#i learned about it from one of my favorite artists posting fanart about it

[inkedinshadows]

Answer and then tag three or more creators to keep the game going!

Thank you so much @velarisdusk for the tag! 🫶🏻

1. How many words did you publish on AO3 in 2024?

I don't have anything published on AO3 simply because I still don't know how to use it even though I do have an account. But here on tumblr, it's 92.878

2. How many fics did you complete this year?

49! I've never counted them before and never realized just how many they were omg

3. How many in progress or ongoing fics did you start this year?

Ongoing only Bound By Secrets. In progress apparently 10? I thought I had 3 WIPs. I completely forgot about the other 7 lol

4. What was your favorite thing you wrote?

UGH how do I choose one? A Helping Hand has a special place in my heart because it's the first fic I wrote and posted. Night and Days is one of my favorites because I love the banter between Azriel and reader, and I also have to mention Say My Name because omg I loved writing that one and I know I might be biased but I was giggling and kicking my feet while writing.

5. What piece was your most experimental or different from your usual style?

I'd say the first few things I wrote rather than one in particular for the simple reason that in Italian I tend to write very long sentences because it's normal, but in English sentences are usually shorter so it took a bit to get into that mindset. As for experimental, I'm trying to write a fic from two povs at the same time, sort of like an omniscient narrator. We'll see how it turns out.

6. Did any fics surprise you - either while writing or their reception?

Many fics surprise me while writing because I don't plan them out that much other than a few things I want to happen and then I see where the story leads me. As for reception, Bound by Secrets. I didn't expect so many people asking for a part 2! (I'll write it, I promise)

7. Do you have a fic you wrote and loved that went under the radar? (This is your sign to reblog/repost it!)

The Path To Healing and on a happier (and smutty) note Alcohol and Giggles. I cried writing the first one and laughed writing the second one.

8. Who is an artist that inspired you?

I love every single fanart by madschofield and elizianna.the.one!

9. Who is an author that inspired you?

@writingcroissant was the first author I found on here, the literal reason I created an account was to read her fics, and @illyrianbitch was the second. I love everything they write and it made me want to write again.

10. Who is a new author you discovered?

@shedoessoshedoes and @duskandcobalt! I'm going to read all of your fics so don't be surprised if you see me in your notifications for the next few weeks 🥰

11. Did you do any collaborations? How did it start

Nope, no collaborations.

12. What accomplishments are you proudest of?

Kinktober! I decided to do it two weeks before it started and didn't think I'd be able to write all 31 one fics but I did it!

13. What did you learn about writing or creating this year?

When I started posting, I kept opening tumblr every five minutes to see if there were any new notes/comments/etc. Now I don't do that anymore. I still care about people enjoying my content of course and any kind of feedback is always super appreciated, but I don't need to continuously check to know that my writing is valid and good even if I get only a few likes.

14. What is your advice?

I'm the wrong person to ask this to, but I guess write what you like and what you want to read. I know it's basic, but never before I realized just how true it is. Feedback and appreciation for your work is awesome, but you have to be the first one to like it or it's probably going to turn out bland if you push yourself to write something you don't like or are not interested in.

15. What are your creative goals for 2025?

Finish working on all those WIPs apparently lol. And I have an idea for a series that I want to work on as well.

No pressure of course, but if you'd like to @azrielslittleslut @anarchiii @shedoessoshedoes or anyone else who wants to do it!

[nejackdaw]

Keep thinking about Dungeon Meshi not bc I know anything about it but bc of what I've seen on my for you. Like. I thought Laios was gonna be the cook because he wants to eat all the monsters but I guess that's Senshi??? He really wants to eat a specific soup again and sometimes he has horns and sometimes he doesn't (this is usually tagged "halfling" what is he. I thought he was a goat man. But sometimes he isn't??? Are the horns fake) There's an elf lady and I can never remember her name but she's gay with Laios's sister and always seems annoyed with him but in a hater friends kind of way. Speaking of haters my fucking favorite is the cabbage patch kid that's actually a divorced 47 year old father of three. He's the party rogue and every gene in his body is the Hater Gene. Laios and his sister get turned into birds but then un-birded and this fixes her shitty eyes. I am experiencing this manga/show through random posts on Tumblr and it's delightful. I think I should watch it

Edit: oh my god the horns are just on his hat. Except I forgot he wears a hat so they just got put on his head in my brain. Nvm I've connected the dots

[alllgator-blood]

got back from my 2nd show rlly tired and i see one of my favorite artists have posted?? thanks, this will fuel me for my show tomorrow

hope your vacation went well and wish you a full recovery from the chaos in your life :DDD

Rest well tonight and I wish you luck on your show tomorrow, if you've already done two of them I know you're gonna kill it on the third one!! I can't say I know much about musicals if that's what you're referring to, but I used to do concerts (was a violinist/pianist/harp player in school) and the last show is generally the easiest imo- you've already learned from the last performances what works/doesn't work and you know the end is coming up so it feels less stressful than the previous ones. You can just put your all into it, pass out that night and wake up the next day knowing the hard part is over!

I haven't been able to draw much new art because things keep getting crazier over here but the vacation WAS pretty sweet and I DID start a comic the other day to keep me from losing my shit during the storm. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MUSICALS BUT IF MY UNRELATED, UNFINISHED FANART CAN IN ANY WAY BRING YOU JOY, THAT'S ALL I COULD WANT TBH

I did the lines for this but the power grid went out and they are gone now......which is the funniest possible way I could've lost art progress on a tornado comic tbh

[twilightarc-gm]

ao3 Wrapped 2024 - twilightarc

Instead of an ask game I decided to just answer the questions on the sourced post that I can answer for my own benefit and fun.

How many words have you written this year? Ao3 Published: 310,834

How many works did you publish this year? 7 Complete / 13 Total

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Always 'mainfic' i.e. This River Runs Beyond Heaven and Earth [江流天地外] I put so much work into it for fanfic. Why? I got mental health issues, I guess.

What work of yours has the most hits? I Long For You (相思) Hits: 5,311

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? Damn your love, damn your lies. Everyone is VERY VOCAL (affectionate) about Jiang Cheng being in a loveless marriage and needing a divorce pronto. 🥰

Favorite title you used Again, mainfic's title taken from a poem and has a wealth of description to it that really sets the tone for the entire story. Never gonna top that.

