#i looked at etsy and redbubble today and just…………………….

[acespaceacepilot]

if you see any cute wyll ravengard merch that doesn’t have mizora attached to him, you’re legally obligated to link me

[menhera-info-archieve]

Styling Menhera more "Masculinely"

Recently I've seen more interest in how to wear menhera and related styles if you typically present more masculine, so I'd like to address that today. This post will sort of be a continuation of this ask, but instead of discussing particular brands we'll focus on how to style your coords to have a more masculine feel to them.

Firstly though, a disclaimer: this post is not a set of rules to be followed, nor a statement on what men/masc people should or shouldn't wear. It's simply a list of ideas that might help if you want to present more traditionally (?) masculine for whatever reason. I think part of the appeal of menhera is nonconformity and NOT trying to fit into what society expects, so please don't misinterpret this post as trying to tell you what to do!

With that out of the way, it's worth noting that the tops you wear will largely be the same. Of course, avoiding tops with a large amount of bows, frills, etc also helps, but other than that I believe that most tops can be styled in a masculine way. So like in any menhera coord you'll have a top wth vent art on it. Often it will be oversized, but a regular fit is also okay.

sources: 1, 2, 3

I would say the biggest difference between feminine menhera styling and masculine menhera styling is the bottoms (and the impact this has on the overall silhouette). Where a feminine silhouette often uses short shorts/skirts/bloomers with OTKs and/or legwarmers, you’ll have an easier time going for a masculine look with longer shorts, joggers, other comfortable straight leg pants, or even jeans.

sources: 1, 2

The silhouette will change a lot depending on what type of bottom you choose. Experiment with whether you prefer an overall baggy look (baggy sweatpants with an oversize top) or a contrasting baggy top with a (comparatively) tighter straight leg bottom.

sources: 1, 2

While it's not necessary, some brands also make menhera print joggers/sweatpants if you feel left out of extra prints via OTKs. The ones pictured below are by SoftNGloomStyle on etsy

source: 1

here are a few more examples of different outfits using the same/similar tops.

sources: 1, 2

source: 1

You'll notice that I've mostly been using yamikawaii (dark color) examples. This is because it's a bit harder to make yumekawaii/pastels feel masculine. That doesn't mean you shouldn't try though!

source: 1

Regardless of how you feel about Ezaki Bisuko, he provides us good examples of pastels in a masculine silhouette (I don't think I've ever seen anyone else do menhera polo shirts before? But this could be replicated with a button up!)

source: 1

The pastels are more subtle on this one, but it still felt worth showing. Despite using a few more "feminine" accessories, this person balanced their outfit with the bottoms and layering for a more genderless feel.

source: 1

Including this one to show something a little different: this features a male seifuku top! Just to remind you not to feel like you can't mix elements.

Finally, the last thing I'll talk about is accessories. Most menhera coords should only have a couple accessories and I would say this goes doubly so if you're trying to present masculinely. Keep accessories few and impactful.

One accessory I feel is overlooked in menhera is hats! If you're avoiding hair accessories and bows, hats are a good way to tie together an outfit as well.

sources: 1, 2

hats should be a fairly accessible option as well because

redbubble semi recently started printing on hats, so many menhera designs can be put on them

they can be diy-ed by purchasing a fitting patch or pin and adding them on

you could go even further by making your own design with fabric marker/embroidery/etc. because of the size, hats are probably an easier project than making a shirt design this way

to briefly touch on other accessories: you can use most of them, but be cautious. Overall most masculine coords I have seen use much more simple types of jewelry on their necklaces/bracelets/chokers/etc such as leather, chord, and metal and don't often feature large or elaborate decorations. Still, feel free to experiment with what works!

[bluepoodle7]

#Househuntedgame #Johndoegame #JohnDoe#MaisonTalo #BodyPillow #Merch #HouseManMerch

Found more Uncanny Valley merch and I wonder where you could get the Maison Talo keychain and the button.

The bootleg John Doe wig.

🦊 FOX 📼 on X: "YES made it to the big time baby, those over seas cosplay sites are finally making weird cosplay products based off my game fuck yeah https://t.co/wja9PusrD4" / X

advertising the illness (hannibal) 😪 /// (tags) #CapCut #itabag #itab... | TikTok

Found these cool Maison Talo John Doe art on a notebook.

"House Hunted Maison Talo" Journal for Sale by tuperwherez | Redbubble

"John Doe " Journal for Sale by BunnyCat185 | Redbubble

Found this cute handmade Maison Talo chibi plush.

If you look at the Reblogs there is a handmade Maison Talo plush which is a fan made plush since I tried to google image search this plush with no results.

Cozzy--cove made the plush and made a cute John Doe plush that I wish was on their page to be easily relogged by fans which are both cute.

I just know the objectum community prob love these two sillies 💯 – @cozzy--cove on Tumblr

UCV fashion poster: Maison - John Doe Game - Posters and Art Prints | TeePublic

All images not mine but links are there.

#House Man Merch – @bluepoodle7 on Tumblr

A Maison Talo Manga from the @kaifei29 artist who made this House Hunted video .

