#i am constantly in awe of you fanartists

[link-eats-rocks]

My mouth dropped when I laid eyes on this, not kidding. Aurora and Prince Phillip paved the way to my fantasy/princess obsession so this just...I just love it sm

also heres this i dont love it but i spent time on it so 🤷‍♀️ lil parody of that scene from sleeping beauty w the OG ship

[theheirofthesharingan]

I wonder how you managed to avoid the Itachi is a pedo fics and art on Tumblr or a03 or ff.net because there is so much of it everywhere. No offense but it's probably because you are relatively new to the fandom. I have had to block many blogs for their portrayal of Itachi as a pedo who r*pes his younger baby brother. It is a rampant everywhere. I also see a lot of Uchiha brother incest centered fics and art it's hard to avoid. Another aspect I see is Itachi r*ping his little OC sister with Fugaku. This is not digestible, for me. I don't enjoy reading or coming across Itachi focused fics or artwork where he is a pedo r*pist incest maniac but it's so prevalent. Thank God you are one of the ones who write Itachi and Sasuke's relationship as purely family oriented brothers, I enjoy your fics very much. There needs to exist more serious fics focused on the brothers and their bond where they are just that, brothers. It's not about pro ship vs anti ship, I am genuinely uncomfortable with reading Itachi as a rapist, especially when he is also a pedo in those fics. Itachi and Sasuke may be fictional characters, but the writers writing them are not so how to avoid? Blocking is our one option. Do you support reporting those writers and fanartists too?

Wow.

So, do other characters also get the similar treatment from the fandom or it's just Itachi that's subjected to this? I don't go to the character-specific tags on Tumblr or AO3. So that's one of the reasons I don't come across such things.

I don't support reporting these artists/blogs. Blocking them and the tags they write for should be fine. And if there are people who actually write Itachi as that kind person, maybe they need to tag their posts properly. Instead of the character tag, they should go with a specific tag they can use for their fics. It should be a common knowledge that what they're writing might not be everyone's cup of tea.

As far as incest arts/fics are concerned, yeah, they're unavoidable. Those are the only ones I've seen here. And I don't mind anyone interpretating their relationship that way. I do, however, have an issue when people try to suggest that Kishimoto was writing their relationship more than brotherly. And it's awful because I've seen some of their most innocent moments being labeled sexual/romantic.

It also bothers me because when I'm writing them myself, I tend to lean more towards emotional intimacy which would translate a little into physical intimacy too, and I'm CONSTANTLY walking on eggshells that those moments I write could be misconstrued to what I don't intend them to be. People on AO3 can be merciless who sometimes end up saying things they shouldn't to anyone. So, it's frustrating to me too, and probably to other writers and they've had to deal with it as well.

I agree there should be more fics on them as siblings because this fandom does them absolutely no justice. They had the strongest bond and all things that made Naruto so good. I wish there were many more fics exploring them. AUs or otherwise. But alas.

[hermanunworthy]

Confession time! I think your cosplays are SO COOL and desperately wish to have your fun n funky skills. Also you're like. The triple threat of Fan to me. Fanartist, fanfic writer, and cosplayer - what can't you do??? Basically I'm just in awe of your talent constantly :)

AAAAAAA falls to the floor . TY i miss being like a Cosplayer cosplayer but i am SOOOOO EXCITED TO COSPLAY AT MY NEXT CON TOMORROW. DNDADS GROUP ON FRIDAY IM SO EXCITED tysm anon i love Making Content so its awesome to know others enjoy too <33 (what CANT i do? stop thinking about dndads....)