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? "damn your love, damn your lies" is the only song title and it's from Fleetwood Mac - The Chain

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? CHENGXIAN to no one's surprise...

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Obviously this is also ChengXian but only because I haven't actually got to Jiang Cheng/Hu Touxiang(OC) this year.

What work was the quickest to write? To Endeavor is to Endure (4,331 words) This was a prompt fill, I did it in like two days ish.

What work took you the longest to write? Of the complete works: The BigBang2024 entry I ended up doing as a series with my co-author Specs. It took 6 months to write. YM3 Gen fic with MSY worldbuilding 🤲 Reprieve and a New Start and The Turning Point

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? 19!

What’s your longest work of the year? My most viewed work this year! I Long For You @ (45,781 words)

What’s your shortest work of the year? The prompt one-shot which is my 'quickest' (4,331 words)

What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? Not counting the "structural tags" of my "flavor" tags it's: Protective Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian (3) 🥰

Your favorite character to write this year? Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin (9)!!

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? 😣 LWJ in divorce fic. I hate writing him. It was really hard to convey his own issues and insecurities while not making him say too much or explain himself too readily.

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? Jiang Cheng/Hu Touxiang!!! No more posting WIPs for me in 2025 I need to buckle down to get mainfic really going!

Which work of yours have you reread the most? 😅 If not mainfic then Red Tin of Heresy because I dunno what's going on with the vibes on that one but I keep rereading hoping I'll learn something from the demon that possessed me.

How many kudos in total did you get this year? Kudos: 1,050 !! And that's with works locked down which is really nice for me because I got more kudos the year I only posted 5 works when I left things unlocked.

Which work has the most comments?

Did you do any collaborative works this year? Yes! For BigBang 2024 with my friend Specs😘 and the divorce fic with/for @spriteofmushrooms. Oh! and CX Zine 2024 fic with @kabybaali who came up with the idea and wonderful art!

Did you write any gifts this year? Three!!

Did you receive any gifts this year? Five! From @groundwiremantaray Mission: Survive the Date (T rated chengxian SpyxFamily AU, very cute!) and from Specs Still Sparkling in the Night (T rated chengxian with Chinese Mythology!). Also a beautiful art gift scaly sweetheart by sugar_shoal and @notluceo fanart of Cheng-lang and Ya-Xian!! AND a beautiful gifset from @add1ctedt0you for one of my first one-shots Of Summer and Smiles

What’s your most common category? M/M (5)

What do you listen to while writing? Usually something wordless like industrial techno on loop.

Favorite work you wrote this year? Of the complete stuff: I Long For You, I really enjoyed writing the sex scene in that one because it was a lot of ebb and flow and from top!JC's pov.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Not doing the last two because of recency bias 🤣 like hell I can remember something like that to compare over an entire year!

[drill-teeth-art]

A late night, slight retrospective on the tiny amount of Tumblr fame I've gathered that also might be slightly annoying for my audience to read so feel free to skip it if you want.

I started sharing Transformers fanart on here back in 2022, around October. I had been posting art on here for a while before actually but people really started following me and asking about my work and actually reblogging my stuff when I started posting Transformers fanart in 2022. I was in a really low place then, and I really welcomed the attention. My art was and still is something I take a lot of pride in. It's my own. There's quite a few years of my life where the fact I could still draw was the only thing stopping me from attempting suicide. It's something that has always meant a lot to me, so the attention on one of the only things I really liked about myself was nice. It was nice for a while.

But I've gotta say the slight Tumblr fame (and I do mean slight, I've only got around 3k followers which is a lot of people and more than I ever thought I'd have following me and more than a lot of folks will ever have but not like A Ton Of Fame) has wreaked havoc on my mental health. Which is already pretty rough as is. Suddenly I wasn't just some guy making Transformers fanart while desperately saving up to get out of my parents' house. Suddenly I was some people's FAVORITE Transformers artist. Suddenly I was a role model to people and I had people in my DMs clambering for my attention and I had an audience that would cheer or boo or go awkwardly silent at my every post depending on how much they liked it. And it was Not Good For Me. I had and still do have people all over my inbox, excited about how I drew fat and disabled and trans characters asking me over and over to draw some specific representation that I don't want to draw right away. I had and still have people begging me to draw their favorite Transformers character who I happen to not really care about and not want to draw at all. And I am painfully aware how often people take personal offense to my polite "no I'm not drawing that unless it's a commission" and my not answering their ask because I'm not in the mood. I've had people send in asks asking for a specific drawing and then follow up asks when I don't answer in a timely manner. And it's really uncomfortable! And it's almost more uncomfortable that it feels like a lot of people don't even notice that they're making me uncomfortable.

And I like learning how to draw bodies I've never drawn before. I like looking at a character who I think is meh and being like "well actually how can I make them interesting to me...". But it really felt and still feels like my art was getting away from me, like I was drawing more what people were asking me to make instead of what I wanted to because people would take it so badly when I'd say no. I was getting commissions though and I was saving up money to move out so I ignored that bad feeling of getting distanced from my own craft because I was trying so hard to save money and I was actually making some. And I still wanted the attention. Plenty of people were still kind to me despite everything.

Things got weirder for me after I released my Good Bi Gender comic. Which I do still recommend people read I think it's some of my best work. But that comic became a huge hit. And it made things really complicated for a while. I got anon hate. I was told to kill myself by strangers online more than once while I was already deeply suicidal. Something I thought I stated very clearly in the comic itself, that I didn't want strangers calling me "she" though I did and do let my close trusted people call me "she", was immediately ignored by my regular audience and people reading the comic. I got a lot of "you go girl!" kind of messages in response to my comic, and I didn't say anything at the time but it made me deeply uncomfortable. The comic was partly about how the she/her part of my identity is off limits to strangers. How I don't let just anyone she/her me because I work so hard to have the he/him aspect identity acknowledged at all. And it was like what Tumblr decided for me was to go against my wishes. Was to be like "we'll accept your identity for you!" when that's not what I wanted. I did NOT want to be she/her'd by thousands of strangers at the time. And though I'm grateful to have heard the understanding stories of other folks with nonbinary gender identities in the notes, it was deeply humiliating and invalidating to watch as others decided for me to accept the Girl part of my identity. The opening lines of the comic are explicitly a plea to the reader to listen and understand why they're not allowed to use she/her for me even though I'm opening up about the complexities of my identity.

