#i haven't drawn anything that i'd be proud of

[thechibilitwick]

happy birthday shidou cheers to a unchanging tomorrow blah blah blah i hope you fall face flat into your cake

[martyryo]

shark!!

[deoidesign]

Happy webcomics day!!!

I'm not home (on a trip right now with family), but I still want to talk a little bit about my process, so I did what I could to find some wip shots 🧡

Plus, I'd also like to update my extremely patient readers with a little taste of what's to come!!!

Step one, of course, is writing.

When I'm writing I have four documents open. A "dump" document, a "yes this!" Document, an outline document, and a drawing canvas!

In the dump document, I put ANYTHING. complete stream of consciousness. The 'yes this' document is where I put anything useful from the dump document, and the outline is, of course, the outline. The drawing canvas is for me to sketch out problems and ideas and get sort of a different angle on things, since I can't really visualize.

Once I have a book completely written, I start thumbnailing!

My thumbnails pretty much look like this. Text, sketchy poses, indications of expression and maybe environment...

I thumbnail the entire book at once. I don't let myself do any edits on it until it's done, but I take note of edits I'd like to make! Then, once the first draft is out, I edit.

I'll move entire scenes, delete whole episodes, bring in bits from the end to have proper foreshadowing... Etc! It's a long process that makes my arcs feel much more complete and something I can be really proud of.

I can only do this when I'm really ahead, though, so that's why I've been on a long hiatus!!! I was forced to work without my process for a few arcs, and the difference is so huge to me that I refuse to let myself do it again. It makes a loner hiatus, but work way more worth waiting for!

Next step is lineart!

Yes, I skip sketches! I go right into lines.

I save every head I've ever drawn, and that lets me copy paste in a basic head angle. Then I redo the face, fix up the hair, etc. so it fits my panel, and then I draw the rest of the body!

This seriously saves me so much time, but less so for the drawing (i still draw a ton of heads and I'm very fast) and more just for helping me skip sketching entirely!

Then I do character flats, which since all my lines are closed that goes pretty quickly (slowest part is Steve's hair, I refuse to use a brush cause every one I've made looks terrible!!!)

And then I draw the backgrounds!

Which, I keep layered, clean, and HUGE so I can use them throughout the arc.

I used to feel bad doing this, but then I realized... It's not like backgrounds "change" irl. So why make them change in my comics...? It saves me so much time, but it ALSO lets me put in more detail per background! I draw probably 3 very large backgrounds per episode like this, and then I draw maybe 5-10 unique backgrounds for single panels per episode as well. I save these too, but they're rarely re-used.

And then my panels are done!!!

So there's a bit of my process for you all!!!

Happy webcomics day 🧡🧡🧡

And here's my comic, if you haven't read it and want to see the end result of this process, or if you have read it and would enjoy a re-read with the extra knowledge:

Or, if you would prefer books I have those too!

Happy to elaborate on any step, as well!

I make comics extremely quickly and as my full time job, and my process allows me to easily manipulate my format as well. I'm happy to share any of my knowledge if you have questions!!!

[yuurivoice]

I always forget that in the bittersweet summary around the beginning of chapter 3(i think, I haven't watched it in a hot minute) you mention that bittersweet is based off of your irl trauma/experiences(again, haven't watched it in a bit, sorry if I got anything wrong!(

Yeah! Not in its entirety or intensity, obviously but certainly in some regards I tapped into various experiences and feelings.

Specifically...

Seth & Jessie's relationship. Conflicted sexual romantic feelings with friends in settings where people might be homophobic. Being around crime in a criminal/gang setting. Alphonse and the loss of his parents. etc. and so forth.

I think the reason I am so drawn to adding the fantastical elements to the story is because it was my own fantasies and daydreams that helped me cope through a lot of those times. That and I just love urban fantasy.

So yeah, there's a lot going on that I draw from. I am not proud that in my youth I was in some sketchy places with sketchy people. I come from a family of bikers, and if you've been around motorcycle clubs and that sort of thing, you know that it's not uncommon for drugs, guns, real scummy types of people to be a part of that. If you've ever been to a club house, you get the vibes.

None of it was ever that dramatic or serious, but I was in close enough proximity to feel anxious and sick that I was there. That type of shit.

The parental aspects throughout BitterSweet are absolutely based in personal situations and relationships I've had with my own parents. My father and I were estranged when I was 15, he passed away when I was 16 just a couple weeks after I got something vaguely shaped like an apology. But before that, he was my hero. I looked up to him the way Seth looked up to Jessie, despite the flaws. So I've had something to say about relationships like that. Probably always will. Alphonse is sorta the flipside of that. The unfinished, imperfect feeling left when a relationship is suddenly cut short. That's something we'll get into in Chapter 4.

There are positive inspirations too. BitterSweet is the direct result of my experiences with soul mates, platonic, romantic, and everything in between. I wanted to talk about how transformative love could be, because I had (and continue to) experience it myself. Forgiveness and grace are things I've learned to extend to people who I wouldn't have expected to before that, and that shows up in the series as well.

So yes, BitterSweet is deeply personal to me and is so much more than just the relationship between the trio. They're wonderful and I love them and I love them as a package deal, but it's much bigger than that. The themes are much broader, and much deeper than "will they all end up together!?" which is why the Polyamory Discourse (TM) that cropped up around the end of Chapter 3 was deeply fucking offensive to me. The word "queerbaiting" was tossed around, which might be the most preposterous bullshit I'd ever had hurled my way in my years of being on the internet. It's okay, college freshmen whose first fandom was Voltron can be loud and obnoxious on the internet. LOL

Anywho. Shoutout to y'all who picked up what I was putting down. For everyone else, eat my cheeks.

[lizardonatoadstool]

Oakie the Acorn is the Best Mascot Ever

I don’t even go to this school I just love them. Here’s an interview they did for SUNY Mascot Madness.

Oakie - SUNY ESF

Who are you, where are you originally from, and where do you do your mascot thing? I'm Oakie Acorn (they/them), proud representative of ESF and its Mighty Oaks athletic teams! I was “born” when I fell out of ESF's Robin Hood Oak which means my roots go back to the Major Oak in England's Sherwood Forest. Maybe that's why I'm so merry! While most of my mascot duties have me in Syracuse, I also pop in at our Ranger School in Wanakena and our satellite campuses in the Adirondacks and Thousand Islands.

