#hopefully the read more works lmao

[viridian-house]

I want so desperately to finish this one, but life has other plans for me this month. I learned a ton while working on it, so fingers crossed I can pick the momentum back up in the future

sakura, from my fic series the slug & the stars

[rebornrosess]

A WORLD OF NOISE: THE ZABAJABA JUNGLE

ZABA by Glass Animals is 10 YEARS OLD TODAY.

A poem/stream of consciousness I wrote about ZABA on a rainy September night in 2022, one month after seeing Glass Animals live. ZABA was the album by which I found Glass Animals in 2018, and its abstract yet visceral nature continues to fascinate me. The more I listened, the more I felt I could understand the imagery drawn across its 11 tracks.

Essentially, I believe ZABA can be understood as a Queer reading and apologue of Plato’s allegory of the cave. There are many lines that allude to a (Queer) awakening from perceived societal constraints such as in Walla Walla (“it’s a ruse, all these creatures are a lie” & “i clap my hand and they’re gone into the night”), likely referencing the shadows projected by the puppet showmen in Plato’s allegory. Thus, the anguish expressed in songs predating ZABA’s release such as in Golden Antlers and in Exxus are symptomatic of a speaker trapped in a cave, unable to escape a deeper feeling of unease because they are only seeing the reality projected to them by a cisheteronormative system. It is only when the speaker escapes this metaphorical cave in Flip, the opening track of ZABA, (“I’m gonna shake my fetters / I’m breaking loose”), that they finally enter the confusing, overwhelming, but beautiful and fluid “world of noise” mentioned in Pools (and sonically created in Intruxx). Over the course of ZABA, the speaker wrestles with their preconceived notions of reality (Walla Walla uses a ton of imagery from The Matrix), relationships, gender, and sexuality, while simultaneously feeling betrayed by their family and society (Hazey and Toes).

The B-Side of ZABA dips into existential dread, as the speaker mourns the time they lost to the incomplete reality they had accepted in the cave, and the effects it had on their mental health (Wyrd), climaxing in Cocoa Hooves, as the speaker (or someone else), confronts them(selves) and the changes they have undergone in the ZABAJABA jungle. The speaker must choose if they wish to stay in the confusing yet euphoric jungle, or self-destruct (“set [their] wings on fire”) and return to the cave after flying too close to the sun and after indulging too deeply in their primal instinct. However, just as the freed prisoner in Plato’s allegory, the speaker runs the risk of never being able to live in blissful ignorance again, as their eyes may never re-adjust to the incomplete, crafted reality of the cave.

The last track of the album, JDNT, presents a conclusion as ambiguous as the title Dave refuses to explain. It is possible the speaker is accepting their doomed fate as prophecized to them by the antagonist in Wyrd, or radically accepting their outcast status, enjoying the “life untamed.” And perhaps, in the end, they triumph over their internal turmoil by recognizing it only has power over them if they allow it to, as it cannot “breathe without [them].” And thus, they return to the Earth, unfettered and born anew.

[kenobihater]

back from my annual months long disappearance for REAL this time i think <3

[batfossil-fr]

I’ve been really thinking of reopening my art shop soon… I’ve been taking some practice doodles (hence all the posting lately) while I shake off my rust and I’m finding things I enjoy working on again. I miss trying my hand at more dragons/OCs and colors. my shop’s so broken rn lmao but that’s a problem for a later date it’s just nice getting back into art

[svtskneecaps]

so what i'm putting together from osmosis and the wonderful livebloggers and the incredible arkanis english updates account is something like this

Prefeito Jota: Hello, I'd like to hire you to investigate what happened in my city/island(?)!

Bagi, who was previously "invited" to a mysterious island/city by its elected official, subsequently trapped on the mysterious island/city, investigated the deep mysterious history of the island/city, came to no conclusions, found her brother after years of searching, was separated once again from her brother, gained and lost an adopted daughter (possibly to being kidnapped by the island government, which was evil), gained and lost a demon fiancée (possibly to being dragged back to hell, so there's no way to find her), gained and lost a close demon friend to dubious circumstance (did he die for his children? is he with skeppy in the gas station?), and has had an unknown amount of time to process and/or suppress all of this: Sure! :D

[myonmukyuu]

Today's marker practice #4

Today I worked on an Ayumu I've been refining for awhile. I think a huge bottleneck for my marker practise is taking the time to draw and line the art cleanly so I've begun creating a single lined design, and then tracing it onto other shikishi. Kind of accelerates the learning process. (So I've actually coloured this exact Ayumu like 3-4 times and each one is unique in its own way (mostly they have different mistakes 😂).

It's pretty tough working on watercolour paper with markers by the way. Everything bleeds... The markers bleed as well as the fineliner. So I had to be super careful with working on it. It's leagues better than working on cheap Daiso paper though. The ink would absorb instantly and I wouldn't be able to blend any of the colours.

I've also purchased Copic Marker Shikishi. Theoretically, these should be perfect for my needs, but they're pretty hard to get a hold of though for a reasonable price... I think I have to proxy them from Japan. For now, I'll be using these water colour shikishi.