And like. I don't care anymore if people online she/her me. At least I don't care right now that's why she/her is in my bio right now maybe I'll change that. But at the time it was awful. It was something I asked people not to do. And between that and the constant clambering for my attention from people I didn't want to talk to (because I was severely depressed and wasn't looking to make a ton of new friends) and the alienation from my own work I felt like shit. I felt like garbage. I still do. I hate my art sometimes. I really hate it. And for a while, I considered breaking my own fingers just so people would stop acting so entitled to my art and I would have a reason not to post. And honestly the only thing that stopped me was just trying to get by financially. Just watching my follower count and regular notes steadily trend upward so I could do more commissions so I could move out.

And doing things for the numbers, even for a relatively short time, only made things worse. It sounds a little silly even to me, but I get so stressed out when my posts flop, especially if it's art I was really proud of. I'm struggling to detangle my sense of worth in my art from the online numbers game. And I'm proud of the progress I'm making, but it does really suck and it's really hard. And I really wish I was still the same person back in early 2022 who could say "I don't care about the numbers!" and actually mean it because god I WISH I didn't care about the numbers now. Especially now. I dunno if it's me posting more art people don't wanna see or people leaving Tumblr or a shift in the culture of Tumblr but fewer and fewer people interact with my posts despite my follower count ticking up slowly but surely and it kind of bums me the fuck out. But. I am very proud of myself for still drawing the ocs that I want to draw even if they get less notes every time. And even if I'm slightly frustrated they get less notes every time.

I don't really have a neat bow to tie on my personal story right now. I'm still healing and sometimes I backslide and it's hard and it sucks. I don't want to sound ungrateful or to sound like I'm trying to shoo people off my blog because I'm not. I'm really grateful for the attention and interest and I'm not trying to turn people off my art blog. But it's been a rough few years on here. And don't be surprised if you see me take more and more breaks from this website. I do sincerely hope y'all will stick around and watch me continue to post whatever art and say kind things because I do appreciate that a lot. I'm trying really hard to mend my relationship with my own art. To not be so hard on myself. And for the record I don't want any asks telling me to take breaks when necessary or reminding me to draw for me. I appreciate the sentiment, but I already know all that and I personally don't find it helpful to be reminded of things I already know. But anyway. I hope that I will draw more and more of whatever I want to, even if that means I fade back into obscurity.

If you stuck around to read me reflect on the stresses and occasional humiliation of my small amount of online notoriety, then thank you. I appreciate that. And really I do like people looking at my art on here and sharing it and sending asks about my work. And the person I expect to be responsible for my mental health and how much social media is impacting it is Me first and foremost. But sometimes I think that it's important to remember there's a person behind your favorite art blog. And sometimes when you get swept up in parasocial attachment and hype, you kind of treat that person really fucking weirdly. And no that doesn't make you a bad person or a monster. But it does mean you have to learn to deal with it when someone who you might even idolize is like "back off me you're making me uncomfortable".

Anyway. I shouldn't be up as late as I am. A headache has been keeping me up all night. I'm gonna try to rest though. Goodnight.

[suzy-queued]

Art Tag

Thank you @deathclassic and @doshiart for tagging me!

How did you start drawing? What year was it that you become more seriously and consciously interested in it?

I always drew, and didn't think too hard about it. I chose art electives whenever I could in middle and high school. I specifically chose to NOT major in art in college because "I need a real career." Joke's on me ... I ended college with a degree in fine arts/illustration.

When you felt the urge to share your art with other people? When did you start posting your drawings on social media?

I shared art with friends pre-internet. We'd pass images around at slumber parties and draw art as gifts. I posted online for the first time in the late 90s, illustrations for horror stories that I drew.

Your first/earliest drawing. What were your impressions of it back then and what are your feelings now?

I was always meant to be an illustrator rather than a straight-up artist. Here is a book I created in 1981. I loved it! My spelling wasn't bad for being 6 years old.

Your first fanart ever 1986. This image from Poltergeist II. I flipped to the back page of my sketch book and drew it in secret.

Your first gallavich fanart Kinktober 2021. Charcoal and spray paint.

When you had bad days and things didn't work out, what inspired you to keep trying? I think it was the confidence instilled in me by a supportive family. I never felt like a bad day meant doom and gloom; it just meant things weren't working that day. I don't have qualms about throwing out a piece that isn't working and starting over.

Show your old piece that you strongly dislike and tell why. I don't hang on to pieces that I dislike. They've vanished in time.

Show your old piece that you very like and tell why. What's the difference with the previous? I drew this with colored pencils in 1988. I was proud of how closely it matched the album cover.

Show your old piece that you were very proud of back then. This is one of my first horror story illustrations, for "That Hell-Bound Train" by Robert Bloch.

Do you do any practice sketches or warm-ups before you draw something big? Sure! Here are a few.

Sketch vs Final. Show your process. This is from the Big Bang 2021, for Lem's story!

Your most recent drawing. (Everyone has seen this already -- LOL)

Give yourself some praise! Look at what improved in your art! Do I have to? I don't like to compliment myself because I'm still learning, even after all these years. I can draw more photographically now, but I was looser/freer in the past. Who's to say which is better?

Any advice you'd give to your earlier self? Never stop taking figure drawing classes!

Set a goal for yourself for the coming year. To not let the doubt creep in and keep pushing boundaries. To develop more of a personal style.

Tagging some of my favorite artists ... @deedala @michellemisfit (thinking of you babe!) @vintagelacerosette @darthvaders-wife @heymrspatel

@gallawitchxx @filorux @crossmydna

[chaifootsteps]

hey chai, long post incoming--i'm slowly chipping away at a draft of a vivzie drama masterpost i'll be phrasing as "why are people mad at vivziepop" for new-comers. i'll be including screenshots where i can and small summaries for things. that said, this is my rough list, have i missed anything that you can think of, or any specifics you think outta be mentioned?