[heartshapedcreaturefromcriptoon]

Yeah like, I don't even think I can be sorry at this point, y'all... I'm trying to find another link to the event but it's just so sad to me how our only source to watch the prime panel is through some creepy alt right youtuber apologist gamer incel of indeterminate age who was previously using one of Medrano's underage characters to be like his personal "Mascot" for like his entire Online Presence, because this dude can't even be bothered to show his face or come up with his own character, let alone an actually creative username for his own channel I guess, but like ... If I have to sit here and listen to this boring straight arse irish dude with no face constantly talking over this beautiful queer latina woman who probably (no shame) stress ate herself into a little bit of chubbiness while trying to get this show made, be able to finally talk about getting this show made, but I also have to watch her talk about that while she's being framed in this bullshit video setup as being DIRECTLY ABOVE THE ENTIRE ASS FURRY FAT FETISH INFLATION ART, THAT ETHER THIS BORING INCEL ARSEHOLE DWEEB WHO WON'T STOP TALKING OR ONE OF HIS EQUALLY AWFUL INCEL FRIENDS DECIDED IT WAS PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE TO USE THEIR DEFAULT ICON, WHILE RECORDING AS THE ONLY AVAILABLE SOURCE ON THEIR DISCORD STREAM OR SOMETHING WHILE UPLOADING LIVE TO YOUTUBE FOR THE PUBLIC ....

Then yes, I AM going to be PUBLICLY SHAMING SOMEONE FOR SOMETHING.... And the rest of you are just going to have to bare direct witness to the pain that I'm feeling in action, as all.

Someone needs to seriously Force Femme this unwashed bastard of a fandom to keep up with the beauty, dignity, grace, and etiquette that is Mother Medrano's Source Material, I'm telling you...

Bad Form and Poor Etiquette of this Incel YouTuber with no personality of his own aside ... The fact that Medrano herself is even able to keep her focus with the words TUMBLR TUMBLR TUMBLR TUMBLR TUMBLR right there as a glaring personal backdrop as she's speaking, makes her braver than any military brat or US marine...

Medrano, the fanartists who actually make cool things in this fandom, and the fans who know better and do better, deserve better. And I love that about us. 💗

But yeah guys I've a officially had enough of this LMAOTV dude or whatever his chucklefuck stale statement that he think makes a for a proper username is I hate him and his creepy arse friends so much ...💀

Seriously though if someone has a proper link to that panel or even a more Femme Friendly stream done by a girly fan I could go to please do share your source with me I'm begging you.

[atthebell-moved]

i fucking love fanart if you look at my archive it's my most used tag it's 80% of what i rb it's what im here for and i love seeing it so so much i feel so lucky to be in a fandom with so many incredible artists and im constantly in awe of y'all i am jumping and shouting with a big foam finger I LOVE FANART I LOVE FANARTISTS

[alfafilly]

New Year New Me

I want to make a small New Years Resolution this year aimed specifically towards my role in the Sly Cooper fandom. It’s gonna be kinda long and venty so warning!! 

As a bit of backstory, I haven’t been in a fandom/actively drawing fanart since like... 2012 maybe? Like in terms of drawing fanart for the same series routinely. I went through a really stupid phase where I thought fanart was a waste of time because I had been hounded over and over again by peers and those I looked up to that only ORIGINAL © DO NOT STEAL content mattered. I looked down on fanart and used every excuse to belittle fanartists. I dunno if this was also in part due to the last fandom I was in being extremely toxic (that being the Invader Zim fandom. Booooois them 2006-2008 deviantART IZ days were something else) and my college experience constantly telling me “fanart in your portfolio is stinky bad no do that” (which is hotly debated btw).

Anyway... jumping into the Sly Cooper fandom has been extremely positive for me and helping me shed a lot of that negative attitude. Dare I say there was character development?! And while, for the most part, Sly fandom isn’t that toxic, there are elements of it that have caused much chaotic negativity within me that I am hoping to get rid of.

Maybe it’s a result of my former opinions about fanart, but I have always felt a sense of inadequacy, or as if I NEED to make my place in the fandom for me to be relevant and to matter. I have vented about this in the past. My first fanart piece was a compilation of my interpretations of the cast, and it was well received, and everyone talked about how they wanted me to draw more characters, to see more designs, etc. Which is why I said I wanted to redesign ALL the cast because the people DEMANDED IT!! This could be my way of placing myself in the fandom!!! HELL YEAH!!!

But it didn’t make me... happy, I guess? I DO enjoy redesigning, but when I do it under my own terms, with no pressure. I think coming out of art school made me put on blinders and tell myself what I used to believe in: “If you’re going to waste your time on fanart, better make it good. You know, people can hire you if you show good fanart! These redesigns could get you a job in the industry! You gotta ONLY do work that will benefit your end goal and nothing else!!” 