What's a unique new thing (building, club, activity, employee, etc.) on your campus that you treasure? The newly renovated Marshall Hall is wonderful! Open since 1933, Marshall underwent a major two-year reno re-opening in 2023. We kept the classic features, such as the spiral staircase and auditorium, while updating the building to a state-of-the-art learning center with spaces tailored to the needs of today's students. The building is home to our Landscape Architecture, Environmental Studies, and mathematics programs. Along with great classroom and studio space, there are plenty of study nooks for students to tuck in and do work between classes or meet with friends.

If you could start your own club or major on campus, what would it be? Wow! Difficult question because ESF has so many unique clubs, activities, and majors already! That said, I'd love to start an a capella group – Oak-apella! I don't speak, but I have a song in my heart and would love to hear ESF students sing. Maybe I could do some interpretive dance while they sing.

What's your hidden talent that you haven't told anyone about yet? Anyone on campus at night might have seen me skateboarding. The other day I landed a kickflip over the gap and was pretty stoked. Sadly, no one was around to see it. Flicks or it didn't happen, right? We do have some talented campus artists who have drawn me and my board though.

What campus cheer gets you pumped up and why? (with great enthusiasm)  O-A-K-I-E!  They're our acorn can't you see?  Sprouting strong through day and night  We've got bark and we've got bite!    ESF Orientation Leaders chant this while they lead our newest acorns to convocation. I love hearing it echo off the campus buildings!

What sport would you play if you were a student-athlete? I would join the Bass Fishing team in a heartbeat! I know when you think “acorn,” you think “land-based,” but I'd love to get out on the water and drop a line or two. There's so much more to me than most people know.    I would look awesome in one of the Bass Fishing team jerseys – provided they could get me an XXXXXL.

Read any good books lately? The Climate Optimists Handbook by environmental activist Anne Therese Gennari is a great read. Her book is about empowering people to get excited about changing the narrative on climate change so we act from courage and excitement to co-create a better world. She totally gets the ESF vibe! She was our commencement speaker last May and inspired our graduates and their guests to Improve Our World!    And of course, Braiding Sweetgrass by our own Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer is always close at hand to read again and again!

Favorite pizza topping? Mushrooms. I love to top my pie with things I've foraged in the woods. Remember, you have to be very careful with mushrooms. I always take along a friend who has taken Dr. Alex Weir's mycology course to ensure I don't eat anything that could make me sick or worse!

If you were SUNY Chancellor for a day, what would you do? I would declare every day Earth Day in SUNY and plant pollinator gardens on every campus. I would also help other campuses set and reach their own Zero-Waste goals. Sustainability is a key component to helping the environment. I would then ask to be Chancellor for a couple more days to visit as many campuses as possible and see all the great things SUNY students are doing.  I don't know how Chancellor King does it all! Does he ever sleep?

How would you celebrate being named SUNY Mascot Madness Champion in 2024? The same way I celebrated in 2017 when I won the title – surrounded by the best students, faculty, and staff ever! We had a party that the whole campus attended. My friend, Victor E. Knight from SUNY Geneseo, was gracious enough to come and present me with the trophy and join the festivities. I think it would be great to host Wolfie on campus this year. 

[gaviicreates]

Blog Post: Filet Crochet - Tall Ship

It's April 2022 and I've just added "Wellerman" to my playlists. Like most trends, I've discovered it late, but that doesn't stop my fervor in finding as many shanty bands as I can get my hands on. I re-watch "Master & Commander" and "Pirates of the Caribbean", I start and finish OFMD in a weekend, I buy the fancy vinyl of The Longest Johns' most recent album, I make up stanzas for Drunken Sailor, and I start reblogging ship after ship after ship - ships at sea, ships approaching pirate islands, ships in the mist and at night and with sails gloriously unfurled.

I tour a tall ship for my birthday, then spend the afternoon at an Irish pub listening to familiar songs that aren't shanties but come from similar traditional roots.

At some point, I admit... yep, I'm drawn to the aesthetic of tall sailing ships. And I celebrate it.

I celebrate anything that brings joy. So this time last year (Sep 18 if you are curious), my daydreams about ships chasing the horizon led me to pick up my crochet hook, start a row of chains and some double crochets, and make one of those vague, ominous posts: a simple: it begins.

And finally, I can say, it ends.

Reel version of the progress pictures available here. (Warning: For Photo movement sensitivity, I use zoom transitions)

This was my first big filet crochet project, and in full transparency, I learned the technique just so I could make this pattern. I first picked a few free patterns that were symmetrical between rows, as one of the challenges I had was reading left-to-right, then right-to-left in sequence based on whether I was on the right side of wrong side as the pattern progressed. My first non-symmetrical pattern was HandmadebyRaine's dolphin table runner. Fairly soon after I decided I was ready. I was probably less ready and more eager... but what's a better way learning a new technique than working on something you know you're going to be really passionate about?

Filet Crochet is a technique in which the pattern creates a mesh with filled in and open blocks, where the filled in spaces (or the inverse) makes an image. The only stitches you need to start learning is the chain and the double crochet, so in some ways it is quite beginner friendly. I'd recommend starting with a symmetrical pattern like I did until you are used to switching the reading direction with the rows.

Another challenge I had along the way: I lost the crochet hook I was using about halfway up. I think I actually was using a 2.00mm originally, but the challenge with these small hooks is that you can't really buy them on an individual basis - at least from what I've seen. This is the reason I have 3-4 .5mm's which I never use, but the 1.75mm and 2.00mm that I use all the time have a habit of walking away.

From there, the main challenge was keeping motivated, especially after that lull in the middle of the project. At the beginning and the end, the stitches were flying off the hook.

Pattern: Sailing Ship Doily by Crafty Sasha Hook size: 1.75mm Crochet Thread: Aunt Lydia's Size 10 GaviiCreates - 2023

So my year long passion project finally comes to end. I haven't yet picked a space in my home for this project to live, so it's not yet on display. It is such a statement piece, I'd like to make it somewhere visitors may see it. I'm proud!

As far as filet crochet - I really liked the technique! It's another way for me to use my thread, another style for doilies or table runners. I definitely think it will be added to my rotation. What do we think for next? A chicken?

