#it was fun but idk how much this will reach the target audience for this one | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sleepis4theweak · 2 years ago

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Hiya! I’m kind of a small creator on here and trying to get my rottmnt fic an audience but no matter what I do as promo material (art, skits, rambles) nothing ever works to get more than like 2 notes max. I’m confident in my story’s quality so I’m fairly sure that’s not the issue. I was wondering if you have any advice or anything like that? Your stuff is lovely and get a lot of community engagement so I’m curious if there was anything you actively did that helped you grow! I hope this doesn’t come off as rude or desperate, I just wanted to know if I was missing something since I’m pretty new to Tumblr. Enjoy your day ^^

Don't worry! You don't come off as rude or desperate at all!! <3

But tbh... you are asking the wrong person here...

I'm going into marketing, and I spent a full school year in high school doing an independent study on social media algorithms. So I know a LOT about how to grow social media followings- specifically instagram accounts.

But I never actually studied tumblr. I used to use instagram as a platform, but knowing how the algorithm worked was too stressful for me... I'd post stuff and be like "the algorithm won't like this because blah blah blah." Eventually I was drawing for the algorithm and not for me, and so I quit because it just wasn't fun anymore...

Which is why I have very specifically not studied Tumblr's algorithm, because I don't want it to turn into the same situation as with instagram. So I don't know a ton about how to grow a following... and also I've only been on tumblr for 5 months...

THAT BEING SAID: I can walk you through my tumblr and how it's grown!

My very first post was of a meme redraw with the 2012 turtles. I think it got around 1,600 likes?

I posted a couple more things, with varying amounts of likes and such. My first comic (which I never actually completed past the first part) got a total of 7 likes within the first months of posting it. Only when I got more followers did the like amount change.

When I posted my first chapter of the Flashbacks AU, I had 33 or so followers. I think I got to like... 300 followers from that first chapter alone. From there it was just... a steady growth of followers I guess. And with followers comes more reblogs, and with more reblogs comes more followers.

I have around 1,600 followers now. Not everyone is gonna like my posts, I think I get around 20 for responded asks and 100-300 for random pieces of art. Comics get closers to 600 or so. It depends on the content.

I think there are a couple of universal things that help grow an account:

1- Making sure your content is reaching the right people. Put the right tags in. Go crazy with them in fact. If I'm posting a piece with Rise Mikey in it, Im gonna tag: Mikey, Mikey tmnt, Mikey 2018, ROTTMNT, Rise Mikey, etc etc. On instagram they are currently trying to get people to limit their use of tags, but I don't think the same thing applies here. Even tho tags don't help as much here, they are still a good tool!

2- Consistency. Idk how it works on this platform, but consistency is generally a good thing! With instagram theres an actual method to it (1 post a day= good, but the more posts you do a day the less people it shows it to), it might be worth it to look up if tumblr has something similar.

3- Have fun with it! I know this is kinda lame to say... but don't change your content for views. Just... do what you like and eventually your target audience will find you :)

4- Engage with what audience you do have! It's fun to bond with people online, and it helps that "community engagement" piece you talked about!

5-... stalk people hehe. (By which I mean: Look at what other artists post! What tags do they use, do they reblog their own posts a lot, etc etc. Also look at artists with similar followings to your own. For example, studying Cass might not be very helpful, because Cass has a large amount of followers and I'm convinced they could post a picture of a blank canvas and still get 1,000 likes hehe... BUT- I mean you could scroll down to Cass' (or other artist's) first posts and see what they were doing then! Just... observe others I suppose!)

Id love to tell you likes don’t matter, that what matters is having fun and loving what you are drawing. But also I do know how it feels to post something you are really proud of and then have no one like it- it sucks.

But just keep on going :) You'll find your people eventually I'm sure.

OH ALSO: IF ANYONE ELSE HAS ANY TIPS FEEL FREE TO REBLOG AND ADD STUFF IN!!! <3

#cass is very cool...#ANYWHO- I hope that helped? Feel free to ask any follow up questions... I'm not sure how helpful I was :/#<3 <3 <3 #Good ask!!!#I think I'm a bit of an unusual case tho? Maybe???#Idk a lot about tumblr...#GOOD LUCK THO!!! IM WISHING U ALL THE BEST!!! <3 #HAVE FUN WITH UR ART!!! AND YOUR COMICS!#social media can be frustrating... but it can also be fun! Try to find a way to make it fun for you :) However that works best for you <3 #and if the thing that would make it fun is getting a lot of likes... then I hope this helps :)#answered asks #AH OKAY IM DONE BYE <3 #oh last point you can also use other apps as traction apps.#i can explain that if you are interested in doing that...

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yandere-sins · 2 years ago

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If you ever decide to drop og obey me but want to feel the gap while you fully transition between games, I would like to recommend Limbus company! It's dark fantasy gacha with a gamplay kind of similar to darkest dungeon. Altough the combat system can be a little hard to get the hang of, it's pretty rewarding as you fight more!

The main cast is based off from classic literature: Metamorphosis, Moby Dick, Dream of the red chamber... the Mc is mamed Dante and is based form the Divina comedia (and a comedy it is with how darkly funny and bastard all the characters interactions are with each others!) It's kind of a niche target audience, but I have been having fun with it. You will love the bug guy!

The dailies are basically just fighting, so they are quite easy to fulfil. Although I have yet to find how to get the points for the gacha that aren't from advancing with the story or buying, the gacha isn't that bad; my luck is terrible, I tell you. I have to always reach 76-80 pull on both guaranteed and 50/50 in Genshin to get the five star! Even on my way to build pity, I only pull onr 4 star per tenfold. But in Limbus, I pulled the equivalent of three 5 stars in two days. And since it's relatively new, it won't overwhelm you with the amount of cards.

The only problem I would say it has, is that you will probably need to use the steam version for PC/Laptop if you don't have a good phone/tablet. I tried to run it with the same tablet I play Twisted, but it always crashed after trying to load the tutorial battle.

Sorry if this message bothers you! You can delete it if so, but your poll made me remember the reasons of why I left Obey me! Similar to you, how tough it was to keep up with the dailies and grinding in general, but I was too attached/needed something to do the ex/change before taking my leave. I felt better almost immediately and soon realised everything felt more like a chore rather than something I wanted to play.

Hey! Thank you so much for your insight!

I am just in a big transition mood tbh. I already dropped one of my genshin accounts since I rarely play on it any more and now just do the dailies on EU which I can enjoy with friends too, but it's just waiting out until the update now ^^'

And yeah, I'll definitely drop the OG Obey me. Not like I will delete it, but I just won't nurse it anymore with my time unless they decide to go back and make it an actual, separate game. I am just so disappointed at how they are handling it now. And I was so surprised how many people chose the option that they only play the OG game...

Nevertheless, I do want my games to immerse me (and get my mind off things for a while) and this grinding or just doing dailies is just not doing it for me anymore, so thank you for your input! I'll keep it in mind though not sure if I want to find something else or just go with the most obvious option for me personally: Honkai Star Rail.

IDK if that will catch my attention as much as Genshin did, but with friends that play it and my fav content creators also making videos about it and stuff, it seems logically for me to at least check it out. Either way, there won't be big changes coming soon, though maybe I can find some time this weekend to check out some games I wanted to play and see if something catches my eye, so thanks for your suggestion ♥ I hope you continue to have a lot of fun with Limbus Company!

#admin #recommodations

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ophernelia · 2 years ago

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I just wanted to say thank you for not being exclusionary and supporting all kinds of sims content. Sometimes it feels like bigger creators within the community only interact with each other and it feels discouraging as a smaller creator. I found your socials on twitter after that thing a few weeks ago and had a negative opinion of you initially, but it's nice to see I was clearly wrong.

I’ve said it before but I like all types of sims content. I like the stories, save files, machinimas, aesthetic gameplay, casual gameplay, renders, edits, etc. I just like seeing what other people create. I think it’s fun. The common consensus is that there’s only so much you can do with the game, but if you take a scroll through simblr you can see that’s wrong. The stuff y’all make with this game is so creative. I love seeing it. And I won’t deny any one of their experience they’ve had with other creators but hello??? Tag me! I keep telling y’all that lol. I wanna see it! A lot of times I’m busy making my own stuff, but I peruse on occasion. I’m less inclined to reach out now cause idk who likes or dislikes me lol, but if you’re okay with me interacting with your content literally just hmu.

Don’t be afraid to reach out to people. Join in on trends or challenges. You grow in the community when you take part in it. And do it just for the enjoyment of it! That’s how you get organic growth. You don’t have to be besties with everyone, but it helps to be kinder too. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. And just keep posting. Use good SEO, so your content reaches your target audience. That’s how I was able to curate most of my audience. And also remember more followers, more problems. It ain’t all that great. You lose a lot of the freedom and comfort you have as a smaller creator, because more people are paying attention to you. You’re subject to public opinion and whatever they wanna run with, they will. It’s the nicest feeling to deal with but it’s a part of being a creator. It’s okay to want growth, but try to enjoy where you’re at too.

#text post #asks #and again don’t be upset if I don’t interact with it!#nine times out of ten I just didn’t see it #maybe if some social sites had better alert systems 👀 I’d actually like to SEE all my notifs thank u #all of suck and YouTube too #u know how many comment replies I’ve missed over the last few months?????

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nerdlvr · 7 months ago

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heyy aggy, just wanna start off by saying how i am so sorry for the hate you’ve been receiving. you honestly don’t deserve it like you’re litch my fav writer and i love your smau’s. idk how u do it but its like you put some sort of magic in your work to make it so funny yet entertaining.

anyway idek if this is where you’re supposed to send things like this (this is my first time writing on tumblr so idk how it works). anywho, i was thinking of writing my own fiction, (still unsure whether i want it written or smau or a mix of both) but tbh, idek how to set up a public profile and if i just post my first chapter immediately or do like an intro as my first post or smth 😭😭. so if possible, is it alright if you can give me some tips on like writing, posting and using tumblr and all that stuff.

also another issue i have is like time management 😅😅. like tbh i sorta roughly planned a fic based on jaehyuns songs dandelion & roses when they first got released. ive written a rough plan for fun and now idk i js feel like actually making it come to life despite it not rly being that original and possibly rly boring 😭. but let’s say i do make it happen, my school just loves giving me tests and projects during the same week and day !! so like idk if im gonna be dedicated enough yk

i js realised i yapped a lot and my writings all over the place so i am really really really sorry and i understand if you don’t get to this soon 😭😭🙏🏻🙏🏻

hi! thank you cutie 😭

well the first step is always choosing a cute layout for your tumblr page, just make it your own whether it's your bias, favorite color, or something you like. your profile layout is the image of you basically.

when it comes to posts it depends on what you'r trying to plan. i started with a post like this to kinda make a base for my profile (i am obsessed with links) that post can direct people to different parts of your page and it's a way of letting readers know who you are and what you do!

when it comes to the actual writing: for smau's i typically make a masterlist post like this to kinda give a preview of what the smau is about, it's kinda like a teaser. also don't forget to add tags to ur post that way you can reach your target audience and make sure the certain fandoms reach your work! when it comes to writing fics or blurbs you can only pretty much rely on the tags, so you just have to rawdog it and post the fic 😭.

i feel like one of the issues i have when i post is "will someone actually want to read this?" and tbh you just gotta go for it 😭 there will always be works with similar themes or concepts and that's okay as long as you're not taking someone else's work! something like the enemies to lovers is a trope that is literally everywhere, it's just about making it your own! don't be scared to post just go for it and as you make more posts you'll get used to it and everything will just flow. sometimes there will be interactions and sometimes there won't be, and that's okay! it's about being proud of your work and continuing to grow as you go!

time management is also an issue for me and the most i can tell you is to understand that coming on here and writing should be something enjoyable for you not a chore, so when you have downtime you can come and make a post, you don't need to post consistently, sometimes a writer doesn't have all the time in the world and you should make it clear to your readers that you are busy and will post only when you have time! as long as you know you'll come back and continue your chapters or updating then it doesn't matter if you're gone for 2 weeks, those who grow to love you will stay and wait!