This often made me feel extreme guilt when I started drawing more of my Arpeggio content, or my Arpeggio AUs because despite how much fun I was having, that little voice in the back of my head was saying “No!! Stop drawing that!! Draw stuff that everyone will care about besides just you!!! You’re not going to get anywhere with this!! Drawing sexy Arpeggio won’t get you a job in the industry KJSNJKGNSKNGKJNAJ!!!!”

This mentality also crafted some uhh... extremely negative competitive attitudes towards other artists in the fandom. Certain artists would piss me off every time they posted to the point I would have to block them to stop seeing their work just to prevent these feelings. There is a notable artist I won’t name, but they do Sly redesigns too. I was fine with them initially, but after they blatantly stole one of my designs without crediting me I was LIVID. I called them out and they did apologize and changed the design, but every time I saw their work from then on out I had this insane urge to “beat them”. It was a sick competitive game. I felt jaded they ripped my design and kept getting popular anyway. TBH it’s rather petty and I am trying not to harbor any ill will towards them because I don’t think they meant anything by it and the design was rather insignificant in the whole scheme of things. But I still have them blocked or muted everywhere because I am still struggling to ignore that great urge every time I see their designs to drop everything I’m doing and draw my own redesigns out of unhealthy spite.

And I’m only briefly going to go over the god damn Deceit of Thieves drama. Apparently they are still making it into a legit game? They have a Patreon apparently and are posting stuff about it? I found out about that and the same sort of fiery rage filled me. But this was much less personal. Sure, I had given a critique to them but I honestly wanted the game/story/whatever to flourish? After seeing their poor reactions and being attacked by their white knights, my taste towards them grew bitter and I think my fellow Sly fans having the same bitterness fueled me to flat out grow a hatred for them. That’s kind of awful? I never expected to want another member of the fandom to have their project fail. What kind of asshole am I for wanting that?? I don’t want that. I want them to learn from their mistakes and make something great. Not hold some ridiculous resentment. I can decide not to support them if I wanted, but wishing failure is a whole other horrible thing.

So realizing this I knew I needed to... change my perspective on how I see myself in the fandom and how I process my feelings towards it. I don’t want to be here to produce soulless portfolio worthy content. I don’t want to compete with other artists or wish them ill. I just want to draw some god damn fanart of a series I love and that makes me happy! 

I’m posting this here as a way to hold accountability to myself and be honest. I started drawing Sly stuff again in 2017 so it’s been an issue appearing on and off the last 4 years and that’s... sad. It needs to end! I appreciate everyone in the fandom who has supported me in my endeavors, as ridiculous as they are. I can’t believe drawing and writing about a dumb bird man and cat lady and throwing my stupid OCs into the fray for my favorite childhood game has made me learn so much about myself, my work, and gained me so many great peers and friends. I definitely don’t want to stop any time soon! And I apologize profusely if I ever hurt anyone in some way because I lost sight of that (or was just a dick for whatever reason).

Thanks for your support, and I hope 2021 will bring me loads more positivity into my content!! 

[scarcitti]

“gaming asks”

🎈 original post 🎈

First game you can remember playing?

either tetris or skifree or space cadet pinball

Last game you played?

BLACK BIRD by onion games for nintendo switch!! it’s basically “defender” but with that great onion games/lovedelic art style. it’s really great tho there seems to be some occasional slowdown on the switch.

Games you’ve played?

i have played “virtual boy wario land”, “pac-man VS.”, and “rockstar games presents table tennis”, among others.

Game(s) you’re currently playing?

this is too long a list but: i’m currently playing BLACK BIRD, super mario 3D world, bowser’s fury, hitman 3 (which i “beat” but am nowhere near finished with), nioh 2 (only just started but rly liked), golf on mars, ACNH. (also unfinished: ghostrunner, RDR2, prodeus, “the dark pictures: man of medan”, sludge life, metro exodus, tony hawk pro skater 1+2 (finished 1 but not 2))

Game you plan to play next?

more BLACK BIRD! i think i might have been at the final boss. that might put me in the mood for some MILLION ONION HOTEL or maybe restarting DANDY DUNGEON(, both from onion games).