[shychick-52]

5 (Boyd), 9, and 13.

Out of all your fanfics that include Boyd, which one is your favorite?

That would be Who Am I? I'm very proud of that one because it was my very first DT story and my first story on AO3. I wrote that in late 2020, and 'Astro B.O.Y.D.' had been living rent-free in my head ever since it was came out that May. So, because the episode was a loving parody of Astro Boy, I wanted to deeper explore Gyro and Boyd's father-son relationship (which I'd hoped the show would do more with than what we actually got) while touching on the darker lore of the Astro Boy manga and anime (grieving scientist loses son and creates a robot in his likewise).

Write a recommendation of someone else's fic you enjoyed.

Anything by @wacky-nameless-inventor-24! Their fenro stories are literally the BEST, and they've made some incredible AUs with the Mad Ducktor!

What's a character or ship you haven't written or drawn yet, but would like to someday?

I've always wanted to write a story where Boyd and Gosalyn share a scene in the finale (where they canonically teamed up) and talk; I've always thought they could bond over some of the stuff they have in common- both are friends with Fenton, both know what it's like to be torn apart from the loving adult in their lives (Gyro and Dr. Waddlemeyer, respectively, who are both scientists) by another scientist who's evil (Akita and Taurus Bulba).

[faeriecinna]

WIP Questionnaire

Thank you for the tag @buffythevampirelover !

Project.Seraph :)

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

The character of Nevaeh was my leap of faith into this one. Previously I had only ever really written horror/thriller and I had always been too afraid to create my own fantasy world, but for some reason I just couldn't leave the idea of my broken little angel alone. The more I imagined her in different scenarios and fleshed out different characters and a plot, I knew I had to write it seriously or I'd never forgive myself.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

Honestly I really fuck with Plenty by Aeseaes for this one. The whole vibe is immaculate and it really encapsulates the mood of the story through the lyrics.

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

I truly love them all for different reasons (except maybe Marco, fuck you Marco.) Though Nevaeh is my sweet innocent angel baby could never do anything wrong ever loml, and Queen Reinette is a favourite because I adore a good villain and I am very proud of the way I've written her character.

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

I'm hoping the same kind of people who tore through Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments will find my books to be worth of a good read. Also my fellow 'Merlin made me realise I was queer' pals. Not quite as high fantasy but I think P.Seraph is sometimes quite reminiscent of The Witcher too.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

There are so many scenes that I've already imagined and desperately want to write, so writing everything in between to bridge the scenes together is so painful lmao. What do you mean I have to write about the journey to the castle before I get to write my big dramatic inciting incident???

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

A lot of the first half is based in the woodland so many animals are encountered, though crows and various other corvids are a recurring motif. Also a lot of horses! Most characters travel by horse, including my little band of travelling thieves and the Queen's guards. In the marketplace there is also a very well known cat that belongs to the tavern-owner and likes to steal from people's stalls lmao

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

Mostly by foot, by horse, or by a carriage drawn by a horse.

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

Still the first draft rn but it's coming along smoothly. I have also been writing Project.Ink and fleshing out Project.Claw so I haven't been dedicating quite as much time to P.Seraph as I would like.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

Who doesn't love a good enemies to lovers, right? This story absolutely reeks of betrayal, dark royalty, doomed love, war.... idk it has everything in it that I wanted to read all in one story and I hoped some people could relate

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

Obviously, I hope to be published one day, and if it is, my hope is that it will be one of those books that leaves people reeling after they've read it. I want people to connect to it, to cry over it, to read it so many times it doubles in size. I want people to be as violently in love with my characters as I am and I want people to relate to the story in whichever way they see fit. I want it to mean something to someone. One day. Eventually.

no pressure tags for @melpomene-grey, @goldxdarkness, @darkangel319 :)

Blank under the cut

1. What was the first part of your wip that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. Who are your favourite characters you've made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think would share a fan base for your story?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your wip?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (ex: trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your wip are you working on rn?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe?) of your wip do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your wip?

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Vil Schoenheit Lab Coat Personal Story: Part 2

"More accurate than any scale"

(Part 1) Part 2

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Kitchen]

Trey: Sorry to keep you waiting, Vil. Here's your herbal tea.

Vil: Thank you, Trey. …What a nice fragrance.

Trey: I also brought some cake, just in case. I just baked it today.

Vil: I can certainly see that it is something for you to be proud of. However, I'll refrain and simply have the herbal tea.

Vil: …Mm, it's delicious. Where did you get these tea leaves?

Trey: At the Mystery Shop. They seldomly get tea from this long-standing brand in stock, so.

Trey: If you like it, do you want to take some with you? I got a lot of it, and I feel like the flavor will fade before I can finish it all.

Vil: Then, I suppose I shall. Will you wrap it up for me later?

Trey: So… what were you saying earlier? What did Rook do?

Vil: It wasn't really anything. If I must tell you, I guess I'd just say that he just watches me too closely?

Vil: I guess it's more or less convenient that he can sense changes about me faster than I can.

Vil: But don't you think he's absolutely the worst to just ask me point blank if I've gained weight?

Vil: Honesty and lack of tact are two separate things. Perhaps he left his tact in the forest.

Trey: Ah… Yeah, he probably shouldn't have said it that way.

Trey: Rook's the type to say whatever's on his mind, for better or worse, so it's surprised me from time to time, too.

Vil: Hm. It should have been obvious, but I see he's like that during club, too.

Trey: Like, just the other day, he said that the experiment that our advisor set up for the club to do would be "boring as it is now"…

Trey: So, we ended up having to do a real complicated experiment. All the first years were pretty much unable to do anything at all.

Vil: I can definitely picture that happening.

Vil: And I'm sure you were there helping out those first years, weren't you?

Trey: I don't know how much help I was, but yeah, I guess.

Vil: So hard working, all the time…

Vil: Riddle is quite lucky that you're in Heartslabyul.

Trey: Eh?

Vil: It comes up during the Dorm Leader meetings from time to time, that you're an exceptional Vice Dorm Leader.

Trey: Oh, man… That's the first I'm hearing of it. Honestly, it's a little surprising.

Trey: I just don't want to lose my head, is all. I haven't done anything worth that much praise.

Vil: Don't be so modest. Accept the compliments when they're given to you.