VivziePop General Issues - Some from the Past that still happen in the Present

Inability to Handle Criticism / Confrontation

Transphobia

Misogynistic Tendencies

Issues with Improper Crediting / "Stealing" Ideas

Liking Tweets of Fans and Otherwise Who Agree with Her / Praise Her / Defend Her

Most of both her series’ “charm” is thanks to people other than her

Despite having two "LGBT+ friendly" series she primarily focuses on gay men and hasn't been the most LGBT+ friendly in other areas (acephobia, transphobia, lack of rep for queer women/wlw, thinks polyamory is just an excuse to cheat)

Conflicts between Vivzie putting forth an image of a struggling small-time creator who pulled herself up by the bootstraps and made it VS. circumstantial evidence that she is very well off financially and always has been; had her schooling paid for, spent a summer in Paris, takes expensive trips, makes expensive purchases, and lives in a million dollar house with multiple bedrooms and a pool

Testimonies of Ex-Employees and Friends

Erin Frost

KenDraws

Salem

VivziePop “Canon Events” of the Past and Present (20??-Present)

The Snake Tub & Creepy Fanart

Blaire White Fanart

Nazi Sausage Party Fan-Characters from blog “i-hate-jewce”

Starvader Drama

DollCreep / JayJay/Jiji Drama

Viv guilt-tripped a Patron for trying to get at least a partial refund for a financial emergency--many feel that while Viv was in the right for not wanting to refund the Patron, she handled it extremely poorly

Viv's 2018 "Apology"

Support of Angel Dust x Valentino as a “r*pe ships”

Her sister apologized on her behalf to someone she cyber bullied and her sister cited Viv as “having a problem” cyberbullying people. [Kedi's consequent reaching out to the sister having heard she was being a mediator for said person resulted in Viv saying Kedi was stalking her family.]

Viv kicking the original Hazbin Hotel pilot cast after saying she’d fight to keep them onboard [Michael has stated it was not a union issue and explained how he was even willing to shoulder the cost of having him on the show but was still let go.]

Viv saying redesigns are "disrespectful"

VivziePop Opinions of Other Artists

“I could destroy her” and everything else shitty she said about Kyra -- Kyra’s "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" comic & tweets People Suspect Are About Vivzie

Calling Tracy Annoying

Ashley (Creator of Far-Fetched)

- Viv wasn’t happy with Hunicast’s popularity (mainly run by Ashley) and was mad people were mistaking Ashley for the creator of Hazbin Hotel despite Ashley always making sure to correct people. - Viv learned something personal about Ashley that she used to make fun of her behind her back. - Allegedly one of the reasons Viv kicked most the original VA cast of Hazbin Hotel were due to them associating with Ashley. - Allegedly didn’t like that Ashley was leaving to work on her own indie pilot (Far-Fetched)

Bullying KediKatzen for having a similar art style, accusing Kedi of stalking her and her family, cyberbullying Kedi

SpindleHorse Related (VivziePop’s Animation Studio)

Rushed, Disorganized, Unprofessional Productions

Favoritism by Viv

“Cliquey” Behavior from Executives

Tight Deadlines

Underpaying

Working on other projects / working multiple jobs was generally frowned upon and discouraged.

In at least two instances Viv actually went out of her way to try and keep people from being hired elsewhere. - In one she told Ashley that Erin was "mentally unstable" - In another she told Nico Colaleo (Ollie & Scoops) not to hire “her artists” aka people working on her project(s).

VivziePop Criticisms Specific to Her Writing

Being Known to Skip Development to “Get to the Good Stuff”

Revealing / Confirming Story and World Lore via Liking Tweets, Making Tweets, or Behind a Patreon Paywall, instead of writing them into the series itself

Adding New Ideas Just Because She Likes Them, with Little Regard for how they Affect the Story

Rushing Characters’ Development and/or Retconning Characters to fit New Plots / Ideas

Apparent Lack of Research, Or At Least Poor Execution, of Her Ideas, Resulting in “Wasted Potential”

Concern over Mis-Management of “Morally Gray” and “Abusive” Character / Relationship Dynamics

Concern over apparent increasing themes of Inc*st in Helluva Boss

VivziePop Criticisms Specific to Her Art / Character Design

Over-Detailed Character Designs

Confusing Character Designs

Character Designs with Too Many Colors

Art style / designs that are “not animation friendly” --As well as her personal quality of art deteriorating over time

Animation is jittery, moving too much, or moving too fast

What Happened with Lackadaisy

VivziePop allegedly wanted to be on the Lackadaisy production in the past, but didn’t get hired

VivziePop has called Lackadaisy Creator Tracy “annoying” for “being active” in an animation channel on Discord

VivziePop tweeted a screenshot of a $5,000 Pledge to Lackadaisy’s backer-kit [which would’ve given Spindlehorse an Associate Producer’s credit on the future Lackadaisy productions]

Lackadaisy Crew Member ZeBirdBrain passive-aggresively replied that “since Medrano couldn’t be bothered to share the donation link, here it is!” And that money amount didn’t matter, every little bit counts.

It was revealed by SH Animator Mel in reply to ZeBirdBrain that the donation came from multiple team-members at SH (VivziePop did not mention this in her donation tweet.)

ZeBirdBrain deleted her original tweet.

ZeBirdBrain was harassed by VivziePop fans to be fired

Fans found tweets in ZeBirdBrain’s likes that appeared to be transphobic

One of ZeBirdBrain’s friends, a trans man, spoke up in defense of Ze, that Ze had known them since before their transition in 2013 and had been nothing but supportive.

Lackadaisy Co-Creator Fable, a trans masc, chimed in that they were made aware of the tweets, they looked into the matter, and were satisfied with the explanations they were given and hoped that would be enough for everyone.

[Fighting continued between fans and Lackadaisy crew members but the general consensus from the Lackadaisy crew seemed to be that they knew Ze to be a supportive ally, the liked tweets were a debated subject even in trans circles w/trans folk on both sides of the argument, Ze uses/used her likes as bookmarks rather than using the bookmark feature, and the reason Ze wasn’t saying all this herself was out of fear the rabid fandom wouldn’t take her word for it and would instead slander her further.]

Later, Lackadaisy’s Backer-Kit campaign ended, at which point Backer-Kit begins processing all the payments.

VivziePop posts a screenshot that “Spindlehorse’s” donation was denied.

Tracy replied to Viv’s tweet professionally, saying they had explained to SH the reason for the denial in private.

Viv’s fanbase became increasingly volatile towards this, claiming Tracy was “unprofessional” and “just should’ve accepted the money” and everyone should “boycott Lackadaisy”

Tracy, on one of her servers, not only elaborated more on the Ze incident (repeating much of what had already been said), but also revealed they had actually reached out to Spindlehorse in private, well before the campaign ended, and requested that they withdraw their donation. Spindlehorse refused.

i think that's about it--and obv where screenshots are available they will be linked in the full post i eventually make.

This looks amazing to me, and also you're doing god's work; something like this was insanely needed.