🦊 M O R T l S F O X 📼 on X: "Got these amazing books in the mail today from @/kaifei_29 !!!! the love and care put into them is jaw dropping ;o; im so overwhelmed with joy that a game i made could inspire something so absolutely beautiful! #househunted #househuntedgame https://t.co/giNDpviWzP" / X

【House Hunted | 手书】ド屑 - YouTube

House Hunted | NAKISO ド屑 Maison Talo × YOU ( ос @kaifei29 ) на русском - YouTube

Some fan merch that I liked from @Maison1963_0508

https://x.com/Maison1963_0508/status/1863124118960558523

https://x.com/Maison1963_0508/status/1859180056389849435

Found a cool custom chibi Dom Hus charm I want from @WildSebbyWolf.

https://x.com/WildSebbyWolf/status/1840914919052497404

The Bitterandrotten artist who made the charm arts.

https://x.com/bitterandrotten

Found a video of someone who owns the Maison Talo and yousona art book that the same creator of this House hunted video. This person only shows the merch that comes with this book.

一个you＆老房子的挂件捆绑教程（？）_哔哩哔哩_bilibili

The website with this Maison Talo manga.

微博

The double sided John Doe Charm from Eldritchtea.

Eldritchtea - Etsy

The Maison Talo charm with art from @Junjomonstah of Maison Talo tied up by his own lure cord.

I love this artist's artwork of Maison but the artist deleted it all and this artist made Richard Everyman that was in Househunted 1/2 or 2 that game was deleted by the Mortisfox.

Also a John Doe squishy.

https://x.com/GoTouchGrassNow/status/1572648788589793281

These Mortisfox handmade John Doe Regular Guy Doeballs plushies.

https://x.com/mortisfox/status/1512671538603966464

https://x.com/mortisfox/status/1512671538603966464/photo/1

This custom Heim Baile with a Yousona as a custom charm.

Glam_Rock_Chica on X: "I got my first custom key chain with me and hiem on it I accidentally got 3, apparently I wasn't expecting that it was only expecting one lol #hiembalie #househunted2 https://t.co/lfGKvmAEtD" / X

Some Heim Baile pins.

Glam_Rock_Chica on X: "@Junjomonstah thank you so much I'm so happy that I got them and ty for the free pins and also random video I found on tiktok lol https://t.co/rY19RS88iK" / X

I still wonder what a Maison Talo plush from this artist would look like.

I'm still holding out for a House Hunted Game fan that requests this plush someday to this artist when they are not busy.

I hope the blood, bright, burning red blazer is removeable to see the undershirt.

John Doe 15,7 40 Cm Plush Toy A Fan Toy From a Big Fan of This Indie Horror - Etsy

The chibi Maison Talo plush.

https://x.com/Maison1963_0508/status/1838795316453347767

https://x.com/Maison1963_0508/status/1824410962134438150

https://x.com/Maison1963_0508/status/1824410962134438150

[porcupine-girl]

My Redbubble account was just suspended. 😡

They don't even tell you why! In order to appeal, I had to submit a photo with my face clearly shown, holding a paper with my name, username, and today's date on it. I guess this can confirm that I'm not just a bot, and that I'm not the same person as whoever else is appealing suspended accounts around now, but otherwise I have no idea what this tells them.

I've had a few things taken down for DMCA stuff before, but the last time was over a year ago and it was an item that was originally accepted as part of Redbubble's own fanart program! It was for the Watership Down animated tv show. I guess once RB ended that particular licensing agreement, everything that was once "official fan art" is suddenly a DMCA violation. 🙄

The last time before that was back in 2020 when Terry Pratchett's estate went nuts and submitted takedowns for everything tagged anything to do with Good Omens, even if it didn't actually contain any specifically copyrighted material - like my design that is literally just the word "Wahoo" and THAT'S ALL. They don't have a copyright on the word Wahoo! (This despite the fact that RB has a tag-specific takedown process where they'll just take infringing tags off your non-infringing design - but no, they took the whole thing down.)

But RB's DMCA appeal process is bullshit - basically if you want to appeal, they give your personal information to whoever filed the takedown and if those people don't sue you within a certain amount of time they'll put your design back up.

So anyhow, I've only had one DMCA takedown in the past THREE YEARS (for a design RB originally accepted to their official fan art program), and since that one I have submitted two of my own against artists who just reuploaded my designs wholesale. And I don't relist anything that does get taken down, so they can't claim I've broken that rule. Not even the Wahoo design, though I've been tempted.

And then here is the email they sent me after I submitted my appeal photo:

Your request for account reinstatement has been submitted. A few things to keep in mind: * We are not able to review every suspension appeal. * If your account is reinstated, you will receive a response within two weeks. * If you haven’t received a response in two weeks, your appeal has been denied and your account will not be reinstated. * Submitting multiple requests, forms, or responding to this email will not improve your chances for reinstatement and could make your appeal ineligible.

So they might not even LOOK at my appeal, and actually trying to contact them about it might make my appeal completely ineligible.

My account on Teepublic, which is owned by RB, is just fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Time to find other places to list my designs - where else do people buy fandom merch? I had plans to get back to the library vinyl printer to get my stickers back on etsy but covid has thrown a wrench in that just like everything else.