Vil: Those who cannot see your true nature may be completely taken in by your humility.

Vil: Well, if that's the kind of impression you want to leave, that's fine, but… Generally, you'll come out worse for wear.

Trey: That's a bit harsh. But I'm sure you know what you're saying, especially since you're always in the public's judging eye.

Trey: I'll try to slightly change how I do things from now on.

Vil: Please do. That'll also make the one who complimented you feel better as well.

Vil: Besides, you won't pile on so much stress if you just let yourself be happy at least when you're receiving praise.

Vil: Especially since you're usually running around taking care of a spoiled little boy, after all.

Trey: Oh, it’s not like I'm stressing out over Riddle.

Vil: Well, okay. Whatever you say.

Trey: No, it's true. That's because I know the secret to not being stressed.

Vil: Oh, a secret? Now I'm curious.

Trey: Do you want to know?

Vil: Well, aren't you acting all high-and-mighty all of a sudden?

Trey: I'll only tell you once, so listen well.

Vil: Alright…

Trey: Don't skimp on the sweets, especially cake with a ton of fruit on it.

Vil: Ugh. You were putting on such airs, and I got so drawn in. …Heh.

Vil: Fine. I'll have one slice of your fruit cake.

Vil: I'll just have to increase how much I run tomorrow morning.

Trey: Maybe this isn't something I need to tell you, since you're a model, but…

Trey: I don't think a single cake slice will change your figure that much. You're already pretty thin, anyway.

Vil: I'd rather you say I'm "toned," not "thin."

Vil: However, Rook's sharp gaze is more accurate than any scale. And perhaps better than a mirror, as well.

Trey: Wow…

Vil: Mm, it's delicious. Trey, did your skills increase yet again?

Vil: If you ever lose your head to Riddle, come see me. I'll make you my dormitory's exclusive pastry chef.

Trey: I'll do my best so that doesn't happen.

Trey: I bet it'll be a lot of calorie counting if I had to make pastries over in Pomefiore.

Vil: And that would also be a good way to improve as well, now, wouldn't it?

(Part 1) Part 2

[anneapocalypse]

🎇20 Questions for Fic Writers🎇

Tagged by @dreadfutures 💙 Thank you!

Tagging @chocochipbiscuit @farfromdaylight @rakshadow @skyeventide

Blank questions for your convenience! My answers are below the cut.

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

3. what fandoms do you write for?

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

5. do you respond to comments?

6. what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. do you get hate on fics?

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? T

16. what are your writing strengths?

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

19. first fandom you wrote for?

20. favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Answers!

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

If I count everything, 181. If we're not counting meta pieces, 163.

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

802,674

3. what fandoms do you write for?

I've written for quite a few, but my big ones have been Fallout, Red vs. Blue, and Dragon Age. I've also written for The Penumbra Podcast, RWBY, Mass Effect, Person of Interest, and The 13 Clocks. (And now I'm also writing for Final Fantasy XIV, though I haven't posted anything yet and probably won't until after I'm caught up with MSQ.)

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

Homecoming (Red vs. Blue, Tucker & Junior, rated T)

Juno Steel & the Fox's Teeth (Penumbra Podcast, Juno/Peter, rated E)

Sensibility (Penumbra Podcast, Juno/Peter, rated E)

Respite (Red vs. Blue, North/Wash/York, rated T)

Home Front (Fallout 3, Amata/F!LW, rated T)

I was genuinely surprised and charmed at how well-received "Homecoming" was (and continues to be), as I considered it fairly niche at the time of writing, but then, Tucker is a popular character. The response to my Penumbra fics certainly caught me by surprise, in the manor of, "OH, this is what it's like to write the popular pairing!" "Respite" was one of my very early RvB fics and it's not one I'm particularly happy with now, as I think I would have done certain things differently had I written it later, but nonetheless it was well-received; not a lot of people were actually writing North/Wash/York at the time. "Home Front" is one of my favorite Fallout fics I've written; I'm still proud of it.

5. do you respond to comments?

Yes, I try to! Sometimes I take a bit longer these days, but I do try to reply to every comment, barring the odd rude one which I'll just delete or ignore.

6. what’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It's maybe cheating to say The Fall, given that it's the second in a trilogy so the story isn't actually over at the end of that fic. But that fic is a downer the whole way and ends with the main character's probable death, so. It's pretty angsty. After that, I'd say "Please (Don't Leave Me)", an RvB South/CT fic where CT doesn't live and South is dealing with the aftermath, poorly.

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I'd say I've written quite a few--I'm a big fan of the hard-won happy ending. I'm going to distinguish happy from fluffy here--I could pick any number of my one-shorts for fluffiest ending--and say The Landing, because relative to what comes before, and also canon, it's an incredibly happy and optimistic ending for Maine.

8. do you get hate on fics?

Rarely. The vast majority of my readers are perfectly sweet and kind. For some reason, my Mainelina fic has drawn the most bad commenters out of any. I wouldn't call those comments hate, but I have gotten a few that were pretty rude and/or backhanded. My guess is that I hit a particular unfulfilled niche with a long Maine-POV fic that happened to appeal to a particular kind of RvB fan, a kind who like Maine and like the fic but also felt the need to like, flex on me about it. Most of them have seemed not overly familiar with fandom etiquette and transformative fandom culture in general. Embarrassing for them tbh. I just ignore or delete them.

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

Whatever kind I feel like! Less in recent years perhaps, but that's less a lack of interest and more that I get bored easily if I feel like I'm writing something repetitive, and writing non-repetitive smut can be genuinely challenging! We only have so many words, descriptors, euphemisms, and slang terms that actually sound appealing when you're trying to write erotica, so I think writing good smut requires no small amount of creativity and resourcefulness, and I always admire those who do it well.

Bondage is a theme I've explored repeatedly. I would say that I enjoy writing established relationship smut the most because it can be assumed that the characters already know each other's likes and dislikes. But first-times can be fun too. I think I most enjoy writing smut between characters who trust each other and have a high level of emotional intimacy, whatever the specific activities involved might be.

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

To be honest I'm just not really a crossover person. I can find the idea of a crossover interesting, but at the end of the day I just don't enjoy transplanting characters out of their home setting as much as I enjoy exploring who they are within that setting and how it's shaped them.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. I had a kink meme fill straight up plagiarized once, very obviously, such that when I took it to the mods it was an open and shut takedown.

