services at the moment due to every studio and distributor under the sun having their fucking hands out. hell no i'm not paying an additional fee to paramount plus simply to watch star trek discovery, fuck that. sure it's irritating to have to change cds, and there's still a place for streaming music in my life, but artists already see a small enough slice of the pie and smaller bands like cry club and teenage joans really rely on shit like merch and record sales to get by.

this will likely have stuff added to it as i remember, but i've spent long enough dicking around writing this rather than getting ready for my house inspection next week, so

[clansocreations]

[Disclaimer: this is a bunch of art history facts and tidbits masquerading as Midnight Pals fanfiction. I am so bored. Midnight Pals is by @bitterkarella , it's very good and you should read/listen. hello good day and I am so sorry]

Nièpce: Uhm. Bonjour. I would like to introduce you you all this new thing I made called a heliograph?

Caravaggio: who the fuck invited the chemist.

Hopper (looking at the heliograph): I like it. It reflects the tristesse and pointlessness of the world.

Genteleschi (talking over Hopper,to Caravaggio): who the fuck invited you.

Stieglitz: I like it and I'll argue your case but you must NEVER bring up the word "Kodak"

(A cartoonish brawl breaks out in the background)

Nièpce: What's a Kodak?

(scene)

Turner: I would like to introduce to you my painting Snow Storm – Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth Making Signals in Shallow Water, and going by the Lead. The Author was in this Storm on the Night the "Ariel" left Harwich

(Everybody looks at the painting)

Hopper: but what's the painting called.

Turner (sarcastically): it was called many things by the critics.

Turner:...

Turner: you can call it snowstorm.

(scene)

Duchamp: I would like to introduce you to my painting "Nude descending a staircase"....

Gauguin (startling out of deep sleep): Tits??

Gauguin (squinting at the painting): .....

Gauguin: go fuck yourself Marcel.

Genteleschi (nursing a stab wound from the earlier fight) That's what you should do, then you'd stop making women sick.

(murmurs of agreement)

(scene)

Dramatis personae:

Nicephore Nièpce, an early pioneer of photography (his heliograph is today regarded the first photograph ever)

Alfred Stieglitz: American photographer, part of the pictorialist movement that heavily pushed the "photography is a form of art too damn it" angle after the Eastman Kodak company released the first commercially viable photo camera and photography went from a totally obscure nerd hobby that only a few people could even pull off to something that everyone could easily do.

Caravaggio: Renaissance painter. Most of the information that exists on him are court records of his stab-happy crime spree and that he once sued a guy for painting in his style which is a 21st century dick move. He got thrown out of two different cities for the crime of stabbing a guy fatally in the balls. This is really all you need to know about Caravaggio.

Artemisia Genteleschi, renaissance WOMAN and absolute badass. There were woman artists back then but not many and she could already paint at a professional level at age fifteen or sixteen! She got admitted to the academy of arts!! She sold her paintings internationally! She was really really good.

Edward Hopper, member of the school of so called "American realism" and probably clinically depressed according to my classmate who did the presentation on him. If it looks sorta realistic and exudes a sense of isolation and loneliness even if there is multiple people in the painting, it's probably one of his. (He was part of last year's art history final and I thank whoever looks kindly on highschoolers that I was able to retain some information from that presentation as well as.my classmate for picking him off the list)

William James Mallord Turner

British landscape painter. Regarded as Britain's Favorite painter (these days)

He was supposed to be the subject of my presentation but I begged my teacher to let me do Marcel Duchamp instead. I have since seen the errors of my way.(more on that later) Snowstorm is currently on loan to the Lenbachhaus, an art museum in Munich Germany, and I went to the exhibition and stood right in front of it. It's really something.

The things the critics said about Snowstorm were "soapsuds and whitewash" and "all of the contents of his (Turner's) pantry"

Now Turner had a certain "fuck off" attitude to artistic people pleasing but according to a contemporary source called John Ruskin (I think) he read that scathing review and went "soapsuds and whitewash! Soapsuds and whitewash! I wonder what they think the sea's like!? I wish they'd been in it!" which I think is hilarious.

And finally Marcel Duchamp.

What the fuck do I say about him? I have done the presentation. I got a 2 (that's pretty good!) And I still struggle to understand what the guy was even doing. His most well known contribution to art is an upside down toilet. Or well...a photo of that that was photographed by Stieglitz.

He was french I guess that's what I can say about him. I was like "oh he did Object art. I do object art. I'll like what he made" but it turns out that "object art" is a really vague catch-all term. :) who could've guessed. I like Tom Every more (look up the Evertron. It's the world's largest scrap metal sculpture and it is freaking phenomenal. THAT'S what I wanna do. Not Marcel Duchamp. I wanna make whimsical shit like he did or weird shit like Luise Bourgeois did. They're my art heroes. Not Marcel Duchamp. just wanted to make Gauguin look bad cause he was a thoroughly unpleasant person who I wouldn't touch with a six meter pole )

[transformatives]

The Art of the Edit

For many, the cold months from November to March are known simply as winter. But for cinephiles and celebrity lovers, this past winter was film awards season, when films such as Barbie, Anatomy of a Fall, and Oppenheimer were nominated for the coveted trophies. While watching the Oscars with my mother I gave my opinion on actors and she asked which of the movies I had seen. I told her the truth: that I had not watched many of these films, but rather that I had seen edits of the actors on TikTok set to catchy bubblegum pop music. 

For a decent percentage of Gen Z, the art of the TikTok edit is how they know what’s hot in entertainment and how they comment on social events. However, the differing perspectives on what edit culture means can make the issue more complex than it appears on the surface. For specificity, I will be looking into online fandom spaces that are occupied by mostly women. By investigating a sort of social third place for women, we can observe the discourses and trends that arise in such a separated online space. In this post, I’ll be focusing on the discourse between editors, the audience, and how men are portrayed in this female-dominated online space. 

As with most things related to modern fan culture, edits can be traced back to the original Star Trek fandom. The first recorded edit was created in 1975 by Star Trek fan Kandy Fong, who put together clips of the show set to William Shatner’s song “It Was A Very Good Year”. In the early years of fan editing (known then as “vidding”) edits were hard to come by, as they used scrapped film and distributed them via VHS tapes at conventions. With the dawn of the internet, these transitioned to online forums and later YouTube, which prioritized longer videos that usually lasted the length of a song. An infamous example of this is the Josh Hutcherson “Whistle” Edit, which recently resurfaced and was replicated like that of “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. The reason that the Whistle Edit became so popular again was due to its outdated editing style. It was compared to the edits of today, which are churned out by hundreds of thousands of editing accounts with often professional-level production. One must wonder why so many fans find themselves as editors when it is a form of media often looked over. 

One possible interpretation of edit-making is a desire to simply express oneself through an art form. Many editors will describe their satisfaction at completing a project and posting it to adoring followers, or at nailing a certain transition-music combo that has people gasping in admiration. There’s a joy in creating without the pressures of capitalism that demand that every project should be made into a profitable side hustle. Simply put, it’s a hobby and one where thousands of fans, mostly young women, are teaching themselves video editing terms, applications, techniques, styles, etc. Don’t let the sheer quantity of edits confuse you: editing is not easy. Needless to say, it is an art form and a process that is entertaining and educational to those who create it. 

But these are usually made with the intent of reaching an audience, of course. I’d like to propose the idea that fanworks are a form of communication similar to gossip. Both are looked over for their informal, non-profitable, and female-dominated nature, but are important for strengthening social bonds and communicating information about what groups deem important, appropriate, humorous, etc. When someone posts a Lord of the Rings edit of Eowyn, they can open the floor for their audience to discuss the issues with sparse gender representation in their favorite franchise. When someone posts a popular edit of a Call of Duty character with bows in their hair, they are poking fun at a male-dominated fandom’s distaste for anything feminine in their violent male fantasy game. Edits can speak to admiration and criticism of the media, even in an informal setting such as TikTok. As feminist scholar Silvia Federici writes, “It is women who ​‘gossip,’ presumably having nothing better to do and having less access to real knowledge and information and a structural inability to construct factually based, rational discourses. Thus, gossip is an integral part of the devaluation of women’s personality and work…” In the same way that gossip is deemed as “idle female talk”, women’s hobbies are derided despite their role in learning and social communication.  

However,  this discourse can be very male-focused, which is one of the pitfalls of fandom. The majority of edits are of men, whether to highlight emotional moments or to express sexual desire. This attitude differs between and within fandoms, but the fact remains that even in many female-dominated spaces, men are centered. This can partially be attributed to the female gaze, this desire to gaze at men and express one's desires for emotional vulnerability, complexity, intimacy, etc. By taking media that is created through the male gaze and purposefully transforming it, editors can partake in the creation. They make space for themselves. This subculture reaction comes at a time when the dominant media is having another moral panic crisis against discussions of sexuality. In many ways, it’s a reiteration of conversations that have been happening for decades. A grown woman discusses explicit books online with friends or a teenage girl makes an edit of a celebrity she finds attractive, and suddenly they are obsessive and mentally unwell. Hollywood is clear about one thing: sex sells. Except, of course, if erotic materials are created and curated in the hands of women. 

But I also wonder: where does this leave queer fans? These online spaces reflect the real-life complaint many queer women have, which is that hanging out with straight women means that they might only talk about the men in their lives. Lesbian fans must carve themselves a smaller niche within their respective fandoms, rejected by the rest of their peers. Some solace can be found in speculative queer fanworks, but even there men are centered. Statistics on TikTok edits are difficult to pin down, but we can look at another example of transformative fanworks. The popular fanfiction website Archive of Our Own reported that as of 2023, of the twenty top pairings written about, only one pairing had a female character. None of these pairings were a woman-loving-woman relationship. There’s also the issue that lesbian fans’ sexualities are questioned when they create fan-content about men. There is the implication that for a woman to be a fan of something, they must be interested for romantic or sexual reasons, which is demeaning and dismissive. It seems that even in female-dominated spaces, the hegemonic ideal of male supremacy unfortunately prevails. 

Our external biases and hegemonic influences can affect what we enjoy and create, and it is important to be aware of these and actively work against them. Nevertheless, kudos must be given to the editors who provide their audience and peers with works of art. It is an underappreciated act to transform a dominant piece of media into something for an alternative audience. Editing provides a space for female fans to find community and feel safe in expressing both the creativity and sexual desire that they might be shamed for in other spaces. So the next time you see a Swann Arlaud edit to “Comme Des Garçons ” by Rina Sawayama, know that just like the boys, women should be confident in loving their interests.