[winderlylandchime]

THE MAN MADE HIMSELF A SHIRT. I REPEAT THE MAN MADE HIMSELF A SHIRT! That was why he took my markers earlier today! And i had the audacity to think he’d be normal and that the mind map paper was the worst of it all. He took a white shirt and wrote with a sharpie ’Team Brian’ on it. He said he even watched youtube videos to learn how to like stitch it in but gave up after he hurt himself with a needle. He made 3 extra shirts, 2 for our parents that he express sent to them and one for me. He wrote a note with the package to our parents that said ‘if you love me, you’ll wear it’ So I cannot wait to see how that goes (fr imagine getting that sent to you, just a shirt and a note.) And the best(?) part of it all is he wore the shirt to the damn doctor check up! I almost forced him out of it but then at the last second thought to myself ‘for the content..gotta let him be dumb for the people on tumblr, they would want me to do it.’ (At this point I’m just going with the drugged up idiot flow) The doctor took one look at him when he walked into the office and sighed. I forgot that they had to deal with him for two days during his new found love, so i have no clue what all he put them through. And he tried to ignore it at first but my brother kept pulling at his shirt and smiling at him so the doctor went ‘(brothers name) i see youre in the arts and crafts part of your obsession..’ and all my brother said was ‘bro…i mean Doctor Bro, you have no clue. I am stressed! I am tired! I stayed up all night thinking. Nobody cares about my feelings. Nobody cares about what I have to say and think, i have no one in my corner. And now the worst of all, he ran off with a kazoo player! Do you know how dumb that is?!’ The second my brother looked away, the doctor looked at me and mouthed ‘kazoo?’ And I mimicked a violin and the guy had to cover up a laugh. I feel like the doctor is cursing at HIPAA cause if i was him, id want everyone to know about this dumbass at my work. I will report back when my parents get the package (should be like two days or so). He asked at the post office if they will receive it in less than a week ‘because it is important, very, very important! Like life or death situation’ and then he panicked that they’d think he is sending something illegal so he went ‘it’s shirts! Like this one’ *shows his shirt* and then idk what went through his head because he went ‘it’s from a show I’m watching. I swear im not just being weird about Brians’

Dear sweet anon, I was settling in with an afternoon coffee on the couch to do some work on my tablet and your message popped up before I turned on my work DND (otherwise every notification I get is like 👀 surely someone reblogging this this is more important that the thing I am literally paid to do, you know how it is). And I’m so glad that I saw this before I “hunkered down” for some paperwork. Blech.

Nobody cares about my feelings. Nobody cares about what I have to say and think, i have no one in my corner. OH BROTHER ANON you have tens of people in your corner. We DO care about your feelings and one day you will know.

The arts and crafts part of his obsession! I die. He’s going to get an etsy or redbubble store before this is over and start selling fanart phone cases (not a jab, I have a fanart phone case!).

So about HIPAA. HIPAA only applies to healthcare information and identifying information. So for therapists, that’s basically everything (although I will frequently say a client recommended a TV show to me because that is not healthcare information [uh your brother’s qaf obsession would be though] and it’s not identifying). And HIPAA doesn’t apply to consulting with other medical professionals without identifying information (so I could say to a fellow therapist “I have a client who ripped his stitches after surgery due to excitement about a TV show, my own bar for how normal this is is a bit fucked, should I be concerned?”) So I can absolutely guarantee that your brother’s doctor is at the very least telling his fellow doctors about your brother. I promises you they are in the break room laughing about this.

IAN PLAYS A KAZOO. Sorry if this shows up in a fic of mine in the future… this is very Brian coded. No offense to kazoo players. I’m sure they are a lovely bunch who do not deserve to be grouped in with Ethan.

[jaderimehardt]

Printful Product Samples Pt1

Hello! o/

Today I bring to you the Printful Product Samples, Part 1, that I previously promised I'd write on my official wordpress blog. I'm basically copying over the exact post because social media being what it is- it's just good to have things on multiple platforms for visibility.

Trust me though, if you're interested in Printful products- this post will not disappoint 😊

Sizing!

At first, when it comes to ordering these products off of an Etsy shop who Partner's with Printful, it might be confusing what size to get because the sizing sheet they automatically provide is a little... well it's not like other sizing guides. Making it a bit of a guessing game.

They want you to grab a piece of clothing you already own, lay it out, measure it, and then half that measurement, use that size in the measuring chart to determine what to order. I don't even fully grasp this way of coming to a conclusive size because none of the numbers I was getting matched anything in the chart despite how straight forward that seems.

I went searching through the internet to find an alternative sizing guide for everything to basically come to the conclusion that whatever you typically wear- go with that. True to size (unisex clothing).

So, in my case, the safe sizes I usually wear are Small up top, and Medium on bottom. That's what I ordered and these sizes worked perfectly for me in Unisex items. When it comes to male/female specific clothes... 🤷🏻‍♀️. May have to refer to charts again and do some more internet searching.

Some people with Printful as their Partner have figured out the sizing and have made alternative sizing sheets to put in their shop. This is smart and I'll probably look into doing this into the future if I can find out where they've got this information. But until then I have the default sheets and I hope other people can make sense of it where I couldn't. (I do have a neuro disorder so 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'm just going to conveniently blame it on that, lol)

Quality!

I am so impressed with the quality of these items, that I am in awe. If I were comparing this to RedBubble, it'd be like comparing a 1-ply paper napkin (RedBubble) to a handstitched cloth napkin you typically find when you go out to dinner at a fancy steak house (Printful). The worlds are so far apart, it's crazy. You are most definitely getting what you are paying for and I'm not just saying this because Printful is now my partner.

If I were to buy another jacket with my Octopus designs on it again, I'd 100% go back to Printful for it, getting paid for it or not. In fact I bought all of these out of pocket, I'm not getting anything for this post (sans the items I paid for with my own money).

I did have to color correct most of these images because it's raining outside and the pictures I took downstairs were gloomy and offset by our yellow indoor lighting. And then when I brought the clothing upstairs, my room walls are super red-red and again, offset with yellow lighting. I tried to color-correct to the true-blue that everything truly is.

There are only like, three pictures I didn't touch, and you'll notice them. They're more on the teal side because my phone cannot pick up the true-blue, but the blue is gorgeous. I couldn't get the aquamarine-color in the octopuses arms to show much in these pics, but it is what it is 🫠

This is how they arrived, inside another thick plastic bag. I thought they'd be in a box but at the very least they were sealed in plastic (within more plastic) so they couldn't be penetrated or damaged by rain.