[poison-erica-art]

This is the first drawing (and probably the first one made completely on my own) that i'm posting on this blog, and i thought it couldn't be anything else then a tribute to @choccy-milky, one of my favorite Hogwarts Legacy artists! Here is a chibi version of my MC, Katlin Hayle, and choccy's MC, Clora Clemons, in all her sparkling eyes! ✨️

I always wanted to learn how to draw, to be able to put on paper what i was only able to imagine, but i always convinced myself that i wasn't capable of such. Ever since i found out about the HL community thank's to choccy's fanart of seb and clora and the marvelous story she wrote about them in "The Raven and the Snake" fic, i got addicted so much (especially to her style) that i wondered if it was really impossible for me to being able to do the same. After a year of constant exercise, i'm starting to see some result of my work that i'm confident enough to share (though i already know in months from now i won't be as satisfied as i'm now 😂).

Thank you Choccy for giving me the inspiration and support to start this journey! ❤️

(You already saw it choccy, but this time i wanted to share it to thank you for all your encouraging words you had toward me and my efforts in all these months)

[obsessedtomone]

Masterlist

It's simple, because I'm tired and I wanna go sleep, LOL. (I said that and then I wrote a freaking novel.) I write exclusively for BNHA Shigaraki x Reader, but if that changes I'll let you know Unravel Yourself Before Me - tumblr , ao3 ✦ Unhinged college students end up doing really stupid shit. ✦College AU (insane) Dark(?) Romance. And smut, if you get through the plot and still have the stomach for that. ✦Originally tagged as a dead dove, but I removed that and now I'm tagging it as a rough read. ✦Read the tags and all that. It's the first fic I've ever written so be gentle. And yes, I'm aware I'm a freak thanks LOL. ✦ Everything after Chapter 15 will be on ao3 because I'm too shy to post here, I don't want everybody to hate me hahaha the fruits - tumblr , ao3 ✦Only pilot until Unravel is done ✦Highschool AU ✦Angst, Resentment, Mature Themes, No Smut ✦It's more realistic and more toned down than Unravel. No smut for this one, but they're all final years 18+ except for a few side characters maybe. It deals with mature themes and is aimed at YA Fanart (from yours truly): I was a fic reader before I was a writer, and I was an artist before I was either of those. That being said, sometimes a scene inspires me so hard, I'll hyperfixate on a piece until it's done. Most of them will be gifts / tributes / offerings to fics I really enjoyed. There's not a lot of them, because I barely have time to breathe and function, but if you see me post one, hallelujah (im not religious). Rough Night!Shigaraki - The reason my account exists in the first place. August(?) last year, I was so hyped about this oneshot fic I read, that I decided to make an account where I only post thirst art for Shigaraki and the fic writers. Then said fic writer became my friend and she pushed me to write my stupid fic, hyped me up and here we are. If you like Unravel, it's her fault. (PS. my twitter acc is kinda dead, but I posted his dick on that one lol. it's @obsessedtomone, same as here. Don't like how I drew his hair tho, it was the first time I drew Shigaraki so forgive meEE, I'm still learning.) Birthday Fanart Shigaraki - Just fanart to celebrate his bday. I like how his hands turned out. Very composition, art school paid off for something (I'm a dropout 😬)

Chokehold!Shigaraki - This is my favorite one so far. I should post all the stupid sketches I did of Shigaraki this year, because holy fuck his hair texture is so freaking hard to get right. I think it turned out very GOOD in this one. Go read Chokehold because it's really freaking good. Shigaraki is kind of a psychopath in that one, but if you liked Unravel, you'll probably like Chokehold. Anyways, there'll be more to come! I have a few gifts I wanna make eventually, so look forward to that (eventually...)

[romanticatheartt]

A little birdie told me you love Feysand! We want to spread some love for our favorite couple ~

What first made you start shipping Feysand?

What about Feysand really draws you in/what do you love the most about them?

What is your favorite Feysand fanart, fanfic, edit, etc? Do you have a favorite creator? (Feel free to link more than one!)

What is your favorite Feysand theory and/or headcanon?

Is there something else that our questions did not cover that you’d like to share?

Aww the birdie was right jfdngbnnbcv. This is such good way to spread positivity and love and I appreciate it<3

What first made you start shipping Feysand?

I've said this many times atp lmao but I hopped on Feysand ship the moment they met. And the moment I started to get in my feelings for them was after the dinner scene in acomaf where Feyre told Rhys that it is a shame that the world don't know the real him. And the scene after Summer Court incident where Feyre is trying to make him feel better, it was such a beautiful change of their dynamic and I knew they're going to be the best fictional couple I've ever read.

What about Feysand really draws you in/what do you love the most about them?

The fact that they would destroy the world to only be with each other. At the end of acowar if Feyre knew Rhys was dying she wouldn't have fixed the Cauldron, she would've let the world fall apart if it meant they would face it together. And Rhys at the end of acosf would've destroyed the world which was unfair to her even if he had only a few seconds or minutes left before joining Feyre because he wouldn't let that world exist, it felt like some sort of vengeance for her...

What is your favorite Feysand fanart, fanfic, edit, etc? Do you have a favorite creator? (Feel free to link more than one!)

This is a hard one help I can't only choose one!!

gessueter

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A post shared by Swetha Mahesh (@smahesh.bookish)

Honestly all of gessueter art pieces specially her Feysand fanarts are my favorite. She's so talented and I'm in love with her style<33

2. bexo.hara

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A post shared by Bailey O'Hara (@bexo.hara)

@inverted-typo has recently joined acotar fandom and their fanarts are one of the most detailed and beautiful arts I've seen<33

3. lulybot

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A post shared by 𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔞𝔫 | PandorasBookBox (@pandoras_book)

This one from lulybot will ALWAYS be my favorite fanart of them. They've also drawn Nessian and Gwynriel too check their page out ;)

4. mysleepyblue

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A post shared by I s a 🌊 (@mysleepyblue)

This was my wallpaper for a long time...

5. ruisfree

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A post shared by 𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔤𝔞𝔫 | PandorasBookBox (@pandoras_book)

ruisfree also drawn the best fanart of my absolute favorite scenes hehe

And so many more artist which I can name but one post wouldn't be enough... and as for fanfics I want to mention @littedidyouknow she writes one of the most heartbreaking and heartwarming Feysand fanfics ever<33

What is your favorite Feysand theory and/or headcanon?