I've also had less cut and dry incidents, and those are much harder to know how to deal with. I have had people basically rewrite a scene that I wrote, using pieces of the same dialogue, almost as if they thought we were both interpreting a scene from canon when we were not, it was something that I had made up. And yet it's not really plagiarism strictly speaking, and it wasn't worth the social fallout of calling them out on it, so I never did more than grumble vaguely about what happened. I've also had things where like... I ran across something pretty distinctly inspired by a fic of mine that I know the author had read, without bothering to give me a shoutout. That's not theft, but it is a bummer.

In every such case if the author had just asked me, "Hey, can I borrow your idea here? Can I post a remix of your fic?" I probably would have said yes without hesitation. Hell, even if they had not asked and simply given me a shoutout in their author's notes, I would have been pleased to have inspired them. But they didn't do that, and there's nothing I can do about it but I am going to be cranky about it.

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

I did have someone ask about translating a fic of mine once, and I gave permission, but I never heard back after that, so I don't know if they ever did. (This is something I have blanket permission for, by the way, so long as you let me know about it!)

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

Sort of? A friend and I did post a polished-up RP as a fic once, though we ended up not keeping it up. In general I think I'm a pretty solitary writer, though I wouldn't rule it out entirely, but I'd have to really feel that both my style and my writing process meshed well with my collaborator.

14. what’s your all-time favorite ship?

I'm too much of a multi-shipper to have a real answer to this.

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

If I want on any level to finish it, then I consider it still on the table. It might take me years to get back to it, but I still mean to. I still want to finish Small Blessings. I still want to finish Radio Silence. I trust that their time will come, even if it's not now.

16. what are your writing strengths?

Character voice, I think. Both dialogue, and getting inside a character's head and writing a plausible inner monologue.

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Combat, always combat and action scenes, though I do think I'm getting better with practice.

Selfishness. As soon as I need to write something as an obligation to someone else, I don't want to do it, which is why I'd make a terrible professional writer, at least one who has to write to order.

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Just write it. You don't have to italicize it or put some kind of indicator marks around it. Language is language. I think it's fine to post translations as a footnote but I don't think it's 100% necessary all the time, when it's something the reader can easily look up for themselves. I know I'm willing to do that kind of legwork for a fic I'm enjoying. I suppose it depends on the reader, and what kind of reader you want.

There are also times when it's perfectly fine to just write it in English (or the default language of the piece) while indicating in the narrative that the character is actually speaking in another language, such as ASL. Again I don't think you need to italicize or use some kind of weird formatting. Just write "He signed," and what he said in quotes like you would any other dialogue. If you've firmly established already that a character primarily speaks in ASL, you might not even need that. The reader can keep up.

Things do shift a bit when you're writing in a fictional language, especially one that's very incomplete and not a true conlang. I'll go with the obvious example of Dragon Age's Elvish (and yes, canonically the language is called Elvish or Elven, it's not called Elvhen, that's the people, not the language). Even if I string the appropriate words together, the meaning might not always be strictly clear to the reader out of context because Elvish is a pretty simple cipher. It doesn't have conjugation, for example. Nonetheless, I think often context clues can be enough for an engaged reader, especially if it's a word we encounter a lot in canon. Where it might not be clear, and if it's very important to the story, I will usually simply work some kind of translation into the narrative itself. This can work particularly well when your POV character also has it as a second language. Example from my Briala/f!Tabris draft:

Gheyna and Cammen, having finished tending to the halla, stood aside, hand in hand, and Gheyna waved. "Dareth shiral, Keeper. Talith, Briala, dareth shiral. Sylaise ma ghilana vhenas." Cammen added solemnly, "Dareth shiral, Talith. Elgar'nan ma ghilana, lasa mala enasalin." At that, Talith's expression grew solemn as well. "Ma serannas, lethallen. Dareth shiral." Briala recognized a few words. Dareth shiral, "Safe journey." Vhenas, enasalin. And the names of the elven gods. Gheyna had bid the Hearthkeeper guide them safely home.

I personally prefer to stick to what we have in canon for Elvish (I'm not going to set myself up to be jossed if I don't have to), or if I ever really need an unknown word I'll make something up for myself. While there are some fanmade Elvish dictionaries out there, I'm not comfortable hanging too much of my own work on someone else's fanon, and also I inevitably disagree with some of their decisions on ambiguous canon words. (Ma does not mean "my," it means "you." This is consistent with every canon use of "ma" except one, and that one is in DA2 and is thus really, really likely to have been an oversight due to rushed development; every other instance of "ma" supports it meaning "you." Sorry, that has been eating at me for ages and I needed to get it off my chest. 😅) That said there are multiple fanmade Elvish dictionaries out there at this point, so if you're going to use someone else's, in this case I would strongly recommend supplying the reader with a link, both to credit the author and so the reader knows where to go to look up the words if they choose to. Don't assume that everyone knows you're using so-and-so's Elvish dictionary; I had never even heard of the big popular one until a couple years ago.

That was a lot, but at the end of the day, it's all about making a judgment call on how much you need to hold the reader's hand, as with anything; I personally tend to err on the side of trusting my reader, and if I assumed too much, well, maybe that's my mistake and maybe that reader wasn't my target audience anyway. 🤷🏻‍♀️ You'll figure out what's right for your work.

19. first fandom you wrote for?

The first fandom I wrote for was actually Dragon Age, but that early writing never saw the light of day. First fandom I posted fic for was Fallout.

20. favorite fic you’ve ever written?

OH MAN. That's hard! I referenced The Drop, my Mainelina trilogy for RvB, multiple times in this post so obviously I'm still pretty fond of it. I'll add to that Inroads, my Kimbalina series. For Fallout, I'm real happy with Home Front (Amata/F!LW) and Cast Your Bread Upon the Water (Dr. Li/Star Paladin Cross, past Dr. Li/Catherine/James). And for Dragon Age, my current faves are No Woman Rules Alone (Anora/F!Tabris) and A Pot to Piss In (Sera backstory fic).