#jji lee #asks!

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romanarose · 1 year ago

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Hello there ✨️ love your work 💕 I'm a long time fan 🫶🏼. I've been on tumblr a few years now, but I'd never found the courage to post anything of my own til now. I've been feeling a little optimistic these days, and genuinely excited about posting some of my writing and sharing it with the people out here. Do you have any advice on how to start posting and interacting from scratch? Cause I'm low-key nervous abt it and it seems like my target audience has already formed a solid community I don't know how to get into 🥺

Wow, this might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me wowie!!!!!!

okay let me tell my advice

The numbers don't equal quality. Certain things appeal to people more, like shorter stories, straight up smut, Joel Miller gets way more than when I write Marc. I think one of my best works was my Marc X Jewish!Reader series, Seattle, but it idnt get anywhere really even at the height of moon knight popularity bc people dont read OC's esp ethnic oc's. Put your heart into it and those who enjoy it will enjoy it. I had a William Miller series that averaged like 8-20 notes per chapter but I had a handful of readers I knew adored it and thats what mattered

This site is so much better with interaction. PLEASE DON"T ONLY INTERACT FOR THE SAKE OF GETTING FRIENDS WHO"LL REBLOG!! However, if you dont already, make sure you are reblogging stories and leaving nice words! Me personally, if someone reblogs regularly and leave nice words, espcially things that show they really paid attention, I usually just follow back bc I love friends. Im happy to get to know you!

Yes, it's hard sometimes to break it. It took a few months for me to get into the Oscar Issac writer circles, and then when I started writing Pedro it took a while too but I always reblogged and tried to communicate and I made friends. Isn't it crazy we can just.... become friends with our fav writers? Obvs Im not friends with all my favs but MOST of my favs became my friends <3

It's kinda annoying to me bc Im bad at it but aesthetics help. Title, a picture to catch eyes, summary, warnings, note. Try to make it look nice. Im really had at this LMFAOOOOOO. My lovely friends have made my best looking banners. If you have graphic design skills, use them! i wish i didn't have to but it does help catch readers when you have an interesting headers and everything looks pretty.

Few technicals. Use the readmore option. No one wants to reblog a LOOOOOONG story and clog up the feeds. Use as many correct tags as you can. Tag any triggering content. And I'm the worst at this but proof read. Im bad at proof reading, everyone who reads my work knows spelling, grammar, wrong words are a common issue I have bc Im bad at typing. When I still had word on my laptop I started typing in word and using text to speach to help me catch stuff!

Keep at it! IDK where you know my work, weather moon knight, triple frontier or tlou or whatever but all those fandoms right now are like.... a little less active. So don't be dissapointed if it takes a while. With TLOU, theres SOOOOOOO many amazing writers. With Moon Knight theres just less buzz rn. If you write for lesser known characters like Llewyn Davis or Will Miller, you probs won't reach the notes of established writers in Joel Miller. Just the reality. the point is keep going, find what you like and what gets people excited and go from there

This is the most important. Write what you want. I mean it. I love writing Will Miller because he's my special man <3 even though it's a small fanbase. My series Rooms On Fire, a lot have lost interest bc its a long series. That's okay! I love the series and it makes me happy to write it. I wrote a few Miguel O'Hara stories because, I'm being honest here, I wanted to capitalize on the hype. Guess what? They weren't good. I'm not proud of them. Since then, I write what Im inspired to.

THIS SHOULD BE FUN AND IF AT ANY POINT, IT"S NOT FUN STOP AND FIGURE OUT WHY

feel free to say hi off anon! I'm always happy to get to know new people. If you like Triple Frontier, I have a discord server that is pretty much open to everyone! I'm trying to revive it and you can share your works and meet knew people!

Anon or not, let me know if you have any questions!

#writing advice #fanfiction advice #fanfiction writing

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struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor · 1 year ago

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I watched vcha's debut mv and the songs they've released so far (go getter is catchy after a second listen but that's it) and I don't understand the strategy behind their direction. I realize that I'm older than what must be their target demographic but even the younger teens that I know wouldn't tune in for this - the lyrics are often too cringey and western audiences have never been that big a fan of cutesy concepts. When people throw a lot of resources at something like this, I always figure they must know something I don't and have some reason to think that this will have broader appeal than I'm seeing, but the title track they put out is just ok. Like it doesn't hurt me to listen to it, but there's nothing interesting about it and I don't see anything that would make it trend-worthy as a way to bring attention to the song. All of the choices behind this group are so confusing and it makes me question the idea of these global groups bc I assume the intention is to appeal to the west but idk who they're listening to when strategizing how to do that

Hi!

Honestly, I've only heard their debut song, but I can't say I understand their strategy either. I thought the song was pretty cringe. I kept thinking maybe pre-teens would like it. Teenage girls like powerful women because that's who they want to be - it's why they like Blackpink and Taylor Swift. Teenagers don't find other teenagers making childish music cool. I like Sneakers, Boys Like You, Teddy Bear, The Feels, etc. so Girls of the Year could grow on me, but fun, cute, and a bit childish kpop is different from the try hard concept they did. I don't know, their aim is clearly the West so debuting with this is just not it. Those girls aren't Blackpink. I'm not sure who in the West likes that kind of music.

I don't get international groups in general. A lot of people know of kpop now and expect kpop to be made by Asian idols. Introducing international idols and making songs in English does not make a group more GP friendly, just harder to market, since they're not what people expect kpop to be, but they aren't what people like to see in pop either. Kpop stans don't seem very interested in these groups and neither does the West. To be very, very honest, adding white girls to a kpop group makes kpop lose what makes it "exotic" to locals. All groups cater to the West atp, so if a kpop group's entire concept is being kpop, but for the West, that's literally what a lot of groups already do? The idols having different nationalities likely doesn't help much reach those different countries.

I don't know... There's something extremely unappealing and weird to me about international groups, and I don't know if I'm just being a racist Koreaboo or if there's something legitimate there. Just full disclosure. I admit my prejudice.

Thanks for the ask! I agree with you!

#ask #text #thanks for the ask!

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furballfaggot · 2 years ago

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🎉 target audience reached 🎉

in all honesty i hadnt listened to I Feel Better or Hearts a Mess before your reblog. i just did and yeah thats pretty on point

i really didnt recognize I Feel Better as gotye at all at first??? its so different. idk. and then coming off of that right into Hearts a Mess............ i feel better is definitely a weaker gotye track yeah. i also see what you mean with how STIUTK (which is very fun to imagine pronouncing) sounds so much like Not Gotye. like its got the slightest twinge of it at best. yknow

all in all ya thats some solid points 👍 and also i have a new song to add to my Way Too Many Songs playlist

i understand that if theres a gotye fandom on tumblr in the year of our yosoti 2023 they are few and far between but. tbh. i think smoke and mirrors should have been The Gotye Song People Recognize instead of somebody that i used to know. im not saying used to know is BAD by any means, it used to be my favorite song period, but i think smoke and mirrors is way catchier overall. the instruments used are also really good, i love that kinda guitar soundy thing that songs like this and ninja tuna (mr scruff) use. idk the name of it i just know it sounds Good

#the pond #fr though youre one more person than i expected to see in this fandom /lh

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jostenneil · 4 years ago

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Hello! I saw your post about the well-written female characters so i would like to know if you have more suggestions? Any genre would do! Thank you! ( ◠‿◠ )

sure! i am going to assume you'd still like it to be anime / manga since that's what the original post centered on as well

ooku by yoshinaga fumi (manga) → this series basically operates by a reworking of jp history wherein the shogunate is largely female and served by harems of men, due to a disease several decades prior that nearly wiped out men and left women needing to fill their roles in society. the way it subverts gender roles and explores how women act when they saturate positions of power is pretty engrossing to read about!

asahinagu by kozaki ai (manga/film) → the dynamics between the girls in this are so endearing and inspiring! the protag is a timid girl who decides to join the naginata club (think japanese fencing) when its strongest member saves her from a pervert, as a way to build up her own confidence and strength. it's rly nice to see that she isn't bullied into "manning" up, rather the positive but stubborn reinforcement of her teammates pushes her to change

tokimeki tonight by ikeno koi (manga/anime) → follows the daughter of a vampire and werewolf who has the odd power of being able to change into a carbon copy of anything she bites lol! ranze has to navigate a normal life around this ability, all while falling for a human pretty boy, despite the fact that she's not allowed to fall for a human. great shenanigans, later serious arcs that are engrossing and divine, and ranze is just a rly easy to love character whom i think a lot of girls can relate to

emma by mori kaoru (manga) → good one if you're a fan of historical romance novels, although not as much wish fulfillment. follows two protags, emma and william, who fall in love in victorian england despite class differences. emma's a maid while william's part of the gentry, and obv, that complicates things. really love this one bc i think it grounds itself in a lot of realism. emma's a very well built protag, and it's interesting to see the interplay between her desire to be with william and her recognition of society's reality

skip beat by nakamura yoshiki (manga) → i mean, ok. this is a no brainer, but i'll put it here anyway since it's been running so long, there's bound to be newer audiences unaware of it. kyoko imo is one of the most awe-inspiring shoujo protags at present. she's stubborn and relentless in terms of work ethic but also very humbled by the fact that she's a newcomer to the entertainment industry with much left to learn in order to succeed. the slow burn between her and ren is Agonizing and why i ended up dropping the manga, but nonetheless, she's a wonder to watch evolve

guardian of the spirit by uehashi nahoko (novel/anime) → the protag, balsa, sets out to atone for eight deaths by deciding to save eight lives. she becomes bodyguard to a prince in the process, who's targeted for murder by his dad. balsa's very much the maker of her own life and someone who stands by her decisions regardless of others' influence, which i rly appreciate! it's also rare to see a female warrior protagonist so that's nice too lol

eureka seven (anime) → [plays days by flow and cries] i watched this over a decade ago so my memory is shite but eureka and anemone are my complicated DAUGHTERS whom i would die for please just take my word for it. it's crazy that eureka is kinda the forgotten mecha series on the western side of things bc it became so popular in japan there's like multiple animes and movies and everything idek

the ancient magus' bride by yamazaki kore (manga/anime) → aside from the fact that the anime for this is gorgeously animated and has one of the best osts i've ever heard, chise is a really unique protagonist to watch grow. she's a bit subdued in demeanor due to prior trauma from people treating her poorly due to her lack of control over her magic, but being under elias's (the ancient magus) tutelage allows her to build confidence, control, and a love for the world that she nearly lost due to people rejecting her

claymore by yagi norihiro (manga) → haven't read this in years so my memory's hazy but if you're a fan of berserk or the dark fantasy genre in general, and would like a full female cast, hello! also fun little piece of trivia but when claymores reach like peak power the feeling is likened to a "climax" and the series posits that only women were good at this so. male claymores are no more. idk it's just hilarious to me like yes men are bad at sex!

oresama teacher by tsubaki izumi (manga) → by gsnk's mangaka! about a girl gang leader who gets expelled and has to restart at a new school where a teacher encourages her to head the public morals club, which aims to reform delinquents and improve the school's enrollment figures since it's doomed with drop outs. super funny and from what i remember not rly romance focused so if you're looking for a female mc with slightly different priorities and a less standard personality in terms of shoujo, it's pretty neat

#ooku #asahinagu #tokimeki tonight #skip beat #guardian of the spirit #eureka seven #the ancient magus bride #claymore #oresama teacher #mine:recs

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maryniss · 4 years ago

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The Hero

Fandom: Sk8 The Infinity

Summary: We found out who built Carla.