This is my Magus Adventurer Octopus Bomber Jacket - Unisex. Almost all clothing in my shop is going to be Unisex. That's a personal preference of clothing for myself and I feel it's more convenient to post items this way. It's also more equal/fair.

The fabric on this is lightweight, but the stitching is fantastic, as with all of the clothing pieces I got. If you're looking for something to keep you warm, this wouldn't be it, but this is a nice wind breaker and fashion statement.

These photos in particular (are the ones I didn't fix the colors on but the colors are not accurate none-the-less), but they're also very important to show because look at my designs. They're literally printed as the fabric. They're not printed on top of the fabric.

This is very important because that means over time they will not wash away over so many washes, and peel off. Thus extending the life of these pieces of clothing. 💝💙💓

Glowing Galaxy Octopus Legging. Leggings might be one of the few exceptions to my 'unisex' clothing thing, lol. I mean... if you want em, there's nothing holding you back. It just doesn't say 'unisex' in the description anywhere 🤷🏻‍♀️

I want leggings because, again, this a preference in my clothing style - something I wear often. I feel they're versatile, comfortable, have a long shelf life, and they're worth your money if you invest in them. They're also great if you live somewhere really hot and you don't always feel like wearing shorts (says the person who lives in Cali where it's almost always 80-110 degrees).

Again the quality is above what I expected and the stitching is amazing.

(You can see my TekuTiger Logo here 🥰. Fun fact: I'm trying to fit this into all of my clothing.)

Glowing Galaxy Octopus Wide-leg Pants. These are so baggy and the fabric has weight to it, I love them~ 💙

You can never go wrong with a good pair of baggy pants or PJ bottoms. Something like this is what I lounge around in all day when I'm staying in. I'm an introvert so that happens more often than the average person 😅

I know I've said it already but I cannot get over the quality of this fabric. Maybe I'm just not used to high quality fabric, but I've bought many things from Victoria's Secret, for example (yeah I'm one of those girls) and this even beats out VS.

No more VS for me, it's Printful all the way after this.

(My TekuTiger logo is hidden in the pocket on these pants)

This is the bomber jacket again. You can't see it in any of the pictures I've shown, but my TekuTiger Logo is on the bottom hip cuff on the inside.

I think it's cute how I have the option to add my own logo and it's totally hidden from view. If you ever forget my name or where you've gotten my stuff, you can just find my logo again by looking at the clothing article and search me up online again!

I only bought three things this time, but I would like to get more in the future. Most especially some stickers. I need to design more things too. My mind is going 100-thoughts per second, lol.

I'm just incredibly blown away 🤯. Why don't more people use Printful? Is it just lack of knowledge of their products? 🤔 Because these are amazing.

(Last but not least, My shop link: https://tekutiger.etsy.com)

[romana-after-dark]

24, 27, 34 for the invasive asks please if you’re comfy 🤍

Hi june!!!!

24. Can you separate the art from the artist?

Yeah, unfortunately I gotta being a fan of classic rock ;-; Fen and I were JUST talking about this today! There's a line to walk to be sure, and every situation is different. I listen to a fair amount of The Eagles and Don Henley's solo stuff on spotify, which I know gives money to the artist but the way I see it 1. I will not go to concerts, if I buy merch it'd be from etsy or redbubble etc. I try to minimize it. but 2. It's way past their prime, the height of their fame is over. they will not get any less famous and don henley will not have any less of a legacy if I dont listen to him. However, some stuff I draw my line at, like up and coming artists or top artists. But that doesnt come up a whole lot as most of my music is from the 2000's and older XD Fen and I who are both on the trans spectrum say we dont care if people are harry potter fans and watch streaming, or reruns on tv its when its like, going to wizarding world or the squishmellows. anyway that was so much but im fresh off a topic with a friend.

27. Do you have any tattoos?

YES! 9 and 1/2. 1/2 are my eyebrows LMFAOOOO they are microbladed and only temporary. my favoite is my handmaids tale tattoo on my thigh. It looks fucking sick. I love that book hence my handmaids tale au joel. This summer i wanna get the linkin park logo on my wrist on my birthday, where i have sh scars as a tribute to chester bennington who died on my birthday. He was a big inspo to me and helped me a lot during my teens.

34. What's your most controversial opinion?

Great question. I got a lot of things im thinking on and feeling and discussion with friends so I a lot of stuff isn't really set. I grew up super homeschool catholic conservative, my dad was like, Rush Limbaugh tea party, my mom was a nun ;-; so a lot happened. I am a leftist now thought LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO. Yes christmas is interesting. esp bc i dont celebrate it ;-;

Off the top of my head though is I think drag is cringy. IM SORRY! I JUST DONT GET THE APPEAL! But i'll fight to the death for y'all right to do it and if i had kids and they wanted to go to a drag queen story time, i'd take them. No hate, just not my thing. I respect the effort that goes into it though.

Send me an invasive ask

[sllykttn]

I did have a tumblr once upon a long time ago… i could not bring it back to life for some reason 🤷🏻‍♂️ i knew as little then about what i was doing as i do today so uh good luck eh?

Somehow when #tommycash was touring the US in the start of 2022, i got really obsessive on instagram, looking for morsels of a live show i knew i wouldn’t be fearless enough to attend (see: Covid/Middle Aged). Probably recognizing my excessive online behavior, the algorithm began to flood my feed w #kpop and #cpop, slippering a slope i had not yet realized i was straddling.