I don't have any theory... I just want sjm to leave them alone BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD ENOUGH!!! Please... Feysand and Nyx have conquered death and came out alive, I think it's time for them to be happy😭

And as for headcanon: I always have this idea that whenever Nyx cries in the middle of the night, Rhys can't help himself and brings him to their bed. Feyre, doesn't like this because their son needs to learn sleeping without them and she has discuss this with Rhys multiple times. But whenever he brings him to their room and Feyre look at his tiny teary face being calm in his father arm, playing with his fathers night power while he forms little stars for him, she can't bring herself to argue him💞

Is there something else that our questions did not cover that you’d like to share?

Nothing else... just that I really really love them and I haven't read any other book couple as beautiful as them🥺💕

[syaolaurant]

Hello hello, I love your work and was wondering if you'd be open to making a little breakdown of your art style?

It's really interesting to me and I love taking bits of different artists art style elements and incorporating them into my doodles to get better

Totally okay if you don't want to! 💜💜💜

Take care and have an amazing life 🤗💜☺️

Hello!! Thanks for asking 🤗 I'm not making a little breakdown of my art style I already WROTE A WHOLE ESSAY ABOUT IT!!

Sorry I exaggerated it a bit🥲🥲...

I was very happy to receive this ask, but at the same time I felt worried. Honestly, I didn’t know how to give you a relevant answer because  I don’t even think I have a consistent art style 🥲. Except for my usual chibi style which I feel most comfortable with, I feel my style constantly changes. So after going back to review my old paintings, I think my style is a combination of children's book illustrations and Japanese anime style. Many times I have received comments about my paintings looking like they are from children's books, and I agree haha, maybe because I mostly draw small characters in big settings and I usually use bright colors. 

My favorite artists:

My drawing style is mostly influenced by my all time favorite artists Heikala and Koyamori, I stumbled across their Insta accounts during my 1st year in college (that was 10 years ago) and from then my drawing style gradually took shape. I also admire Paulina Cassidy, mostly because I like her whimsical nature sprites theme. Recently I’ve been investing in Stephanie Law’s artwork, her coloring technique is so god-like that I hope one day I can reach that level…

Ideas and Inspirations:

Japanese anime/manga culture has had a great impact on my childhood. It was a dream come true for me to be able to pursue my college study in Japan. I think this journey greatly affected my current style. I draw lots of things from small doodles to funny comics. I'd describe my drawings as “silly and cute” since I love to make people laugh and I also live for the fluffs (Sometimes I drew angst too but it still turned out cute haha..). Aside from that,  I prefer making “storytelling” illustrations with colorful backgrounds. My favorite things to draw are tiny characters in big scenery, I like to create peaceful static moments that when looking at them help warm my heart and calm my mind. 

When making game fanarts, I usually take screenshots as references for background and imagine how the character will act in that setting. I just do what I feel comfortable and use my own judgment for composition … which… sometimes results in weird perspectives (and you know what I’ve just discovered the rule of third recently 😅…). 

Characters:

When it comes to drawing characters, I honestly don't know how to explain my style. I think chibi is my most recognizable style, apart from that I usually draw characters in semi-chibi (is it the right way to call it??) or simple anime style. I don’t usually draw characters with dynamic poses or movements ( that’s why I still suck at anatomy and expression 😩😩). I think I’m shifting from anime to a more cartoon style since I kinda have same face problem and  I’m trying to practice face shapes.

I think my character drawing style is most influenced by Akihiko Yoshida (who is behind many FF/Nier/ bravely default concepts), as I always draw my characters with chubby round faces and dreamy eyes. I made an example of how I usually draw my characters below.

Technique: 

Watercolor technique is quite complex so I’ll explain how I always do my paintings in another sharing post. I’ve posted part 1 of my sharing here. Generally, I love using bright, saturated tones and black ink brush pen or color brush to paint line work. 

. I hope I could answer your question. I’m definitely no expert, all the things about art I've learn was self-taught but I'm happy to help anyway I can. 💕💕

And you 🫵🫵 yes you dear sweet anon! I wish you a happy life too!!!! 💕💕

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

🌸Intro post! (Changes over time)🌸

I used to do daily polls about the eggs, but now I'm "retired". This blog is going to be mostly focused on mine and the community's egg OCs now! I think.

I like to reblog things about the QSMP eggs, run events for the community's eggsonas, and post art/stories about my own egg OCs!

🌸More about me and my blog under the cut! (and some rules)🌸

About me!

⭐️ My name is Captain! You can also call me Poll if you want, as that is the name of this blog's mascot/eggsona.

⭐️ I use They/it/(+neos? idk) pronouns. I don't mind what you call me either, so just go with your heart kkkkkk

🇺🇸 I am American

❗️I can and will block liberally. I refuse to let this blog be swamped in any amount of negativity. I am not a celebrity, I am a pleasant escape.

🌱 My special interest is plants, I am going to start my own garden soon! I also just watch a LOT of cartoons. Oh, I'm also an artist and a writer.

🫶 My native language is English, but I have been learning American Sign Language, Spanish, and recently French. I'm not good at the French.

My main Tumblr account is Captainbee66, but I keep them mostly separate. I just reblog fanart on that one, mostly. I also write fics on Ao3!

I am an Aroace, Agender adult with ADHD :]

Oh also I tend not to use language/curse words on this blog specifically but I am perfectly okay if YOU use language. I do this because its fun :D

About my blog

❤️ I might still do polls occasionally. If you want to request a poll, please request them one per ask for my sake.

⭐️ Random asks and questions are also encouraged! I think they're fun. If I don't answer them though, don't be discouraged. Sometimes I just don't have a good answer!

⭐️⭐️ If someone makes fanart/fics based on anything on this blog, please please please tag me, that would be so cool.

❤️ Also, any language allowed here! Google Translate is my best friend, so you can use whatever is comfortable to you.

⚠️ Since I've been asked a few times I'll put it here: I have a limit of 12 options on a poll. We have 11 living eggs. I unfortunately cannot put your favorite dead egg on the polls for this reason. That is why the "Other/Combo" answer exists.

Who are those eggs I keep seeing? I don't remember them from the QSMP??

They're my OCs! The egg in my pfp is Poll. They're sort of my mascot/eggsona that you all helped me make! The other egg is Tequilla, their brother! He's new to the family :]

⭐️ Poll uses all pronouns, Tequilla uses He/Him

🌸 Poll's defining item is a flower crown, Tequilla's is a messenger bag

😭 If anyone makes fanart of them, I will be so emotional about it.