Games on your to-play list?

i just bought “The Ninja Warriors Once Again, or: The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors”, ODDWORLD: stranger’s wrath HD, and “Sky Racket” when they were on sale on the eshop recently. i also downloaded SINE MORA EX, might load that up whenever i’m done with BLACK BIRD. i might try to play more cyberpunk 2077 before tim rogers’s review hits (though i didn’t really like the game at all). i rly wanna play more nioh 2 as well. generally, prey (2017), sekiro, RE4, pathologic 2, and rain world.

Game you’d get if time / money was no object?

chess, netrunner, magic the gathering. or rainbow six seige

Favorite game?

DOOM (1993), or TETRIS EFFECT, or moon: Remix RPG Adventure (or donkey kong: jungle beat)

Favorite game franchise ?

donkey kong, “souls”, or mario

Favorite game in a series?

mario 3, f-zero GX

Favorite game to play?

f-zero gx or god hand. maybe sekiro. using those gamecube shoulder buttons to slide side to side in F0GX and then pulling both for those 90° turns feels amazing. no dodge has ever felt better than using the right stick in “god hand”.

Most frustrating game to play?

tetris 99 is just not what i like abt tetris. dirt 5 feels like competitive plastic chewing. forced TAA, crashes, jerkweed voice fuckers spitting in your ear constantly, gross dutch angled race countdown, bogus music 😑 bogus! rockstar games also frustrate me (tho i like RDR2 & table tennis (& i probably like the manhunt games)); those awful menus do nothing but clunk. (having to hit “A” scroll the map in the map tab in GTA V? when the map is the only thing you can interact with on screen? 😑)

Comfort game?

mario kart 8 dx, puyo puyo tetris

Underrated game?

moon: Remix RPG Adventure, kane & lynch 2: dog days, rock band unplugged

Game that reminds you of your childhood?

lego star wars, “star wars battlefront ii: the 2004 one”

Game you’re really good at?

guideline tetris. i’m also good at star wars battlefront ii but only on mos eisley and only against bots

Game with the most playtime?

across different versions, tetris. on my switch ACNH takes the cake over BOTW, puyo puyo tetris, and mario kart 8 dx. on steam it’s dirt 4.

Favorite console?

PS2 & GBA SP (which just both happen to be the first consoles i had as a kid). honorable mentions to the gamecube, the personal computer (which is the actual best but does not count, i suppose), and “the switch pro”.

Favorite game ending?

nier automata or moon: Remix RPG Adventure or APE OUT

Favorite genre / kind of game?

racing games (see: f-zero GX, burnout 2, outrun 2, dirt 4, mario kart 8 dx, hotshot racing, etc.), “stylish character action” (god hand, bayonetta 2) or “hard action” (god hand, ape out, disc room, tormentor X punisher), platformers

Favorite side games / quests?

the baker in moon: Remix RPG Adventure, siegward in dark souls iii, dark souls/bloodborne quests in general

Favorite cheat codes / glitches?

my fav cheat code is the one in lego star wars that changes all guns to coffee mugs. in super mario land 2: six golden coins you can make mario fall into the game’s memory and walk directly to the end of the game.

Favorite game mechanism?

the directional dodges in GOD HAND. the push/grab in APE OUT. looping level design, like doom or dark souls or metroid. getting a tetris.

Favorite characters from a game?

wario, bayonetta, everyone in moon, donkey kong, the guy from panic restaurant 

Favorite boss battle?

beauvoir from nier automata during route B. also a fan of the final boss in dark souls iii. 

Favorite game soundtrack?

katamari damacy, moon, mario 3, botw, ape out

Most calming game soundtrack?

tetris effect, DKC, firelink shrine theme/DS1 menu music

Most energetic / pump up game soundtrack?

ape out, those digital hardcore songs in TAIKO NO TATSUJIN

Favorite boss fight music?

something from splatoon or bloodborne probably

Favorite game aesthetic?

megaman legends, sonic mania, mario 3, the wario land games, moon

Favorite character designs?

moon, chulip, the wario land series, katamari, panic restaurant

Favorite game fanart / fanartist?

splendidland

Favorite game fanfiction / author?

those splendidland comics where mario says fuck or where smash brothers characters are gay for each other. also this CYELATM

Do you make fancontent for any games?

i got ok at drawing wario a while ago. i should practice again

What streamers / playthroughs would you recommend?

jerma985: jurassic park trespasser, saw 1 & 2. giant bomb: “giant bomb makes mario”, “hitsmas”. aurateur.

