#i also most definitely would be able to draw more fun and creative art for something like this

[meringuejellyfish]

in 2019 i hosted an oc masquerade ball and there wasnt much of a theme outside of just. masquerade ball (even then some people forgot to draw masks but its okay :-P) and i was surprised by how many people joined in. the point was to just draw your oc(s) in a masquerade costume. and that was them attending this virtual masquerade ball !! woaw !! it really wasnt that in depth i just tricked people into drawing their oc’s in cool costumes but i had fun with it and so did a lot of other people and id love to do something like this again in the future :3 although i dont know how many people would be interested in that i think i might have just been very lucky to have had people interested

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

Have you looked at the dragons from the Wings of Fire book series? I think the wing designs mostly get rid of the issue of lacking wing membrane along with generally just having some unique takes on different types of dragons. They even go as far as adding some bug dragons in the third series which is pretty neat.

Granted they all still have that 4 leg western dragon style design to all of them but all things considered they have some unique designs overall, especially for a kids book series. It definitely has had its influence on artists I think given that people try to draw up hybrids and their own tribe designs. My only complaint is that when people draw hybrids it's just smashing two of them together instead of really thinking about the different body parts they have.

yes, I've had a few previous asks about specific dragon types in Wings of Fire. I have never read the series. from what I can gather, it is a perfectly fine series and the designs seem to be stylized with a younger audience in mind, using visual tropes that make the different dragon types' narrative roles very clear.

I do think the designs are oddly inconsistent about the wings, because some of the dragon groups do have a patagium but others don't, and there is also an inconsistent addition of the elbow strut, which is a pet peeve of mine.

overall, the designs are fine. they do what they're made for and they're visually appealing and very well suited to the type of fandom that wants to make a lot of uniquely colored ocs with interesting features. I'm sure if I went on deviantart to look for Wings of Fire art, I would find a thriving community of young artists making dozens of dragon ocs with all sorts of color combinations and hybrid features.

I don't think there's a problem with letting people make their hybrids in ways that are a bit shallow and not well thought out. most of those artists are likely young teens who have just found their artistic passion! and mashing designs together is a classic fandom oc tradition, it happens all the time. sonic ocs? pokemon hybrids? sparkledogs? if the original Wings of Fire creators were being sloppy and thoughtless with hybrid designs I might have some critique there because they're professional artists working with a detailed world that has its own rules and they ought to be able to do something more interesting and thoughtful with their own hybrid designs. but for the fans? I'm not gonna step on the creative energy there, people can have their fun.

[sakarrie-creates]

It’s that time of year! Here’s my 2023 art summary! After two years of having to include non-colored pieces, I finally did enough ‘full’ pieces to fill my art summary template! I did have to get a bit creative with the months since I was able to draw a LOT more during the summer, but I’ll take it! Sorry it's a bit blurry. I'm not sure if that's just for the preview or not, but it was a smaller file than normal and since these reflections are 99% for my own interest, I decided it wasn't worth trying to change.

As usual, I got rambly so reflection questions are answered under the cut. The template I used is available here in case anyone else wants to make their own! My fic summary will be coming in a week or so, so stay tuned for the stats and round-up there. :)

What events did you participate in (with art)? Player Appreciation Week, Fandom Trumps Hate, Dear Fellow Traveler (Animatic), Weird People (Editing), SPN Comfortably Queer Zine (dropped), and lots of zine applications for page artist, merch artist, comic artist, and spot artist roles!

What was your biggest challenge this year? While time, like last year, was still a challenge, I think my biggest challenge was a mix of low motivation and an intense perfectionistic mindset. At the start of the year, I got super into TOH and was super hyped about all the zines with apps opening. I really REALLY wanted to get into them and figured I should apply for art too just cause it would increase my overall chances of getting in. After the finale, I did a screenshot redraw that ended up being absolutely fantastic for where my skill level is. I went deeper into rendering than ever before, and somehow it worked for me. 

That probably was the start of my unreasonably high expectations, and I got it into my head that maybe if I could make a whole portfolio of artwork at that quality level, I actually stood a chance at getting into a zine as an artist. From then on, I was hardcore crash-coursing perspective, rendering techniques, and generally trying to improve without allowing room for mistakes. While I do think it helped me grow a lot, it burnt me out so I struggled to work on stuff past summary (when all the zine apps were) and even dropped from the SPN Comfortably Queer Zine cause my imposter syndrome was so strong. (Though that was also partially because it was a ‘sign-up and you’re in’ zine, so they never saw my art during the application process and had no way of knowing if I was good enough.

What was something you were surprised by? I’m pretty sure I discovered the perspective tool is CSP this year! CSP has so many tools I’m not aware of (despite watching tons of tutorials and guides), so it wasn’t super surprising but it was nice. I have to say, they’re a serious hassle to work with and require a higher understanding of vanishing points and such than I currently have, but I could see it being very useful for future scene art pieces.

Did you try anything new this year?

Yes! This year I kicked down the door to the merch world and have been collecting and designing throughout the year. Though the designs have mostly just been for zine app portfolio’s, everything has worked out really well for me and I hope to produce charms for my collection as I improve my skills. Where do you think you most improved? Definitely my confidence in rendering! And probably my rendering itself too. I did a ton more pieces with it this year and it’s definitely a favorite part of the art process for me. I think I’ll have a lot more fun with it this year too, since I’m trying to keep it lower pressure, so I can experiment more to find out what brushes and styles I like most. What are you most proud of? I think I’m most proud of how ambitious I was with my zine apps. Though I didn’t get into any for art and it burned me out a fair bit, I did a lot of hard work and made pieces I can be mostly happy with. As for specific pieces, I’m very proud of my animatic clip for the Dear Fellow Traveler MAP (which is what the Belos art from the summary is from). My portion was about 5 seconds with 24 fully colored and shaded frames. A few of those were moving frames too, so the end result is the closest thing to actual animation I’ve done. I also really like the rendering on the Huntlow Epilogue art and generally how the Steve&Matt hug turned out.

How’d this year compare to your 2023 goals? I honestly couldn’t remember what my goals were, but all things considered, I didn’t do too bad! Thankfully past-Sakarrie was wise and made it a bullet list so I can just check things off. Met: -Player Appreciation Week -Add to zine portfolio -Apply to at least one zine as an artist (fine if don’t get accepted) -Keep experimenting with backgrounds and shading -Pull out some old WIPs -Build more consistency of style

The checked off ones I definitely met, so good for me! This was a very zine-focused year, so I way exceeded those goals. The last two I did do, but they’re a bit subjective. Specifically, I think the ‘WIPs’ I was referring to were old sketches, but most of the old WIPs I revisited were already colored and I was either adding rendered or cleaning them up for zine usage. As for style, I’m REALLY bad at telling haha. That said, my characters seem reasonably similar when I draw them, so I’m going to tentatively count it. Kinda: -One fully colored piece per month

I’m gonna give myself a half check on this one. I didn’t have a fully colored piece every month, but I did have over 12 fully rendered pieces in the end, several of which had backgrounds. So while I didn’t meet the letter of the goal, I feel like I met the spirit of it.

Did Not Meet: -Finish Huntlow comic -30 minutes animatic digitalize rough draft -Maybe make some fanart of my favorite fics

These don’t shock me. They’re all personal projects and this was a very external-goal-driven year for me. The Huntlow comic is a big love of mine but it’s definitely ambitious for where my skill is. I’ve got the whole thing messy-sketched and most of it has been clean sketched, but the jump from that to lineart is gonna be hard, and I have no idea what I’d be doing with color since the panels don’t have a background. That said, I do feel like it’s some solid work and I adore the angst vibe of it, so maybe I’ll get it done one day. I could also see myself posting it as a messy lineart comic so that others could enjoy the concept being executed in case it never gets finished.