Characters:

Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom

Nanjo Kojiro | Joe

Relationships:

Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom

Rating:

General and Up Audiences

Tags:

Fluff

ofc it had to be a rewrite of the preview in ep 9

Kaoru being soft for once

Kojiro being a total simp

had to rewrite it cause the first draft got deleted

Notes: hihihi matchablossom is the coolest name for a ship pls im dying i love them so much. btw, kojiro means hero in japanese. ahahahahha

also fuck adam

and the palm trees

also inspired by a convo with my bestie @seleneslyre-writes

Why Kaoru loved Carla so much was a mystery for Kojiro. It wasnt even that great. What could she do? Just some little tricks here and there.

Well, one thing was certain. Kojiro regrets that he built Carla for Kaoru. Or, he doesnt regret it. He loves that his friend has something he treasures so deeply. He really wants Kaoru to be happy. But, still. There is this feeling in his stomach, the same feeling he has when his soup is just a little too salty, when his carbonara pasta have just too much parmesan.

Kojiro sighs and the fire on the stove does too. It is really not the time to actually be thinking about Kaoru. Especially not right now. When his pink-haired friend sits in front of him, waiting to eat something.

"Oi, are you trying to starve me to death?"

Ah, Kojiro knew this would happen. He should just focus on his food. Just his food. Just the food he was making for Kaoru...

Ah, he just remembered how Kaoru used to skate. Before Carla. Before Adam left to America. When Kaoru skated, he was feral. It didnt matter that he could get hurt. It didnt matter that he was getting the corner at a wrong angle. It was simply amazing to watch Kaoru skate then. If he was sincere, he probably fell for him when he first saw him skate. It was probably spring and Kojiro was going back from school. How old was he? 16?

Anyway, the weather was warm and all around him sakura flowers were swinging. He remembers that his feet were cold for whatever reason and that he wanted to go home as soon as possible.

He didnt see the guy with the skate. If his hair would have been a different color from the flowers that were around him, maybe he would have.

Kojiro and Kaoru clashed and fell on the hard asphalt. The sakura flowers were all around them. Or maybe it was just Kaoru's hair; Kojiro couldnt distinguish them.

And, yes that was the moment he fell. He fell hard. Never in his life had he fell harder. Even when he broke his femur and almost died. Never has Kojiro in his life been so deeply attached to something.

He tried to lie to himself weeks after that. He would say to himself that he has not fell for a skater boy. It was probably the hair confusing him.

Yeah he decided that was it.

"Ko-ji-ro" Kaoru's voice made him forget about the sixteen year old Cherry Blossom and reminded him that he still had to serve food to his clients.

"Hm? What did you say?"

"Huh? What are you thinking about? It is not fun to mock you if you wont even pay attention."

Kojiro nodded his bead mindlessly. It wasnt like him to be so sentimental, to think so much of the past. Actually, it wasnt like him to think at all.

"By the way, the food is burning." Kojiro looked at Kaoru. Then at the food. Boy, did he wish Kaoru would just joke.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck.", said he as he turned off the stove. Well, there certainly was a problem.

"Ok, big mindless gorilla. Now, I dont have patience for you to try again."

Kojiro opened his mouth just to close it again. He was shocked that he actually burned it. This hasnt happened to him since he was 15!

"Dont you have anything to drink?"

Kojiro blinked and looked at his friend's bandages. He finally spoke some coherent words.

"You sure you can drink like that?"

Kaoru relaxed on his chair and looked at his friend, a provocative gleam in his eyes. His hair was quite messy and damn that was the hottest shit Kojiro has seen. For some reason.

Come on, Kojiro. You have to stay calm. Calm like pasta. Pasta is good. Pasta is calm.

"Ok, ok, I’ll give you something to drink, but not too much, okay?"

Kaoru grinned and his golden pupils shone. Outside the restaurant, people were minding their business, not even looking twice in their direction. It felt as if they were secluded from the rest of the world. Just the two of them. Just the...

Fuck, Kojiro. Remember that pasta is good. Pasta is cool.

Kojiro got a bottle of wine from under the table.

“What is that?” Kaoru looked sceptically at the bottle of champagne.

“Just a something I bought from the local store.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t expect such a gorilla like you to drink something of quality.”

“Maybe your tastes are just too refined.”

Kojiro poured a glass for his friend and one for him, too. Kaoru smelled it and made an unpleased face.

“Hey, if you don’t want to drink it, you dont ha-”

Kaoru gulped the glass and slammed it against the table. Kojiro could see the lingering liquid on Kaoru’s lips. He would love to bend over and kiss them...softly...soft lips...

KOJIRO, PASTA. THINK ABOUT THE FUCKING PASTA.

“Ok, but you’ll pay for it.” Kaoru scoffed.

“I can afford some cheap drink. But why won’t you pour yourself a glass? Then you wont say only I drank.”

Outside the restaurant, the people did not pay a second glance to them. It was as if they were the only people existent in the world. Only the two of them..

Yeah he’d like that.

***

One bottle of champagne later and Kaoru had almost fell asleep. His hair was sprawled across the table, covering his face. Kojiro gently brushed it aside, tucking it behind a bandaged ear.

He loved this man so much and he had has since ha was 16. That’s why he built Carla for him after Adam left for America. After he had been rejected. When Adam left, not only Kaoru got hurt. Kaoru changed; he started to skate carefully, as if to not get hurt again. And it broke Kojiro’s heart to see him.

It took Kojiro five months to build Carla. He didn’t know how he did it. He hadn’t sleep for days, he remembers. But, it was worth it. It definitely was.

“Mhm-take your hands off me, you big fat go-aaah.” Kaoru yawned and the corners of Kojiro’s mouth went upward. He sighed, stood up and gently took Kaoru into his arms. The man seemed to be somewhat lighter than before. Kojiro frowned.

“...know...you...hero...” Kaoru mumbled something with his face hid in Kojiro’s broad chest.

“Mhm? What did you say?”

And all of sudden, Kaoru woke up and threw his arms around Kojiro’s neck, pulling him closer. He started kissing his face. He kissed every single inch of dark skin, Kojiro’s nose, Kojiro’s cheeks, Kojiro’s eyes.

The milky moon’s light was entering on the window, throwing silver shadows over their bodies. Kojiro was... well he was simply amazed. Never had this happened before. Never had Kaoru kissed him so softly and affectionate. And, yes, maybe it was because he was hurt, but it didn’t matter. Kojiro loved it, loved it so much, goddamit! Why had to be Adam that broke Kaoru’s heart? Why should this beautiful man stand some where else than in his arms, where he knew that he could protect him?

“Have you wondered why I always loved Carla so much?”

Kojiro didn’t say anything. He didn’t really want to know, for some reason. Actually, if he would be honest with himself, he was kind of jealous.

“You really are one dumb gorilla.”

Kaoru smiled and his body relaxed in Kojiro’s arms, whom tightened his grip.

“It’s because you made it for me, Kojiro.”

Also, a bonus that i want to happen:

Kojiro didn't came to see the race. Oh no, there was only one thing he wanted and he would definitely get it. He eyed the target. Adam was on the stage, playing his stupid game with cards and whatever. That was perfect. that way, everyone could see. Kojiro tightened his grip on his skateboard. He reached the stage in no time and patted Adam on his shoulder. "Oh, who is-" He slammed the skateboard in his face. "First, this is for breaking Cherr's heart." He punched him in the stomach and it took all he had to not punch him way downer. "And this is for breaking Cherr's face." Ok, so that was already done. No, all he had to do was to resolve the teenage love drama he had to witness some days ago. Kojiro took the mic. "Langa! Stop wasting your fucking time here. Go and see Reki!" And, with that, he left. After all, he had someone waiting for him at home.

*** maybe i ll do a fic for what did langa afterwards? idk :)

#sk8 fanfic #joe sk8 #cherry blossom #matchablossom fic

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purplesurveys · 5 years ago

Text

1010

survey from diggitydoo

Have you ever felt a baby kick? Yes, when my mom was pregnant with my brother. What color pants/shorts are you wearing? I’m only wearing a duster gown; no shorts underneath. I just got it last night, actually - my mom wanted to donate clothes to victims of a recent fire incident in Manila and so she asked my sister and I to sort through our closets for clothes we were willing to give away. My sister ended up giving away a comfy-looking duster gown that she never even wore and even smelled brand new to boot. It ended up in my hands, ha. But apart from that we gave away a lot of stuff that aren’t old uniforms or costumes (which is what most people tend to ‘donate’, ugh), so we just hope they end up with people who really need them. When is the last time you did something truly fun, and what was it? Last night I went on our org’s Discord server and we played Jackbox games for around an hour or so. It was my first time to socialize again after around two months and I really, really needed that moment. I even met the org’s newest roster of applicants for this semester, which was neat. :) What was the scariest moment of your life? Men terrorizing me or near-car crashes I’ve had.

Have you ever heard of Leonard Cohen? The name is familiar, but that’s the most I know.