What skins are on your controllers?

my own :-(

Are you a completionist?

no, i do play slowly though. as far as being a series/franchise completionist, i am bad about thinking i need context for new games by playing old games in the same genre first

Has anything made you ragequit a game?

ornsein & smough :-( bad menus, slow tutorials in lots of games

What do your customizable characters look like?

green skinned ladies with mustaches, balding or with a bob

What game would you suggest to a non-gamer?

golf on mars, bad chess

[androgynousblackbox]

Not gotta lie, but i still in more ten years can't fucking see the big bad problem with fujoshi tumblrinas keep telling people to ''call out''. Like am I really supposed to think cringy fangirls approaching gay dudes saying their sex is hot is creepy and harassing? I just find it hilarious and kind of cringy. The only problemy thing I can see is with shota or taking pictures of people like those klance shippers did and even then it's like a thing in other fandoms too.

I am not really a fan of tumblerina or cringy as a word to put on others, but regardless, I kinda disagree with you there, anon. Having complete strangers invading your sex life and treating as it was a spectacle meant purely for their own entertainment, without your consent, is in fact awful. Actual real fetishization is dehumanizing. I don’t blame absolutely anyone for being upset or hurt at being treated in such a way.The actual problem, though, is that none of that has inherently nothing to do with fujoshi, fandom or liking m|m in general. My problem is that people act about it as if liking m|m on any way that isn’t “pure and wholesome” is exactly the same as grabbing some random gay dude on the street and start harassing him about his sexual preference. Fuck, deciding that if you are not a (cis) m|m then you can’t ever just like a (cis) m|m ship or even think they have sex because that is “fetishizing.” As if liking a manga with “problematic aspect” was the same as grabbing survivor and using them especifically, personally, for some kind of fantasy. People constantly deciding on their own that you must treat characters as if they were real people and if you don’t, decide you don’t care about real people at all, which is bullshit.There are people out there who do creepy shit like you mention. And there are people who go even beyond that. The kids of Stranger Things went through so much bullshit from fandom. The cast of Star Wars. The cast of Voltron. Fanartists drove to suicide because some people don’t know when it’s time to fucking stop. Even One Direction had some things to say about people not respecting their boundaries.Like... fuck, you want something to actually complain about that is actually happening right now and causes harm, there you have it. But I have never seen none of these “we want to make the internet a safer place!” fuckheads even aknowledging is a thing that happens, except only to justify it or dismiss it.I just wish people would just stop adding all these meanings that have nothing to do with the word, because while they keep doing that are throwing under the bus a entire group of people whose only common crime is liking a particular kind of fiction. Do you want to call out shitty shippers that are being homophobic? Call them out as homophobic. Don’t need to make it more complicated than that.

[deanncastiel]

Hello there 👋🏼 I've been matched to create something for you for the spn valentines event!

Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, I'm only able to offer the medium of fanart for the gift, as it's the only one I can currently manage time-wise. I hope you understand! <3

What ship(s)/platonical relationships do you enjoy and would like to see me create smth for? Is there anything you absolutely don't want to see, or anything else you would enjoy?

I'm rly looking forward to creating something for you 😇💕

hello friend! not a problem at all, i absolutely love fanart 😊😊 personally, i have zero artistic skill so am constantly in awe of all fanartists' skills

(but i digress ANYWAY)

i'm pretty open to anything! as you can probably tell from my url DeanCas would always be okay. i'm a big SamWena and Saileen fan, as well (or dare I say even Saileena [is that even their ship name a;skjd]) if you wanted to go the Sam route

totally open to any platonic relationship, as well, or individual characters (i am in love with literally every single spn lady so that would be a good one aha)

the only thing that i wouldn't necessarily like to see is any Dean/Other or Cas/Other romantic pairings. platonic is totally fine but i'm a perpetual monoshipper with them 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

thank you so much, i am very much looking forward to seeing your art!!