I swear to fuckall i have no recollection when i started watching #theuntamed on netflix, but now i spend my nights ricocheting between viki and youtube, and the rest of it reading #ao3 and ordering fanart i can’t afford off etsy and redbubble. I am nerding as fast as i can but apparently a life of Liking pretty pics and trying to keep track of anti emojis just isn’t enough for me. I have questions, i have fears, i have confusions. Also rants.

I am confident that i am posting wrongly but there is no other way to start than in total ignorance.

[sunfish-exotics]

General rambles (both about reptiles & life & art)

Hey guys! I apologize for not being super active / responsive lately, I’ve been really busy getting prepped for brumating snakes / next season, moving lots of cages and animals around, and OH yeah this show this weekend lol

Yeah! I’ll be there with western hognoses, leopard geckos, art, and a couple gently used AP cages. That’s pretty much it for the reptiles portion of today’s ramblings with sunfish so I’m gonna put the rest below a cut

In life news I’ve really been doing some serious thinking about what I want and how to achieve those goals. I was bouncing around the idea of going back to school (FOR ART!) Which is something I’ve never attempted at a higher-education level. Long story short I don’t think full time university would be a good option for me for both financial and time commitment reasons. I would have to do TWO full years of general art classes before I could even apply for a BFA program and that’s really just not realistic for me. Instead I’m going to be taking some enrichment classes at one of the local community colleges, some online courses, and developing my own curriculum to really COMMIT to being a full-time artist. I’d be able to keep a part time job during this in addition to my reptile stuff so finances wouldn’t be too bad and I could continue my house down-payment savings.

Some things to look forward from me if you’re into my artwork!

-> Starting a youtube channel to document my growth and experiences as someone not pursuing an art degree / trying to make self-driven schooling work, and share just generalized art content

->Creating an instagram account just for art (reels! posts! curated content!)

->Really working hard to bring new products to my Etsy, redbubble, etc

->Expanding into other online art marketplaces

-> MAYBE look into streaming? I’ve tried and I don’t think my existing internet / computer setup has enough POWER to handle really dedicated streaming but it may be something to look into investing in if there’s enough interest.

-> EVENTUALLY a patreon with a sticker of the month club, maybe enamel pin club, that kind of thing. I have PLANS!

I’m not going to like... spam my channel / instagram or anything on this tumblr. I’ll probably make an announcement when they’re up and running but after that just try to create something from scratch!

If any of yall are making it work as full time artists (or even part time artists!) I’d love to chat about your experiences and if you have any advice, please don’t hesitate to send me a dm! I’m really nice lmao I know I can come off as intimidating to people who don’t know me well ;-;

That’s all for now!

[highqueenofelfhame]

rm day fifteen

super duper not my best work. i debated not even posting today but idk.. here it is. i won’t be posting tomorrow just so you guys know. kind of in my head about my writing lately and idk. really want to get bodyguard au for day seventeen posted but that kind of depends on if i can pull myself out of this funk about my writing. tw: brief mentions of miscarriage. not really anything else, i don’t think.  masterlist // kofi // redbubble // etsy

Aelin stood in the middle of her brand new apartment, rolling her fingers into a loose fist and brushing them over her palms. Her hands were dry, compliments of spending a day carrying cardboard boxes into the studio in downtown Orynth. The last time she moved, there had only been excitement bubbling and boiling in her veins. This time it was just a lead pit sinking through her stomach and down into the floor. 

Rowan had his hands on his hips, his t-shirt drenched with sweat. He, Aedion, and a couple of movers had spent the day lugging her furniture up to the second floor. Aedion himself had just left, running back to his own apartment he shared with his girlfriend on the other side of the city. It was just her and Rowan and a sea of boxes now. 

“I don’t have the energy to unpack any of this today,” she sighed, sitting on the armrest of her couch. Twisting her mouth to the side and nibbling on her lip, she looked around the room. It was a mess and it was going to take ages to get in order the way she wanted to. 

“You don’t start work for a week. Knowing you, it’ll be done well before then.” Aelin cracked a small smile, her lips barely quirking up at the corners. Rowan still stayed by the door, eyes darting from box to box. It was strange that none of his belongings were in any of them. They had lived together for the last four years, and had been dating for the last six. Yet not a single thing in any of these boxes or suitcases were his. 

Aelin’s fingers began twisting together, gripping them hard until her skin felt more raw than it already did. Two months ago Aelin had accepted a massive job opportunity with the biggest publishing company in Erilea  in Rifthold. Rowan had been traded to a football team in Wendlyn. It had taken days and days of talking about it until Rowan admitted he couldn’t stand in the way of her dreams. And she couldn’t stand in the way of his. Their relationship would falter with an ocean between them. Rowan’s schedule had always been rigorous, but it was easy when they shared a home. Two separate apartments on two separate continents… it just wouldn’t work. Not with how busy she would be, too. 

When they’d finally decided to break up, it had been hard. Both of them had cried, and they’d spent the last few weeks savoring every single moment they had together. Neither of them were ready for this day, her moving day. Both of them were quiet on the drive, gripping each other’s hand like they were lifelines. 

In truth, Rowan was her lifeline. Rowan was everything to her, and she knew she was everything to him. Even their friends had been devastated about the split, thinking it was a joke at first. When they’d announced it over dinner, everyone laughed. Until Aelin started crying, turning her face to hide behind Rowan’s shoulder. After they sat down and laid everything out for everyone, it was clear they were gutted. Rowan and Aelin were supposed to get married, have children. There had been countless days of talking about their eventual wedding, picking out names for their kids.