Pancakes or flapjacks? I guess pancakes, since I don’t even know what flapjacks are. What kind of computer are you on? It’s a laptop. Do you eat Chinese food? If so, what's your favorite dish? For sure. Pork buns or minced pork with eggplant. With century egg on the side, yum. What are you usually doing at midnight? Either passed out or desperately trying to sleep because I don’t want to lose any more hours of sleep and risk being cranky for the whole of the next day. Have you ever developed feelings for a friend, but you were already with someone? No. The worst thing that’s happened was being someone’s ball date (and unbeknownst to me, they apparently had feelings for me at the time) while I was already with someone. If so, how did it turn out? He figured it out by himself, which I still feel bad about. But the timing was super off and I just couldn’t find a moment to sit him down and set the record straight...ah well. It was just super complicated at the time. Give me your brief definition of love. My favorite love-related quote is “Love never says ‘I have done enough’” and for the longest time, that has been my guiding principle when it comes to it. Definitely a tad bit cheesy, but telling myself that over and over makes it easier to continue loving the people I care for and be patient with them when they’re being asses. Gab included, then and now. What is the most beautiful part of the human body, male or female? It differs for everyone but I’m a thigh girl through and through. What kind of shoes do you wear? Uh...various ones? I have sneakers, flats, heels, flip-flops, probably a couple more kinds that I can’t place at the moment. What is the worst thing you've ever done when you were really angry? Resorting to physical violence. I was a kid constantly exposed to violence in my old home, and at the time I genuinely thought that’s how most things were settled or pacified. I still feel like shit about it to this day, and my backstory isn’t an excuse at all; but the past is the past and I’ve been trying to make up for it by being a much more gentle angry person in the last few years. Are there any pills you take on a daily basis? If so, what? Nope. Do you like the smell of coconuts? For some reason I can’t stand anything coconut (which is a damn shame considering I’m Filipino) but I love dishes with heaps of coconut milk in them, like curry. That’s the one coconut-related thing I enjoy, but otherwise I’ve never learned to appreciate the taste and smell of buko juice, coconut shavings, coconut pies, and everything else coconut. What is the heaviest you think you can lift? From what my old PE class showed me, around 70 to 80 lbs. Do you take Tums? Idk what that is so I guess I don’t. Have you ever walked on a pier at the beach? I’m not sure if I’ve been to a pier before. I bet it feels wonderful and freeing and I’d love to visit one; but I also can’t keep myself from associating piers with the recurring image of Jennifer Connelly’s character standing on one from Requiem for a Dream. How about under one? No. At what age do you first remember feeling butterflies in your stomach around someone? Not sure if it was 11 or 12, but it was definitely one of those years. Do you feel that way around anyone now? Yeah, if they allowed me to see them. But I’m shut out now so I haven’t had that sensation in a while.

Do you ever talk to yourself or think deep thoughts while on the toilet? No. Do you ever sing to yourself? Sure. I’m sure most people do every once in a while. What is a sound that relaxes you? Ocean waves have never failed. How hard has it been to reach your main goal in life? ‘Main goal’ sounds so overwhelming; I make it a point to avoid one overarching goal and instead make little goals and plans here and there depending on where I am in life. Do you remember the song about hoes in different area codes? Never heard of it. What is your main heritage? Filipino. What kind of pickles do you prefer, if you like pickles? I hate pickles. What kind of cheese do you prefer, if you like cheese? Mozzarella and feta are my faves, but I love cheese and am willing to be adventurous when it comes to it. If you could have a sea creature as a pet, what would you want? Eh, they can stay in the sea where they can actually survive. I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to keeping fish as pets. How about a farm animal? Probably pig. So, do you have hoes in different area codes? No, and ew. What is the most annoying song you can think of that came out recently? Haven’t been exposed to a lot of new music lately and the songs I do get to hear on the radio whenever I drive are actually pretty good. This totally doesn’t answer your question but my favorites so far have been Birthday by Disclosure, Kehlani, and Syd; and Plain by Benee, Lily Allen, and Flo Milli. What is a song that you hate to admit you like? Any Kanye song I like. What inspires you to get off your bum and do something productive? Not wanting to go into another downward spiral. Do you ever use Urban Dictionary? Extremely rarely. I only do when there’s a new slang I’m completely unfamiliar with. Do you find the definitions on there to be generally funny or stupid? Stupid for the most part. I find them too immature or vulgar, but that’s one of the points of the website so I guess I’m just not in their target audience lol. What comes to your mind when you hear the word 'transformation'? Uh, the Transformer robots.

What was something you regularly played with as a child? My cousins’ toy soldiers.

Have you ever given in to peer pressure? Eh, a few times. If so, what did you do? I’ve been pulled to drinking sessions here and there when I really shouldn’t be drinking because I had an important test tomorrow or something else was happening the next day that was just as significant. What part of your body have you had the most problems with in your life? Teeth, I’m pretty sure. I’ve had braces, needed a tooth extracted, gotten a cavity, and gone through a severe toothache.

Do a lot of people check you out when you're in public? Idk I never look around because being aware of it would just freak me out and make me feel like I’m naked. What is a good name for a turtle? Would depend on their personality. And this applies to all kinds of pets, at least for me. I don’t decide on their names until I have a good grasp of their attitude. Can you imitate any accents well? If so, which one(s)? Stereotypical Filipino mom and valley girl. Do you like having your ear nibbled on? Sure. What makes a good kisser a good kisser? I’ve only kissed one person so I’m not the best judge for this; but I always like it when my lower lip is tugged or grazed on. How many times a year do you have a family thing? This is a little vague for me. Do you mean get-togethers? Giant-ass reunions? Movie nights? Game nights? What are the best things to put in a smoothie? I only like one kind of smoothie and it’s sold by a local joint – and I think I’ve already shared this before but that smoothie of theirs that I like has “apple, banana, cinnamon, oats, coco sugar, chia seeds, greens, and soy milk,” according to their menu. So I guess those are the best ingredients for me, ha. Do you ever eat with your eyes closed and just focus on the taste? When I find something extremely delicious, yeah. What do you dislike most about where you live right now? For the most part I can’t wait to get out of suburban residential villages. I’d love to finally experience living in a condo in a super busy and active city. Has anyone ever given you a rose/roses? Yes.

Are you watching your weight? Not really. I’m trying to gain pounds though, if anything. I haven’t eaten much in the last two months. Have you ever become really good friends with someone you found online? I trust y’all with my life, so that’s one. Apart from Tumblr, the best friends I made were probably the people in the AJ/Punk fandom, back when I had a stan account on Twitter. I don’t remember most of their names now and we fizzled out pretty quickly when both parts of the ship left WWE, but I look back on that period with fondness. Those people made high school a lot easier for me. What makes your best friend your best friend? She doesn’t care whether I’m on top of the world with happiness or completely self-destructive and crying my eyes out; she has always been present. Do you have a drunk uncle? *rolls eyes* We don’t wanna open up that can of worms... Do you hear weird noises in your house at night? Nope. What is something you do that is generally more like something the opposite sex does? Based on personal experience and not to come off as sexist, but it’s liking wrestling. I have never met a girl in real life who has even the most remote interest in pro wrestling or can tell me who Hulk Hogan is. And the ones I’ve had discussions with - from shallow/casual to in-depth - have all been guys. Seeing girls who are into wrestling is like finding a rare Pokemon, at least in real life. What is the girliest thing you do, if you're a girl? Idk. What is the coolest tattoo you've ever seen? Probably the spork tattoo of Josh, a crew member from Good Mythical Morning. It’s just a line tattoo. Of a spork. On his arm. But he managed to make it so goddamn fascinating lmao; and apparently, as I learned just now, it has a pretty touching backstory to it too, which makes it a million times cooler. Have you ever created anything artistic that you're proud of? If so, what? I’ve never finished any of the crafts I bought. Never finished a coloring book page much less an entire coloring book, a painting, a gem painting...it’s something I’ll have to bring my butt to do one of these days. I can’t imagine how fulfilling it would feel. Do you only eat the middle of the oreo, if you eat oreos? I eat the whole thing but I honestly find Oreos too sweet and I’ve always much rather preferred Oreo-flavored stuff instead of the actual cookies.

Do you know anyone with a huge ego? My mom. If so, is there anything else about them you actually like? She’s fed me for 22 years and gave me an education, I guess. Though it’s something I appreciate more so than like. Have you ever used a racial slur, even jokingly? Probably as a dumb kid, when historical context wasn’t a thing to me yet. I still wince thinking about it, but I suppose what matters is being better and more responsible moving forward. Do you have any friends who are more like siblings to you? Angela and to some extent Andi.

If so, what about them do you like most? They are both understanding when it comes to me - almost to a fault. What do you like on your hotdogs, if you eat hotdogs? When you say ‘hotdogs’ here, it refers to the sausages itself. The sandwich kind of hotdog isn’t super popular here. What is everyone else in your house doing right now? My siblings are still resting in their rooms; my dad is preparing for work, I think. What is the most money you've ever had at one time? Something like P10,000 or P15,000 when my mom needed me to pay for something in cash. How long do you think it would take you to run a mile? Idk, maybe 10 minutes. I won’t be fast, that’s for sure. Look down. What do you see? My legs and the pillow I’m sitting on. What is a subject that makes you uncomfortable? Right now, probably my failed relationship. I haven’t gotten to the sharing stage yet and remotely thinking about it gets my voice all shaky. What is a subject you can talk on and on about and not get sick of it? Paramore. What kind of mood were you in most of today? It’s only 7:52 AM. My only mood so far is just woke up. Has anyone ever walked in on you naked? Yeah. Because people in this damn house never knock. Tell me an inside joke you have with someone. The word ‘ariba.’ What is the worst thing someone could do to you emotionally? Break my trust. So simple but it packs a punch. What is the worst thing you've ever done to someone emotionally? Idk if I’ve ever been that aggressive. When I want to do something destructive towards someone I always end up asking what it would feel like if the action was done to me, and it’s always been enough to sway me away from doing the thing. How do you feel now about the first person you ever dated? Sad. How about the last person (your last ex)? Same person. What is the best invention ever invented? Air conditioners.

What is something that needs to be invented? Portable air conditioners. What always makes you burp? My burps come randomly. What are you doing tomorrow? It’s my last weekend before my new job, soooooooo...I’ll be bumming around for my last two days of freedom.

#survey #surveys

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trensu · 5 years ago

Text

Episode 25: The One where They Frolic in the Forest but like, Sad This Time

Okay folks, buckle up bc this one has a lot of Hetero Drama and Stupid Plot Things

But look!! I’ve made it to the halfway point of the show!! I’m so proud of myself

We’re gonna skip as much of that as possible

BUT this one has some EPIC moments to make up for it

We start at Lotus Pier

Stuff’s happening that we’re not interested in

except for how our resident Disaster Het jzx comes by to invite the jiang clan to the jin clan’s awesome sleepover with sweet sweet party games

Plot plot plot

WE’RE AT AN ARCHERY COMPETITION!!

I guess that’s how they open sleepovers in Ancient Fantasy China?

LWJ AND WWX ARE STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER

OUR BOYS ARE SHARING SCREEN TIME!! WITHOUT HURTING US!!!

Blegh, jgy is talking

And here the jin clan bring out their wen prisoners bc they think it’s fun to place them in front of the targets??? anD THEY GET AWAY WITH IT??

THEY DID THIS IN FRONT OF BASICALLY THE ENTIRE CULTIVATION WORLD AND NOBODY SAID ANYTHING!!

I WILL NEVER BE OVER THIS

WTF IS WRONG WITH THEM

Wwx at least tried to protest but jc shut him down, bc their clan really isn’t strong enough to stir up trouble rn

BUT THERE WERE PLENTY OF PEOPLE IN MORE SECURE, POWERFUL POSITIONS THAT COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING

I’M LOOKING AT YOU, LXC. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LAN CLAN MOTTO, HUH?? WHAT HAPPENED TO RIGHTEOUSNESS???