[alive-drumming]

9 Myths About Drumming

According to Music Australia, drumming has become a part of our everyday lives. Whether you play at home or go to a club, chances are you’ve heard someone say they love drumming. Drummers are sometimes stereotyped as loud, obnoxious, and annoying. In reality, drumming is a complex art form that requires practice, patience, and discipline.

“Drumming has become very popular worldwide. Drumming can be done alone or with other instruments such as guitar, bass, and keyboard. Drumming is a great way to exercise your body and relax simultaneously,” says Flynn Ross, a musical instrument specialist at Guitar Tuners—Australia’s top supplier of musical instruments.

Drumming is a fun and relaxing hobby that anyone can enjoy. There are several myths surrounding drumming, but they only apply to some drummers.

1. The Physicality Is Extreme

Drums are no more physically demanding to practice than other instruments. Still, all musical instruments have a maximum volume that may be easily reached before you break it and start wasting your time or showing off.

2. The Key Is To Hit Things

Drumming revolves around striking objects, but a piano, another percussion instrument, does the same. It’s not the same as hitting something as hard as you can when you strike it to get the best sound out of it.

3. Drummers Perspire Heavily

A drummer's working room.

They used to since the club had low ceilings and they were flanked by infernal floor lighting or a row of incandescent lamps dangling above them. The drummer was inches away from getting a tan, thanks to being on a riser. LED drummers no longer sweat more than anyone else on stage due to the environment’s low heat. Keep up with technological advancements while remaining alert in the back.

4. Drumming Can’t Be Practised At Home Without Making Others Mute

False. Practising surfaces include books, pads, and electronic drums. Also, your sister’s violin or brother’s trumpet, which requires natural playing to generate a good tone, can quickly drown out the appealing pattering of sticks on a practice pad or electronic set.

5. Drums Cannot Be Played On Your Own

That is no longer the case in the virtual world. Some YouTube drummers who “stay at home” have a business coaching other drummers online.

6. Drums Aren’t Musical Instruments

It is true that drums “have no pitch”. This is typically cited as support for this claim. On the other hand, it has an undefined or approximate pitch. The ear can tell which drum has a higher pitch than the other.

7. It Will Only Take Additional Time Away From The Books To Study The Drums In High School Or College

Maybe, but those hours will probably improve academic performance if they aren’t wasted. There is a growing body of research on the many advantages of learning any musical instrument, including patience, discipline, confidence, attention to detail, and coordination.

8. Drummers Are Not Musicians

It’s a prevalent misconception that drummers don’t need to understand how music functions. This is false; many drummers have at least rudimentary proficiency on a second instrument.

9. You’ll Experience Hearing Loss

Modern in-ear monitoring provides a level of control that allows you to have whatever sound you choose in your ears at any volume. If you turn the monitors up to their maximum volume, the drums sound fantastic, but there is a risk of ear injury. You should give it some thought.

Break The Myths And Enjoy Drumming With Alive Drumming

There are myths about everything; no one should hinder someone from doing what they love. With professional help, breaking these myths and enjoying drumming will be possible.

Alive Drumming showcases non-classical musicianship, with resources on contemporary rhythms, arrangement rhythm recordings, and provides the Song Rhythm Tracks service and mobile apps.

Contact us at marketing@alive-drumming.org for more information.

[facultyloungecosplay]

Hey I’m the anon from yesterday and *sigh* I think I figured something else and I feel really bad about it. So I have good ideas when I’m not sad but they just don’t turn to reality as easily, that’s to say I can’t put them into words where when I’m usually sad or at least melancholic my hands just work on their own that’s my problem with consistency... well with inconsistency. My new problem is kinda disgusting... I like being praised? Let me explain quite a few months ago powered by some horrible things that didn’t even affect me directly (I don’t want to get into it, it’s still sore let’s just say parasocial relationships were disgustingly abused) and I not even really wanting too make something I made some of the best poems in my life... I shared on anon with another blog and they loved it they thought it was beautiful and I remembered the other times I sent random blogs anonymous poems when I was drunk or something and how they liked it so I made a tumblr for my poem and I made a few poems I liked and I made a few I didn’t (I even posted some of the ones I didn’t like) but it was all silent and that’s what made me loose interest I wasn’t liking them and others weren’t but at the same time I’m paralyzed at the thought of sharing my poems I could be off anon but I’m terrified you’ll think I’m manipulating you emotionally or trying too. I want to share myself but I’m afraid of something, something I don’t even know what... I’m the type of person I hate the most someone that doesn’t fight

Good morning and welcome back. 🤍

I’m going to level with you right away: we all want praise for our work.

I don’t mean that in a general sense either. I mean that as creative people, most of us thrive on praise and attention for our ideas, words, art. And it’s addictive! We thrive on it, we wither without it, and that causes us to slump in creating more. I can’t think of a single artist who hasn’t experienced it.

At some point, you need to ask yourself what your expectations are and why you’re writing your poetry. The issue with praise is that eventually it’s no longer enough; we need more! How come I got 100 notes on that last piece and only 25 on this one? Why aren’t people reblogging this instead of just liking it?

The problem, my dear, is that Tumblr really is an awful platform for artists these days. I’ve been here for...well, a very long time, and the dynamic somewhere in the last few years has changed. People really don’t reblog the way they used to. I get less asks, I see less interaction. And for a while, that bummed me out! I withdrew, refocused on other things, and now I’m getting to the point where I post with zero expectation. Here’s a stone bird I bought. Here’s my garden because I worked hard and it looks pretty today! Here’s what I’m reading!

I’m still working on cosplay and writing fanfic, of course. I was extremely fortunate to get quite a lot (for me) of attention when I started doing both on this platform. Now? I’m lucky to get 50 notes on cosplay (47 likes, 3 reblogs, one rb mine) and a few comments on fic. Is that disheartening? It can be. It really can! The difference between who I was when I started and who I am now, however, is in my motivation. I’m not trying to impress people. I’m sharing what has brought me joy to create.

I’m not saying I don’t miss the praise. It’s something that all artists love to hear. But the thing is - public opinion is fickle. People move onto to new artists or new fandoms or leave platforms. We can’t rely on or guilt trip people into engaging with us no matter how badly we want it (and for the record, anon, I don’t think that’s what you’re doing either). We have to learn how to create for ourselves and to find the joy in that first. Praise, if we get it, is a happy bonus.

I can’t tell you how to find the joy in creating for yourself. It took me a long time after my taste of online attention, but I know I had it before that, when I spent nights frantically writing stories no one else read (and still haven’t read). I wrote because I had stories in me that I needed to tell. I still do. And that is a tremendous kind of power, one that doesn’t exist because others told me it makes me worthy.

It’s up to you if you want to keep posting your poems online. Original work is notoriously difficult to promote on Tumblr in particular, but not impossible. You have to decide if that’s the route you want to go. Either way, I would implore you not to stop writing, no matter your choice. It sounds like you have stories to tell.

[thedreadvampy]

Ok like I'm sorry for all the Elias discourse but stepping off from OGlias for a moment I legit saw someone saying it was a mischaracterisation to assume Jonah Magnus was himself a rich white dude which

uh

Let's leave aside for the moment that Jonah Magnus not being wealthy and privileged utterly sucks the meaning of of a lot of what the podcast has to say about class and exploration because hey, that's a matter of interpretation

What do we know about Jonah Magnus (from all statements mentioning his original incarnation)?

1816: Interacts as at least an equal with Albrecht von Closen, who has at least one family estate and an aristocratic pedigree and thus could be expected to be at least middle class if not wealthy. This is relevant because Georgian class was very stratified and cross-class mixing heavily discouraged, 1816 is probably fairly early in Magnus' career, and Albrecht doesn't address him as one would a social inferior.

1818: Established the Magnus Institute, apparently without external funding partners because he's the only one ever mentioned in connection with its organisation and his friends talk about it as his own project; it certainly isn't associated with an existing university or academy as far as we can tell.

1824: not a lot of additional information, except that again Magnus' friends are all moving in wealthy, upper class circles

1831: In a position to hire professionals for Millbank under good terms. We learn more about Albrecht, he's definitely painted as wealthy old money, which continues to speak to this association

1841: reasonably close friends with Sampson Kempthorne, workhouse designer, who expresses the expectation of Magnus agreeing with him about workhouses and the treatment of the poor through work. At this time, Magnus is living in an Edinburgh townhouse, by which I'm guessing we're talking about one of the New Town Georgian 4-floors-plus-servant's-quarters which that name implies. Those aren't mansions, but they weren't where a clerk or shopkeeper would live - they were built for ship owners, lawyers, doctors, the upper-middle and upper classes, and as the name townhouse implies they were generally occupied as one of several estates, with the usual occupants being likely to also have a country place.

Beyond specific statement letters, Magnus largely crops up via his association with his wee gang, all of whom are wealthy upper-middle or aristocracy (Smirke, Rayner, Lukas)

He has the resources and social clout to devote his time to pursuing what is, effectively, a hobby; his interest in the supernatural doesn't bring in much income and, conversely, often costs him to chase up. He doesn't appear to have a full-time job at any point; he works on Millbank with Smirke but he doesn't appear on the records, meaning this is unlikely to be a paid management role. His friends refer to his supernatural work as a hobby or interest, not a job, and make it clear that at least by the 1830s-40s this is his whole life (he's "rattling around with his books and letters") - ergo he does not have a need to support himself beyond that.

He had the resources and funds to, by himself and for his own purposes, not only shape the building of Millbank but also to set up an independent academic institution which is still running 200 years later

Like, is it explicit that he's a rich white man? Not per se. Would all of this information make sense if he wasn't? I suppose it's possible but it's a reach, and one that I'm not sure why you as a writer would make without making pretty clear. To be able to move comfortably in moneyed Georgian circles without being born to money, and to be able to do the things Magnus does without having substantial disposable income - that would be exceptional, and would surely merit some sort of comment.

(I've talked about the race politics of Georgian Britain as relates to Jonah Magnus before, but just to sum up: in a time before the abolition of the slave trade and during massive colonial expansion into Asia, being a British man of wealth and not being white was pretty unusual. We can see this in the description of Rayner; he's very specifically described as Black, but also his Blackness is notable to a contemporary narrator. so again, not impossible for Jonah to be a person of colour, but definitely unexpected and it would be an interesting choice to write that unremarked)

just by way of historical context, as I say, class was very structured and immobile in Georgian Britain for the most part. It was also, as I understand it, much more discrete. Whereas now, the lines between working class, middle class and upper class are pretty fuzzy, in the 1800s they were a lot more clear-cut - the working class worked for little money, had little to no education past basic literacy and numeracy, and the entire household would work; the newly developing middle class made a living through highly-skilled jobs (artists, doctors, lawyers, clerks, shopkeepers, factory owners, shop owners and pub landlords, for example) and would have enough disposable income to buy property; and the upper class/gentry may work (but only appropriate to their station; academia, law or the church, largely, and of course a lot of them in the 1810s made bank from Caribbean plantations and their imports) but substantially they lived off the profits of investments, ownership and estate management, built off heritable wealth. 