As for the 30 Minutes animatic, I still 100% intend to complete it eventually. I love the way it fits to the music and I’m so proud of the thumbnails. Even if it never becomes a full animatic, I want to digitize the frames and line it up with music so I can share the concept I see in my mind with others. My brain was somewhat overtaken suddenly by TOH this year, so now that that’s settled and I’m hoping to follow my muse more this year, maybe this will be something I can get excited about again.

The fanart for favorite fics is no surprise since it’s kinda the tack on. With low motivation and projects with deadlines that needed my focus, personal art like this was buried way below other priorities. It’s a nice though for sure though.

Alrighty then, now it’s time for 2024 goals!! Oh goodness, I really don’t know what to expect of myself. I definitely am going to try to allow for more personal projects with lower pressure, but I do still have some goals. Hopefully most can be accomplished without applying big pressure though.

2024 Goals:

-Number One Priority: Create for my and don’t put myself in a place to get crazy burnt out and still have requirements. If I meet this goal, then it’s okay if I don’t meet any of the others. (It would be sad.... But I would still count it as meeting overall goals.) -Participate in Summergen and PAW Week (Art or Fic) -Design Handplates charm as anniversary gift (November) -Design CS Charm -Have a fully usable Zine Portfolio (Currently need more merch samples and rendered pieces with backgrounds) -Apply to new TOH Zines or other loved fandom zines. If I end up getting into any, I can pull back, but since that doesn’t seem likely, I want to get into the habit of always being ready to apply with what I have. -Make an ongoing project list to pin to my tumblr. This applies mostly for fics, but that way people coming to my page can see what fandoms I’m actively creating for and what they can look forward to (as well as have an opening to ask questions if they’re interested). -Post more (at least 10 times throughout the year) and add my best pieces to instagram (8+ pieces by end of year). -Do ONE of the following:     1. 30 minutes digitized so it can be shared with music      2. Open Up Your Eyes fully thumbnail      3. Fanworks for other people’s fics      4. Participate in an extra bang or exchange with art      5. Design and manufacture a pin -Play with different brushes and rendering styles -Draw something from scratch every month, no matter how small -Not exactly art, but I want to have a finalized long-term merch display plan for all my items Overall, how’d the year go? I think I did well! I didn’t meet all my goals and I pushed myself too far, but I learned and improved a LOT this year. All things considered, I made pieces that last year me would be blown away by, so I think that’s an automatic win. I’m pretty uncertain on how this next year will go (even more so than last year, which is surprising since I was changing schools last year), but I’m hoping to enjoy what I do and create art semi-regularly. Here’s to 2024!

[citrus-cactus]

Citrus' Art Summary 2023!

The year is almost over, so here's my art summary for 2023! I got this template from here. This is my third year in a row being able to populate every month with a finished(/digital) piece (and really, I did a LOT more than what's shown here!), so that feels like something to celebrate!

Technically some of these choices don’t match up with their post dates; I counted some months as “when I was primarily working on them” and some as “when I actually published them,” but the sentiment remains. Like I said, it was a busy year! :)

Some more rambling + links to all featured artwork beneath the cut:

I remember last year I was quite worried about/was actually teetering on the edge of artistic burnout. There were definitely some months during this year that I felt a bit overwhelmed (particularly during the summer, when I was working on a 5-illustration series in a style that was DEFINITELY outside my norm, PLUS a bunch of other stuff), but I also appreciated the stylistic variety, and doing a lot of sketchbook drawings/marginalia that were(/are) just for me, so they never had to be "finished” or even "good." Even though almost everything pictured here is Digimon(/anime) art, I did experiment with a more "realistic" style for the Dracula Daily series (Aug/Sept), as well as trying to relearn the "Disney" style I started drawing in waaaaaaay back in high school, only now with a LOT more understanding of facial structure and anatomy. Largely, this style shake-up has been incredibly freeing (these are still sketchbook-only studies at this point, but I'm planning on some digital illustrations in the Disney style in 2024). I'm sure they still look pretty anime-influenced, and I'm not sure I'll ever truly be able to escape that, but honestly I don't mind; the anime aesthetic IS a part of my preference/style!

Let's see, the prevailing fandoms for what's shown here are Digimon Survive and Adventure 02. I really want to draw more Survive art next year!! Really happy with the collabo between @vidramon and myself (July), and honestly most (if not all) of these pieces. I worked hard, I branched out, I took on some really ambitious projects, and finished a ton of things (looking at you, March! That Knight drawing was a WIP for an entire year, but I finished it instead of abandoning it, which is what usually happens when things sit around that long!). Ultimately, I believe I told (and helped tell!) some great stories through my creative projects and art this year, which is my true goal forever and always.

Honestly I'm happiest with April's drawing. That one was a ton of fun to do, but I would have to work really hard to replicate that coloring style because I don't remember my brushes/settings, ahaha. Sadly this is how it usually goes with coloring for me; I make it up as I go almost every single time, which is why series are so difficult for me. I am nothing if not inconsistent -_-;

I would be remiss to mention that a huge part of my productivity this year was due to setting and tracking monthly goals for myself. I gotta thank everyone on the @campdigimonth server for their help in keeping me organized and motivated throughout the year! I plan on continuing my creative check-in posts in 2024.

Next year, I want to a) make more Survive art (particularly with Survive Week coming up), b) draw some more flippin' gargoyles (CRIIIINGE, but no, cringe is dead, I'mma do what I want!), and c) keep working on my personal project! And I am, once again, thinking about bookbinding. That's a "maybe" for next year as well!

Descriptions and links to the full artwork pictured for each month:

January: Survive Week, Day 5

February: Survive Gang Aromantic Week

March: Knight Unryuuji and Friend

April: “Rose-Tinted” fic illustration

May: Happy Birthday Vi!

June: Happy Birthday Haru Shinkai!

July: Happy 1st Anniversary Survive! (aka BEST SOCK FRIENDS)

August: Dracula, September 13

September: Dracula, September 20

October: Adv 02 Countdown Event, Day 7

November: “Boo!” on the Cob

December: Digimon Secret Santa 2023

[fangirling-heart]

Hi Heart! How are you doing?

For the OTP ask game, how about 5, 7, 19, 33 and 35 for Lumity and/or Soriku (whichever one you feel like talking about more <3)

Hey there! I'm doing good. Waiting for act 2 of Arcane and trying to survive college. Now, let's get to these questions! I'm doing both ships because, why not?

Starting with Lumity!

5. Describe their cozy night in.

I imagine cozy nights in are one of their favorite things to do together, probably their preferred date too. They definitely take the warmest, coziest blanket in the house, make themselves comfortable on the couch and watch Azura movies with warm drinks, while cuddling together.

7. Would they build a pillow fort together just because?

Oh they absolutely would! And while in there they would take flashlights and books and read together!

19. How do they feel about PDA?

I think they would be okay with it. I mean, when they become a couple in the show they are very openly affectionate with each other, giving each other little kisses, holding hands, hugging.

33. Who’s the better cook?

Amity. No question. She makes all kinds of sweets and desserts (I headcanon she's a great baker) and also loves cooking in general because the mixing of the ingredients reminds her of making abominations.

I imagine Luz would be a pretty good cook too, but she wouldn't be able to be left alone in the kitchen.

35. Who’s more artistic?

I don't know. Both of them are really creative and artistic, they both are shown to draw and pretty well too (the art Luz made for her laptop wallpaper is really beautiful!), but if I had to pick one, it would probably be Luz because she's also a writer. I imagine she shares her fanfics and original works with Amity, and she in turn draws pictures of the characters or the scenes she liked most.