[bewareofitalics]

I saw Ragtime last night! And maybe rereading the book first was a bad decision, because it made the show seem... kind of silly. It's so simplified and sanitized. I kept giggling to myself about how Ragtime vs. The Lion King was seen as this existential battle for the soul of Broadway when so much of Ragtime felt like a Disney adaptation. Like I could totally see the scene where Mother's Younger Brother meets Evelyn Nesbit being done by talking mice. Which, understatement of the year, is very much not the case for the corresponding scene in the book. But of course then there are things like "Your Daddy's Son."

I wasn't a huge fan of Ragtime to begin with - always liked it, never loved it. I was going to say that it's probably in my top 100 musicals, but I scrolled through my iPod and found 121 shows (or at least scores) that I definitely like more, so there you go. (There are probably more than 121, but if I had to think about it for more than a second, I didn't count it and just kept scrolling.) Even just in the Ahrens and Flaherty oeuvre, it's solidly behind Once on This Island, A Man of No Importance, and Lucky Stiff. Maybe also Dessa Rose? But I got the album near the beginning of my musical obsession, when my collection was vastly smaller, so I did listen to it a lot and I still know the score pretty well despite not having listened to it in... a few years, probably. I got a ticket to this production largely because the City Center Access Club expanded their age range to forty, and for $28, might as well!

But also because the cast looked good. And it was good! I was disappointed when Joy Woods dropped out, but Nichelle Lewis really impressed me. Joshua Henry... I was really hoping this show would finally make me love him, but it didn't. Like, he's obviously a great singer! But there's nothing distinctive about his voice to me. I probably couldn't pick it out of a line-up (unless everyone else in it was more distinctive). And he has this weird posture when he sings that always reminds me that I'm watching an actor rather than a character. I dunno, maybe I just haven't forgiven him for not being nearly as good as Michael McElroy in Violet. And speaking of people who weren't nearly as good in Violet as the person who originally played the role, Colin Donnell! I was worried his particular brand of smug would come across as too modern, but he worked very well. I do think the staging let him down at one point, when Father comes home from the Arctic. One of my memories from the tour in 2000 was how he burst into the house, and here he just kinda walked in casually. I thought it was weird that Mother and Younger Brother were both played by obviously Jewish actors - was the director trying to Say Something? were they supposed to secretly have Jewish heritage and that's why Mother was drawn to Tateh? - but Caissie Levy and Ben Levi Ross were great. So were Shaina Taub and Brandon Uranowitz as Jews playing Jews! I still feel weirdly proud of Uranowitz, after seeing him do Twelfth Night and Measure for Measure Off-Off-Broadway in 2009. (I actually auditioned for the latter. Didn't even get called back, hmph.) He's come so far!!!!

I noticed a plot inconsistency: in "Nothing Like the City," the Little Boy says, "Everyone has a name, even the little Negro baby who lives in our attic," but at that point, even if Sarah had named her baby, the Boy wouldn't know that. Coalhouse hadn't even shown up at the house yet! In the book, it's unclear how long the baby remains unnamed, but the reader at least only learns the name in the very last pages. Tsk tsk, Lynn Ahrens! Unless that's supposed to be another moment of the Boy being psychic, I guess?

...huh, I looked up Ragtime in ljArchive to see if I'd said anything about it before, and apparently this was actually the third time I read the book. The second time was in 2009, shortly before the Broadway revival (which I didn't see). Looks like I liked it more then, but some things are eternal:

I'd forgotten that there are no quotation marks. I hate books with no quotation marks. It makes everything seem so flat. But other than that, I'm enjoying it. Picking out the lines that made it into lyrics, snerking/pouting at how certain things were glossed over for the show, wondering if teachers ever make students write essays about the symbolism of Houdini always being dressed inappropriately for the weather, etc. I'm currently at what became "Our Children." IT WOULD BE REALLY NICE IF THERE WERE QUOTATION MARKS.

[vampelune]

new year new... idk

haven't made a proper new years post in a while. i think this year kinda earned one.

tw: death, suicide, and so on

so... 2023.

where do i start?

a lot of good. and way, way more bad. but i don't want to lose sight of all the good because of it.

for the first time after knowing these guys for over a decade, i met my best friends nate, kathy, and kai in real life. spent over a week together with them, went to a con, got to share a bed with them the whole time, and force nate to eat a bunch of american food.

but. a month later, kai killed herself. and i'm still dealing with that. probably will be for the rest of my life. she was my best friend, i would call her my soulmate, my sister. she meant the world to me. i wish i could've spent every day of the rest of our lives like we spent that week in DC. i regret all the things i didn't do yet with her. all the things i couldn't do for her, to help her.

i miss her. a lot. i've just gotten to point finally, after she passed on aug 28, where just the thought of her doesn't make me spiral into misery and cut myself. i still get the feeling sometimes---i travelled again for the first time since our trip to DC, to see my childhood best friend graduate, and the entire plane ride was miserable. i just thought of her the whole time, because the last time i'd been on a plane was to see her, and then to leave her. and i kept thinking about how much i fucking wished i could've taken her back to vegas with me. she joked about it, when they dropped me off the airport, got out of the car and pretended like she was leaving with me. i wish she could have.

she made the year really stressful. from her new relationship to the constant troubles that came with it, to her psych ward visit, and then her constant attempts. over and over. and i had to keep stopping her, fighting with her. found out her whole philosophy on suicide---that it's her body her choice, and therefore anyone not wanting her to kill herself is being selfish, and that it was just a difference in philosophy. it was difficult. the conversations i had with her, i didn't want anyone else to hear. unfortunately it all spilled out, and then she took her own life.

i would've dealt with that for the rest of our lives if i had to, though. if it meant i could still talk to her, to see her again. i would've foiled her suicide attempts and argued with her and fought with her about it until we both grew old if i had to. i wouldn't have had to, i hope. but it was hard to convince her that there was any life to live other than this, for her. that she wouldn't feel this way forever.

it was a difficult year, if not for that already, but on top of that i was still dealing with the aftermath of a bad, drawn out breakup. so while trying to help her, i was barely able to help myself cope and move on from that---the fights and the shitty words and feelings. i felt pretty close to trying to attempt myself, last year. i'm better now. back on my medication. and while my self-harm is still an issue, it hasn't been for a couple months. its still on my mind, though. not always but a lot of the time.