The pregnancy scared a year ago hadn’t even been much of a scare. When her period was late there was little panic. It was mostly excitement, the two of them falling into bed with laughter and hot kisses up and down each other’s bodies. 

The miscarriage two months later had been devastating. Aelin had withdrawn so much into herself that only Rowan could pull her out of it. For days she stayed curled up in bed, hard sobs shaking her entire body. Tissues littered the bed and floor until Rowan picked them up, ensured she ate dinner, and then pulled her into his arms until she was able to sleep. After a few weeks,  Rowan whispered promises of the chance to try again when she was ready. But the loss of the baby… It was hard to imagine going through that again. So they had decided to wait, maybe until after they were married. 

But that wedding wasn’t going to happen. It had all gone to hell, and now Aelin was just trying to focus on how to breathe. 

“Fireheart,” he said softly, taking a few steps toward her. Aelin shook her head, lips pressing together in a thin line as she turned her head to look out the window. The Rifthold skyline gazed back at her, but she knew it would never be her home. Her home was standing in front of her, sweat glazed over his skin. 

“I can’t do this.” The words came out in barely a whisper as Rowan knelt in front of her. She turned to look at him as he took her hands in his. She realized then that she was clammy, Rowan’s hands rough and warm against hers. Aelin’s were sticky and clammy, but she turned them over so he could lace them together. Knowing that it was likely the last time she would feel his hands like this against hers made her chest tight. So tight that it was painful, her ribs caving in on her body. Crushing her lungs and making all of this more unbearable than it was to begin with. Aelin had never felt pain like this before, pain that felt like it was crushing every part of her body. 

“Do what?” 

“Be without you. I don’t-” she exhaled, cheeks and lips puffing out as hot tears rolled down her face. It was the truth, laid out bare before them both. Rowan’s face crumpled, brows furrowing as he leaned forward to kiss her knuckles. “I don’t know how I’m going to do any of this without you. Life or… any of it. I just. I can’t.”

By the end of her rambling, her chest was heaving. The words came out between sharp and heavy gasps that she couldn’t stop. Her head was already pounding, it felt like her brain was pushing against the walls of her skull. If Rowan wasn’t holding her hands so steadily, they would be shaking as badly as the rest of her. 

“I know, baby. I know.” His words were soft, a bit of a balm to her soul. Rowan’s lips pressed to her knuckles. It was just like him to be strong, to hold her together while she fell apart when she knew he was hurting, too. 

She pulled her hands from his and held his face, shaky thumbs brushing away the tears that soaked his cheeks while she whispered, “I love you so much.”

“I love you. You have- Gods, Aelin. I will never stop loving you.”

“Maybe we can make it work,” she sniffed, wiping the snot from her nose. “Maybe we can figure it out.”

“You know it’s not going to work right now. As much as we are desperate for it to work, you know that right now it can’t.” Despite the way her heart collapsed in her chest, shattered into a hundred thousand pieces that couldn’t be put back together, she nodded. She knew that. They’d talked themselves in circles trying to figure out how it could. 

There had been nights that Aelin had held Rowan while he cried himself to sleep, her fingers brushing through his silky hair to soothe him. It had happened more than once, and Aelin despised the thought of him crying himself to sleep at home, alone in his bed. 

“I love you,” she said again, this time into his hair. Rowan’s arm’s wrapped around her waist, his head falling into her lap. Aelin laid over him, her nose against the back of his neck. She pressed several soft kisses there, her fingers roaming up and down his sides. His chest heaved, neck bumping into her face. Aelin knew he was trying not to do this, not to kneel before her and cry until they were both empty of tears. 

“I could stay tonight.” Aelin wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he finally lifted his head, her arms sliding around his shoulders.

“It’s just going to make it harder.” No matter how badly she wanted it, it was the truth. Waking up together one more time would make it worse. This was hard enough as it was. Giving them an extra night only to have to do this again tomorrow, to keep pushing the last day… Aelin couldn’t let it happen. 

“You need to go,” she whispered, her breath grazing over his face. Rowan nodded, knowing the truth, accepting the truth. 

It was then that he stood, tugging Aelin to her feet. They walked to the door in silence. Tears streamed down their faces. It was like looking in a mirror, really. Seeing that grief all over his face and knowing that his soul was in just as much pain as her own. 

Rowan pulled her to him, his lips finding the top of her head as he held her tightly. Aelin savored the scent of him, even the sweat. Her fingers dug into his back, twisting his t-shirt into her fists. They stood like that for a while, as close as they possibly could be before he finally tilted her head back to look at him. 

“I love you. To whatever end, I love you.” And then he kissed her, soft and sweet. Each of them savoring this last moment that they would both hang onto forever. 

“To whatever end,” she said, nodding her head. Rowan was the love of her life. She would love him to the ends of the earth and back, love him until her heart stopped beating. 

With one last kiss to her lips, he pulled away, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He offered her a watery smile that didn’t reach his eyes as he opened the door and slipped out. As it snicked shut, Aelin sank down to the floor, her hands clutching her heart. Aelin had never felt this kind of pain, the kind that threatened to swallow her whole.

It was the textbook example of right person, wrong time. She just hoped the right time would come around eventually.

[killinitart]

So I make art and have always felt like the popular places I can buy art, Etsy, Redbubble, ect, we're only for people who already had the money to promote their art. But I checked out Redbubble today and, yeah, they take most of the sale, but I don't have to pay a thing for them to sell or make products with my art. So I up loaded a few designs, fixed how they look on different products, and published them. Now I just wait for someone to buy them and eventually use that money to open a shop on my own website.