*takes a deep breath*

Okay, okay

I’m calm, i’m cool

So that happened

Jzx tries to show off by shooting an arrow and getting a bullseye without hitting any of the prisoners

And wwx sees this and is like, hmmmm, i can humiliate jzx AND discreetly protect the wen prisoners!!! (and give the audience a bite of wangxiantics)

Wwx: lan zhan, do me a favor

Lwj: what’s the matter?

Wwx: can i borrow your forehead ribbon?

CAN I BORROW YOUR FOREHEAD RIBBON

THE SPECIAL ONE THAT NO ONE BUT FAMILY AND SPOUSES CAN TOUCH

I JUST WANT TO BORROW IT IN PUBLIC WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE. NBD

Lwj just stares at him in response and wwx sulks but doesn’t push it

(lol, jc sees that go down and is just completely exasperated, like, one day, can we get one day when you don’t OVERTLY FLIRT WITH LWJ in front of EVERYONE??)

(the answer is no. no, he cannot do that, jc)

(he’s not allowed to not flirt with lwj)

Since he couldn’t get the super special forehead ribbon, he uses one of his own wrist ribbon things to blindfold himself

Please take a moment to appreciate the fact thAT HE WAS GONNA USE THE SACRED FOREHEAD RIBBON TO BLINDFOLD HIMSELF, THE KINKY BASTARD

Wwx: nbd nbd, imma just shoot 5 arrows whilst blindfolded and hit every bullseye there is WITHOUT harming any of these innocent war victims.

It’s all in the twirl, baby

He does a Dramatic Twirl, Smirks™ and then releases those arrows like nothing

And afterwards he has this proud little grin on his face bc hell yeah, he just owned jzx’s smug ass AND prevented any harm from falling on innocent people

Also, LOL, NMJ’S REACTION TO THIS WAS GREAT

He sees wwx be a badass with a bow and arrow and immediately turns to lxc next to him with an expression like HOLY FUCKING SHIT, DID YOU SEE THAT, THAT WAS AWESOME and starts clapping like a madman

For future reference, this is the correct response to wwx all the time, I’M SO PROUD OF YOU BB

After all that, wwx struts back to stand next to lwj and gives him a proud little smile. It’s so cute, so cute.

Jgy is talking again BLEGH

Now we’re in the forest!! For hunting reasons!!

Wwx makes himself comfy by a tree and plays Magic Music on his demon flute and is all pretty while doing it and supposedly gets all this prey to jump into Jiang nets

we never actually see this happen but everyone says it happened and who am i to argue?

(actually i like to argue one-sidedly at the screen a lot but this was not important enough so whatever)

Also, side note, jc is KILLIN IT with his fashion choices in this ep. LOOKIN GOOD BRO

But we don’t care about any of this

We care that WWX SUDDENLY SPOTS LWJ WALKING ALL ALONE IN THE FOREST AND HIS WHOLE ENTIRE FACE LIGHTS UP LIKE THE FREAKING SUN BC HE’S SO HAPPY TO SEE HIS SOULMATE

IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL

And then it gets sad. Sad times in the forest :(

Wwx was totally making a move to get lwj’s attention but he stops himself

Bc he remembers the conversation he had with lxc about how the ones he cares about can be hurt by his decisions

Thank goodness lwj notices him back

Wwx looks so surprised but also pleased the lwj sees him

And ofc lwj does not hesitate to go to wwx

BC THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AND ARE SOULMATES

Wwx: hey lan zhan, i heard you got tired of writing out the Lan Fam Rules~!

He’s happily engaging him in conversation!! He’s trying to tease him again!

Too bad lwj does not go along with it

This whole “let’s ruin wwx’s attempts for pleasant conversation by bringing up sad things” is getting really old lwj, stop that

Lwj: i made some progress in composing the music score and i’d like to share it with you to see if it works

eXCuSe mE??

HE’S BEEN WRITING MAGIC MUSIC FOR WWX??

HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THIS BEFORE??

I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST LEARNING FORBIDDEN MAGIC MUSIC, NOT CREATING MAGIC MUSIC FROM SCRATCH SPECIFICALLY FOR WWX

HE LOVES HIM SO MUCHHHH

Wwx: lan wangji, lan wangji

Noooo he’s reverted to calling him formally!!

And his tone went all flat!!

DON’T DO THAT

Wwx: who do you take me for? Why can’t you leave me alone?

DON’T SAY THAT

WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT

YOU DON’T WANT HIM TO LEAVE YOU ALONE

STOP HURTING ME LWJ LIKE THIS

The minute wwx asks him that, lwj lowers his gaze when previously he had his eyes glued to wwx’s face the whole time

Bc WWX JUST STABBED HIM IN THE HEART WITH HIS WORDS

Lwj: who do you take me for?

He says all somberly, STILL NOT LOOKING AT WWX

Oh god, their faces are breaking my heart

After lwj says that, wwx stares at him for a long moment before canting his eyes to the side AND THEY LOOK KIND OF TEARY??

I THINK??

THAT MAY JUST BE MY TEARS

SOMEWHERE, TEARS ARE INVOLVED

Wwx: i once treated you as my lifelong confidant (AKA SOULMATE)

Lwj: i still am

*SOBBING*

~THEIR SONG~ IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND

THEY’RE STARING AT EACH OTHER WITH SO MUCH FEELING

I WANT TO TEAR MY FACE OFF

Aaaaand the moment’s interrupted bc of stupid jzx and his Hetero Drama

Wwx hears someone approaching and he grabs lwj by the arm and drags him to a hiding spot where they can spy on jzx who just appeared with jyl

You know, i love how whenever wwx grabs lwj to drag him somewhere we get a bit of slo-mo stuff to, i guess, emphasize wwx is touching lwj or something

Not that we need the emphasis

It’s not like we’re not already hyper-aware of their EVERY INTERACTION

So now we get to watch wwx and lwj spy jzx and jyl

Lol, i wonder what lwj is thinking

Does he watch this and sympathize? Does he get secondhand embarrassment bc he knows he doesn’t do any better expressing his feelings to his soulmate??

I can’t imagine he has any actual interest in spying on Disaster Het jzx

Lwj is a Disaster Gay

There can only be so much Disaster at a time, y’know?

or maybe he’s just thinking OMG WWX TOUCHED ME OMG WWX IS SO CLOSE

yeah, that’s probably it

Okay, there’s Hetero Drama going down

Blah blah blah

BUT WAIT, jzx just made jyl tear up AGAIN

Wwx is all ready to tear jzx a new one but lwj holds him back before he could give away their location

Like, if asked, i’m sure lwj would say “oh, i stopped him to avoid an inter-clan incident” or whatever

But his REAL reason for holding him back was bc he was enjoying have wwx so physically close to him again

While secluded in a hidden spot

I mean, there’s less than a foot of space between them

I wouldn’t be so eager to give that up if i had wwx that close to me either

But lwj can’t hold him back for long bc jzx does another douchebaggy thing and wwx has had Enough

Wwx goes to defend his sister BC NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO MAKE JYL SAD, OKAY?

Wwx and jzx argue and then jzx draws his sword and takes a swing at wwx!!

SO OFC LWJ SWOOPS IN AND PARRIES THE BLOW

Lol jzx is so confused as to why lwj is there suddenly

You just tried attacking his soulmate, bro

what did you think was gonna happen

Ugh more Hetero Drama

Gotta say, i do enjoy watching jzx get scolded by his mother

Asshole cousin starts stirring up trouble and throwing a hissy fit about how wwx used his demon flute to catch 30% of the prey and how it’s Dishonorable and Cheating behavior

Lwj turns to wwx for a moment here and is like “30%??” idk if he’s impressed or concerned here.

Maybe both

Lwj gets a lot of Feelings around wwx, okay?

Lol, while asshole cousin is ranting, wwx turns his back on him to look at lwj

Wwx: oh, lan zhan, i didn’t thank you earlier for blocking that attack for me! Thank you~!

WHAT A POWER MOVE

HE GETS TO INSULT ASSHOLE COUSIN AND STARE AT HIS SOULMATE’S BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL FACE

WIN-WIN

Wwx is holding it together until asshole cousin accuses the jiang clan of having a corrupt or weak family or smth?

Then he starts getting all twitchy the way he does when Resentment kicks in

Asshole cousin continues to goad him and wwx starts to reach for his demon flute

Lwj flies to his side and grabs his arm!

Lwj: wei ying, concentrate. Wei ying, concentrate.

(wwx has a knack for making lwj repeat himself)

Jyl joins him to help wwx calm down

And now we take a break from wangxiantics for BADASS JYL TIME

Jyl goes and apologizes all sweetly to everyone for wwx’s supposedly rude behavior or whatever

And then turns to asshole cousin

Jyl: i might not know much about hunts, but i know there’s never been a rule about catching too much prey

DAAAAMN, GIRL

Jyl: it’s not his fault you can’t hunt prey. He used a different method that he worked hard to learn

Jyl: FURTHERMORE, you called him the son of a servant when he is my dear little brother

Jyl: so i would like for you to apologize to wwx

JYL IS THE GREATEST SISTER IN THE WORLD

Madam jin is like, ah, it’s not that big of a deal, let the boys squabble

And jyl shuts that down by telling her that wwx is family, an insult to him is not a trivial matter for her

GOD I LOVE HER SO MUCH

Blah blah plot blah blah jzx is a Disaster Het in front of Witnesses blah blah

Gross, sect leader yao goes off on a rant

We’re gonna ignore him

We cut to wwx downing a jar of wine in the middle of town

*sigh* i don’t even know why i bother telling him off at this point, he’s obviously not worried at all about alcoholism

Ooooh, and now we’re getting Lan Bro time. Very wangxiantic lan bro time

Lxc: lwj, i can tell you’re worried about something. What is it?

Lwj: …

Lwj: lxc, i..i want to bring a man to Cloud Recesses

(guys, the ellipses here actually happened. We actually hear lwj do a start-stop on his sentence)

(THIS FROM A GUY WHO DOESN’T SPEAK MUCH BUT WHEN HE DOES SPEAK, SOUNDS LIKE A PRINCE)

(Our boy is Overcome with Feeling rn)

Lxc: bring a man back to Cloud Recesses?

Lwj: bring him back…and hide him there.

Lxc: hide him?

Lwj: …

Lxc: he may be unwilling to go, right?

LXC KNOWS WHATS UP BC THERE’S ONLY ONE MAN WHO HAS EVER AFFECTED HIS LITTLE BROTHER THIS WAY

Lwj stays silent here, and the lan bros manfully stare off to the distance

(I like to pretend that here lxc starts coming up with elaborate kidnapping plots bc he wants his lil bro to be happy and that’s only happening if he drags wwx back to their home)

(i mean, locking up your soulmate against their will is a Lan family tradition, isn’t it??)

AND THAT’S WHERE IT ENDS

THIS SHOW DOESN’T PULL ITS PUNCHES, DOES IT?