Now Soriku!

5. Describe their cozy night in.

You mean their every night?

Okay, seriously now, if (when) those two got together, they would spend every night just lying next to each other as close as possible under a big blanket. I also imagine that they'd keep the windows open, to hear the sound of the waves, both as a way to remind each of them that the other is right there with them and they're both home safe. (I probably made a fluff question angsty. Sorry 😅)

7. Would they build a pillow fort together just because?

Yep! Absolutely! Sora would suggest it most of the time, simply because pillow forts are fun and he likes them. Riku would suggest it in case Sora had a bad day as a way to cheer him up.

19. How do they feel about PDA?

Sora would be the one more possible to do it, holding Riku's hand a lot and hugging too and just be close in general. Riku wouldn't mind, but I get a feeling he'd get really blushy about it and he wouldn't be as open as Sora. I do believe he'd hold his hand a lot tho.

33. Who’s the better cook?

Sora. Kid learned how to cook under Remy, Little Chef himself! You can't tell me he wouldn't go all out about cooking for his boyfriend!

35. Who’s more artistic?

Again, probably Sora, but I am basing this one solely on vibes.

[lifmera]

Hello! Hope you're having a good day and that everything's going well! If it isn't too much to ask I would like to have a pairing with a Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel character, preferably male. * So a little bit about myself! My pronouns are He/They but actually like to present myself as feminine at times * Most people said that the first time they saw me they thought I was mean and actually scary and I think it was because of my stern look and whenever someone would ask me something I would give them short cold answers.. but I'm not that. I'm actually a little shy but once you know me I'm just super lively, loving to sing (even if I suck at it), always cracking a joke and just wanting to enjoy the moment. Despite all that I'm actually pretty calm at times and offer some heartfelt and harsh advice. Whenever that happens I just go full on serious mode and prefer to listen first and instead of solving the persons problems, I rather guide them in the right direction. * Likes! I love to do creative things, like writing and drawing, and to read, specially dystopian fiction. I also take a great interest in astronomy, magic things like witchcraft and bones (I can't explain it-). As for music it's basically a little bit of everything with both jazz and pop being way up. * In a relationship I prefer.. the less touching possible the better. That being said my main love languages are quality time and gift giving. Although I don't really enjoy touching, I wouldn't mind if my partner want hugs or something like that. And that's it! Sorry if it was too long and don't feel pressured to do it right away! Take your time and don't forget to drink plenty of water and rest! Hope you have a good day!

Hi hun!! Ofc!!

And finally my first Helluva req!!

And thank you sweetheart 💞 honestly i think Stolas would fit too.

I’ve decided to pair you with BLITZØ & ALASTOR!!!

Ill do Alastor first!

He’d definitely love and find you intriguing. Stone cold?

When he finds out more about you, he was honestly surprised.

Although he’d probably do duets with you, he’d LOVE to hear your jokes.

Especially if they are dad jokes cus … he is a huge dad joke.

He likes that you are able to be calm in situations, and help through situations too!

He would look to you for some advice, just to make sure he believes he’s right!

If you listen to Jazz? He’s spending all his time with you. And def listening to Jazz.

He would force you to chat about fav artists w him.

You both dislike physical touch, and he appreciates it. He would prefer acts of service and words of affirmation.

Now Blitzo!

He also presents feminine sometimes! He thinks it’d be fun to do together.

He definitely got attracted to you with that stone cold look, and short replies !! At first anyways.

Once he also gets to know you, he definitely would love to hang out with you!

Although you may not be the best singer- NEITHER IS HE!!! And he enjoys singing, or listening.

He is also always cracking jokes, so you both are cackling at EVERY MOMENT!!

He will always look to you for advice, and he doesn’t do that for anyone else either. He’s pretty reserved.

He would’ve probably confided into you about fizz, his mom, stolas and everything else at that moment in time.

Your interest in astronomy and witchcraft reminded him of Stolas, but instead of Stolas sexual nature- he has someone he really will care and show up for.

If you can draw, he will FORCE you to teach him. HE NEEDS TO DRAW HIS PONIES!! and obviously to make up for the shitty art lessons he got.

He would totally listen to your stories, because it would remind him of Millie and Moxxie, and he wants what they have.

He listens to more metally type of music, but boy will he listen to anything. Honestly i wouldn’t be surprised if he started listening to country??

I also think that Blitz isn’t big on physical touch either. He would be icked out. He thinks that words of affirmation and quality time are better. He knows you’re listening to him and willing to be there!

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hey! Here for the matchup trade for Tokyo Debunker :)

Appearance-wise I am a 165 cm tall, average build, Bangladeshi woman (She/her but also cool with they/them). I have wavy black hair that just reaches below my shoulders and I usually dress in South Asian attire, usually salwar-kameez plus a hijab. I also wear glasses. I don't really feel comfortable going out without them 😅

My MBTI and enneagram: INTJ 5w4

Star sign: Sagittarius sun, Virgo moon and rising (I act more like a Virgo, allegedly)

Sexuality: demiromantic asexual (demisexual?)

Personality traits: Calm, collected, polite, quiet, shy (but that can easily be mistaken for being aloof or done with everyone's shit (they aren't entirely wrong about the latter)) (someone told me I radiate black cat energy), not very facially expressive (I'm the most emotional emotionless person I know. I do feel things more deeply than people give me credit for), a good listener, hardworking (I often bite off more than I can chew and end up burnt out), intelligent (especially with numbers. RIP impostor syndrome + gifted kid burnout syndrome. As much as I love my major, electrical engineering is kicking my ass). I am also the oldest of three sisters, so I'm good at handling kids (I'm also expected to be the perfect daughter, so... yea). Someone also told me I'm wise, but all that wisdom came from all the books I read + watching Avatar: The Last Airbender lmao. The same person also said my presence was therapeutic (paraphrasing, of course. Also, this is alleged). Cats and dogs seem to love me also. Dogs like to come up to me and say hello, and cats just seem to feel at ease around me.

Hobbies: Making art, making jewelry, reading, writing, animating (I'm relatively new to animation. I don't know what I'm doing most of the time, but I'm still having fun), basically anything creative. I especially like to draw and paint things that radiate a sense of comfort, nostalgia, and serenity. Someone also told me that my artworks also hold a sort of innocence in the composition of the shapes, colours, and overall vibe of what I draw/paint. I also make jewelry from time to time

Likes: Classical music, lofi hip-hop, indie rpgs (Yume Nikki and Off have me in a chokehold), visual novel games (coughs in Obey Me, Court of Darkness, Twisted Wonderland, Arcana Twilight, Ikemen Prince, and ofc, Tokyo Debunker), tea, books, creative outlets. I also like to learn psychology

Dislikes: Cruelty, anyone who would dare to threaten my family or friends, loud noises, red meat (The texture is too much for me to handle), bright lights. I also dislike strong smelling things and being in crowded, noisy and bright environments for prolonged periods of time

What qualities do you look for in a partner? It may not look like it on the surface, but I'm a huge softie, I'd like anyone who I can feel safe talking to. They don't need to be perfect, I just need them to put effort into helping me with my emotional needs. I already do that a lot with others, so I'd like it if they turn the tables on me. I also would not tolerate it if my partner belittles me or if they're just mean or rude for no apparent reason.

My love languages include making art for them and spending quality time. Also acts of service.