The watercolor shikishi are also quite fragile. Overworking the paper/ using a regular eraser can damage it. I've started using a kneadable eraser which damages it a bit less. It makes my kneadable eraser fluffy instantly though, which probably cuts the lifespan of the eraser 😅

I've also purchased Copic white ink that's useful for patching up mistakes like things bleeding beyond edges. However the paper is actually off-white so if you look closely you'll be able to see the copic white ink.

But yeah, learning copics have been really fun! I haven't posted much recently and it's because I've just been iteratively working on my marker skills. 💪

[inniave]

how i'm spending my evening

[wanderingmoonmen]

hi there, I love your fics 🥺 any kennderland content soon?

I hope so!

At my 'new' (as if it hasn't been half a year already) job I literally cannot have my phone on me while I work so any of the little downtime I've had I can't write on my phone........

........so I've been hand writing it when I get the chance (featuring censor lizard)

The problem now is I have to sit down and write this up digitally which I just... haven't done it yet.

Thank you to those of you who have recently left kudos and comments! I do see them and it makes me happy and pushes me to try and get more stuff written.

[crescentfool]

some scribs based on things i saw at kawaiikon 2023 last week, i had a lot of fun! (in which i use minato + my squidkid as stand-ins for myself)

bonus comic + some thoughts about the con under the cut!

gotta love when u think it’d be cool to cosplay but then completely forget to get anything for the cosplay (i forgot to go to look for yellow fabric for a ryoji scarf)!! so u just go as just some guy (my wardrobe has a few items that remind me of my faves).

ANYWAYS for the con itself, i had a lot of fun! something about it was very humanizing, just knowing that there were other people in hawaii who also like persona (and the other things that i am into). i got to pull out my beloved minato nui/plushie and share him with other people which was. fun!!

the cosplayers were super cool too! the femc cosplayer was super sweet and they had!! a p3 protag itabag and it was so ?? heartwarming and cool for me to see that?? and the akechi + kokichi cosplayers being in the same proximity was also very cool to me (idk i feel like they’re just both interesting characters).

and of course the artists were very lovely... i was very surprised 2 see so much persona 3 (thank you p3p for being put on modern consoles) there, haha. i paid the minato tax™ aka that’s what happens when your favorite character is like. the protag. i have so much beautiful minato art in my home now. i am so happy and normal about this. my heart is sold to him. he has such incomprehensible boy swag that transcends the universe. but anyway.

this is very rambly but um idk im just! grateful and appreciative! that other people are out there that enjoy media that i like especially since they were so scarce and far between (other fandoms showed up more frequently). would i go again? dunno, depends on what im into by the time next year rolls around. but i’m glad that i went this year, for sure 💙

[shirogane-oushirou]

[cw vent: chronic illness, general world politics mention w no detail)

"man. i'm so tired. i feel like i can't do anything selfship related. is it because my energy's been sapped from family visiting and everyone wanting to do ~summer activities~ nonstop? am i so in my head about "getting ren's story right without stepping over any lines" that i've backed myself into a perfectionist corner? is the world just going to shit so hard that i can't have one (1) minute of escape on this blog before going back to working through the political hellscape we're in? god even trying to make this plushie pattern is killing me even though i want to hold my guy So Badly AUGH."

/finishes the plushie pattern after trying multiple body bases and literally buying a japanese ebook about plushie face and hair design/

"actually what if i lived forever and spent all of that time making an army of these fuckers to swim in? what then?"

[wwereaderinserts]

I've just spent the time ever so slightly tweaking my uhhh, very extensive masterlist for those who haven't seen it yet/wasn't aware it existed!!

[candycryptids]

🤧 man. I’m gonna figure out the right order of words and punctuations for this thing I’m still working on writing and then it’ll be over. For. Probably me. LMAO.

[deus-ex-mona]

noping out li k e

[mrs-luigi-vargas]

This feels like the stupidest conversation I've ever written.

It makes me laugh, though, so I guess it's staying! ^_^

(The context is that Mario just found out Bowser had a crush on Luigi about 10-ish minutes after Mario left Luigi to hang out with Bowser for reasons detailed in this fic I wrote a while ago)

[lenievi]

I’ve seen so many people complaining about Kirk saying “I’m from space” because no “He’s from Iowa. He only works in outer space.” *rolls eyes*

ignoring the fact he’s just trying to be funny with Gillian in TVH, pre-TMP Kirk spent most of his life in space, he lived there, so encountering something he wouldn’t encounter on a space ship making him say “I’m from space” tracks imho

Whereas by TVH, Kirk only worked in space occasionally. For the past 10 years he had a desk job, and Generations even said he had retired from Starfleet (pre-TWOK) - he bought a house, had a dog, and had a girlfriend. He didn’t spend much time in space at all. 

Therefore “I only work in outer space” makes sense when he’s 52yo.

[dan-crimes]

The world isn't ready for all my amazing and wonderful takes on media but maybe my OCs will make them understand...