This forest frolic was not nearly as fun as the last one :(

Return to Masterpost

#WangXiantics #wangxian #the untamed #cql

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joonapeach · 5 years ago

Text

a 2k word drabble about detective oc who’s after wanted criminal artist taehyung except the catch is that they used to be in love in uni until their differing ideologies and means of achieving justice put them against each other

ok enjoy maybe i’ll write more idk

“Thinking of running?” you smile obnoxiously at him. Staring him up and down, you let your gaze linger on the handcuffs on his hands at the table, all with the intention of rattling him.

Whether he notices or not, he’s unaffected. He smiles back just as obnoxiously, perhaps an ounce too much, making you uneasy.

“Why would I ever dream of running?” Taehyung grins, looking up at you with big doe-eyes. “I’m right where I want to be after all. It’s been too long since I last saw you.”

You ignore his statement, pulling up a chair from the side of the room. His eyes don’t take a second away from you, and it bothers you. It bothers you that Taehyung is still the same each time you cross paths.

From behind the one-way glass of the investigation room, all your superiors and colleagues were probably watching intently. They got to be the lucky audience to your reunion with the man you once almost gave your heart to.

Keeping your watchful colleagues in mind, you straighten your back and give a stoic glance towards Taehyung. He looks at you the same as always. But you weren’t the same as his memory. You had a career now, and your career depended on this right now - your career depended on stopping the crimes that had created chaos in the country.

Your career depended on a fool like Taehyung.

“We’ll keep it simple and start from the beginning,” you clear your throat, sitting down across from him. “Walk us through your crimes.”

“Through my crimes?” he cocks a brow, laughing in disbelief. “Come on, _____. Don’t be boring.”

“Mr. Kim-”

“Mr. Kim, now am I?” his eyes glint with the question, unabashedly winking.

You glare at him, your hands shaking ever so slightly before you quickly regain composure. Not here… not now.

“Talking about my crimes… that’s no fun. All I do is paint some walls. I’m more curious about you now. How’ve things been lately?”

Your jaw drops. “Paint some walls?” you repeat in a scoff. “You vandalize the most important buildings in the country, Mr. Kim. And that is only a small portion of your crime. You and your group are arsonists.”

“But my art is pretty though, isn’t it?” he smiles softly, focusing an intent stare on you as if searching for an answer. “You used to love seeing all the new things I’d make.”

You freeze, your head subconsciously snapping to see the glass through which all your colleagues were watching. Of course, you couldn’t see a thing from your end. But you could only hope things from their end didn’t look so compromising for you.

“Tell us how Mosaic chooses the targets. What’s your motive?”

“Ah… that reminds me. Remember in college, every time I’d come running to show you a new piece, that dick, Theo, would always be there. Do you still let him hang around you?” Taehyung tilts his head, curiously blinking at you. Your eyes widen at his evasion of your questions. “He should thank me, you know. The only reason you ended up giving someone like him a chance was because I dropped out. We all know if I’d stayed till graduation, it’d be us that-”

“Mr. Kim, what is your motive?” you jump to cut him off, loudly enunciating each syllable so to block Taehyung’s rambling words from reaching your audience’s ears. He gives a small smile at your frenzy before responding.

“I just wanna make the world a prettier place, _____. You know that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he says sincerely, looking innocently at you.

“Why is Mosaic burning down so many institutional buildings these last few months?” you press on. “You all would never aim to go that far last year. Something’s changed.“

“You’re right. We’re in a hurry now, so we stopped wasting time on the baby steps,” he shrugged, smiling once again. “That and I started running out of designs. It’s hard work for me to churn out that drawing every month, y’know?”

You could scream in your frustration. He’s giving you nothing.

Your fists clench, your eyes shoot to the clock and you’re realizing Taehyung’s game. Three minutes had passed in this room and he hadn’t said anything of value yet. Any longer and you’d be removed from questioning him and still no closer to putting an end to a year long case.

But you know better. If someone like Taehyung and his group could be stopped with a few questions and threats of torture, you would have caught them all already.

Exhaling, you decide to take a different approach. “How do you decide what to paint?”

He beams, pleased with your different question. “Hmm... just this and that, you know. I give it some thought. We’re telling a story here so the message has to be clear in the art. Otherwise we’re just burning down buildings without a point,” he pouts. “You know, you should all spend some time on Reddit, _____. They’ve done a pretty good job analyzing my art. Better than you anyway… which sucks, considering you should know my-”

“Tell us what your plan is,” you interrupt as soon as you feel him begin to digress. “These attacks are becoming too frequent and large-scale now. There’s bystanders and deaths at each one. Do you realize what you’re doing?”

He pauses, blinking. “I’m making a change, _____. While you and Theo and Yunseo and all of you all were wasting hours in class trying to learn how to stop the bad guys, I actually went out and did it first-hand. We’re not the villains here.”

“You’re killing innocent people each time you mark a building with your art, Taehyung,” you plead softly, holding his stare. At the sound of his name, his eyes shut. “Please. Reconsider this. Work with us and I promise you, we can give the change you’re looking for.”

“We’ve done more in the last three months than your teams have in this year,” he shakes his head. “I’m sorry, _____. But I’ve already chosen my side.”

Your body stiffens and any sense of mercy you were willing to have washes away.

“Well, you’ve chosen the wrong one,” you say as a matter-of-fact. “You were caught painting the wall at the railway station. Now, Mosaic’s prime artist has been arrested, the station has been evacuated and lookout teams are there hunting your group,” you announce, carefully watching his face to note his defeat.

There’s nothing. He barely even blinks, before sadly looking up at you and saying, “You should really go see my art, _____.”

You halt, raising your brows at his words. “That’s all you want to say?”

“I always do the hidden details you like to look for,” he says with a grin he fights to keep off his face. “You should go see.”

You scoff. “What are you talking about, Taehyung?”

His eyes twinkle with a look that reminds you all too much of the boy from your past.

“You know. You said you liked seeing something for the first time and thinking you understood it all, but when you looked closer, you found something else entirely. Didn’t you say that’s why you chose to become a detective?”

Your blood runs cold and your expression drops. Perhaps to another detective, to any one of your colleagues watching this interaction, this would seem like a passing remark. Maybe a little strange, but everything that came from Taehyung was granted to be a little strange.

But to you, the words carry a different weight. You could blame it on the years spent by his side or you could blame it on the feelings that you carry around like a guilty burden. Nonetheless, there was something in what he said that pricked you.

“Finding something else?” your brows furrow as you jump up from your seat.

He nods, pausing to look at you for a moment too long. “Hm. Finding something else, somewhere else? You were always good at figuring things out.”

You stop for a second, blinking at him before running towards the door of the room. Your heartbeat rings in your ears and you burst the door open before screaming like a madwoman at all the people inside.

“CALL EVERYONE! WE GOT THE WRONG LOCATION! IT’S A TRAP!”

Your few words invoke manic across the room. It’s all in fast motion now, and your head spins from the way everyone in the room races to move. Your colleagues rush out the door to contact other teams, you hear your superiors call the officers on lookout to tell them to change location. There’s a few moments where it all moves so fast and you can barely recognize anything around you.

Then suddenly, it stops. Your captain yells in madness, sinking to the floor and it’s quiet across the room. He smashes the phone that was on his ear to the wall.

“What… what happened?” a detective from beside you asks hesitantly.

Another detective shakes as she stares at her phone. “This was a distraction,” she slowly says. “All of this… they… Mosaic is burning City Hall to the ground,” she cries.

For the second time in the last five minutes, you feel fear overcome your body, threatening to tremble you till you’d have no control over yourself. But you quickly steady yourself, just for one last thing.

You already know what awaits you as you run back into the questioning room, but for the sake of the small chance you’re wrong, you still check. All that remains inside is two empty chairs and a pair of handcuffs lying on the table.

Kim Taehyung was gone. And he left nothing to show for it.

* *

You’ve felt crazy many times because of him. You remember in university, you once spent hours everyday researching art history and painters just to have topics in common with him. You would change your route back to your dorm to pay visits to places he’d be or art galleries, learning more about him just so you could be close to him. Perhaps the time you felt the craziest of all was when you found out he had dropped out of university to join a group of misfits who’d claimed they would change the world, and considered whether you should follow him in his descent to madness.

But you steady yourself. You always do. You pride yourself on following your instinct and your logic, not your heart and whatever it calls.

That’s, after all, why you’re here today. Standing at the wall in the empty railway station he’d last painted before pulling off the biggest attack the Mosaics had done yet. It only seemed right to look for any traces of Taehyung in his art.

Once you approach it closer, you take it all in. He was right. You should’ve come to see his art all this time.

No longer was he the artist he was when he was the boy you loved. No, now he was… something much more magnificent now. His style had evolved and he tackled much more complex and large designs now. You were honestly impressed at the way he had managed to create a mural like this inconspicuously, before letting himself get caught.

The large strokes of the red paint create an imaginative face of a man, and inside the details, Taehyung’s included a variety of colors and details.

You stare at it for a few moments, looking at each edge of the picture. Minutes pass by before you try to tear yourself away and head home.

As you take a few steps back, you give the wall one last glance. You look at every corner and every edge, at the eyes of the man, his mouth, his hair. You think about Taehyung coming here in the dead of the night, taking the utmost care to paint every small stroke and detail to create this piece. You wonder if this was another world, would he come running after you just as he once did to show you what he’d created. The thought makes you laugh and you slowly walk away.

But then you stop in your tracks. The right shoulder of the man catches your eye. Something in the style of the shading, the strokes, the way the colors mix perfectly everywhere else but here… it all looks off to you.

Instead of stepping closer, you cautiously take a few steps back. The darkness of the station hinders you from focusing carefully on the spot and you turn on your phone flashlight, pointing it at the wall.

Tilting your head, you can see it now. What seemed like a small error of technique on an otherwise perfect piece, now read something out to you. Deliberately hidden in the details.

You exhale a chuckle before walking away. You two were a predictable cliche. Against all odds, you wound up standing against the boy you once thought would always be by your side. And against all odds, he was running from the girl he wanted to stay by.

And although they shouldn’t, the words on the painting make you happy. Because you know despite everything, you mean them too.

I’m sorry. I love you.

i had an alternate ending (you can read it here) but i decided against it bc i like the way i wrote this one more hehe anyways if u read this thanks

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comicteaparty · 5 years ago

Text

July 4th-July 10th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from July 4th, 2020 to July 10th, 2020. The chat focused on the following question:

What was an unexpected aspect of making webcomics you didn’t realize before making one yourself?