What is Poll's Egg Playdate Project? Can I participate?

🌸This is a community project that I started! It is to encourage you all to make your own eggsonas and make friends, despite events that have happened. We are a strong community, and I want to foster that closeness we've had over the past year!🌸

❤️everyone is welcome to participate, no matter how "late" you are to the party!

❗️Please be respectful of other people's eggs. Don't be a bully, don't put them in bad situations without permission, and just generally behave, alright?

🫶Just have fun, interact with people, and spread your creative wings! If anyone wants a list of specific eggs, I've made a list that I can draw from :]

📖🖌✏️ You can make whatever you want for this project! Artworks, doodles, drabbles, paragraphs of loose thoughts, whatever you want! In any form that you want! The whole point is CREATION.

(Feel free to ask questions in my inbox <3)

[evesetchings]

So! A few years ago, I found this piece of very cool fanart by the amazingly talented @mysterykidsmisadventures and at the time, as a huge enjoyer of both mystery kids (I was mainly there for coraline and gravity falls, as I had yet to see paranorman and lacked the ability to play Psychonauts) and the monster falls au, (probably my favorite of the gravity falls aus) it was probably my favorite piece of art for a good long while, and I really wanted to make something for it. However, I didn’t think I had the artistic ability to make something of suitable caliber whether it be in art or writing. So I just sort of didn’t.

THAT IS, until last October, when I had just finished my first watch of ParaNorman, and decided to finally just grab a pencil and paper to make something for this awesome art. I wanted to get this out around Halloween of that same year, but a combination of real world stuff and general anxiety stopped me, BUT NOT ANYMORE! Finally I have decided to post these drawings. They were super fun to do and I really hope you enjoy them. Just remember to check out the original artist as well!

Art under the cut!

Here we have the classics! Cervitaur Dipper and mermaid Mabel! I tried to put in some of the classic Gravity Falls artstyle, and I think they turned out great!

Although the lower halves did give me a bit of trouble. Dipper isn't feeling too good about...any of this, especially considering he now has an extra pair of legs to worry about, but Mabel seems to be adjusting fine, maybe things won't be too bad.

Mabel on the other hand is living. Sure it was a bit tough to begin with, but being swim and move like this feels amazing. Plus, she's been able to see and do so much new cool stuff like this! She knows that it can't last forever, but she's gonna enjoy it while it's here!

And these are reaper Norman and... winged dog? Neil. These ones turned out pretty nice too, I especially like Norman's expression.

Norman's feeling pretty worried about this, but it's not like this is totally new to him. He's always been disconnected from the living due to his gift, and this isn't too different from that. Besides, he's gotten through something like this before, how hard can it be a second time?

Neil is honestly doing just as well as Mabel, if not better. He’s pretty quickly realized how great having wings is and enjoys swooping around and seeing things from the skies. It also helps that being a dog himself makes him feel closer to his dead dog Bub, and who should have said how great it is to be a dog!

We got wood-owl griffin Raz and dryad Lili, which I’m mostly happy with, although Raz’s design was a pain in the ass. Both of them are really freaked out at first, they’re used to dealing with the inner workings of the mind, not weird transformations!

Raz is especially not used to being a quadruped, but once he gets used to it, it’s actually really cool. Having this kind of flexibility is super useful for all kinds of stuff, like getting to new places and trying out interesting new tricks! So it’s not all bad, especially with psychic powers in the mix.

Lili is also pretty alarmed, but she’s also a bit irritated by it too, cause even if she likes plants, she never asked to BE one. She does eventually feel better about it after a while, and it does help that she feels even closer to them, even if she needs to be a bit more careful with her pyrokinesis now.

And finally there are kelpie-taur Coraline and salamander Wybie. These were that last ones I made, and I had a lot of fun drawing them, even if it was a little frustrating at times.

Coraline, like mostly everyone here, is pretty freaked out at first, and learning about what kelpies usually do certainly doesn't help with that. Thankfully, she doesn't have the urge to drag anyone down to the bottom of the lake, but she does realize that she's starting to feel more comfortable near bodies of water, and that moving though water is easier now, and it's actually kinda...fun. She is still looking for a way to change back now, what on earth would she tell her parents if they saw her like this.

Wybie is equally alarmed about being a metallic, fire-manipulating creature that is not an amphibian despite the name, especially because he has no idea what his grandma will think once she arrives. As soon as he starts experimenting around a little, and that doesn’t take long, he starts discovers some interesting things about his new body, like that he can stick to walls, (just like an ordinary salamander!), and that he’s fireproof. (which certainly helps with his tinkering habits) So while he still wants to change back at some point, he’s gonna work with this while he can.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. This project certainly took some time, and I’m glad I finally get to share it. I hope you enjoyed the product of me discovering old art and my insane mental mutterings, and also don’t forget to check out the original art as well!

[potatochipscree]

So… idk what to say omg the worst part about social media is having to type my thoughts how the frick do I know what I think??? Real life is so much easier I say the thing and find out about it with everyone else

I’m an artist that’s just kinda looking around for now and trying to see if I like tumblr as a platform. A part of me feels like tumblr is really meant to be enjoyed through screenshots on Pinterest but I’m here now so oh well

Figured since this is my first real post I’d start off strong with one of my favorite pieces from this year. I love Attack on Titan and only recently finished it, so I’m hoping to make more fanart of it soon!!

With this piece I really just wanted to experiment more. I’ve only recently been attempting to draw landscapes and I’m finding them pretty enjoyable! I really wanted to capture a melancholic feel, it just breaks my heart thinking about Armin’s love of the ocean and how it potentially was soiled by learning that all that lay after it was a world that hated them.