There’s a big range of middle class though, although it was a small segment of society. At the bottom end, you have your grocers, pub landlords, shopkeepers, clerks and so on - they probably own their homes and business and have money to buy things outright rather than renting. At the top end, we have some really pretty substantial wealth - we’re talking multiple houses and estates, large-scale business concerns, tens of permanent staff, and only one person in the family needing to work. The difference between upper middle and aristocracy isn’t necessarily in quality of life, aside from blood it’s really just a question of whether the majority of your income comes from work or from investment and property management. So for example, Smirke is upper middle, but very wealthy - he has a career in a high-profile trade, he’s notable and welcome in high society, but ultimately his wealth is dependent on him continuing to get work. Von Closen may have more or less material wealth than Smirke, but his money is old money and he does not work; he’s very much a gentleman of the upper crust. Particularly with Industrial Revolution and the profit that the slave trade and the expansion of the Empire were bringing in for traders, the middle class was abruptly getting a lot richer in at the start of the 19th century and if anything class was getting a lot more discrete - urbanisation and industrialisation meant the poor were getting poorer (and less able to exist outside a monetary economy) and the working rich were getting a lot richer (until of course after a couple of hundred years the upper middle class almost eclipsed the idle class as the Rich and Powerful)

So the gentry/nobles/old money/upper class were the only class whose wealth wasn’t to a high degree reliant on them working, and so honestly being a Georgian gentleman was stultifyingly boring. That’s why so many comedies of manners crop up from the lower end of the upper class - you have to find something to keep you busy and social politicking is something. But it also meant a lot of gentlemen scholars - men with time on their hands and nothing they desperately needed to be doing, who got really into eccentric hobbies and niche interests (like social engineering, or art theory, or the occult, or unpicking weirdly specific theological concepts, or a bit earlier experimenting with light and lenses, or a bit later investigating the origins of species, or getting super into a specific aspect of the classics). The idle rich weren’t the only ones doing academia or research, but they had the time, money and resources to devote to really deep dives into things without much financial use.

So my personal take is that, given that by 1818 Jonah Magnus had the capital, the social heft and the time to found and run an independent academic institution focused on his relatively niche interests, and to do so with enough resourcing that it still runs 200 years later, the safest bet is that he was born a gentleman. At the very least, all the people he socialises with are securely upper-middle or gentry; he has a visible disdain for the poor; he owned substantial personal property by at least middle age (the Edinburgh townhouse); he had the social clout to get involved behind the scenes in a major social architecture project - it seems like the lowest this could possibly place him is mid-to-upper middle class at birth (he could have made that much money from working and lucky investments, but to get into a position where by middle age you can afford to become the Idle Rich, spending all your money and time on an obsessive personal interest, you would need to have started off with at least the capital and clout to get a high-level education and/or make significant business investments (say, buy a series of factories or build a shipping empire). You could make a case that he could work his way up from being born to a middling-middle-class family - maybe a country vicar or a shopkeeper - but friends can I show you some numbers I googled?

In the 1810s, being mid- or upper middle class (fourth or above) meant you were richer than 94.5% of the civilian population. Upper middle and above (like literally every person we know of who had social ties to Magnus except maybe the architects)? Literally top 1%. (well. 1.25%).

The middle class in Georgian Britain was the elite. They weren’t the elite of the elite, but they had money, land, property, staff, clout and privilege. You can’t project the class politics of 2021 onto 1818 (that is, in fact, why pure Marxism still requires an updated reading, bc in even the last 150 years the specific distribution and attributes of class and wealth has changed substantially (although the same people do stay at the top and bottom)). 

I think our perceptions are altered by the worries and perspectives of popular contemporary authors. For example, Austen characters often bemoan their lack of wealth, and are firmly Middle Class, and compared to the upper middle and the gentry they are living frugally and on a budget, but with “cottages” that are often six- or seven bedroom houses with several parlours and one or two servants, plus a town house, and with only one breadwinner per family and enough invested wealth to live entirely off the interest (that’s what the incomes of these characters are), they are living in a degree of wealth that would be unthinkable to 95% of their contemporaries, and it would be fair to assess them as rich by modern standards.

You can argue that Jonah Magnus wasn’t aristocracy. You cannot argue realistically that he wasn’t rich. Not only does that make no thematic or character sense (again, that’s a matter of interpretation, but it seems to me to be Pretty Key to his character that he’s an examination of inborn privilege) but it also makes no contextual historical sense.

[hyliandude]

Learning Music Log - Day 1:

I am someone that has never played an instrument, never been part of band, never even known how to start. For the past year I’ve been fascinated with Lo-Fi music, so I figured I’d try making some myself. Again, with no experience in anything myself, I figured I’d need some tools to make electronic music. An old friend of mine from high school had some songs signed and sold through Beatport, and I remember him using FL Studio at home. Just messing around with the tools was interesting to watch, but the interface and process always intimidated me.

Another artist I follow on my art blog, Artem Solop, is also big into making his own electronic music and beats. Although I do not know him personally, I have always liked his style. The unique thing about his method, is that he utilizes his Nintendo DS and Switch as instruments. Synths, Compressors, and Drum Machines have always intrigued me, but I could never tell one thing from the other, and here was this guy using them from his Nintendo consoles to make something sounds good. Cables routed from one system to another – how does he do it?

I figured I’d plunge in headfirst – well, as “headfirst” as I could while still adhering to baby steps…I know the hobby can be expensive if left unchecked.

I bought KORG Gadget for Nintendo Switch about 2 weeks ago to start this journey – an inexpensive grab through Amazon for just 30$. I have no idea what it is, but it’s what Artem seems to use in his videos. The tool is described as such:

-Robust music composition/production tools in a compact cartridge

-Simple to use and easy to understand; anyone can create music anywhere and everywhere

-16 different synthesizer and drum machine gadgets with additional DLC gadgets available

-Gadgets have retro-inspired tactile control knobs that you can turn by rotating the Joy-Con controllers

And to be honest, it did not disappoint. It was a great way to wrap my mind around the synths, tracks, and “scenes” as they are laid out in the simple to use interface. I was determined to begin this journey in a self-taught, but organized manner. I had googled a few things before starting anything:

1. Simple music theory – I had no idea that notes/scales determine how well something sounds. A lot of you may think that that’s obvious, but again, my music knowledge started in 4th grade with a mandatory recorder recital and ended with the 5 colors on the guitar hero guitar. At the most basic level, I learned that scales could be set (C Major, A minor, etc.) and most tools used to create music (a digital audio workstation, or DAW for short) had a setting to allow “helpers” that would highlight keys in any given scale. From there on, I figured out that experimenting and playing randomly sounded better if I followed the scale guidelines.

2. How different chords on a piano/keyboard evoke different emotions depending on what scale you’re in. Major chord happy. Minor chord sad.

3. After talking to my fiancé (a former band geek that played flute!) I also learned that the concept of “chords” did not apply to the flute, so I also realized how different instruments were from one another…

Aside from those few things, I didn’t really look into anything else before attempting to ‘craft’ a song on the Switch.

Immediately, I could tell that the different synth gadgets varied and specialized in different things. The Marseille gadget had some great piano, electric piano, and orchestral instrument presets; the Helsinki gadget was great at ambient/relaxing sounds; the London drum gadget was great at…well…drum sounds and beats! Each of the city inspired gadgets brought something unique to the table. The Switch’s controls were intuitive. Copying and pasting, moving notes, playing tracks vs. just playing scenes was something that I was able to pick up in around 30 minutes without even ‘sniffing’ the user guide. By messing around I actually learned more about notes, half beats, and chord progressions all on my own.

Before I knew it, I had crafted a song that was about 3 minutes long. Deep, ambient intro, catchy simple melody, and the typical ‘lo-fi’ drums set to 79 BPM. I was impressed at how good it sounded. I knew there were things I was messing up, or could probably do better, but I was still proud of it.

Hopping on to YouTube I found a TON of tutorials covering music theory, lo-fi beat making lessons, “dos and don’ts”, best plugins for DAWs and more. Before long, I invested in an AKAI Professional MPK Mini Play USB MIDI Keyboard controller (hastily, as it seems like the Arturia Minilab might have been a better grab? Lmk), got set up with a subscription to Melodics HQ to learn the basics of playing a keyboard, and installed FL Studio on my computer. After a week of using the Korg Gadget on Switch, I found that FL Studio had a bunch of the same principals in its interface, and I found myself digging in with minimal research into how to use the tool.

By purchasing the Korg Gadgets online, I was able to continue using the same tools I was already familiar with on the Switch inside of FL Studio’s more robust interface.

I was able to recreate the song I made on the Switch in FL Studio. This was a great way to familiarize myself with the tool in an almost step-by-step tutorial I had already made for myself.

After I had gotten a grip with using FL Studio at a basic level, I decided to try mirroring some Lo-fi beat YouTube tutorial videos. To my surprise, I found myself not really liking the final product, even after following the instructor’s guidelines. I don’t think I am a fan of “oh you NEED to do this and this for it to be a good song”. I do think that a basic understanding of music theory is key before even starting, but I don’t know how I feel about new and upcoming musicians following strict rules about how something should sound when it’s literally an art form used for expression and fun.

I was happier with the first song I made just messing around on my Switch than the song I made trying to emulate a Lo-fi beat guided by a professional producer on YouTube… and it got me thinking…I think Giorgio Moroder was right in that one Daft Punk song:

“Once you free your mind about a concept of

Harmony and of music being correct

You can do whatever you want

So nobody told me what to do

And there was no preconception of what to do”

I’m looking forward to learning more – after all, it’s only been a few days!

-Franco

[yuniversitywriting]

5 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Quarantine Summer

Diego P.

In recent weeks, the covid19 virus has begun to spike again (likely due to the reopening of social spaces), causing a second wave of new cases throughout the United States. Due to this recent news, it's likely that many states will have to begin closing again, meaning students all over the country will be stuck at home once again. This is in fact bad news, but it doesn’t mean that our time at home has to be monotonous. Finding the motivation to try or even look for new things to do can be challenging, but well worth the effort. Below is a list of potential hobbies or productive actions that may not only make your day more interesting, but can also improve mental health and productivity during these trying times.