[jaderimehardt]

Opened my Etsy Shop!

Hello! o/ I mentioned in last night's blog post that THIS post was coming today, so here we are!

It took a while to gain the courage for me to do this, but I finally opened my Etsy shop!

With my Etsy shop open, the path is open for me to place Resin pieces in it whenever I desire to. All my products will be in one place. And like before when my shop was on RedBubble, all items in my Etsy are still using my own self-created art/graphics with no use of AI.

I use a completely outdated freebie version of Photoshop CS2 for my art. I show some of my layer work here on my Tumblr if anyone is ever curious enough to browse through my posts or follow. I might make it a habit to show more of that in the future because the world is becoming more accustomed to using AI and society is becoming split on the matter.

But enough on this controversial topic, I just wanted to make it clear that I do NOT use AI and I'm not a fan of it in the art world.

I knew I wanted a Print-to-Order on-Demand "Partner" and that was something I was looking heavily into for the longest time. Actually I think this was causing me the most anxiety, because this is important! This is where quality of products comes in. I do my homework guys. I research thoroughly.

I found one I'm very pleased with, and it's Printful. Look forward to future blog posts similar to my "RedBubble Product Review Posts", because I've ordered items from Printful with my graphics and I'll be doing reviews on their items. I'll try to do them more often too 👍🏻 (assuming life doesn't get in the way and I have funds to do so, lol)

So far I've added 38 listings to my shop. I don't want to overcrowd it. I feel for the amount of designs I have and the amount of products Printful has available for me to utilize, this is balanced. From here I'll work on new designs.

If there is something OLD that you may have liked (in my RB shop) and is no longer available (in my Etsy shop), I apologize, but I have to put the past behind me and move forward.

There is a fear of "Will this work for me, or not?" on Etsy, because I need to pull in traffic and their rating requirement system is harsh- basically need 5-stars otherwise you drop out of their search engines entirely. But "nothing risked, nothing gained".

I'm putting this at the bottom of the post because it's more on the ranting side, but RedBubble upped their tier fees again which also inspired much of this change.

I mentioned this in a Tumblr post a couple days ago, but to break it down and put it in perspective:

An Artist in "Redbubble Standard" tier who earned a 25$ paycheck in a month used to get charged an 11$ fee. That's 43%. Couldn't change their tier. It progressively scales worse, and all us RB sellers thought that was bad.

Now with their new system, that they tried to play off as "This will include a fee increase of less than $1 for most artists.", is significantly worse. (That's literally how they phrased it in the e-mail)

If you make 25$ a month in "Redbubble Standard" tier, you get charged a 17$ fee. That's 67%. And it continues to rise at an insane rate- in the 70%+ range.

They have a form you can attempt to submit, trying to "get a real person to reevaluate your shop to be placed in a different tier"- but that doesn't work. I tried it. Pretty sure that inspires false hope and it's bogus. I didn't even get an automated basic reply back. Not a "you submitted a form!" or "you've been denied." or "your evaluation is in progress.", nothing.

RedBubble products were okay quality. At times the quality wasn't that great in my opinion but people liked the items I felt that way about and economics is all about supply & demand 🤷🏻‍♀️. I was fine selling their items because the pricing was on par with the quality. The saying "You get what you pay for." comes to mind. But would I go out of the way to buy their items? No.

And I'm going to apologize again if any or all of this sounds negative or sarcastic or moody... I'm just saying things like I see it 😅🫠

Thank you everyone who has been supporting me all this time! 💖 And to anyone new! 💖

(I know the point of posting on this website is to tag all the things, but I feel bad and weird about tagging all the things 😖)

[bearballing]

hello, everything is terrible except my willingness to make art

and by “everything” i mean “life in general”

my wife and i are trying SO GODDAMN HARD to keep our heads above water but that’s almost impossible today in the us. she works 14 hour shifts (which is somehow legal in florida) several days a week, i apply to a million jobs a day after my old job abruptly and unexpectedly ended, we both have ongoing health things - dental for her, HRT and such for me.... and there’s always SOME nonsense happening like her super old car threatening to die for good this time

we just want to try and earn enough to live without stressing ourselves into illness for once. 

Paypal - grapplergouf2 Cash app - grapplergouf Venmo - spannerfrog Ko-fi - grapplergouf

---

I ALSO DO LOTS OF ART THINGS:

Go here to my art blog for more details and more examples: sugoi-konjou Go here for my OC art blog for more examples: zapgraptrash

I can be contacted via ask here or by email - jolty22@aol.com

---

ETSY STORE - PRIDE BUTTONS 20BITEEN

---

RedBubble Shop - Spannerfrog

(There are another two versions of the trans flag, two of the lesbian flag, another one of nonbinary, and another one of ace)

you can also look at my TWITTER and or INSTAGRAM for more art if you like.

i’m a bi nonbinary trans person and my wife is a pan woman and we’re just trying to live. if you can help us out in any way at all (even just reblogging this post) it’s SUPER appreciated. thank you

[eternalravendreamer]

Y'know what absolutely petty thing is irritating me today? My absolute inability to find a new phone case. Redbubble only supports cases for Apple products, so I can't look there.

Teespring only supports the newest couple models of Samsung phones, so nothing there either.

On Etsy a good 99% of cases for my phone are listings by fake shops that use stolen images and sometimes aren't even guaranteed to be real bc they delete all their negative reviews until you look up their shop on Google (Spectra Case). I don't even wanna think about Amazon!