How do you want to receive affection? As I stated before, I would like them to put effort into helping me with my emotional needs. I already do that a lot with others, so I'd like it if they turn the tables on me. I would also like physical touch and words of affirmation, but I can't guarantee I'll know how to react to that at first 🥲. It's gonna take some time for me to get used to it

I hope this is enough information. Thanks in advance

Hi! Thank you for proposing a matchup exchange, especially for Tokyo Debunker! It's great being able to write for such a new fandom. I hope you like your matchup!

In Tokyo Debunker, I match you with...

Without a doubt, Haru is your perfect matchup. He’s kind and is definitely someone who makes people feel like they’re in a safe space.

He’ll also put in all of his effort into helping with your emotional needs. I feel like he’s looking for someone who will do the same too so hopefully you can help him out there in your own unique way.

You’re both hardworking people who tend to get burnt out and that probably won’t change even when you’re together. But when you do both get burnt out, you can spend a day together resting and enjoying some quality time.

Please make art for him! Haru definitely gives off the vibes of someone who would hang his kid’s drawing on the fridge and it’s no different with you. Whether it’s a painting, a drawing, or a piece of jewellery, he’s going to display it somewhere everyone can see.

Haru will also be really good at giving you physical affection. He knows it’s going to take you a while to get used to it so he’ll start with small touches and only build up when he can see you’re feeling comfortable.

[calamitycons]

How would you say you’ve changed the most over the years, both creatively and personally?

I love how much you’ve improved in your art!

Ooh, that’s a fun question!

Creatively I’ve been experimenting with the way I make comics recently, and trying to adopt more lineart into my work. I think if I can show a wide range of art styles and synthesize them into something unique, I might be able to reach different kinds of people with my work. I have also been learning a lot from the resources out there from Japan and Korea, other illustrators who share their progress and PSD files, studying them because some of these artists have work that CAPTIVATES me and I wanna give it a try too!

Personally, I think I’ve let go of a lot of grudges and am more aware of the things I truly need to have a fulfilled life. I love interacting with children in small doses, I love to paint and draw and write and talk about stories, and I have definitely been exercising a lot more recently. My current day job sucks ass, but I’ve been able to look forward to making my life outside of work closer to what I want for it, rather than wallowing in how much I hate it there lol.

Thanks for the question, I didn’t expect to reflect on how I’ve grown today, but it was a good thing to do first thing in the morning lmao

[cross-armageddon]

guess who

back with the pjo x prsk

i only managed to figure out An and Haruka + beginnings of Tsukasa and Ena, so uhhh

STALLING TIME, NO VBS TODAY

Prima Vista (1/2)

I was thinking which ones I should start with to be fair. I have powers for all of Prima, but I didn't knoe whether to split them for camps, or do mixed pairs or whether to start with Hayato/Kaii or Ranmaru/Ikuo, but I decided for Hayato and Kaii in the end, since you've seen them before in the pjo au posts

Hayato

He was the last one to be admitted to the camp, out of everyone (including the normal characters), but he's known there was "something wrong" with him already. Only after learning about demigods, he realized all those things he's seen over the years are simply because of his godparent, which was obvious to him that it was Apollo. He has no control over his powers and that gives him trouble most of the time.

His side power is that art thing - what's that mean is basically that he can pick up any art form and have it easy. Of course he won't be perfect in anything, unless he practices, but he will have an easier time learning. If you had read the Prima stories earlier, you know that Hayato knows how to play multiple instruments, violin being his most beloved.

His main power is connected to his dreams and that is the ability to see into the future in dreams. Now, it's actually kind of natural for demigods to sometimes have visions inside dreams, but the issue with Hayato is that he sees them every night and they show how the next day will play out. It won't show anything directly, instead it will look like a scene from an anime or a game (personally imagining it like Genshin gameplay and cutscenes). Nothing is fully clear in those dreams - he can't see how he looks like, because a mirror never appears. The people inside the dream only share some features with the real people in his life. The actions are very vivid and at times blurry or simply too fast. It's never clear, so Hayato has to decipher what could possibly happen, but since fate is unpredictable, his judgments end up being partially or completely wrong.

He avoids everything to do with the future-seeing powers - tries not to get claimed by Apollo, wants to escape the fate that he sees and at times he tries going days without sleeping (which actually ends up being worse, because then he sees prophetic hallucinations instead of dreams. He will still not sleep.)

(i swear he is so fun to draw, his hair is so fucking satisfying to draw, so simple yet fun)

Oh yeah. He has never told anyone he knows his godparent. Toya is blissfully unaware that suddenly his new classmate is also his half-brother.

Hayato also hid himself away from the camp when he saw a claim sign in his dream, fearing it would be him. It was Kaii's Neptunus claim and Kaii was pretty bummed out that Hayato was nowhere to be seen at that time. Once Hayato heard though, he was very relieved (that it wasn't him) and tried to make it up to him.

Speaking of Kaii

I don't know which Poseidon/Neptunus quirks I vould give him to not make him too OP. As one of the big three, he probably should have something more, but on the other hand - manipulating the water tension is already OP in itself. It all actually comes down to how he uses it and how creative he gets to be with the ideas. At first he finds this unnecessary, since he wasn't able to control it freely, but once he actually started training, he started thinking differently. Here are a few ideas I have for how he could be using his powers:

The most useful one is definitely the ones relating to mobility. He definitely had a LOT of troubles trying to walk on water, because it was as slippery as ice, due to the surface not having traction. In the end he came up with the idea to slide/skate on it like ice and yep, that sure fixed it.

The "walking on rain" idea came from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, specifically Steel Ball Run. The Stand Catch The Rainbow had the stand user standing on raindrops. I am pretty confident that with some natural water bending and Kaii's tension manipulation, he could freely run on raindrops, but it would most likely be difficult and require TONS of training.

If we're talking about other inspirations for the powers, I like to think that water not breaking tension on him is so funny... He's like a duck if he wants to stay dry... 🦆

As for the not letting enemies outside of the depths, it was inspired by that one twitter comment being like "What if the water just doesn't let you out one day"

I mean, fuck, what IF it doesn't let you out

It would definitely be brutal coming from Kaii, since he can just not let the water break tension around him like if he was in a bubble, but... Well, he is capable of drowning something in self defense. He's pretty desensitized to most physical things and if it's against a monster, he would do it no questions asked. If it was against another (enemy) demigod and he'd let them stay down there for a bit too long... Yeah, he'd have to process this with himself. You can expect him using the water trap very sparringly, last resort even.

If you have any MORE ideas for how he can use these powers... You can share ofc 👀

(bringing this gem back)

Also, one more relating to Ichika and Kaii - in the Prima canon I did make them cousins. Kaii's mom is one of Ichika's parents older sister. I have no clue which one, so... If someone claims a godparent for her, they would still work out as cousins.

I guess even if they ended up not being related in the end, their relationship would still stay as cousins, just... different blood.

As an additional fun fact, in my Prima add-in, Ichika and Kaii entered the camp together. Both of them found it a bit crazy that the other cousin also had the same issues with dyslexia and the "demigod specific" type of neurodivergency and it was incredibly awkward. They have each other's backs tho.

As a bonus: The Big Three of each camp

Getting sneak peaks for others early woa woa woa

although the Nene/Saki designs might change according to their powers when I do in fact figure them out

you cant tell me Tsukasa wouldnt wear the wreath all the time btw, he got it fair and square and he WILL wear it ‼️‼️

[fourtyfourcatss]

[████████ 100%] — @astralmysteria !

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘ RECORD #01

[a/n] hey mysteria! i’m sorry this took so long, i was really busy for a long time, but here it is! i hope you enjoy.

Upright this represents femininity, beauty, nature, and nurturing. Reversed it represents creative block and dependence on others.