1. This one might be cheating, but try reading a new book!

Reading is a pastime that everyone enjoys, but when indulged in, can bring many benefits to the mind. Reading a book immerses you into a brand new world, which can be very valuable considering that many people right now are limited to the confines of their own homes. The University of California Santa Barbara states that reading can reduce levels of stress because it pulls your focus from stressful events to the book you are reading (Source 1). This makes reading even more valuable during this pandemic, as the coronavirus has proven to create stressful situations. 

2. Gardening

Gardening can be hard to get used to at first, but speaking from experience, I think it can be one of the most rewarding hobbies. Gardening allows a person to grow their own produce, including veggies such as lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots. Considering the dense population that can be found at grocery stores, growing produce at home is much safer than exposing yourself to a large group of people (which can result in contact with the covid19 virus). In addition to this, gardening can also have many mental health benefits. According to the Royal College of Physicians, increasing evidence is pointing to the idea that gardening can improve mental health by acting as a coping mechanism for moods such as anger, fear, sadness, etc (Source 2). Because of this, it's worth noting that for many stressed and frightful students, gardening can not only act as a hobby, but also help ease the pressures that online school and this pandemic bring. 

3. Exercising

This should be no surprise to anyone, but exercising can dramatically increase a person’s quality of life. Even though gyms may be closing up again, many YouTube channels such as FitnessBlender have free workout routines that don’t require any equipment, allowing anybody with internet access to reap the benefits of fitness. MedlinePlus recommends exercise as a means to control weight gains/loss, but there are also secondary benefits such as overall improvements in mood, increasing strength, and improving the natural sleep cycle (Source 3). So in addition to improved mental health, exercise will also keep you physically healthy, which gives you a better fighting chance against the covid19 virus. 

4.  Start Tutoring Online

Distance learning has proven to be particularly difficult for many students throughout the United States. This leaves a great opportunity for students who lack extracurricular activities to step in as role models for their community. Due to the closures of tutoring offices and schools alike, now is the perfect time to work or volunteer as an online tutor, given that you have the right requirements and experience to do so. In addition to this, tutoring can also help with building important skills, such as communication, work experience, and leadership (Source 4). Having tutoring experience can also be extremely valuable on your academic record, especially during the pandemic, because it shows colleges that:

1. You are strong enough academically to help others with their schooling work.

2. You took a position of leadership by choosing to help others.

3. The current pandemic has not stopped you from reaching out to your community, improving yourself, and helping others improve. 

5. Prepare Yourself for the Upcoming School Year

Now that the 2019-2020 school year is over, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to prepare for the upcoming school year, which could be more difficult than a normal school year due to the challenges that covid19 puts on the education system. There are plenty of free online resources available that can help you review past material for the next year. According to annual NWEA testing results/surveys, summer learning loss “is fairly stable in terms of RIT points across grade levels” (Source 5), which means that every summer students consistently lose a similar percentage of knowledge as their peers in the same grade. Thus, it’s important to review your skills over summer break to avoid this learning loss. Here are some great resources that you can use to retain and improve your knowledge over the summer. 

1. Khan Academy- Khan Academy is completely free and includes many different subjects by name for students to choose from (for example, if you are moving on to algebra II, you can choose to review earlier courses like algebra I and geometry), including the SAT. 

2. Quizlet- Quizlet is another free website that is composed of flashcard sets for many different topics that can help students strengthen their knowledge of concepts by memorization (it’s really great for tests and reviewing). 

3. YouTube- In addition to humorous and entertaining content, YouTube surprisingly has tons of great videos made by teachers and other professionals on subjects like history/government, math, sciences, and more. 

For upcoming seniors, it’s also a relatively good idea to begin preparing for college application, as the process can be long and stressful. For more information about applying to colleges, it’s best to contact a college counselor from your school ahead of time, as they can provide advice and assistance on the best courses of action. 

While the coronavirus pandemic may have cancelled a lot of summer plans, there are still a wide variety of hobbies and school preparation that can be done from home. We at the YUNiversity hope that we managed to inspire you to make your summer less monotonous during this pandemic, and maybe even a little more productive. Please stay safe and follow all of the safety practices and guidelines set by your local authorities.

The YUNiversity Interns | YUNiversity Writing Dept. | YUNiversity Art Dept.

SOURCES:

1. “10 Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day.” UC Geography

2. Thompson, Richard. “Gardening for Health: a Regular Dose of Gardening.” Clinical Medicine (London, England), Royal College of Physicians, June 2018

3.“Benefits of Exercise.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 20 Apr. 2020

4.Educationcorpsucsd. Benefits of Being a Tutor/Mentor, 4 Sept. 2013

5.“Summer Learning Loss: What We Know and What We're Learning.” Teach. Learn. Grow., 22 June 2020

[swannkings]

Do I want to wade into the murky waters of Ye Old Fanfic Vs Original Fic wars? Yes.

I don’t know who amongst Twitter or Tumblr needs to hear this, but your edgy as fuck takes on whether fanfiction has value or not aren’t new or enlightened. I tend not to get public with my takes on writing, because I was there 10+ years ago doing this exact thing on Quizilla & Mibba, and an individual’s medium of writing and impetus is their own damn business. Any and all writing has value. Sometimes it’s meant for personal indulgence or for small communities or friend groups, other times it has to pass muster for professional publication (which is a whole other shit bag of contention) or mass public consumption.

These arguments (they are never discussions) are also exhausting and pointless. Nobody wins these things.

I agree that Cassandra Claire/Clare and E.L. James are poor examples of professional writers having begun their careers in fanfiction. But, I’d also point out that actual literary agents and publishing houses signed and printed them, and professional editors did at least skim over their works. The authors aren’t the only ones to get blame for shit writing. And let’s not forget Anne Rice, infamously unfriendly toward fanfiction, chucked professional editors out of her equation altogether because she didn’t like them having opinions on her work.

Not all writers want to be published nor want fame.

It does seem to baffle when those words enter the ears of pretentious writers, readers, and others who don’t write at all. Some people write because it’s fun, like a hobby. Sometimes those people, who write for fun, will edit their work and sometimes they let it go as is because it’s just for catharsis.

My big personal project is to track down all digital and hard copies of my writing and catalogue them. I’ve been doing it for 10 years now. I’ve been writing and sharing my writings for the last 18 years. I have a hard copy of the very first major piece of fiction I wrote (a Lord of the Rings fanfic from 2002/2003) and a hard copy of the last piece of fiction I worked on (an AU fic for a Japanese otome game) and a hard copy of my first original novel (a urban gothic from 2017). There is an absolute difference in my writing from age 11 to age 28. And looking at my catalogue of writing, most of it is fanfiction. Do I have original works in there? Yes. Are they good? I think they are, and my friend thinks they are, but whether or not those works are up to snuff for a book deal—that’s up to an agent I haven’t sought out.

Improvements to my writing can be attributed to age (I’ll be 29 in a little over a week), to a university education (a BA in Performance Art from a STEM based offshoot of a way more prestigious school is the most I could afford after 3 years of community college), and alternating writing fanfiction online with a built-in audience/community and sharing original works online (where they got much less attention) and with writing groups/friends.

The truest rule of any endeavor is: you get better with practice.

Does fanfiction enable bad habits? Sure, but so does being educated at an Ivy League school. There’s no shame in acknowledging our own shortcomings. I mean, fuck though, I’d take overusing the phrase “carded his fingers” or inexperienced writers with funky grammar over being a snob with a Linguistics degree and a podcast.

What makes me, an unknown writer, a maybe valuable voice in this here shitkicking?

Because I’ve been doing this for half of my life and because I love stories. I’m an advocate for education and reading, and libraries and accessible information. I’m all for kids (anyone really) picking up comics or graphic novels, or reading fanfiction or webcomics, reading whatever genre or medium floats their boat if it means they’re engaging their minds and imaginations. This extends to film and video games and podcasts and audiobooks too because not everyone has the same level of literacy or ability to physically read or stay engaged with written text.

I don’t have a lot of experience in many things, and I am by no means a fabulous writer, but I am old enough to recognize an old argument and threadbare talking points coming from the mouths of unhappy people.

But is there really merit to writing fanfiction? Yes.

It’s a great way for people new to writing to learn how and practice creating engaging narratives.

It’s a great way for young writers to deconstruct their favorite worlds and characters in order to better understand both the creation of fiction and the types of fiction they enjoy writing. (Heads up: published literary fiction also uses tropes and archetypes)

Fanfiction has a built-in audience. This is perfect for any writers who a) are unsure of their abilities and wish to get feedback, b) wish to remain anonymous for various reasons such as being made to feel embarrassed for writing fanfiction but want a modicum of acknowledgment, c) have rich and engaging lives and just want to share some raunchy fantasies because they most certainly aren’t alone, and d) simply enjoy writing things that make others happy.

Have you seen the goddamned news? Let people have some silly little pleasures.

But what about... you know... brain rot?

That’s a real thing. Twitter has it too (have the last 5 years shown us nothing?) And have you met A Dude From Film School?

Let’s be clear: age doesn’t negate brain rot, neither does only writing original fiction. Young people who are Extremely Online, y’all can have brain rot too, it isn’t just Fandom Olds or your Uncle on Facebook.

You should never let your age dictate whether you are able to engage in fandom or fanfiction, but absolutely should in the ways you engage. Not every piece of fic is meant for you to read and not everyone has to praise the things you write, not even your friends.

For the record: writing tropes, even squicky ones, isn’t brain rot. Not believing fandom is racist or gate keeps is though.

The big take away...

Listen.

If you are a writer who primarily writes fanfiction and you want to someday be a published author of real live books, you do need to create original works and engage with writers outside of AO3, Tumblr, Wattpad, or whatever site is still hosting fic when you read this. It’s imperative you see other parts of the creative world. Stretch your wings, experience other ways of doing. Allow yourself to grow beyond what you know.

There is no guarantee you’ll have a career in writing. There is no guarantee your magnum opus will get you a publishing deal, or will even make it out of the slush pile. Writing to a career endgame can be just as detrimental as writing to a trend.

None of this is even getting into the gate keeping that exists in publishing already and only allows in diverse voices when it’s profitable, making fanfiction and online communities all the more important to marginalized creatives.

It’s perfectly alright to just write because you like writing, and it’s perfectly alright if you like playing in other people’s sandboxes. No one but you gets to place value on your hobbies or take merit from you for not writing like you have a MFA in Creative Writin. Writing a 100k Slow Burn fic takes just as much dedication as writing a 60k original novel, they just stretch different muscles.