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

How much our comic and it's story we're going to change during the years of creation was the biggest and most jarring aspect for sure. There's scripts and thumbs that were all made before we ventured out to make GJS with paths completely different from what we initially thought we would take that have completely changed how we approach not only writing but reading webcomics too. Webcomics as a medium have the biggest connection to time, whether it be production or the consumption, they have this opportunity to exist and transform in the long hours it takes to enjoy and read them. It's honestly one of the biggest advantages imho. To see a story slowly unfold, listening to ur audience reactions, peer critiques, or new inspiration can make such a drastic and intense impact on a long form work- its both jaw dropping and humbling to be apart of!(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

For me it was the community aspect of comics. I knew a community existed on the reader side of things (comments!), but I didn't expect the creator side to be how it is! I don't know why, but for some reason I kind of always thought that all of us were sort of throwing our comics out from the void... I guess that was me looking at comics from a reader's point of view! But as soon as I started making comics, I started meeting people who made them too... and it's been incredible!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

@deo I never really understood what an internet community or internet friends were until I started making a webcomic

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah, I had been in (and quickly decided to not be in 0_0) gaming communities, but nothing really as wonderful as what I've found through comics. Closest I had gotten other than that was comments on social media

Shizamura 🌟 O Sarilho

Community definitely one of the big things, much like Deo pointed. I was kinda expecting to have get connections through readers, but it's much more with other creators, which is super satisfying in it's own way. Also gonna second Krispy's comment about how time affects how you see your story's past and future. A lot of things changed in the past four years that made my comic change as well and having so much time to think each individual scene allows them to be much more complex and interesting than they would when I first thought them through. Having the time really helps. This also kinda touches the topic of personal change too, which affects how I write and what feels most important to focus on and that's interesting to think about as well

eliushi [Keyspace]

How long things will take, the longer the story goes on! I started out being able to complete a page in 2h but then I found more I wanted to try on each page (colours, layout, composition etc) and even wanted to extend certain scenes. With 500 pages planned, I definitely thought I’d be farther along by now, heading into AWT’s first year anniversary in a month. That being said, I’m also enjoying the ride and it’s all thanks to the great community here and making connections with other comics folks/readers. I never expected to get comments and so each one has been a treasure to read.

Desnik

An unexpected aspect of making webcomics is how much people respond to them. I figured I'd be creating into a void but I met so many people as a result of publishing my dinosaur comic

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Ditto on the webcomic community. I didn't realize how far reaching it was to have a community that supports each other. And I've enjoyed meeting so many wonderful and creative people who raised each other up. Another thing I didn't expect, however, was how invested I got into my comic.(edited)

At first I was doing it mostly for fun. But the more I delved into it, the easier it was to get sucked into my story and want to draw it out. And as a result taking it a lot more seriously.

Desnik

yeah sometimes I miss my dinosaur comic even though I had some pretty good reasons for moving on. It was created out of desperation and evolved into something that made me feel good about myself

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

How much work and time it takes to keep a weekly update going with no backlog

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah same

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

For me, I didn't realize how much it would affect my life to make comics, and vice versa. In a weird way, I didn't know how interrelated the two were, or how easily life could interfere with my comic, or the inverse.

eliushi [Keyspace]

Making comics became a lifestyle for me

@Haruh2 (Colony Life) When I had no backlog I was updating every two weeks with 7 pages per update; so about 14h of work. But this is with a finished script. I am also told I work fast.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

omg

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

That's soooo much, Eli!

That's at least twice as much as I do (edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I hadn't realized how much I put myself into my comic! My friends who read it have all said that it's incredibly in my voice and reflects my opinions and worldviews Before I shared it with people I hadn't thought of it in that way at all

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

As an artist, I didn't expect how my comic production and mindset will change. Once I started comics, it brought out my ideas from thoughts to a physical form. I start to invest more time into it. Each project evolved through each chapter. How to balance script writing to a polished piece. I put alot of time and research in my works. It makes me glad to hear other creators do the same. I'm not the crazy artist who's wasting her time. One of the positive change was meeting other creators, how we give advice and receive praise.(edited)

eliushi [Keyspace]

The support has been amazing. It makes the work less lonely

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Fish, oh for sure! I didn't realize until recently how much my characters are all just facets of myself!

eliushi [Keyspace]

(I don’t work that quickly anymore and I’m making big changes to the format soon so it’s going to be a Transition)

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I've been in school with art students who never made comics, so when I came to CTP discord, reading comic discussions. It was comforting and fun. I enjoy the cooperation our group has, helping each other.

eliushi [Keyspace]

I like to commiserate about the unique challenges comics have

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Hahaha, yeahhhhh

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I agree, it's different from illustrations. Different approach(edited)

eliushi [Keyspace]

I am perpetually balancing time spent on a panel vs how much time the reader will spend on it

Vs illustration: lemme make all the details

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

Oh I agree, each panel takes longer than it takes to read it. Hence I dislike when readers call manga creators 'lazy'

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

how much time does it take to read one of my pages?

20 seconds?(edited)

haha

e.e

wait is that emoji supposed to be someone rolling their eyes??

i jsut looked it up

i might've been using it wrong this whole time

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Pacing

It's way different than in novels, and definitely came as a shock at the start

eliushi [Keyspace]

Yeah have to play to the strength of the medium. Still imagining AWT as an animated movie written from a novel, in the format of a comic

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Haha, same kinda

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

@eliushi [Keyspace] ah haha, that makes me feel better about my update habits, but thats a good goal for me to shoot for now that im learning a new way to make long comics specifically

cAPSLOCK (Tailslide)

I completely underestimated the amount of effort that would have to go into formatting, website design and maintenance, etc. If I got to do it again, a little more research beforehand probably would’ve saved me a lot of time and hassle.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I really overestimated the "if you build it they will come" aspect of webcomics lol. Like, you actually have to work to advertise your comic in order for people to read it. Nobody ever got hundreds of readers just from posting their comic onto some hosting site without doing major marketing work.(edited)

dako

yeah, I feel that

I've never really been an advertising type before my comic, im learning to just get used to it

Deo101 [Millennium]

I've not really done much advertising tbh, it makes me uncomfortable

dako

it feels kinda...embarrassing? might be too harsh of a word

i dunno

Deo101 [Millennium]

its just uncomfortable idk! i feel awkward doing it

dako

yeah, same ive done it a few times on reddit but i have to force myself

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

it does feel, odd..hell most of the time it just feels like i open the door to my house and toss a bunch of paper to the wind hoping someone can see it

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah, I dont know if ive done anything other than posting updates on twitter and talking about it in groups like this

and twitter is mostly just me talkin to people who already read it...

idk talking about my work without being asked first makes me feel like im inserting myself where im not allowed

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Self promo got MUCH less intimidating for me when I started thinking of it like: "okay, so my comic is made for readers like me, people who share my tastes. That means I only need to answer one question: what can I say to get me to check out this comic? I don't need to impress anyone else. I just need to appeal to me." (since "me" is my target audience)

Deo101 [Millennium]

mhm ^^

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

But take it with a grain of salt because I'm still not really promoing

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

exactly, thats why i find it hard to tweet about it most of the time, but i get the whole if i dont care about to talk without being asked no one else will either

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah lmao mood im like what would get me to read... hmmm... probably exactly what im doing.... I'll keep it up then :)

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

yea i get excited to draw out certain parts..but wouldnt want to just tweet about all the little tidbits of the story ruining it for others

Deo101 [Millennium]

sweats

dako

i made a whole side twitter for my comic cuz talking about it on my main intimidated me too much

it is my containment chamber

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

hm may do that, just to say i did it and to get my mind away from the thought

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

yeah same

Deo101 [Millennium]

My main is just whatever I want it to be idk. Its kinda for all my comics, since my comics are all I want to talk about

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

though my main is mostly just retweeting from my side twitter lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

it removes a lot of the pressure of like what if my followers dont wanna see this??

cause they wouldnt be here if they didnt wanna see it

cause its all Ive been doing the whole time

dako

thats a good point

i had my main way before my comic so most of my mutuals/followers dont follow for that

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

yea, it can feel abit disorienting when there is no interaction one way or another on anything you tweet (also if twitter has messed up and causes your tweets to not show up)

Deo101 [Millennium]

but yeah I dont really advertise cause it just makes me so uncomfortable >.<

dako

understandable

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I'm kind of somewhere in between. I advertise my comic mostly because it is all I wanna talk about, like Deo. But I also don't think it's gotten me many readers. Most of my readers came as far as I can tell because I was making something that appealed to them. (The whole "if you build it, they will come" thing.) Although, I really don't have a big audience, I do have an audience, and I am certain most of them came from me just posting.

I think it's determined a lot by luck, and also, how big your niche's audience is to begin with (and some skill tbh).

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah like I think "gay sci fi" is a p big niche so ive got a big amount of people I could potentially reach

which makes it much easier to draw people in

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I'm particularly lucky, I guess, that fantasy/romance has a lot of readers (also more competition, but...)

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah fantasy romance is a damn big one

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

eh i think im in an awkward void with my action/drama story (since im not doing romance drama)

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I just go with the mindset: "what makes my fantasy/romance different from the rest" and go from there.

Deo101 [Millennium]

mhm

tbh I dont think my sci fi romance is doing anything special?

but im having fun so :) I dont rlly care about that hahahha

dako

having fun the most important thing

Deo101 [Millennium]

its not my goal to make somthing mindblowing ^^ truley im just here for a good time

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I mean, LGBT+-inclusive sci-fi is pretty unique

I haven't seen a lot

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

It's clear that your characters are people, and that's special, regardless of how common/uncommon

dako

think if i didnt love my comic as much as i do id have stopped a long time ago

Deo101 [Millennium]

thats true keiiii, thank you <3

also yeah its Sad that theres not more LGBT+ sci fi cause its like youve got aliennnssssssssssssssssssss you can do whatever you waaaaaant

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I knooowww

Deo101 [Millennium]

guess it shows what ppl want or something

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

yup

Deo101 [Millennium]

off topic

so to make it back on topic

I underestimated how much people would like gay sci fi GJKLAGJLAJLKAGJSLAKGJKL

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

One thing I learned specifically with my current comic... I did not realize how much difference the reader's cultural background would make in terms of interpreting my story.

Deo101 [Millennium]

!!!!!

I actually almost mentioned you in class once tbh keiii

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Big oversight, in retrospect

Deo101 [Millennium]

saying "someone I know makes a comic which they noticed, it's interpreted completely differently just depending on cultural backgrounds" kind of a thing

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like I would not have made the comic any different, but I would have approached the... presentation differently. Like, talk about it differently

Deo101 [Millennium]

cause we were talking about how narratives affect rt

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I guess another thing that was unexpected about making webcomics was... there are way more people with my exact tastes than I thought

Deo101 [Millennium]

and I was saying that I think the viewer's narrative affects art more than the artists narrative

I mean, the artists narrative obviously is what makes it so.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

In the eyes of the beholder

Deo101 [Millennium]

but interpretations and all that... yeah!!!

so. actually I might have offhandedly mentioned you I cant remember if I did or not

lemme check

I did! very like "second hand" offhandedly mentioning though ahaha

hope that doesnt make you uncomfortable GSKLGSJALGJLGK no one replied to me so e.e

in the class I mean

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I am super uncomfortable and offended !!!!!

j/k

Deo101 [Millennium]

hgjkghsjkagskajgdhsakgjhgjd

but... yeah idk starting out I truly just was making it cause I really love my characters a lot, the idea that other people would like them too is very unexpected :) in a good way

I also definitely didnt expect how important enviornments were e.e

didnt plan those well enough.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

that relatable feel

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I really desperately advertise my comic everywhere. I don't really know how to do marketing effectively though & I don't know if its working

eliushi [Keyspace]

I find what increased readership most consistently is still the feature aspect from the hosting sites. It’s really about finding the right readers/right readers finding you

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Same, I'm basically a rounding error away from being 100% reliant on the features for subs

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I don't think my comic has ever been featured on the hosting sites. My numbers have always been low on Tapas and maybe thast why

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, features help a lot

I've been featured on Webtoon, but not Tapas, and you can really see the difference in readership there

Deo101 [Millennium]

Ive been featured on both, uhh in a couple of diff places, if you wanted a breakdown of how many readers i got from the diff spots and stuff ever just lmk im happy to share

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I've been featured on both. It certainly got people to check it out and even sub, but retaining those people (even if they've subbed!!!) is a different story. I think my story is just not the right type for the platforms, but eh, even if 99% of the platform users aren't into the kinda thing I'm making, 1% increase is still an increase.