[aquaticpal]

Aw @embyrinitalics you are too sweet 😊 This gets long, bear with me.

So this came about right after E3 2011 where we were first presented with the Skyward Sword demo footage that went up to the end of the Wing Ceremony race, Zelda throwing herself into your arms (“oh, so those birds are strong enough to carry two! …😏”), and interview rumors that they go flying together later 😳 And then I scribbled this in a frothing wishful lather.

Nearly a decade later, I knew I'd truly Made It when I found this art stolen for one of those "hour long music to study by" YouTubes. But they did give credit so whatever 🤷‍♀️

Frequently Asked Questions Comments:

"lol u cant fly at night lol" Yeah Nintendo didn't tell me that until 5 months later when the game came out 🤦‍♀️ Way to kill the possibilities, guys

"lol him hand big"

Yeah, it was a failed attempt at dramatic perspective. I should've drawn the bird first but no time, smooches first

"A Whole New World~ 🎵" Yes yes I know. Actually, this is the true mood song for this pic:

(Which, admittedly, the creators of that scene must've taken a lot of inspiration from the original magic carpet ride. I'll allow it)

Brush with fame:

November 2011, I got an email out of the blue from M!Games magazine ("the oldest German videogame magazine") asking to publish this piece as part of a Zelda retrospective article 😱 You what? You guys uh... sure you don't want another less shippy pic? No? Ok I'll... I'll do it...!

😱😱😱I thought it was gonna be like a feature with a collection of other fanartists not a... double page spread... 😱😱😱😱😱🤯💀

Anyway, I don't know German so I can only approximately guess at the text, but here's my original answers to their interview questions:

1. Why Legend of Zelda fanart? What I wanted to say: I wanna make the cute guy & princess kiss What I said: I think the Zelda games are particularly good at creating imaginative, atmospheric, and memorable scenes, and it's that kind of feeling that I want to express in my artworks.

2. Why did you choose to paint this particular scene? What I wanted to say: CUZ. THEY KEES What I said: The trailers and demos at E3 2011 hinting at the story of Skyward Sword really raised my excitement, and I just couldn't resist this image that popped into my head when I heard the rumor that Link was supposed to go on a date with Zelda after winning the flying competition. It probably won't happen, but maybe...!

3. What kind of tools/techniques do you use to create your artworks? What I wanted to say: I knock my head against the paper/tablet/screen until kiss come out What I said: These days I almost always work on the computer, using the programs Photoshop, Painter, and SAI, but I use the skills and techniques I learned from my background in traditional media including oil, acrylic, and watercolor paints. I like to explore different art styles often, and Legend of Zelda is particularly good for that since the games' art direction is constantly creative and evolving.

4. What is your favourite Legend of Zelda game and why? What I wanted to say: The ones where they most wanna kiss What I said: Ocarina of Time has been my long-time favorite for having such a rich, interactive world, as well as some of the most interesting and memorable characters. (It also helps that it was the first Zelda game I played through.) Although, it looks like that position might be challenged once Skyward Sword comes out!

Well, in the end, Skyward Sword didn't quite qualify as my reigning all-time favorite, but I am really glad this pic is still making its rounds making people happy :)

And I leave you with a final parting thought:

N-Noooooo... y u do dis.........

Is it kosher to post old-ass vintage art from 10 years ago? Oh well, my blog my art my rules

(It's so old that it has history now. Maybe I'll write up a director's commentary later)

So I was just browsing AO3 one day and completely randomly found that somebody wrote a fluffy lil fic based on this picture. Please go give them some love on my behalf 😄

(For more Skyward Sword art, try this one from 2021 rather than 2011)

[sheerioswifties]

♡♡♡

While I have just a moment, I wanted to reblog this and share it with you all, because this was so much fun (I've never been the subject of a work of art this way before!), and meant SO much to me. I told Paris, aka @taylorswift-fanartist about how I've been going through a lot of struggles in life, fighting one battle after another, and how Taylor's music has been like a soundtrack to my life, perfectly fitting so many of the things I've faced as they've happened. Like I had said, when giving ideas to help with coming up with the concept and they asked what "Eyes Open" means to me-