[omega-deku]

So I would love to progress on my art and try comics any tips? ÙwÚ

Hi! I’m so sorry about the late reply. D: I hope you don’t mind if I take this opportunity to address all the anon messages about how we can improve as artists. 

I have a tough time answering this question because there is so much I need to learn. I’m super flattered that some of you feel that my art is good enough to ask me for tips, first of all!! So thank you, guys.

It’s a struggle because I only recently started taking up art again. So I’ve forgotten a lot of the things. So I’m probably not the best person to ask about this.

I used to draw all the time as a kid, but after high school, I stopped drawing. I stopped drawing for almost a decade, pretty much. I really regret it. I feel like I could have come such a long way if I did keep going. My parents really discouraged me from pursuing art, even just as a hobby, too. Even when I left home (I’m back now tho), my ex-spouse, greatly discouraged me from doing art too. I mean, “proper” art. They told me my art wasn’t “real art” because it’s not studio art, it’s “sellout” art, like anime/cartoons/fanart. I had even worse self-esteem as I do now, and I listened to them and gave up. I convinced myself I hated drawing. 

Please don’t deny yourself things that make you feel engaged and connected. If drawing makes you feel good, if it makes you not realize how much time has passed and makes you feel like you’re accomplishing things, even little by little, please don’t stop. Even if you suffer from depression and feel like things like this are pointless, remember that just doing things in general will help you. Drawing is an awesome way to get into the flow state. To me personally, it’s almost like a meditative state and I find it helpful in dealing with chronic pain and mental health issues. 

Anyways, I’ll try to compile some advice sort of things.

ART IN GENERAL

1. Draw what you enjoy! I think the most important thing is to draw what you like. It’s okay if it’s “dumb stuff”. Draw your favorite characters or pairings from your favorite tv shows if that tickles your fancy! You’re much more likely to be spending more time drawing if you’re drawing stuff you like. And as long as you’re drawing, you’re improving. (But still, challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone!)

Especially for those of you who are planning to pursue art as a career, it’s essential that you don’t view practicing art as a chore. 

2. Draw from life. If you really want to take your art to the next level, drawing from life is vital! I think many of us have come across artists who are just amazing, but there are things that look a little “off”. For example, the anatomy doesn’t look quite right, or the perspective is a little wonky. Things like that can be a tell that they’ve learned to draw from other people’s art rather than from life. Or just haven’t practiced the basics enough. (My art isn’t amazing or anything close to that lmao, but it definitely suffers from this. I need lots of life drawing practice.)

There is nothing wrong with learning from your favorite artists, but to really train your “artist’s eye”, you need to strip away all the stylistic choices and go back to the basics. Training that Eye is one of the most crucial things you could do as an artist. 

Just take a piece of paper, a pencil and start drawing what you see. If you can, take figure drawing classes at your local community college, or draw the animals you see at the zoo. Sit on a bench and draw the scenery in front of you. Over time, you’ll start to recognize common patterns, simplify/think of things in terms of lines and shapes.

If you can’t afford a class or have the ability to go outside easily, drawing from photographs can be the next best thing. (See the Resources below for an online figure drawing tool.) I’m not experienced enough to definitively say why this isn’t the #1 idea, but from what I hear, there are things that you’ll miss out on, such as subtle shifts in shadows, colors, and other things that will happen from small movements in pose changes, a cloud moving, or whatever else. A different “feel”, if you will.

With the digital art boom, a lot of artists are learning how to do cool digital effects and fancy things, but forgoing basic anatomy, perspective, shading, etc. Which is all fine if you’re just having fun, but isn’t the best idea if you’re really serious about improving. Practice the fundamentals!

(If you have been dreaming about CalArts at one point like I did when I was in high school, one advice I came across from everyone who went there was to draw from life. All the time. It’s not an answer I expected from people who draw funny looking characters all day. You mean all these people who draw such simplified cartoon people and animals can actually draw like masters? Perfectly rendered bowls of fruit? I didn’t realize how much work goes into animating simple characters.)

3. Put in the time. 

It’s really easy to get suckered into just watching “how to improve” videos all day and thinking about improving. Watching how other artists work is an important learning tool, but you’ll never actually make progress if you aren’t practicing. 

Sometimes, the best thing to do is to not think about it. Just do it. 

It’s like when I’m spending a whole lotta time thinking about getting physically fit than just, you know.. just doing it. “Tomorrow for sure.” 

It may seem like it’s worthless, but doing those lame 5 push-ups a day instead of the 20-minute workout you wanted to put in, is better than nothing at all. You are making progress, no matter how small it may seem.  

Make it a habit to practice every day. That way, you don’t even hesitate. It’s as automatic as brushing your teeth.

All the artists you see who have fantastic, awe-inspiring art may seem like Unreachable Gods sometimes, but those artists didn’t just pull that out of their ass one day. They put in hours and hours and hours of work. Let’s not disrespect other artists by ignoring that and chalking it up to “talent”. No one is born with an innate ability to draw. WE can get there too if we practice!

I want to get good enough to draw the things I have in my head one day!

Some resources that may be helpful:

Draw a Box - This is a site for free lessons for absolute beginners. Look under “Lessons” to learn. The creator of the site is the mod for r/ArtFundamentals. You can post your work there to get critiqued.

Check out Proko’s videos on gesture drawing, art fundamentals, etc. Daily routines of successful artists.

Use this site to practice figure drawing, gesture drawing - Set aside some time to practice drawing people and animals every day. Start trying to see things as lines, shapes, and go big. Don’t get too caught up in the details, and tiny drawings. Learning to draw fast (not draw FAST as in speed, but as in capture the gesture in a post, the “feel” of the movement) will force you to do this more, and with more experience, make your figures less stiff looking. 

And it’s okay if you’re aren’t good at it. You’ll make loads and loads of shit drawings until you can get decent. 

I’m most definitely in this stage right now, trying to train my Artist’s Eye. As in, I can’t just draw a figure from memory. I don’t really know what goes where without a reference, or how they move, etc. You can tell by how stiff my drawings look.

Lulusketches How to Improve video - She has similar advice, but her point about looking at “Art of” books something I have come across from multiple professional artists; Her advice on worrying about finding your own “style” is really good too. Do challenges like she said!

Her playlist of art tutorials & advice is great. They’re short and sweet. Her beginner digital art tutorial got me started on digital art (the one with Ginny Weasley). 

Not free ($30 a month), but these online Schoolism classes look helpful. It’s run by Bobbie Chiu. I saw some great reviews and I want to try them someday. They’re taught by artists in the animation/film industry. But you gotta have a basic grasp on digital art/photoshop for many of the classes, I think? I’m not 100% sure. They’re pre-recorded video lessons. 

You can pay more for feedback from the teachers, but you can also just use it as a self-learning guide. 

This drawing faces from any angle video was pretty helpful for me. The artist has loads of other tutorials.

COMICS

I don’t feel qualified enough to give much advice on comics. I mean, I don’t even draw the lines for the boxes, haha.. However, these comic books are basically required reading for some courses:

Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics & Making Comics.

I can’t remember which one it is that I read, I think it was Making Comics? But wow, if I remember correctly, it was FULL of really useful things about how to make effective comics. I lost the book while moving years ago, but it was FANTASTIC learning material. I loved every panel of it. 

He talks about everything from perspective, placement of characters, speech bubbles, how big panels should be, etc. 

If you can afford it, get a used one and start reading! Even if you don’t want to make comics just yet, it’s super interesting. 

[hyakiru]

HYAKKIMARU ; RONIN.

@betelguide​ rats rats we are the rats

tagging:   whomever wants to, just tag me so i can see !!

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬

FULL NAME.    hyakkimaru daigo now solely goes by hyakkimaru, with no surname to speak of. he wants to reserve that for the day he has a family he can call his own. NICKNAME.     bro ( aniki / reserved for dororo only ), hyakki, half-demon child, undead boy. GENDER.     nonbinary. HEIGHT.     5′2″ ( he’s tiny ) AGE.     16 until postcanon, where’s 22. ZODIAC.     virgo. SPOKEN LANGUAGES.     japanese, chinese, and english ( though he tends to speak all of these equally as proficiently since he dislikes speaking ).

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬

HAIR COLOR.     black, like charcoal. EYE COLOR.     dark brown, appear amber at times. SKIN TONE.     pallid, though gets a little fleshier once he regains more of his limbs - more blood circulation, y’kno. BODY TYPE.     very lithe, thin, and brittle-looking. VOICE.     soft, trembles a lot. when angry, it becomes gravelly and throaty - like something is scraping the back of his throat. DOMINANT HAND.     ambidextrous generally, but his sword-wielding hand is his left. POSTURE.     straight and stiff, walks a bit like an automaton, though he’s learning to be a bit more relaxed. SCARS.     burn on his chest ( demon who spit acid on his chest and it burned part of his skin - that really made him angry ), nicks on his legs and arms when he regains them. TATTOOS.      none. BIRTHMARKS.     fittingly, a constellation of little brown marks on his back. MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).     his stoic face is probably the most jarring thing about him, as well as his spiky ponytail. when he regains his eyes, it’s also easy to not miss just how brown they are - like amber.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝

PLACE OF BIRTH.     ishikawa, part of the kaga province. HOMETOWN.    kagemitsu estate in ishikawa. SIBLINGS.    tahomaru kagemitsu ( deceased ). PARENTS.   daigo kagemitsu ( father, professional asshole, deceased ), nui no naka ( mother, loved hyakkimaru to the end, deceased ).

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞

OCCUPATION.    wandering ronin. CURRENT RESIDENCE.    wherever he ends up. CLOSE FRIENDS.    dororo, and in the modern verse buffy summers ( @prcphesise​ ). RELATIONSHIP STATUS.    single. FINANCIAL STATUS.    very poor but gets by slaying troublesome demons and selling the occasional art print. DRIVER’S LICENSE.    there’s no dmv in sengoku era japan, and even in the modern verse he’s actually kind of terrified of cars so that’s a big no. CRIMINAL RECORD.   not much of one in his main verse. if anyone tries to arrest him for something its usually wrongfully or because they’re trying to exploit a loophole - save for the one time authorities caught him and dororo stealing something. in the modern verse, he was probably expelled from one of the schools he attended after being caught in the aftermath of murdering a demon, and has probably loitered before. VICES.    nothing obvious. his most egregious one is his one track mindedness and anger issues that can really get the better of him.