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘ YOUR ARCANA IS… EMPRESS!

𑁍 From your described personality traits, I was very torn between TEMPERANCE and EMPRESS, for your arcana. But, after some long and hard musing, I must give you empress.

𑁍 The empress is a card that is assigned to many characters in the series, one of which is Haru, which you and her embody a lot of the traits it pertains, whether upright or reversed.

𑁍 Perfectionism and people pleasing (dependence on external) tends to lend aid to a creative block, and not only that, you told me that you were trying to get back into writing.

𑁍 You’re motherly, kind, empathetic, and I can tell by your personality you may either come off strong at times. Many of your traits indeed feel like what an empress would have, and you take pride in the things you do have and nurture and take care of it.

…loading match…

⚘ YUSUKE KITAGAWA

𑁍 Oh this match was perfect.

𑁍 First of all, your love languages. Yusuke is someone who is in need of gifts, in need of being spoiled. When you appear in his life to stay— he is very pleasantly surprised. Not only is he a man of gratitude and returning acts of affection so you would not feel unloved or perhaps even taken advantage of for your kindness, he is filled with anticipation for every gift, and surprisingly, wait a long time to use them if if can be used. He probably has a section in his place dedicated specifically to you, and treats you like a queen has graced the mortal realm. You seem hard to impress— so he will do his upmost in order to win your heart!

𑁍 He’s attracted to your kindness, but specifically, it had to be paired with all your other traits to make it right.

𑁍 so, so many nicknames. this man is going to shower you in the most sweetest of them. maybe it is a simple but tender “mys” uttered in his breath, or perhaps a “love?” — he tends to stick to the more formal sounding ones because of how he is, and yet, there will be times where he drops some funny ones jokingly, and that beckons not embarrassment or humiliation but rather good-hearted fun.

𑁍 You are a muse for him; with the vibes of your being and your singing. Yes, you are a beautiful woman, but he is more focused on how your characteristics enhances your attractiveness. He finds you talking whether it be to him or yourself very endearing, and he’s definitely going to draw whilst you sing. The way you inspire feelings out of him is a gratifying experience, its a passion. The two of you would be able to encourage and help each other out of creative blocks— but also, yusuke also has problems with taking care of himself. the two of you have problems taking care of yourselves, but now you have each other to take care of the other so extremely well. the rest of the cast is very soft and happy at this, hoping that this translates into treating yourselves better.

𑁍 yusuke is not loud, or inconsiderate in terms of jokes. he is a sweet lover, and he is perfect for you. the two of you would be super cute, i think. soft, with romantic tension in the air. i think you would exchange some sassy remarks, but it is a very healing process to be around each other.

as for runner ups: ryuji was one, and akihiko from P3 kept popping up in my mind. i think akihiko may be your one true love actually.

I AM THOU, THOU ART I… COME FORTH!

𑁍 TITANIA! 𑁍

The Queen of the Fairies, Titania is a character from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is the wife of Oberon. Because of her grand power and charisma, people consider her the Queen of the Fairies. While she is rather delicate and graceful in appearance, her power and knowledge over magic easily match those of Oberon, the king of Fairies.

The description above fits you well, and Titania has manifested as a result! The reason why I chose her for you is because of the character studies I read for her over the ages, excluding the sections regarding extra-martial affairs she may have participated in. The compassion she holds for the changeling she wants to adopt is one of motherly. She is principled, standing up to her husband.

Not only that, I think her movesets fits you.

𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘ HOW IS SHE AWAKENED?

you are on a battlefield. your blood is singing through your veins, and you have just stepped out like a lamb to the slaughter.

how one awakens is a hard question, because it involves getting pushed to the brink by someone who is somewhat close to you in any manner, hostile or not. in your case, it would be a betrayal of a friend. you had introduced them to almost everyone you had known because you trusted her— and in a fit of rage, they had cursed out everyone they knew, you, and all you adored.

unable to take this slander towards your loved ones and aggrieved in your heart, you opened your resolve, and a mask appeared on your face.

“I am thou, and thou art I,—”

“I am Titania. I will become your mask. Now, let us enjoy a midsummer night's dream.”

𖤣. for weapon— you would have a RAPIER [The Sword of Sinai] or a BOW [SOURCE YUMI]

𖥧. for a gun— you would have a RAY GUN [SIRIUS]

𖡼. for outfits— school uniform would be like makoto’s with the jacket, and regular outfits would be like yukari and rise’s.

[rawrtriesagain]

Long post incoming idk how to do Read More on mobile, sorry. Tldr: just a post abt my writing as usual and stuff about my interest in lwa (nothing crazy)

I know I talk abt my old fuckin fics all the fuckin time (like Jesus theyre old enough to be considered toddlers now) but anyway this is my vent blog and y’all will never hear the end of it so guess what still has an absolute GRIP over my mind after 3 years

Its forest of arcan- im jk its dreamer of stars lmaooo. I reread it right now for the funsies after months of forgetting abt it, and each time I read it I think “surely I am over this story and can move on with my life” and like the first half of the story its like yea I kinda am over it haha but then the second half just obliterates the thoughts and runs me over and I just lay in my bed and contemplate my life and go into like a State of Emotions and simply have to talk about it (but it also could be because its 4am at the time of writing this)

I do think it mostly has to do with nostalgia though. Truthfully I’m probably not able to write smth like that again because it was 100% written completely on emotion and quite actually everything bad Diana was feeling in the story was smth i was also going through so it was easy to… write a vent and disguise it as a fic LOL. But I was also running on the high of being in love with my best friend which also really easily translated to everything going on in the fic blah blah nobody remembers it but me so this means nothing to anybody and im being cringe and gay on main (not even my main)

ANYWAY the point of my babbling here is that honestly I miss having that intense amt of emotions that would spur that level of creative writing? Like yea forest of arcana (not updated in over a year) is fun and all but it definitely isnt written on a personal level like dreamer was. I also just genuinely miss writing lol and its like ok bitch why dont you write then and then its like good question why dont i?? I probably still enjoy writing more than i do drawing and i know my blogs say otherwise but the two mediums are both definitely different outlets for my life. Maybe i would change my mind the day my art is actually good tho 😛

Im laffing rn seeing me talk abt this “deep” different outlets of life cause like when u think abt it im also literally just Currently describing little witch fanfic and fanart since thats all i do LOL. Not that theres anything wrong with lwa being my Muse of course, but it just adds humor in whatever the emo hell im going on about

Another side sad mini vent but i dont think im as into lwa as i used to be which also waters down my interests in doing things, but im literally not interested in any other media or fandom rn either so lwa stays my hyperfixation. Plz dont be alarmed lol im not saying im NOT into lwa anymore since diana is still a fuckin god to me like 10/10 chara design and vibes, but its definitely not as strong as it was when i first joined the fandom 3 years ago. And you know what maybe it has to do with me not watching little witch academia in full in those entire three years after i first watched it lmao. Most of the friends ive made in the fandom are pretty much gone too which is sad but is what it is. Sometimes i get a burst of seratonin when i think about smth diakko and definitely like now when i reread my fics i also remember the Emotions i had for these Gays and it like floods back for a bit like a buff.

I think something im very interested in for both the spark of writing and also the revitalization for my love for diakko is that i wanna do like a oneshot slice of life series for diakko. Just something easy, cute, subjectively funny, and a vibe. I still fantasize abt diakko shenanigans even if mundane and i wish i could also capture it more in my art but im not at that level yet, so writing it is. First i probably need to rewatch lwa in full since ive forgotten most everything except for key diana scenes haha oopsie And sucy world episode that was a good fuckin episode.