"Well... it has a lot of deep personal meaning for me... I've been going through a LOT and literally the song is perfect as both describing that feeling- everybody's waiting, everybody's watching to see you break down/watch the fallout... (kinda like how in IFTYE she describes how they got out the popcorn as soon as her rep started going down) so everyone's expecting you to fail and watching for dramas sake; but you gotta grow, be stronger- like in the first verse about how it used to be when we were kids but now [we've stepped into] a cruel world; every lesson forms a new scar- I've learned a lot and grown from it but still have the pain, the scars... oof that SONG... but so through being hurt and losing people I love etc; I've learned I have to, well, keep my feet ready, heartbeat steady, aim locked, (focus on what's important and the new me etc), and eyes open! And someday (I'll be living in a big ol city? Lol whoops wrong song) someday they'll see and 'never thought [I'd] make it this far...' Idk; I'm still right now in the thick of it... 'they've surrounded you... it's a showdown... and nobody comes to save you now...' but I've got something they don't... Ugh, this song is legit everything right now. I mean so many of her songs literally tell out my life story, and several came out RIGHT at the perfect timing it's crazy. But this one is just epic, always ongoing applicable..." -Me

They described to me the beginning sketches, based off those ideas- "I have one frame for the line about 'stepped into a cruel world' and I wanted it to be half your real world and half a battlefield to represent your struggles, but I wanted to ask if there's any part of your real world you'd like represented?" -Paris

So, now, after my recent posts, you all are beginning to know the bigger war I've been fighting- but it's all always all been on top of this horrible ongoing medical battle of mine, as I explained:

"Well, one of the biggest- or the biggest- struggle is my health; I'm really sick with progressive chronic illnesses (and I'm immunocompromised, so I'm at super high risk with COVID-19! It's scary!) But maybe my real world battlefield (at least the part I'd be comfy sharing publicly right now because there's a lot more, like lost family, toxic abusive people that I had to disconnect from, etc, but that gets complicated and I haven't shared much of it yet) could be a hospital/emergency room type scenario? [Another big issue/struggle] with my chronic illness [has been that] it's also an 'invisible illness,' where I often don't 'look' sick, you know what I mean? But yet I'm constantly literally fighting for my life... that's a thing too- a lot of people, including my own family, don't believe how sick I am, don't want to help or support me, I'm on my own with it (well...[except of course for] my chinchilla who is a great comforting companion so he's definitely one of my side-kicks marching into battle with me)..." -Me (notice how he got included in the comic! ♡����🐾easter egg- find Butters!)

The final result just has me in awe. I'm so impressed, so honored, I have no words to really express how cool this was, how appreciative I am, and not to mention how perfect the timing was- I got this beautiful piece of art, featuring me, an encouraging reminder to be strong- right when I was about to get hit with the worst of this situation I've been in coming to a head. I love how Paris explained it, both above in the caption on it here as well as told to me:

"I basically took the idea of Taylor writing songs to fit your life and ran with it because I can completely relate, it's like she's drawing inspiration from our lives even though she isn't really... And I also played a bit with the invisible illness aspect and drew the weird figures surrounding to have eyes closed to represent the disbelief or the choice to not see someone else's struggles." -Paris

Like seriously, how cool is that? And an amazing shout out from both of us to the one and only miss @taylorswift for inspiring it all. Taylor, seriously, you have no idea the true impact you've had on our lives. I thank you both so much for this! ♡♡♡

@taylornation @tree-paine @tswiftartcollective

Yall I'm beyond excited, a super amazing swiftie artist is making a comic for one of Taylor's songs (my header title hint hint) featuring... me! (Like, me, the person, not the song lol) Everyone should check out @taylorswift-fanartist , they make awesome edits/art! I'm so honored to be a part of this series and hopefully I'll get to post the final product here soon, I'm so excited honestly it's one of the coolest things to happen for me this year or in a while hxgxiizgjxgigxog