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.    big ol’ question mark. PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.     no. LIBIDO.     NO. LOVE LANGUAGE.    hug him and pat his head, and cradle him honestly. he is like a big puppy. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.    it definitely is hard to read him. he does not talk very much, or if he does, it’s often in broken and in blunt language. this is how he’s always talked, so he can hurt people if he’s not careful. that said, he is the type to create things to show his affection, so while he may appear stoic, you may one day receive an extremely intricate portrait of yourself that is an exact replica of you - he’s worked hours on it, and you can tell.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.   sixth sense - kensuke ushio ( boogiepop & others ost ) HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.    painting, sculpting, stargazing, scouting for food, going into the forests wherever he’s at to get a sense of the flora and fauna, looking for dogs to pet in the local villages... among others. LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.    bit of both, exceptional in the arts and in logic, but terrible at everything involving emotions and reading people, which is why he can say the wrong thing a lot of the time. FEARS.    being left alone, being incomplete, never being able to relate to others, being human, giving in to his demon nature, letting his stubbornness get the better of him, never be understood for the rest of his life. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.    average, on the lower side. VULNERABILITIES.    get him angry and he will go on a violent rampage, but because he’s just a berserker with no strategy in this state, he can be taken down with the right skills. otherwise, stab him in the back of the foot and he’ll go down. also ticklish in his ribs.

[alive-drumming]

9 Myths About Drumming

According to Music Australia, drumming has become a part of our everyday lives. Whether you play at home or go to a club, chances are you’ve heard someone say they love drumming. Drummers are sometimes stereotyped as loud, obnoxious, and annoying. In reality, drumming is a complex art form that requires practice, patience, and discipline.

“Drumming has become very popular worldwide. Drumming can be done alone or with other instruments such as guitar, bass, and keyboard. Drumming is a great way to exercise your body and relax simultaneously,” says Flynn Ross, a musical instrument specialist at Guitar Tuners—Australia’s top supplier of musical instruments.

Drumming is a fun and relaxing hobby that anyone can enjoy. There are several myths surrounding drumming, but they only apply to some drummers.

1. The Physicality Is Extreme

Drums are no more physically demanding to practice than other instruments. Still, all musical instruments have a maximum volume that may be easily reached before you break it and start wasting your time or showing off.

2. The Key Is To Hit Things

Drumming revolves around striking objects, but a piano, another percussion instrument, does the same. It’s not the same as hitting something as hard as you can when you strike it to get the best sound out of it.

3. Drummers Perspire Heavily

A drummer's working room.

They used to since the club had low ceilings and they were flanked by infernal floor lighting or a row of incandescent lamps dangling above them. The drummer was inches away from getting a tan, thanks to being on a riser. LED drummers no longer sweat more than anyone else on stage due to the environment’s low heat. Keep up with technological advancements while remaining alert in the back.

4. Drumming Can’t Be Practised At Home Without Making Others Mute

False. Practising surfaces include books, pads, and electronic drums. Also, your sister’s violin or brother’s trumpet, which requires natural playing to generate a good tone, can quickly drown out the appealing pattering of sticks on a practice pad or electronic set.

5. Drums Cannot Be Played On Your Own

That is no longer the case in the virtual world. Some YouTube drummers who “stay at home” have a business coaching other drummers online.

6. Drums Aren’t Musical Instruments

It is true that drums “have no pitch”. This is typically cited as support for this claim. On the other hand, it has an undefined or approximate pitch. The ear can tell which drum has a higher pitch than the other.

7. It Will Only Take Additional Time Away From The Books To Study The Drums In High School Or College

Maybe, but those hours will probably improve academic performance if they aren’t wasted. There is a growing body of research on the many advantages of learning any musical instrument, including patience, discipline, confidence, attention to detail, and coordination.

8. Drummers Are Not Musicians

It’s a prevalent misconception that drummers don’t need to understand how music functions. This is false; many drummers have at least rudimentary proficiency on a second instrument.

9. You’ll Experience Hearing Loss

Modern in-ear monitoring provides a level of control that allows you to have whatever sound you choose in your ears at any volume. If you turn the monitors up to their maximum volume, the drums sound fantastic, but there is a risk of ear injury. You should give it some thought.

Break The Myths And Enjoy Drumming With Alive Drumming

There are myths about everything; no one should hinder someone from doing what they love. With professional help, breaking these myths and enjoying drumming will be possible.

Alive Drumming showcases non-classical musicianship, with resources on contemporary rhythms, arrangement rhythm recordings, and provides the Song Rhythm Tracks service and mobile apps.

Contact us at marketing@alive-drumming.org for more information.

[fayewonglibrary]

Melting of the Ice Queen (2000)

Once the music world’s Ice Queen, Faye Wong warms up to motherhood and new love as Rebecca Li uncovers.

AS Faye Wong walks into the photo studio at Chai Wan, Hong Kong, casually dressed in baby-blue pants and pink No Name sneakers that look like a cross between sports shoes and ballet slippers, she looks relaxed and girlish.

The colours of her outfit suggest that her life is absolutely bright and sunny.  Even without makeup, her eyes obscured by aviator shades, she still looks completely stunning.

Well-known for her nonchalance to the media and her chameleon-like image changes, Asia’s most charismatically enigmatic chanteuse seems to have mellowed.  Does it have anything to do with the birth of her daughter Jingtong in February 1997?

“The greatest change in me came not after the birth of my child, but after I converted to Buddhism in 1992,” says the 31-year-old.  “I used to ask myself questions like ‘Why is it so?’ But not everything in the world can be explained.  If it is so, it is so; there is no why.  If it is fated, then it is so!  You can only learn to accept your fate.  A simple principle, but easier said than done.”

LIFE GOES ON

With her divorce from Taiwanese rocker Dou Wei out of the way, Faye seems to have moved on.  The big news now is that she is dating a younger man, and not just any younger man too, but Hong Kong heartthrob Nicholas Tse, who’s all of 19.

The source of the rumor?  The pair was snapped by paparazzi earlier this year, kissing at a party in Hong Kong club Greenspot…during a drinking game.  And to add fuel to the fire, they have also been spotted having intimate dinners together on several occasions.

Gossip aside, it’s amazing how the public just cannot get enough of this long-limbed, 1.72 metre-tall Beijing-born beauty, who first set foot in Hong Kong in 1987 at the age of 18.

Back then, the artiste formerly known as Shirley Wong Ching Man didn’t even speak a word of Cantonese, and out of boredom, she enrolled herself in singing classes that helped her develop that ethereal voice that she is now so famous for.

After spending a couple of years in New York studying music, she returned to Hong Kong in 1992, changed her name to Faye, and released an album entitled COMING HOME.  The rest, as they say, is history.  In 1993, she was voted “Most Popular Asian Singer” and over the years, her star has just kept rising higher.

Within a short span of time, Faye has attained the kind of pop icon status that took her favorite singer Teresa Teng an entire lifetime to achieve.

Fans from as far as France devote entire websites to her.  Film critics in Sweden gave her the “Best Actress” award for her role in CHUNGKING EXPRESS.  Sony Playstation felt she was appealing enough to the youth market to pay her US$1 million to sing the ending theme song for their popular video game Final Fantasy 8.

If you’d holidayed in China last year and felt a thirst for Pepsi, you would have seen her gorgeous face emblazoned all over the can (that is, before the limited edition ran out).

A Japanese cellphone company used her for their commercial, but that perhaps is not even half as flattering as the fact that a Taiwanese artiste, Kung Mei Mei, released a debut album entitled I LOVE FAYE WONG.

QUEEN OF MODESTY

Faye has proven herself as one of the very few singers who have made a successful crossover into acting, with CHUNGKING EXPRESS, LOVE AFFAIR IN OKINAWA (which hit Singapore screens on 9 August) and the yet-to-be-completed 2046.  But she still remains unimpressed by her own thespian talents.

“Actually I don’t have much acting to do in LOVE AFFAIR IN OKINAWA… and it is nothing as crazy as the character in CHUNGKING EXPRESS.  It is much more normal and easy-going.”

And contrary to what others say, the movie has not been tailormade for her, she clarifies.  “Maybe they just know this is how I am, I simply can’t act.  Maybe it is because it is a different director (Peter Chan).  I have only worked with Wong Kar Wai before.  I’m more familiar with what he wants… I’m afraid of the demands from other directors, that I may not be able to meet their requirements…”

Faye says that she does not like acting because it involves teamwork and requires a lot of patience.

“For me, when you are making a movie, you have to wait.  It takes a lot of time, and it can be boring.  When you sing, you just need to go to the studio.  I would know if I have not sung a line well, so I can ask to do it again.  When it comes to acting, I wouldn’t know which way is better.  When the director says it is okay, then it’s okay for me, I wouldn’t have any opinion of my own.

"I have also sought advice from many actors, like Carina Lau, for example, who never went through formal training either.  She said, it will be fine, just keep doing it, it will come with experience!  Maybe that’s true, I’ve only made three movies, which is not much of an experience.”

While most actors eagerly dissect every film they can get their hands on, Faye says she is not even a movie buff to begin with.  “I don’t like to watch martial arts movies, war movies, period movies,” she says, without pausing for breath.  “I do watch comedies, but if it is blatantly slapstick, I will definitely not watch it.”

And contrary to how so-called “serious” actors try to get into their roles by trying to get under the skin of the character they’re taking on, Faye prefers not to get in too deep.

“When you are doing a Wong Kar Wai movie, you can never be quite in it, because you won’t even know what the story is all about.  When I was filming CHUNGKING EXPRESS, I really didn’t know what I was doing.  You have to read the script a few times to understand what he’s trying to say.  As I was playing the role, I was feeling that this girl is so irritating and inexplicable.  Haha…"  Self-mockery has always been a virtue of survivors.

LOVE ACCORDING TO FAYE

Now that she has reclaimed her "single” status, perhaps Faye will reveal the kind of man that attracts her?

But this line of questioning doesn’t get much information out of her – Faye would rather speak in generalities, and not about any specific person.  Nicholas Tse’s name is not mentioned throughout the interview.

Sexiness, Faye says, is a matter of personality, a kind of feel.  For her, there are no criteria to speak of.

“I have always been one to follow my intuition.  When it feels right, then it’s right.  The most important thing for a man is to be upright, frank, not to make me do any second-guessing, not to say one thing and do another thing.  Whether he is sexy or not is secondary.  There is not particular look that I go for.  Except that I don’t like guys that talk to much.”

Still, despite her ice queen persona, there’s still a hint that the man who manages to make her thaw will find a hopeless romantic underneath.