I just want a phone case! Made by an actual independent artist! Not stolen art! For my phone that nobody supports anymore!

[littlefearsdoodles]

Income avenues for bloggers, writers, artists and other creatives

Jordan tweeted me today asking for some advice for a comic creator. I came back with a few suggestions, but one thing sticks in my head whenever creators, bloggers, writers, artists and even photographers ask me for advice. Aim to have multiple revenue streams.

The problem with having one revenue stream is if it ever collapses, you have nothing to fall back on. In addition to that, a single revenue stream is often limited. Even if you make it big time, how many t-shirts do you think you can sell per month? There are common-sense limits here.

So, in this post, I aim to give you some ideas on how I make a living from different revenue streams.

Print on Demand. The obvious starter. Tees, posters and phone cases on Society6, RedBubble and Threadless.

Books. Self-publishing is easier than ever. Try KDP, Smashwords or CreateSpace. Got a comic? Try Comixology.

Affiliate links. I know some people invest heavily in affiliate links, time and advertising wise and see a good return. I see maybe £20 a month from Amazon book links and Skillshare premium sign-ups. Though it doesn’t help I give everything away free, so, a pinch of salt.

Teach. Practice making videos, upload them to YouTube or Vimeo. See how you feel about them. Then get onto Udemy or Linda and start teaching properly and earning from your classes.

Stock images. Urgh, pennies. The pay for stock images is piss poor now Unsplash and Pixabay exist, but, there’s still a demand. Try Shutterstock.

Online product sales. Etsy for Americans, Folksy for the Brits. Make stuff, sell it online.

Digital products. Although Etsy sells digital products, check out Creative Market for selling your graphic designs and photograph packs.

Patreon and Ko-Fi. Ko-Fi is nice to have. People can tip you $3 at a time for your work. Patreon is also awesome. But if you want to earn from Patreon, you need to make it the main platform for your content.

Spec work. This shit is hard. I tried it, I hated it, I left it. But I know some people earn a living from Design Crowd, 99U and Fiverr.

Sponsored posts. Got a social network account or blog? Check out websites like Buzzoole, TBP or Brandbacker.

Write articles for websites. Every major website that takes submissions will have a submissions button at the bottom of the page. Keep an eye out for them.

Paper and digital magazines. Earning a living entirely on the net is hard as feck. So take it to real life. Photos, comic strips and articles required. Even if you’re a gardening blogger. Don’t just look at major magazines. Check out the little local circulars, too.

Freelance work in the real world. Photographers, ask car dealerships if they need a hand with their photos. Writers, they may want you to write something for their catalogues or websites. Artists, ask them if they want a poster designed. Visit your local businesses. Someone will need you for something.

Real-life teaching. Teach your skills in real life. One on one tutoring pays well. Ask your local craft shop if they’d like you to teach customers in-store how to use spinning wheels for a day.

Shows and exhibitions. Either get a stall to sell your wares or speak to event organisers and find out if they need someone. Photographers for event photos. Writers offer a write up of the event. Spinners, you’ll need the spinning wheel again and do some demonstrations.

Shows and exhibitions (part 2). Got a service to offer vendors? Beauty blogger visiting Afro Live or Hair? Visit first thing in the morning. Make sure to say hello to everyone on every stand and that every brand there has a copy of your media kit. Again, photographers, writers, artists, visit these events. Hundreds of potential clients in one place. Make sure they all know who you are, and what you can offer them.

Market stalls. Got a local Sunday market? I make more in a day at one these than I do in a month on Etsy. Sell prints of your photos, art, comics and books.

Phew, OK, obviously there are hundreds of ways of earning a living doing what you love. You are not just a writer, condemned to writing your blog and hoping for a book deal. Or an artist who can only draw comics and sell tees.  You’re a creative. Get creative with your incomes.

If you have any other ways of earning as a creative, leave a comment below and help a fellow creator out.

Speaking for myself, I can’t earn a living entirely online. I need to get out into the real world to earn a living and I need to take incomes from different directions. It’s hard work. Certainly harder than a 9 to 5 and longer hours. For those that knew me a pre-Fears, you know how big that statement is from me. But I get to pay the bills doing work I’m always psyched about. That’s always a great thing.

Do you know what else is a great thing? This segue into all the great ways you can support me if you love this post and my daily stories.

Check out my tees on Threadless. You can buy me a cuppa over on Ko-Fi. Want to support me monthly? Hit me up on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. I also have an Etsy store and a book series on Amazon.

As always, shout out and thanks to my $10 Patrons, whose support helps me bring you daily tales of groan-inducing terror. Bruce, Badger, Kathy & Warren.

Cheers, gang.

[lucimorningstar812]

PMA for Today

It’s hard to say you’re happy with life, and even harder to find that happiness, but that doesn’t mean you hate everything Sit down and think about what you like in your life. Small things, big things, just things you like

I like the fact I have quite a few friends, even if they are through a screen, and I get to talk to them basically every day

I like having a  gorgeous cat and a mischievous puppo that I love dearly 

I like having a parent that’s invested in the things I enjoy and a family that even when they don’t really understand what I’m talking about, they remember certain details and still ask me about stuff

I like that I’m in a position where I can get mostly get the stuff I want, which also means I can support others through commissions, redbubble, etsy, ko-fi etc and donate to charities

I like having short hair and being able to wear beanies comfortably, which was harder to do when I had long, thick hair this time last year

I like where my art is going and how I’m improving, and that my confidence in my art has increased

Yes, I hate where I am in terms of my general path in life, but looking at where I am in the moment, I like it, and there are probably other little details I could say I like