[troxlerfx]

hello!! i am troxler (trox if you're nasty) and you might know me from my xwitter @ broadcastrelay or my old experimental art blog @hand-in-hand-again .

this blog is sfw. i have a more reblog-heavy nsfw sideblog, @heartshapedsignal , where i can place aesthetics, rb art that i like, Cronenbergpost & generally toss up more intense horror things & keep this one somewhat more tidy + personal-art-oriented. follow my alt if you please; although it's unlikely i'll ever post anything too explicit, there is nsfw/🔞 potential, so again, heartshapedsignal is 🔞 just to be safe!!

i have a throne account here if you'd like to support my work by helping with supplies & thereby earn my eternal gratitude:

commissions are currently closed & i will update here & on xwitter if that changes!!

i do have discord if you'd like to chat, you can DM me for my username. i'm vision impaired & it's a little easier for me than tumblr DMs (scalable font. properly mapped keyboard that allows me to hit the right keys occasionally. you know 👁️)

i am sometimes slow to respond to messages, but i don't expect you to be available all the time either--i answer things when i have a moment, & i assume others do too ✌️ i have the temperament of a displaced 11th century anchorite, am simply not adapted to the tone & pace of centralized social media.

i also unfortunately cannot voice call or stream/screen share because i am a millennial (just kidding, it's because my phone is almost 9 years old & it overheats when i check my e-mail)

learn a bit more about me under the cut ✂️

i was dropped into this simulation in the early 80s, i'm a disabled artist (vision impaired - [ask me about my atrophied optic nerves] - & have some other physical Issues so i use a cane) & my wife and i host two black cats, roughly 35% of a mannequin, and a whole lot of dolls.

all my art is trad/physical media (haven't figured out a way to make digital art accessible yet. maybe someday!!) i like to sculpt in epoxy, plastilene, polymer & stone clay, i like to mold & cast in resin, make & customize various types of dolls, & build puppets; i do custom framed work, mixed media & textile stuff like sewing & embroidery; i paint in oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache & water soluble graphite & i love ink, markers, crayons & whatever cheap & weird stuff i can get my hands on.

i have a particular affection for props, prop replicas & hypothetical in-universe items, & i like things that are handsome, durable & believable. i'm versatile & innovative, & i'm at my happiest when i'm exploring technical processes. i have quite a bit of knowledge about techniques & materials. i love a challenge!! currently all my sewing is done by hand, i have trouble controlling pedal-operated machines.

my favorite thing is horror coated in a fine layer of nostalgia & sprinkled with history. that seems highly specific, but you'd be surprised how many things fit the criteria. i tend to fixate on characters & concepts & do a lot of art about it - a habit i developed while i was re-teaching myself to draw after the changes to my eyesight. my output is largely therapeutic. sometimes people like it. maybe you will too!!

a good amount of my work is fanart & will be tagged as such/otherwise linked to the appropriate project, original work will be specified & have its own tag.

at the moment i make a lot of work related to the independent psychological horror unfiction project Welcome Home, created by ' partycoffin ' here on tumblr.

that's all for now!! 👁️‍🗨️📺

[blazehedgehog]

If one decides to start a creative project about their favorite thing, be it fanart, fanfic, fangame etc. , which approach do you prefer, the creatives involved fully dedicating themselves to recreating and recapturing what made the original works...work, or make an active choice to be derivative (this doesn't mean artists are ignorant about the original material, not necessarily) How do you feel about either, and are there any other approach you can think of?

There's this guy who used to post at SFGHQ named Sam Beddoes who now runs Freakzone Games. He's made the official Manos: The Hands of Fate game, he did both AVGN Adventures, he's the project lead on that Toxic Crusaders beat'em'up, etc.

But he's an old guard Sonic head and I've heard him turn up on a couple of Sonic podcasts, specifically to talk fangames, and by his account he got really fed up with the Sonic fangaming scene when everybody became obsessed with perfectly replicating the Genesis games, because to him, all the creativity and magic went away.

I remember hearing that and both agreeing and disagreeing with him. And I have enough thoughts about it that I've actually considered doing a video about it, and about fangaming overall.

I think there is a stigma to replicating something perfectly that's very adjacent to people who are concerned about young artists who start out by tracing pictures other people have drawn. Plagiarism is a real, legitimate problem. But it's only a problem if you lie about tracing.

I'm of the mind that if you're starting out drawing, half the problem is just learning control. Tracing can be a valuable tool in helping you to understand hand motions and give you a perspective on the construction of an image. For the earliest beginners, I don't think there's any shame in starting out by tracing. It's building muscle memory. Just don't say you drew it.

Similarly, my game development skills went way, way, way up about the time I started to analyze and perfectly replicate existing games. Like, the long canceled Sonic Forever project used an early enough version of the Sonic Worlds codebase that I had to read the Sonic Retro Physics Guide and use their data on how to add Knuckles in from scratch. My code matched how he worked in the Genesis games almost 1:1, because it was largely me just interpreting the values into something Clickteam Fusion could understand.

Something similar happened when, in 2012, I started (and never finished) a remake of my famous Mario Blue Twilight DX fangame. That's when I started really paying attention to how the source games worked so I could get a better sense of how a Mario game needed to "feel" in order to be correct.

And that trend continued with every fangame project I worked on following that, like when I figured I could make my own version of Sonic 2's Hidden Palace Zone, since I wasn't happy with the Retro Engine version. The idea was to be accurate above all else. In some cases, I'd even watch recordings of official gameplay in slow motion just so I could see exactly how the game was created, and in some cases, count frame by frame the duration of certain actions.

And all of this just makes me think of when I showed a friend my game jam game, OverBite. He complimented me on how nice the controls felt, in that kind of backhanded way where he said "When did you learn to make games feel so nice?"

Because if you go back to those really early games of mine, they all feel like garbage to control. And I attribute it to putting in a lot of time pulling apart the nuts and bolts of real retro games and putting a microscope up to why they work the way they do. Deconstructing all of their little nuances and sub-states and then trying to put it all back together again in a different programming language.

You learn a lot when you're forced to stop and understand why a piece of code exists in the way it does. Why there are all these little edge cases that you never notice but still exist to make a game feel just a little better.

At the end of the day, yes, Sam was right. Games need to have creativity and seeking out the perfect replication of the Sega Genesis Sonic games can feel somewhat futile. Every SAGE for the last ten years, there will be at least three games that instantly vanish from my memory because they are basic, plain Sonic Worlds Delta fangames with no style of their own. They just want to make Sonic 4 and we've had a lot of different Sonic 4s by now.

But the thing about learning is, you gotta learn the rules before you learn why and where to break them, because breaking (or at least bending) all of those boring, standardized rules is where your personal style starts to emerge, and that personal style is ultimately what people are going to be interested in at the end of the day.

So I think it is vitally important to start at 1:1 exact recreation and once you've made a comfortable replica, only then should you start asking yourself what you'd change and why. Make sure you understand the material before venturing further. You gotta learn to do it right first.