“I feel that everything is fated.  When a person is in love, it is like having a magic spell cast on you, you just can’t wriggle out of it, and you can’t be so level-headed as to examine yourself objectively.  Some would calculate various factors while choosing a marriage partner and decide according to one’s requirements.  But I’m definitely not someone like that.”

Translated by Ts’ Ming.

FAYE ON HER LEADING MEN

Tony Leung Chiu Wai - “I have worked with him the most number of times but never really talked to him.  I don’t understand him too well.  He doesn’t talk much, but sometimes he would behave like … he would be very affectionate, it’s rather odd.  I guess he is harder to fathom.”

Leslie Cheung - “He is a buddy.  He is someone who makes clear distinctions between what he loves and what he hates.  He would explain why he likes something and why he doesn’t like something … a headstrong type of person.”

Tony Leung Kar Fai - “He is a very agreeable character, he would share his private matters with others, things like where his family has gone traveling, what they have encountered, how his daughter is doing … I think he would make a perfect husband, very nice, caring, and attentive.”

Takuya Kimura - “Kimura is a very smart person.  But sometimes he’s very playful too.  He’s actually a very professional actor.”

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

On hobbies - “Shopping for clothes is no longer my hobby, I only shop for 'working clothes’, so that doesn’t count.  Recently, I haven’t’ had any hobbies.  Apart from work, I just lie around at home, or meet up with some friends.  I have not played mahjong for a long time."  (Right, who has time for mahjong when one is too busy dating?)

On music - "Thinking back on my first record, it was released without much thought, and it was not very me.  I tend to be more carefree while recording in the studio, other than that I behave very awkwardly.  I’m not one who needs to listen to music everyday.”

On pursuits - “I’m not very worried about what to eat, or what to wear, just as long as I have a place to live comfortably.  Actually I’m usually not so concerned about my appearance.  I think the only thing I care for is my records, choosing my songs, recording a good album.  Although there are some works that I’m satisfied with, I still hope to do more.”

On happiness - “A lot of times, that’s just a state of mind.  As long as you know how to let go, you will be much happier.”

On her daughter - “I never planned to have children.  I’m not a patient person but I tend to be nicer to children.  Fortunately, Jing Tong is not naughty at all.  I will not interfere with her future, my responsibility is just to raise her.  Whichever path she takes from then on would be her own, that’s beyond my control.”

MAKING OF A COVER GIRL

Faye Wong has a habit of browsing through magazines while making up.  She would rather stay a while longer than to rush an interview while making up and doing her hair.  Such insistence is rare among entertainers, but how else to share your thoughts with so many people around to interrupt?

So this reporter had to watch her making up, doing her hair, trying her dress and taking the polaroids for a full five hours.  But that helped her to warm up and made it easier to strike up a conversation.

As expected, her daughter Jing Tong turned up at 5:30 pm sharp, insisted on a hug and kiss, and on being Faye’s personal dresser – she followed Mum into the changing room.  Faye looked completely transformed as she emerged, and her daughter started to mimic her, much to everyone’s amusement.

During the interview, the cute little girl interrupted three or four times, but she also knew when to back off after every act, without being told off.

As the interview drew to a close, Jing Tong grew more and more impatient.  She shouted with all her might:  “Mum, Mum, let’s go home!"  It sounded like a little wish that was too long suppressed.

------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE: ELLE

[hellsbovnd-archive]

LF RP — LEONNAUX ALTOIX

For all practical purposes a ghost, this Elezen only appears on public records as far back as three summers ago. It’s likely, then, that he’s chosen to live under an assumed name. He tends to use his appearance to his advantage, passing himself off as a Wildwood whenever it suits his interests—which, given the discrimination that Duskwights face, is more often than not.

He first stepped into the public’s eye as a small-time journalist—and, unbeknownst to all but those closest to him, the proprietor of The Cloak & Dagger (under the alias “Crow”). He is passionate about magicks and has a demonstrated talent for alchemy beyond what one may expect of a man who’s only twenty and one summers old. Shortly after founding The Cloak & Dagger, he retired from journalism to pursue academia full-time.

In Character

Profession(s): Academic — Director of Alizarine Research & Reclamation ( @alizarinefc ). Information Broker — Proprietor of The Cloak & Dagger, and current self-proclaimed leader of the Ebonguard ( @ebonguardls ). Formerly — Mythril Eye beat journalist.

Alignment: Generally neutral. Loyal to the Eorzean Alliance, but not particularly interested in being a law-abiding citizen.

Professional Talents: Magic — Arcanima and other rune-based arcane arts. Alchemy. Warding and minor enchantment. Illusions. Bartending/mixology.

Current Residence: The Goblet, Sultana’s Breath.

Likely Haunts: Ul’dah and Thanalan, primarily. Bookstores. Antique Shops. Magic Shops. Bars and Taverns. Gambling Establishments.

Hobbies: Gambling, primarily poker and other card games. Magic tricks, primarily sleight of hand. Reading, anything he cant get his hands on. Occasionally writes poetry. Music. Fashion.

Abbreviated Bio: Leonnaux is a Shroud-born Duskwight. He is obsessively studious and somewhat selfish in nature, though simultaneously surprisingly laid-back. Those who can make it past his strictly-business demeanor might note a heart of gold, despite the kind of work he’s often involved in via The Cloak & Dagger.

Having run away from home and come to Ul’dah, he quickly had to find a way to make money, which led him to dip his toes into the criminal underworld... and after he took the plunge, he never looked back, using his position as a journalist as leverage over his contacts. He took advantage of his new-found freedom (both in person and, to an extent, in finances) to continue his studies into the flow of aether and alchemy.

MORE INFORMATION: Full Bio | Tag

Out of Character

Hi there! I’m Mid and I use they/them pronouns! I’m generally most active during NA Evenings and Late Nights. I play on Balmung, but I'm open to RP connections from across the Crystal datacenter.

You can find detailed information about my hopes and expectations for RP on my dossier, here. The quick and dirty version:

OOC Communication > All

I am a med/heavy lore-strict RPer. I prefer medium-to-low power levels in RP and character- and plot-driven scenes. I won’t RP with any player under the age of 18 but as long as you’re not making it weird/creepy, I don’t have a problem with underage characters.

I run an FC and an LS, so I can be pretty busy OOC because I have to run a lot of stuff related to that.

I do not RP on Discord, but I have always been smitten with Tumblr RP as a longform format, so if in-game RP is impossible for some reason, I’m happy to write starters.

In terms of things I’m looking for:

Casual acquaintances and friends!

Business contacts!

Long-term plot-focused RP connections!

Recommendations for events to attend? (And company to drag me along since I hate flying solo.)

Discord and Linkshell communities! Leonnaux is a Shroud-born Duskwight, a criminal, and a mage, so any Discords and Linkshells catering to that would be great for forging connections, though I'm fairly shy. u.u

In relation to some character development, I would love to find a mentor for Leonnaux!

Detailed RP Hooks Under the Cut!

Thanks for reading! If you're interested in playing with me then please feel free to send me a message or make a note of it in the tags or comments on this post. My Discord is available for OOC arrangements and chatter upon request! If I’m slow please bear with me; I have a habit of getting absolutely swamped with stuff at more or less complete random, and my energy levels vary wildly from day to day and week to week.

RP Hooks

1. The Academic/Scholarly Community.

While the majority of Leonnaux’s academic career has been spent in seclusion, teaching himself the skills he’s learned, he eventually came out of his shell. He’s always looking to expand his horizons, and has an extensive personal collection (although it’s doubtful that he’s read every book cover-to-cover).

Leonnaux is very interested in alchemy and, as he practices a mixture of arcanima-rooted rune-based magic and component-based magic resembling alchemy, he’s always itching to learn more about other schools of thought regarding the art. He’s taken a shine to Ul’dahn alchemy since moving to Ul’dah, but he himself heavily utilizes traditionally Duskwight methods. 

Despite his talent for alchemy, he also doesn’t always have the time or knowledge to go out and collect his own reagents and materials, so he relies heavily on outside help, be they merchants in Ul’dah or independent suppliers.

He is also the director of Alizarine Research & Reclamation, a company focused on such academic pursuits as well as the study and acquisition of artifacts, regardless of whether their significance lays in their history or their properties.

2. The Criminal Element

For a long time, Leonnaux’s primary source of income was selling information. He’s always had somewhat of a disdain for law and authority, viewing such things necessary only insofar as they serve his ends. 

He sells secrets and whispers under the guise of a somewhat ostentatious man known as “Crow,” using his “messenger” (really a cover to ensure that he was taken seriously in his work, and to protect his identity/safety if things went awry) as an intermediary between himself and business contacts as a means of protecting his identity due to the nature of his work. He is also not above thievery and is knowledgeable about underground trade networks.

“Crow” is also known to be the leader of a loose criminal network that he calls “the Ebonguard” and is the proprietor of an establishment known as The Cloak & Dagger, a restaurant meant to be a sort of ‘neutral ground’ for criminals and n’er-do-wells to do business and have a good bite to eat.

Leonnaux is known to gamble his money in seedy places. More than happy to sit for a game of cards or a cigarette, one might notice that he can get an uncanny winning streak going under the right conditions. The keenest might be able to connect the dots to the pronounced talent for sleight of hand and other magic tricks that he seems to possess.

In the criminal underground as Crow, he’s earned a reputation for declining the use of force except where absolutely necessary, instead preferring to use blackmail and public humiliation as his primary source of leverage over his contacts and clients. However as he’s given up his job as a journalist, he lacks that leverage and his position is far more precarious. Past clients or contacts with an axe to grind are 100% welcome as pre-established contacts, as long as we talk about it first! 

3. Contract Work.

Leonnaux is more than willing to take contract work, although he has his boundaries. This is in its own heading because he’s willing to take work to research things or track down artifacts as he is to sell information or organize heists to steal valuables. His only hard line is that he won’t kill on contract and he will not aid in any plot involving human trafficking.

Note though that Leonnaux is comfortable enough financially that he may not take every job that’s pitched to him. High risk jobs that offer little reward are likely to be declined, but if the pot is sweet enough then he can be convinced to do anything that doesn’t cross one of his hard lines.

(Note that RPing contracts in the east will be difficult, as I don’t generally play with IC teleportation due to playing on the lower end of the power spectrum.)

4. Mentor + Apprentice

Leonnaux is primarily a self-taught mage, though recently he’s been shown that while it’s an impressive accomplishment, he’s nowhere near as skilled as his peers. His casting is sloppy and reliant upon prerequisite components, which means that he’s not great in situations where he has to improvise. In general he lacks discipline, and he can’t take a hit to save his life. He would love to get stronger, but is unsure of how to go about it.