i've been struggling pretty badly with feeling like i don't have a place in the world. worsened by the obvious, you know. i place a lot of my self and identity on the people around me---so who am i if not his boyfriend, if not kai's best friend? so much of my self-perception revolved around them.

there was a good month or two where i sort of just like... didn't want to exist, or accomplish anything. it's hard to describe but i felt like---why bother with transitioning? why bother with top surgery? HRT? legal documents? all that? if she's not here. i was her best friend, and she was always so proud and happy for me when i made progress---when i started growing a stache, she'd point it out everytime we video called and say "ooh, you look like a man, so handsome", or the more common, "you look like a fag". when my voice started dropping a bit, she noticed. it dropped even more this past month. i wish she could hear it.

this is certainly nsfw, but it makes sense in the context of our relationship (she was always very openly sexual around me, and vice versa. it was just part of our dynamic), but when we met up in july, i let her do... a lot of things lol. including suck on my nipple. which, yea, sounds weird, but it made sense for us. i told her now she had to live long enough to see me get top surgery, so she could test out if i still had enough feeling in my nipples. she said she would. so, for a while after she died, i felt like... i can't? or, why should i? if she won't be there, for me. if she won't be there to see my results.

it's really hard, thinking things like that. i'm struggling to not start crying right now. which is a miracle, honestly, i haven't been able to cry as much since i started T and yet because of her i've cried more in the past few months than i have in the year and a half since i started T.

i really miss her. i wish we could've done more, together. the week i spent with her felt like what i'd wanted my life with her to be for years. nearly a decade. you know, you grow up a mentally ill teen on the internet with all your most important friendships being these long distance people you've never met irl, and you talk and talk about what your life could be if you all lived nearby. and then for one week, that's what my life was. and i've never been happier in my life, genuinely. i wanted that to be my life, forever. it felt so comfortable and easy; i've notoriously had some bad anxiety issues about meeting up irl with people for the first time, i sort of shut down and go non-verbal, struggle to socialize or talk. but with her, kathy, and nate---i felt none of that. none of it. everything was so easy. i wasn't anxious or scared or anything.

i loved being with them. i loved doing mundane things like shopping at walmart and target with them while they pushed me around in the shopping cart. loved going to hot topic and picking out clothes with them. loved seeing the barbie movie in theaters opening week with them. going to a convention with them, something id' wanted for so long, because conventions are such a big part of my life and all i'd ever wanted was to share it with them. we cosplayed together. i put kai in my mikan cosplay, it fit her so well. when we went to the danganronpa meetup at otakon, she fit the part so easily even though she was kinda nervous. i still look at the pictures.

she really was a perfect mikan. nate was junko, you can see him on the right there, i was komaeda, and kathy was chiaki. it fit us all so well. i wish we could do it again.

it's been hard to wear my mikan cosplay again, after that. knowing she wore it.

i miss her a lot. but i'd be remiss to not mention that despite how awful this year was, i am hoping for a lot better in the upcoming one, and i'm going to make it so. and i know last time ifelt this way, a pandemic suddenly happened and things got worse, but i'm really gonna try, lol.

so what do i hope for, this year?

i'm going to see kathy & nate again, mark my words. i already have plans to see kathy in february and i'm going to enjoy myself the best of my ability, even if it'll be hard to be in her house again, considering the last time i was was when kai was there, too.

i want to get my passion for art back, and i think i'm already on my way to it. i want to get back into painting, both digitally and physically. and to draw with emotion rather than the intention to just make something pretty people will like.

back to the gym. rather stereotypical, but i gained a lot of weight after kai passed, and i want to get back in shape now.

drawing more things im passionate about rather than making myself stuck fixated on one interest.

top surgery. i wanna figure it out. even if i cant get it this year, i want to figure out what i need to do it.

a job hopefully. of some kind. just want to feel more stable money-wise if i can.

im just going to do things that ive wanted to do for a long time. im gonna stop putting it off. and just do it. because the time will pass anyways. so i want to do it now.

happy new year, everyone.

[paytato435]

About My Blog: 5/27/2024

Hey friends, it's been a minute! I feel like most of the people who look at my ROTTMNT stuff may already know this, but I thought I'd put this post out here just for anyone new who finds this blog or maybe just didn't know. I've taken a big break from doing anything TMNT related for the last few months, and I thought I'd just take a little time to talk about why.

To make a long story short, my silly little ADHD brain has moved onto a new hobby that now takes up all my free time. I'm in a band now!

And the rest of the story goes like this: You may have noticed I've started posting about and reblogging Waterparks and MCR stuff- they've inspired me to start writing my own music. It's really exciting because I've told myself all my life that making/playing music just isn't really something I could do for whatever reason, but I've decided that was silly and now I'm nearly four months into learning to play the guitar and it's actually really fucking fun. You can follow my silly little music journey over on my band's blog: Tornado Season.

As for my fic Snapper and Stinkpot, it doesn't feel right to abandon it. I do really want to finish it at some point, but it's going to take a lot of work to get there that I just don't think I can invest in right now. There are some major wrinkles I need to iron out even if I did drop everything I am already doing with music. That being said, I will probably have to write an ending to it at some point, because I really am proud of the story I have and I think it deserves the same love and attention I gave it almost a year ago now.

Finally, to the TMNT fandom itself: I'm over it, to be honest. I love the turtles, but the fixation I had on them has long since subsided. It's just how my brain goes, I guess. I haven't watched ROTTMNT in months, and I haven't drawn anything related to it in a hot minute either. I'm ready to move onto something new.

Thank you so much to everyone I've had the pleasure of interacting with in the ROTTMNT community! You all are so wonderful and inspiring to be around. I came to Tumblr looking for a more positive social media experience, and this honestly turned out to be such a wonderful and uplifting change in my life. I am a happier, healthier, and more motivated person because of you all.

Finally, I want to give a special thank you to my friends @randyzorra, @friskebits, @allyheart707, @karonkar, and @dluebirb. Just because we have one less thing in common now doesn't mean I don't still appreciate the shit out of all of you. I'll be around. <3

And thanks to anyone who read this far or just like... liked any of my stuff on here in general. You're a fuckin' trooper. Have a beautiful today, tomorrow, and next one. o7

[southaway]

Hi! I just found your corrupted elven ringbearers and just wanted to say how much I love them! The Círdan and Elrond designs are giving me life, I want to eat them<3

Do you have any more info on that au you're willing to share? Perfectly fine if not, I'm just curious and your art scratches my brain in the best way<3

Hey, thanks for the ask, I'm always happy to answer questions about my art!