Anyway thanks for reading this far if you did lol sorry for the LONG ASS NONSENSE POST. Sometimes i see how i type in my blog and to people and compare it to my writing and its like where the hell did my comprehensive english go. Sorry if this was just hard to read from the lack of grammar and punctuation but thats showbiz anyway stay tuned for the next diana content ttyl bffl rofl xD zomg

[unproduciblesmackdown]

spent the evening reading through all of the like galley pdf copy of the 2 trans 2 furious zine and a great time start to finish like it was Not an effort to keep at it despite its being like 160 pgs. and despite my not having ever seen a f&f movie or really especially directly "correctly" being interested, though i'd ofc love to see any of the films like live & in person w/a bunch of trans strangers, say

laughed and teared up multiple times and thought about how impressive and creative entries were and like, the momentum was easy, everything was engaging and intriguing and invigorating and enriching....and Printed Editions (that ship to US & canada) are still available for pre-order, for about another week (also the window given for us going over the digital copy for edits/corrections lol) soooo. again i like haven't seen any f&f movies, and that didn't impede anything at all, and it was a fantastic time:

and another reason i'm like Oh My God So Appropriate To Have Sent In An Entry is how, like, it's all transformative fun and serious yet not somber Media Analysis on media you don't have to have actually even seen, or "like" straightforwardly, or at all, or be the "correct" audience for, or have an "intended" interpretation, lol, lmao....like this is Extremely our shit out here lol, what one is up to all the time in the world of Billions Series Analysis like, personally haven't even seen it, i'm not cishet enough to be the intended audience or otherwise sharing various particular assumed perspectives that are occasionally required to even parse, much less enjoy, some material....and yet!!

and like, if there was an all-autistic contributor's fun fan media analysis / commentary / parody / exploration / transformation / etc zine about billions? it'd be like wow how exactly me, and yet ofc i'd be at way more of a loss at what to scream abt winnie, perhaps ft. & tay, and the overall [billions]ing, much less how to actually execute that lol. it was easier to do a Very 101 Intro To: Cam Stone Exists Btw, nonbinarily, in that i limited myself to One Page so i could actually feasibly get it done, but in doing so i, as expected, could only say a fraction of what i could say about cam, were i explaining things in full / just unleashed, and skim the surface but just go "they exist btw and here's a tiny bit of further 101 info." it's not like, An Issue, b/c i don't think the [everything] that i could say would work great in full, and i can't write a great little short form piece of text about them (or winston, or anything else)....but it was also like, well if a trans f&f zine Doesn't have the trans f&f character in it then what are we doing, and We Know Of Cam Stone, so the most feasible [handing out a flyer] version of telling ppl they exist has gotta be done

and it's like, it's (relatively?) matter of fact to this end of only having so much room to put in words, and definitely ending up having to squeeze lines in vs struggling to fill the space. it could've been weirder, or funnier, or hornier, but it successfully exists and maybe it's a little weird, funny, and horny (drew an Especially [ooh sexy cam stone]-tinged pic lol) and whatever is difficult for me to perceive abt my own personality infusion in whatever, like how i have to be reminded like oh right, my Art Style, the way that Eye draw lol....and of course, i can't and don't expect my one page informative crash course intro to cam stone to be able to be Everything, any more than years' worth of lots of [winston billions] material in various formats of various extensiveness from various angles has been Everything. and the zine as a whole can't be Everything but it is, in fact, So Much abt So Many Things from so many different approaches. i enjoyed everything, especially like, "An Ode to X" as in fast x, which evolves into "x" as an (implicitly nonbinary) in-universe character and i was Moved and teared up, and i see it immediately follows "Jason Statham Will Call My Dad A Pussy In Fast 12" which moved me and made me tear up, which follows an entry that's a haiku about each film, none of which i've seen, which i didn't get misty about of course but was fully engaged with and enjoys, which follows my entry

there's naturally plenty about roads and horizons and racing and speed and i'm also like, i'm a gay who can drive, and i can feel it re: the trans contributor whose entry mine follows which is about their irl experiences driving in a demolition derby, inspired by f&f. and i can feel it re: enjoying f&f beyond how you're "supposed" to, or how you would in a cishet(tm) way, and how so many of these entries had resonance, and that intrigue and engagement, and lenses on where to find explorations of gendering which will kind of Have to come up whenever anything succeeds in approaching things that are genuine and really truly more To Life, even while the point of f&f is not to be "realistic," especially about, you know, the driving and what you can do with cars, which i fully appreciate and definitely understood more for cam stone being in a story ramming through a wall outracing an avalanche hacking cop cars and defusing bombs and ramping over bucket wheel mining excavators and being swept out of the way of a train that was going full speed but silent until like 0.05 sec ago when it also burst through a wall or something? and whomever all is involved with racing like a rocket launch fr. and having fun, being yourself, and killing people, hell yeah

and like, the [this is like my autistic ass out here laser pointing at winston billions as autistic and having that lens on this media that doesn't intend it or directly invoke it] relevance also Of Course in that, through kompenso, that is where it is like yes as i have that personal symposium of ongoing compounding unfolding branching distilling consideration, analysis, appreciation, transformation, etc going on, so too does my colleague as the world's preeminent tayficionado, which is where they looked into akd's oeuvre and found the cam stone material, and passed it on to me, then passed on the [zine call for trans f&f contributions], So

and that, just like as is also found crucially in kompenso / the then preexisting & all eventually following winnie n tay material, there's that Autistic and Trans resonance. some particular quotes from this zine were especially like, oh, pointing, pointing...."Thirty minutes into my visit, I suddenly just didn’t want to be there anymore. I didn’t feel angry, not really very sad at all either. I just longed to be elsewhere. A different place, with different people, within a different moment. And then every cell in my body pleaded to not feel that way in all of my moments, in every group of people, in all places." ....[from a poem, ft. formatting thusly:] "It made me feel important, kind of? Like, more present? Like people talked about me a lot but never exactly about ME, if you know what I mean. I mean, of course sometimes I could feel something inside of me. A sneaking or, like, a skittering. I just kind of figured everyone feels that sometimes, like really deep down, right? It’s just that no one really talks about it, you know. That’s what I figured." ....[from a section of a contribution w/the context of the author not yet knowing that they're trans]: "but he was familiar and didn’t make me think too critically about much in the world, especially myself, especially as he never seemed too interested to ask me about me—not that I would’ve had much insight to share at the time beyond “please do not think too deeply about how I am.”"; and then, w/the context that they do realize, and have expressed, that they're trans: "but I was still learning about the concept of mattering, so I didn’t push the issue of basic respect at the time." ....from another submission, that is Sooo: "maybe i am transing Fast and Furious just by loving it" ...."Discovering, loving, and sharing this franchise (and myself) with others has been such a wildly different experience—maybe even the opposite experience—than self-policing myself into who I thought I should be. It’s nourishing, welcoming—an open invitation to learn and grow rather than an ongoing test to constantly worry about failing."