(Note: This is an extremely long-term plot hook, so I won’t pursue it with anyone I’m not comfortable with. If you’re interested in exploring a mentor/apprentice dynamic with Leonnaux as the apprentice, then feel free to reach out to me and we’ll get talking; I’d like to get to know you via unrelated interactions and general shitposting/chatter first! Forgive me for being awkward, though, I’m very bad at keeping up with people. orz)

Leonnaux is also open to passing on his knowledge of alchemy to others, given that he practices an unusual form of it and would like to see the Duskwight practices preserved outside of Duskwight communities.

[undonesarc]

               *   𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒕      //      repost,  don’t  reblog !

𝑩𝑨𝑺𝑰𝑪𝑺  :

FULL NAME. augustus hugo suarez. NICKNAME. shortens his first name to august, and has since childhood, but he’s most predominantly referred to as romeo, the nickname he was christened with upon entering the criminal world because of how ‘pretty’ he is. he owns this nickname, and since entering a life of crime genuinely instead of just as an undercover, it’s his go-to for introductions, even in settings where it’s not necessarily needed (i.e., not on a job.) he’s open with acknowledging august as his name, too, but he’s really taken to romeo. GENDER.    cis man. HEIGHT.   5′8″. AGE. 38.  ZODIAC. scorpio.     SPOKEN LANGUAGES.   (castilian) spanish is his native tongue (but he is familiar with latin american variants), english, american sign language, and very basic french.

𝑷𝑯𝒀𝑺𝑰𝑪𝑨𝑳 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑺  :

HAIR  COLOR. black.  EYE  COLOR. a dark brown that mostly seems black, depending on the lighting. SKIN  TONE. bronze might be the right word?  BODY  TYPE.   strong, muscular, highly and almost compulsively athletic.  VOICE.  he’s “uncharacteristically” soft-spoken, at least as far as what’s expected of a guy who looks like him. there’s a faint trace of a spanish accent, but he’s been known to exaggerate it, mostly because he thinks it makes him more attractive, fading more with every year.  DOMINANT  HAND.   right-handed. POSTURE.  he doesn’t ‘slouch’, but there’s an obvious relaxation in the way he carries himself, though he’s also sure and vaguely professional, but it isn’t actually law enforcement professional. he never took to “acting” like a cop, which is why he was better undercover than in a uniform. SCARS. a few nicks here and there, but the most notable are a gunshot wound on his left bicep and one down his right arm (from elbow to wrist) from an accident on his stepfather’s farm. TATTOOS. to be determined. i don’t picture him having many, but a few little tiny ones here and there from his years spent traveling are possible. BIRTHMARKS.   n/a. MOST NOTICEABLE  FEATURE(S). his smile, mostly because his canines are really sharp, natural fangs, and he has a more-than-slight gap between his front teeth (but this doesn’t bother him in the slightest, and he’s never wanted to get it ‘fixed’.) he has lots of freckles on his nose and cheeks, too, and they garner a lot of compliments.

𝑪𝑯𝑰𝑳𝑫𝑯𝑶𝑶𝑫  :

PLACE  OF  BIRTH.   valencia, spain. HOMETOWN.   valencia, spain. SIBLINGS. n/a. PARENTS. clara and alvaro. he’s kind of estranged from both. august hasn’t seen his father, alvaro, since the age of 16, and he’s perfectly content to keep it that way. his mother, clara, has remarried an american named michael, but august doesn’t see her new husband as a father in any way, despite michael’s attempts to get august to open up to him (and constantly calling him son, because he loves august, even knowing august doesn’t feel the same). august hasn’t spoken to his mother in a few years beyond some brief texts and phone calls; he hasn’t seen her since he was 21. he loves her, but he feels his life is really complicated now, and she’s finally in a good place and happy with a man who actually cares for her, and he doesn’t want to ruin that.

𝑨𝑫𝑼𝑳𝑻 𝑳𝑰𝑭𝑬  :

OCCUPATION. ex-undercover cop, now a full-time criminal. CURRENT  RESIDENCE. atlanta, georgia. CLOSE  FRIENDS. he's a new character, i haven’t done any plotting yet, so as of now? none. hmu if you want to change that :) RELATIONSHIP  STATUS. single.  FINANCIAL  STATUS. working class. DRIVER’S  LICENSE. yes.   CRIMINAL  RECORD. no. VICES. he’s incredibly impulsive and it just ruins his life constantly.

𝑺𝑬𝑿 & 𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬  :

SEXUAL  ORIENTATION. bisexual. PREFERRED  EMOTIONAL  ROLE.    submissive  |  dominant  | switch   PREFERRED  SEXUAL  ROLE. submissive  |  dominant  |  switch LIBIDO. medium. TURN  ON’S. confidence, strength, people who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty or raise their voices and challenge the world and its expectations. timidity doesn’t work well with him, since he acts so brashly and without thought most of the time, and he prefers people who can keep up and are willing to put up with his spontaneity. on a more physical aspect, he likes it when people - of any gender - are taller than him, but he’s not so shallow that it’s a complete deal breaker. he’s very much an extrovert and gravitates towards people who are the same. TURN  OFF’S. people whose ‘loudness’ is just rudeness.  RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.  he’s not good with commitment; he’s only had two real relationships in his life, one which, surprisingly, lasted two years, with a man in new york, when he was 21; august sees this as his only experience with real love. it ended because he felt august was still too childish in many ways, because august felt he took things too seriously, and so they decided to end things amiably before anyone got hurt, because their lives were just too different - but august still got a little hurt anyway, and it’s affected the way he views romance to a certain degree. his second ‘real’ relationship was with a woman in D.C., but she ended things in favor of furthering her political career, and didn’t see him as the type to fit into that scene, which only furthered his distaste for commitment, feeling like it’s too big, and like he’s never going to be equipped for it, because that’s how people keep treating him. he has a few connections that last a couple weeks every now and then, and then a handful of one-night stands, but he does wish for something deeper sometimes, especially as he grows older, as he’s finally beginning to really mature.

𝑴𝑰𝑪𝑬𝑳𝑳𝑨𝑵𝑬𝑶𝑼𝑺  :

CHARACTER’S  THEME  SONG.  fearless by pink floyd. HOBBIES  TO  PASS  TIME.  hiking, running, watching soccer, visiting art exhibits, recreational and lowkey boxing, and writing - he’s been writing short stories for a while now, has a good chunk of a novel done, but it’s all only for him; he doesn’t have any intention to publish them. LEFT  OR  RIGHT  BRAINED.    i’m not smart enough to figure this out PHOBIAS. deep water and airplanes. SELF  CONFIDENCE  LEVEL. definitely..... higher than what’s accepted. he loves himself a lot, thinks highly of his abilities, the way he looks, just his general presence. he thinks he’s a good friend. he rarely ever doubts himself, and it definitely comes across as annoying, but he also doesn’t care if people get annoyed by it. he’s happy and he’s thriving. VULNERABILITIES. his impulsiveness, because it was impulsion that caused him to leave home, become a cop, inevitably betray the cops and switch sides... he makes split-second decisions and it’s just stupid and terrible of him, he rarely stops to think about what happens two or three moves from the one he’s currently making, and it’s going to be what kills him, eventually.

𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑮𝑬𝑫 𝑩𝒀    — @armsdealing 𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑮    — @sabortooths, @constantwar​ 4 heath, @wanlidas​ 4 aaron

[seidanguard]

CHARACTER SHEET.

Repost, don’t reblog!



𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME. Kanemura Hotaru

NICKNAME. General, Commander, Firefly (he doesn’t like that)

GENDER.  male

HEIGHT. 6′6″

AGE. 877

ZODIAC. Capricorn

SPOKEN LANGUAGES. Has a universal translator, but can speak common Seidan, Japanese (it’s very similar to Seidan), some English. Also literate in Hanzi/Kanji.

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR. White.

EYE COLOR. White third eyelids. Very light gray irises. They can glow.

SKIN TONE. Tan with golden undertones.

BODY TYPE.  Tall, lean, muscular. V-shape torso. Long legs. BEST BUTT EVER

VOICE.  Gravelly, vocal fry, deep. (vc: Liam Neeson)  

DOMINANT HAND. Right.

POSTURE. Excellent

SCARS. None - Seidan technology removes scars.

TATTOOS. None

BIRTHMARKS. None

MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S). Height, hair, eyes

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH. Orderrealm

HOMETOWN. Seidan capital, Goldtown district. This is why he was given the surname Kanemura.

SIBLINGS. None.

PARENTS. He is a ward of the state.

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION.  Commander of the Seidan Guard (military and law enforcement).

CURRENT RESIDENCE. Seido or Lei Chen/Outworld depending on timeline.

CLOSE FRIENDS. None. 

RELATIONSHIP STATUS. Single.

FINANCIAL STATUS.  Seido is egalitarian. Everyone is the same class.

DRIVER’S LICENSE. Humans still have to drive??

CRIMINAL RECORD. NO.

VICES. Arrogance, meanness. 

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE. submissive | dominant | switch| unavailable

PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE. submissive | dominant | switch 

LIBIDO. None to speak of 

TURN ON’S. Competence, boldness, ambition 

TURN OFF’S. incompetence, not taking things seriously, smart-aleck types 

LOVE LANGUAGE. Not being actively mean; sitting in the same room as you but probably still glowering 

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES. He’s never been in a relationship. He’s never actively sought one out. He doesn’t feel like he’s missing out on anything or like he needs somebody else in his life. Loved ones are liabilities, as can be proven by the fates of families of guards like Dairou. If he ever felt like he was getting close to somebody he would probably push them away as to avoid that kind of vulnerability. Or any kind of vulnerability. He is intensely private and does not like to talk about feelings or problems or his day or anything really. In public and professionally one-on-one he is a bold leader. However, in a private, non-professional setting he is quiet, awkward, somewhat diffident. 

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.  SONG? I have a whole playlist! Right now let’s go with TECHNO SYNDROME, of course, and also Sleep Now In The Fire by RATM.

HOBBIES TO PASS TIME. Origami, martial arts/katas, extra work

LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED. This is a concept that has been disproven

PHOBIAS. None

SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL. 11/10. Though he utilizes a lingering resentment towards those who have the ability to conform yet wish to not conform and who espouse individuality. To him they’re like people with perfect vision who wear fashion frames.

VULNERABILITIES.   Blinding naivety towards the faults of the Seidan government. Can be handicapped by his own honor. Generally has the vulnerabilities of a mortal.     

TAGGED BY FROM: @pxlariis but format stolen from @queenbxx

TAGGING: NOBODY. NOBODY