( I realized after I wrote this up how long this ended up being, sorry in advance)

I wish I had an interesting answer here, but honestly, I haven't thought it out too much. I was rereading the books last year and the idea of the Elven Ring bearers having to keep the rings hidden so they didn't fall under Sauron's thrall kind of stuck with me. I thought it'd be fun to play with what that could look like.

I'm not much of a writer, unfortunately, and I haven't thought too much about it besides some of the aesthetic choices I made. I can talk about the design decisions I made, if that's worth anything.

Galadriel is probably the most basic in concept for me, I wanted to play visually with being underwater and being kind of distant and above everything. The eyes were an attempt to play with idea of foresight

For Olorin I was thinking that everything that was Gandalf was burned away and kind of playing with a Balrog theme. I think as a Maia he's the most dangerous and the most powerful of the group. We see in the books Gandalf is definitely very proud, he knows how powerful and intelligent he is, you could potentially end up with another Sauron

For Cirdan I just had this thought of burning from inside. He's put up with so much, accepted so much pain and grief and disappointment that I feel like that would be the source of the flame, that it would just burst out. And then I kind of went with a dragon theme to match the Balrog theme (Olorin was drawn first)

Elrond was the first I conceptualized and the first I drew. The idea of the wings were what sparked everything. His mother got wings so he gets them, but more. Biblically accurate Elrond. I just wanted to kind of mess with the themes I always do with him so stars, and blues. But now instead of being a show of his lineage it's the void consuming him. Really wanted to play into the Eldritch Peredhel concept I've seen bounce around tumblr

And this final one is a bit of a spoiler. It's going up tomorrow, but I'm sure with the inclusion of Cirdan, Gil Galad isn't a suprise.

For Gil-Galad I wanted to play with the concept of air in a different way. He's dead, he's barely there. Just a memory of what was, twisted.

This ended up being WAY longer than I meant! I think a lot about design choices when I'm drawing, but don't usually end up saying much about them when I post. It was fun to talk about it!

If anyone has any other thoughts or additions to the AU I'd love to hear or see it!

[sparkchemy]

3, 17, 28 and 31 for the artist asks please! <3

3. your favorite piece(s)?

The last 2 pieces I posted, I'm very proud of them. 🥰

17. what is something you're confident about in your art?

I'm pretty confident about drawing humans, since it's pretty much the only thing I draw. xD I've always been good at lighting a piece too, especially in b&w.

28. what's a piece you would like to redraw at some point?

I can't think of anything I'd want to redraw a second time (blame the adhd) but there's a few WIPs that were too ambitious for me at the time that I'd like to redraw (= try to fix) with new knowledge.

31. which fandom have you drawn the most for?

I've been in too many fandoms to count but I honestly don't know which one I've drawn the most. In recent years it's probably FF16 (which I unfortunately haven't posted on Tumblr much at all, but I've drawn A LOT). If we're counting way way back, it's absolutely DBZ, because I've been obsessed with it as a kid. xD

Thank you for asking 🫶

[amalgamgooze]

old home movie camera

Today I went thrifting with a friend.

They got a whole bunch of clothes and stuff (cost ~$70, apparently valued at >$200), while I bought just one thing--a bag with an old video camera (cost $7).

I know. A steal, right? At seven bucks, I couldn't just pass this up. If it didn't work, so be it. But if it does...

This bag came with a camera, two batteries, a charger dock for the batteries, and a bunch of old cassettes apparently with film on them.

Now, as anyone would be, they'd be a little cautious with the tapes they got from someone else. They could be anything--even something that might not exactly be "Rated for All Audiences".

...

After charging the battery for a bit, I boot up the camera and look through the lens.

It's really interesting--there's no screen that pops out on the side or anything. The feed is all through this weird lens--both recording and playback.

I look around my room a bit, loving every moment of that before-my-time washed tint shading the view of my familiar room.

Then, I load one of the cassettes in and start playback.

I was prepared for anything...

...and I got nothing but a video of a child scooting around on one of those toys that toddlers sit on and scoot. (ChatGPT isn't helping me too much with putting a real name to this toy--it's just calling it a 'scoot toy'.)

Fascinating.

I would've kept watching, but as old technology tends to do, it died quickly thanks to the not-fully-charged battery.

But as the battery died, I saw that "no battery" indicator that I'd seen on media that tries to be nostalgic.

It was honestly kind of bizarre.

I'm holding this real contraption from the past in my hands.

I'm getting a glimpse into someone else's life, whether they meant to offer the tapes up or not.

Obviously, I'm not going to be creepy about it.

It's just fascinating that the child scooting around on the toy is probably all grown up now, and might even have kids of their own.

Like, that person lived a whole childhood since they starred in the video I'd just watched.

They've experienced the same global events I've experienced--and more.

Hell, they were probably alive when the towers fell!

And all I've got of them right now is a momentary glimpse into their childhood...

But there's also a person behind the camera!

Possibly the same one I hold now!

The first child often gets the most video taken of them--

was this a new proud parent who's recording their kid to immortalize these little moments of childlike innocence? Had they just bought this camera and their kid was the first subject they could think of recording?

Is someone missing these tapes? Had they accidently discarded them alongside this outdated camera, or was it all intentional?

So much mystery.

So much allure.

...

And then comes the ability to view MY OWN baby videos too.

We've had a box of unviewable cassettes from the bygone era of my innocence. I've been dying to watch them, but we haven't really had anything that could play cassettes...

until now.

...

In the twilight of my own "childhood/teen years", it's almost poetic to find this old technology that once represented the dawn of a new era--a revolution in memory capturing technology.

And now it's all but faded into obscurity.

Only weird freaks like myself find any meaning in outdated "Video 8 Handycam" tech.

...

It's all just so fascinating, no?

Tell me that you wouldn't be drawn in by the allure of a glimpse into someone else's valued memories?

Someone else's life?

Someone else's story?

...

On some level it's just self-referential.

You all are tuning in to some infinitesimal fragment of my life story...

...which now involves tuning into an infinitesimal fragment of someone else's life story.