an ongoing test to constantly worry about failing....here ofc a parallel to Gendering, and, ofc, the autistic & trans [handshake] and resonance, to Autisting....i resonated with plenty, genderingly, but this wasn't a surprise or even like, my focus, and of course not all the entries themselves Textually mention [gendering], but it's like, a trans space in a zine lol, a baseline of that understanding and perspective, vs having to be actively looking. nonzero textual neurodivergence mentions, too, and other lenses of ways to be Othered / non normative, like race, nationality, religion. the overarching, Constant [omg sooo me] resonance is that of like, having this foundation of refusing Limits, of approaching a Rich Text a hundred different ways, w/different tones, and different formats, and different experiences and ideas explored. you don't need the source material to acknowledge any noncishet people textually exist (to be understood by noncishet audiences), or to be deemed Good, or Enjoyed, or your entry to be proffered as like, correct and definitive rather than One exploration you could offer up, amongst many offered by many others who could say more, again, differently....i've been like, balancing excitement for having this contribution, and its being like ooh fancy lol this is the one time i can say i have (non self-)published work, and it'll be Out There, and (including all contributors' gifted copies) apparently that ft. abt a thousand printed copies atm, and the digital distribution option hasn't happened yet....along with, like, it can't even be my comprehensive, definitive [cam stone exists btw] theoretical Ideal Entry lol b/c that would not be feasible for me to make or to be put into a zine. knowing i have Points on my side for it being crucially relevant lore (and the competition being hotter for the small form text entries, though there's other illustrations, comics, collages, edits, etc) like, yeah the strength of this isn't in its being as weird or funny or horny as anything could be, lol....but my Personality is embedded in it as per like, see: how that Journey of relevant interests and enthusiasms and engagements and perspectives and weirder, hornier, more extensive and varied works led up to and contribute to this piece's existence (such as, years of drawing winston 9000 times being part of how my drawing looked in march, when i made the cam stone piece)

and like, in not seeing everything as a test to fail, in seeing [when are you seeing things as that test to fail], &/or similarly/overlappingly seeing [when are you seeing things as a test to Prove Value to others or something and achieve person status in their eyes b/c of it] like, lol, i hope a thousand plus ppl learn cam stone exists, and it'd be fun if they enjoy that process. put in little floaty hearts as flair, just as i often do, b/c by now i just Know and Embrace that i do. and i'm not like "i hope everyone ever is blown away" b/c why would they be lol, and that's fine. like how even in [i just say some shit abt winston billions, and ofc abt myself and my experiences / perspectives through winston billions while knowing that's not what's "meant" out here probably maybe though put me through to will roland, yknow...] i'm like oh don't be thinking abt proving your value w/this specific oeuvre lol like. anyone Caring as validation like, it's too late by now, i like people liking shit and getting anything out of it but it's like, i'm doing my thing, i'm having a specific ass symposium abt quantent and billionsing "wrong" that eye enjoy, i enjoy getting any feedback/attention on shit i put out there in case ppl wanna partake, i don't enjoy any/all of it in any/all ways just so long as it's Anything, yknow. like same with interactions/attention on Me as an autistic person who actually exists, lol. speaking being exhausting when it's ppl saying shit At me, would-be "positive" attention that's from someone like deciding what i'm like or what i'm communicating and wanting something from me, that shared discussion Abt something can only be a gateway into like "normal" exchanges to "normally" socialize, finding that pattern of not being worth effort unless it's effort that gets something out of hurting you / thwarting you; all versus: i have plenty of expertise knowing myself vs needing feedback, i like doing my thing, i like doing my thing Alongside others, probably strangers, within a certain context, like being cooped up at college and socially recharging by going ""alone"" to the coffeeshop down the block, while going "with" people would generally be a mixed bag if not disheartening to even distressing. which, here i am, doing my little thing alongside strangers in this context of transgendering and fun and serious but not not funny and varying and daring and earnest materials exploring something that's about anything or everything or nothing, and not made for You, but here you are anyways, as you always have been

anyways, that is to say, like, perfect that it's turned out so like "yeah you don't need to have seen the movies even" and such enriching Reflections and like, so different and yet cohesive without needing to like, painstakingly group or order things to create some Connections, they're all there, and i'm like damn yeah cam's quarter-mile V neck, so fucking true. and i'm like, this is so Me, without having to be like, "and that is b/c i have put Me on the page, in full, with utmost success, and Everyone Will Love It (Me)" lol, which was not like, a danger, but that's through all the years of going [everything is a test i'm failing / can fail at any moment] and yknow, even up to recently and this very moment wrangling with and realizing things like, hand on shoulder are you looking to "earn" some estimation of Value in others' eyes that they can only choose to give by seeing everyone as a fellow person w/inherent value who deserves basic respect. like the mortality mondays that ramped up since late january, but also since '09, but also since like forever in different forms, and back when first discovering billions and, for like the only time while we've been watching, Knowing when everything in a season will air, but also not thinking i'd get to see it, and now in a similar boat, but different (having done "nothing" on paper over the years but like, been Realizing Things, been powering up, been assigning the Value to myself and Understanding myself & my experiences further. and also other things that you Could put on paper, but yknow), and like, it's still about [grr let me see billions through, even though i don't even see billions] and still about [!!!] despite it all and things that are "unserious" and also not and who needs like a certain kind of validation from enough of certain kinds of people

anyways, the autistique resonance within it, and in the process of reading it, and having our specific path to sending something in, and making it. it's an excellent ride and it's very epic that it exists so consider that print copy preorder if you want (plus the intended eventual digital distribution option, not yet available)

[puppytoast]

has @diurnalcritters helped alleviate the feeling of dissatisfaction you've had with art?

Sorry this is going to get long winded as you’ve struck a thing I’ve had to think a lot about the last year and a half so I have a lot to say LOL. DiurnalCritters is one thing in a long line of things to help me get back to normal, and even better as a person as a whole, after nerve damage I suffered last year.

The TL;DR answer is It’s definitely been one thing has helped yeah. It’s been fun, people enjoy them and send me very kind messages on and off Tumblr about them, and they help me overcome a bit of perfectionism I started developing recently since I have been able to draw more again, and thank you you and everyone that has been supporting me with it! I know it’s different from my usual content.

This is where I start rambling about where the feeling started and how I am still overcoming things in full, but it’s all pretty personal gushy stuff so no hard feelings if it’s not read but It’s been cathartic to write out:

 In early 2021 I suffered some minor nerve damage that caused me to not be able to draw for about 6 months and still to this day I occasionally get pain from it. According to clinical tests it healed well over a year ago, so i’ve attributed it to phantom pain and the majority of it just being in my head. It really only crops up when I think about it too much and when I am trying to force myself to work on things when i’m feeling particularly rusty that day, and it never gets worse even when I push through it. (I can feel it very minorly as I type this lol) I’m at the point where I have just considered it a traumatic experience that left me struggling to pick up drawing completely again despite desperately wanting to, because deep down I am afraid of not being able to do this anymore. It’s the thing I am most passionate about and enjoy doing, and makes up a huge portion of who I am and what I care about. So being faced with the very real “if you don’t let this heal, you could damage it further and never be able to work again” broke something in my brain and caused a lot of other unrelated problems as well.

Not being able to draw for a significant amount of time left me incredibly depressed and when I still couldn’t even come up with ideas and was still dealing with pain, despite being okayed that the nerve had been healed, that depression got even worse. I chalked a lot up to dissatisfaction and brainrot and not really knowing what was wrong and being very distressed about it all. I ended up having to seek therapy and that has been very helpful and has gotten me to get better at managing some personal issues and be able to handle this entire situation better. I’ve started expanding my horizons and going outside of my comfort zone on things like volunteering at the local zoo and finally being convinced to join a TTRPG game (maybe even a second one soon), which gave me Tetra, who I had and have clung to as an anchor and who has become immensely important to me as something I was able to be creative with even in a time where creativity simply refused to come to me. She is an extension of myself and has also helped me with other long standing social and anxiety issues I’ve had that it would be an entire other long post to ramble about so I’ll stop myself there lmao.

Managing a lot of other problems and experiencing new things has helped me get the creative streak back, and while I am still slower than I would like to be, it is definitely getting better, and the recognition of what is wrong and taking steps to work towards overcoming it does very much help. I started getting into a bit of a perfectionist streak with commissionwork causing it to take twice as long as I really like it to, and DiurnalCritters has also been a very good overcoming of that problem in the shape of making me have to just get something simple down without thinking about it too hard, and even with DiurnalCritters I do still have that problem on occasion, but it is also getting better as I remind myself to recognize when it’s happening and just get whatever down and move onto my day.

I’ve been drawing WAY more recently again, and I’m feeling the best I have in a long time about creating, and i’m just very glad because I was terrified I would never get back to this point again.

Thanks if you read this long self-reflection.

[driverlando]

congratulations on 2k sasha that is so amazing!!!! can i please request 💍

my personality type is infp, i consider myself to be somewhat of an introvert, but there's definitely situations where i can be more outgoing. i love drawing and writing and other creative outlets, i like playing soccer and trying new things (food, hobbies, experiences, anything), and i love animals. i'm currently in university studying to become a physical therapist because i want to be able to help people, but i'm also in a smaller art program because i love that too! uhh what else...oh! i feel like i fall for people harder than most, so i've kinda learned to not expect the same energy out of others so i won't get hurt, but i usually end up overthinking and hurting my own feelings anyways haha

excited to see what you think bc you'll most likely be absolutely correct <33

thank you bby! and ofc you can, hope you like this hehe 💘

I’d say Oscar! Idk I feel like he’d be able to resonate with your personality as a kind of introvert himself. I feel like you two would enjoy your privacy more than anything but that doesn’t mean that you won’t have a fun and playful relationship. I can picture the evening colouring/drawing sessions you two would have, winding down from a busy day in a creative sense, it eases the two of you. you’d have a glass of wine on the side and just enjoy the down time.he would share your love of trying new things, I can picture the two of you doing something like jet skiing for the first time together. something fun. he’d appreciate you so much and also admire you a ton too because you seem like such a gentle and loving person who cares about others so much and that’s his favourite part about you. he’d love how selfless you are 💘

[petruchio]

fandom ask: 7 & 10 with katniss, 15, 16

7. Is there a piece of clothing you think [character] is particularly fond of/that you imagine them wearing a lot or like to draw them in?

hmmm honestly not really that i imagine her wearing a lot. though for what i think she's fond of i have this thing about her boots bc she makes a point to reference how the boots she gets for the original games have a good tread or something and they remind her of her own which i always thought was just a fun detail

10. What's your favourite piece of fanart for [character]?

lately i'm just so obsessed with this one -- i just think it's brilliant, the way the art is able to communicate so much and it's just so beautiful and i think the expressions just really fit katniss to me. the catching fire one specifically is just HAUNTING. it's so gorgeous

though i would be remiss if i didnt share my all time favorite from wayyyyy back when like the first book got published. i used to just stare at this image for hours when i was like ten. OH AND THIS ONE TOO. but who wouldn't. like come on

15. Have you noticed your style change over time?

hm as in my writing style... i would say definitely! i don't know if i could necessarily articulate HOW but i do think i've gotten cleaner and smoother as a writer. also i think in general i've just gotten more creative both in my ideas and in how i use language. but i'd be curious if anyone else thinks it's changed because certain aspects of my writing do feel pretty consistent to me, but that's probably because i'm the one doing it haha

16. Do people irl know you participate in fandom?

a couple people do, but it's mostly my really close family friends and it came up kind of naturally bc a lot of them do too. and a couple of my college friends know sort of peripherally but not really my current friend group. i dont think most people know the extent HAHA (as in most people, even the people who know i am doing it, don't know that i'm sitting around writing thousands of words of hunger games fanfiction on the regular. but they know i blog about the hunger games and taylor swift a lot LOL)

[laylaglobalproject]

Week 8

W/C Monday 29th April -

In this week it was really about finalising and planning for the final hand in. We gathered some final visuals that lace realised she needed for the map, as well as adding to the spatial and the final powerpoint. We also had Niamh continuing with the multiplayer mechanism and lace began finalising the movement of each of the characters.

I worked on the extra few visuals that Lace needed, I did a birds-eye view of the playground so that on the map the perspective was more accurate. I used a combination of games that people had commonly mentioned in the questionnaire. Some of these being hula hooping, ball games and hopscotch. I again used photoshop for the larger features of the illustration and then transferred this simple drawing into procreate and using the iPad, filled in the smaller details, like the games and the textures. I found that procreate allows for finer details as there is a wider range of paintbrush tools that you can use, such as regular paintbrush shapes, spray paints, chalk effects, and even more natural shaped brushes like leaf shapes, and grass prints. I used the circle accuracy to make hole hoops to lay on the floor and the chalk brushes to paint on the hopscotch, this was a personal choice as I remember using chalk on the ground to created hopscotch tracks when I was younger. I added textures to the ground with the spray paint brushes to give the floor a rougher, gravel like texture and I trimmed the outside of the play area with grass and textured greenery. I liked this visual best out of all of the drawing so far, I can definitely say that my confidence in using digital software to produce hand drawings has increased. It is something I was really unfamiliar with before started this course as I came from a more traditional fine art background, so it is nice that I can see certain skills improving, especially with creative technologies.

I also needed to do visuals for the actual school building and the library, Liz ended up doing the main school building, using the school of art outline that Niamh had previously created. She used lots of colour which created a really nice and positive kind of energy to the design. I created quite a simple building design, taking inspiration from the school of art building in Birmingham,, I wanted it to look quite traditional with the cartoon like art style that, I think, keeps th game quite fun and playful. The building that I had created we decided could be the library, it made sense that this building was more traditional, I think, as it seems a more studious. I again used a mixture of Adobe Photoshop and procreate for this task. I was able to do most of it on photoshop as this allowed for some cleaner lines and shapes, whereas sometime with procreate, because it is like drawing freehand, it can look slightly rough. I instead just used procreate for smaller sketch lines that added some texture and depth to the drawings, as well as the greenery around the buildings. This again is where the larger variety of brush types becomes useful.

The final visual I made this week was the games section. I had obviously made the playground concept art to begin with which then developed further into the birds-eye view drawing with more detail. I then had to create a home page for the actual game play. We had created a poll on the figma for the kind of game that we should have in the playground. It had to be multiplayer so that we could have each of us play it against another player. We listed a few of the games that people mention in the questionnaire and left the poll on the figma for quite a few weeks prior, so that we could get as many answers as possible and therefore more accurate feedback. The game that we decided on was noughts and crosses. This is a two player game that we would have run while on the "playground" part of the map. We were working it in so that it could be played with two players at the same time. The whole world acting as a portal to one another via the game structure. There is many opportunities for contact through the game, and we though that this actual two player game feature would be a perfect fit for both the brief but also the theme of the game.

This week we also discussed spatial with the students in Kyiv. We each have our own portal which is like our virtual gallery space, and so we just wanted to introduce them to it and discuss how it works and the kinds of things that we are going to uploading in there. Me and Niamh spoke from our group, just discussing what we think we will upload. I think it'd be nice for the Ukrainian students if we can upload the work that they sent to us too se they can see that we have used their design ideas and visuals. We though that the structure for our portal would be, inspiration art, concept art, development and then potentially a video tour of the game playing in the spatial portal, with a communal link to the actual game itself.

As well as introducing them to spatial, we also mentioned possible run throughs of the game and when we were hoping we could actually trial it. Now all of the artwork had been done for cut scenes, the map and the locations, it was just a case of coding the movement mechanisms, transitions and the multiplayer function. We asked when the students would be free and if they'd be interested, to which we got a few responses via the telegram group chat, with a few Ukrainian students that said they'd be happy to take part in the first dry run of the game.