Which is another thing I learned over the course of running this comic, specifically (since the internet has changed so much after my first two attempts). Just because the majority of your subs don't actually read the comic, doesn't mean your work sucks. Today's internet caters to casual users, and there's a bajillion factors affecting who's actually reading your stuff.

dako

i agree

my comic has never been featured on either, and webtoons doesnt have a guideline on what they pick but tapas does and my comic doesnt really meet their featuring requirements so i dont think either site ever will feature mine haha

so i gotta advertise on reddit and use twitter tags a lot

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Don't go too crazy with twitter tags; they can make people zone out and not look at your tweet.

dako

i try to use 5 at the most, i know too many is unpleasant to look at haha

Jib {WIP haha}

Oh huh, my rule of thumb is to use 1-2 on twitter and as many as I can on Insta but I’m no expert lol

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, IG seems to be where you want all the tags XD

varethane

Webtoon's algorithms are like turning a hose on and off lol

The difference between views and sub growth during periods of being featured vs not is stark(edited)

carcarchu

i've never been featured by webtoons but i've seen series grow from 100 followers to 10k overnight

not an exaggeration

varethane

I put my new comic on webtoon in november 2019, and in 1 month I crawled up to.... maybe 50 subs?(granted I only put up one episode and then paused for a bit)

Then in December I started updating it weekly and got placed in the new and hot section of the app

And bam, 6k subs

It last 2 weeks and then the section updated and all growth stopped, and subs went down by 10 or so over the next week

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

(Omg featured is like the new Daily Deviation goals from DA way back in the day!)

varethane

Until it got another feature on a different part of the website and went up another 2k. It was like playing with the handle on a faucet lol

dako

I got some pretty good growth during canvas week, but beyond that not really

I get 1-2 subs after an update if I'm lucky

varethane

I feel like their algorithms are very reliant on the regular rotation of features that staff have to do manuallt

Outside of that, discoverability is quite weak

Mostly because of the volume of comics on there

boogeymadam

same boat as vare. the only thing i know about webtoons features is they have stated a couple times one of their recquirements is consistant updating, so if u skip a week that disqualifies u for a lil while i imagine

varethane

I wonder what they count as consistent. I was doing every 2 weeks for awhile, but this month I'm gonna try weekly to see if it helps me earn more $$ from ads :U

dako

I wish there was more incentive for readers to check out the new section on webtoons and tapas

carcarchu

i have found some amazing gems in the new section

i swear i've seen stuff in featured that were not at all updated consistently

dako

I have too, there's a ton of good comics that get overlooked because they're not in the front page

some featured comics havent updated in months sometimes

varethane

I definitely would not have considered myself consistent at the time of the first feature, considering there was a gap of a month between episode 1 and 2 lpl

carcarchu

the consistently updating thing is more of a recommendation than a requirement i feel?(edited)

boogeymadam

ooohh good to know!!

varethane

I'm sure it cant be a hard rule, especially for comics that have just launched

boogeymadam

im just going off their canvas qna's from last year

dako

if it's actually a hard rule for staff to feature comics that regularly update they break that rule a lot

i also heard a bot picks up comics too

carcarchu

well i at least think the staff or bots or whatever at webtoons are doing a better job with features than tapas is

tapas is always pushing their premium comics way more than their indie stuff

boogeymadam

tapas needs to bring new comics onto the frontpage more often than it does, yeah

dako

yeah I agree

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I mean, I get why they put premium on the front page. But I feel more variety would help them because it's more interesting for the readers?

dako

I can't tell whats premium or not with tapas sometimes

boogeymadam

i do like that they've been asking stuff like this in the forums tho

carcarchu

more distinction would be helpful to me too dako

i don't think its as clear as it could be

dako

yeah, webtoons at least it's clear what is and what isnt featured or canvas

Jib {WIP haha}

Huh, anyone remember that really popular writing podcast? I forgot the name

Or have any recommendations I guess

Moral_Gutpunch

Terrible writing advice? It's sarcastic

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

is this related to the topic?

Moral_Gutpunch

It's a podcast about writing, so I'm going to say yes.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I think snuffysam meant the weekly topic for the channel

Moral_Gutpunch

Just for this channel, no. I'm too new to know that.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Please check #rules

Moral_Gutpunch

Sound more like someone forgot context than the rules

That's why I'm hardly here. I don't know stuff people who've been here for a long time know like podcasts or older comics(edited)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Basically each of the channels under "CTP Activities" on this server has its own topic of the week.

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

It's not a matter of being here for a long time or not. This channel is used solely for discussing the weekly topics, and such information can be found in #rules

Moral_Gutpunch

Kudos then. I came for creator babble only.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

For general webcomic creation-related advice (either seeking or giving) and such, #shop_talk usually is the place!

creator_babble is for answering the topic of the week

It's not actually for generalized "creator babble" despite the name.

dako

looks like they left

Jib {WIP haha}

Oh my bad, it’s been a while since I read the rules, I brought up the new subject

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Happens!

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

No problem, we were just reminding you all :)

Jib {WIP haha}

Ty for that then haha

dako

I think one unexpected thing for me is that no one tells you how crazy the highs and lows can be

well I guess people do but you really don't know until the highs and lows happen to you if that makes sense

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Oh God, that's so true

Burnout is way more dreadful than I could ever guess prior to experiencing it

Feather J. Fern

One unexpected thing for me was how many people I would meet because of my comic. It surprised me greatly that I found so many cool people through the comic community and made the friends I have made now. Love you all

rajmews

The unexpected thing for me was just how much you have to just...predict...what the market will want to read. Like even if you research a whole lot, and you draw really well, and have been doing art professionally, you can still strike out. It's a humbling experience, but being able to just let go of poorly received pages and move on and try things differently is a lot of the battle for doing a webcomic. It teaches you how to fail gracefully because...it's all a process of learning your readers better. Even if they're few at first.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

My major unexpected thing was how much my initial ideas change as I work through a page. Everything from the expressions, dialogue, and layout can change as I look at it and 'solve' it more closely than I did in thumbnails. There are pages I look back on and realize they are ENTIRELY different than what I had first sketched. And they're better for it. Allowing myself the freedom to edit during the artwork... it's created some majorly awesome opportunities.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yes!!!!! Me too!!!

It's exciting thoufh

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Absolutely same

Could plan something out meticulously but then change it in the last 2 secs before uploading

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yup... I don't thumbnail much ahead of where I'm at cause of this(edited)

I thumbnail a scene at a time, and then usually I end up changing stuff halfway through ahahfjjdkskdkss

varethane

Same hat, haha. I often make changes at every stage-- even the thumbnails will often depart from the script. If anything, I wish I made even more changes-- I feel like my page layouts tend to be pretty standard, I do a lot of pages with the 3 rows of 2 panels each, and I want to break out of that more. But... well, that's a work in progress.

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #comic tea party #ctp #creator interview #comic creator interview #creator babble

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upthehillask · 8 years ago

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Where did you first start posting your amazing art?? Was it hard to get noticed, how long did it take for people to notice your talents? How did you come up with your artist signature/name? I apologise if this is to many questions it's just that you inspire me so much that I want to start my own art blog but I don't know where or how to start more importantly find my own style and artist name.

Questions that I can answer are cool with me! :D It’s been a while since anyone asked me this stuff, so it’s good to refresh my memory!

I pretty much wrote an essay so that’s why it’s under the cut haha

I first started posting my art on deviantArt almost exactly two years ago. dA is where I discovered fanart as a thing people do, I loved it so so much, and I wanted to see more of Dramione, so I decided to give digital art a try myself! I started learning and practicing, and dA is where I posted my first drawings. Since I always made sure to tag my drawings appropriately, all Dramione and other shippers who search, say, the Dramione tag would find my drawings there and like them! And as people learned that I am consistent with the content I produce (Harry Potter fanart), HP fans followed me because they knew what to expect! :) So while being consistent with what you put out is not necessary, especially if it won’t make you happy (and being excited about what you produce should be your top priority), consistency still definitely helps gain attention because you target a specific audience.

Over the period of a few months I gained a small group of followers on dA and also decided to start a Tumblr blog so I could engage in fandom activities, so on April 2016 I created my blog and posted a bunch of my HP fanart from dA with appropriate tags. I don’t know what it was, perhaps the fact that right from the beginning of my blog I already had multiple art posts was what gained me immediate attention. I don’t think it even took me three days to reach 100 followers. I believe it has a lot to do with the fact that I was posting often (because I was both publishing all the finished stuff from the dA and also drawing new art frequently too) and I was posting HP fanart only. If you put a lot of content out, more people will see it, and if they see that they can expect more of the same content frequently, they will follow you. So it didn’t take very long to get noticed for me personally, only a few months on dA and a few weeks on Tumblr, so I was very fortunate!! :) But do remember that if you make art that you don’t love making, you ARE going to get tired of it, it WILL become a chore, and you will stop doing it, so in this case what’s the point to even start, you know? And people can tell when you’re doing something for attention and when you’re doing something that you genuinely love. So just make sure you’re having fun, this is the most important thing!!!! For me, I always make sure that I am a fangirl first, an artist second. I draw art not because I like drawing art, but because I like to see my favorite ships and characters come to life! :> So I guess you should try finding your niche too – why do you draw, and why do you draw what you draw?

And for my name, I think I will direct you to this post right here for the long answer, but the short answer is, I don’t know :) When I created my dA first, I didn’t think I’d be actually drawing, I just created the most random username without any thought put into it. And when I started drawing, I just maintained it because again, didn’t think it would become more known across the fandom :D And now it’s sort of too late to change it :’D But I don’t really care, I’m used to it! I wouldn’t know what to change it to anyway lol

As for the signature, again, zero thought when into it. Zero. I just signed my username in my usual handwriting, nothing fancy whatsoever, I also decided to add the year just for my own reference. For a year or so I would write my signature on every drawing myself, now I just copy paste the best version of it so it’s more consistent. I also added “@upthehillart Tumblr | Instagram” below the signature as a way to make uncredited reposts less painful :’) lol

But yeah, looking at my own personal experience, what name you choose and how you write your signature make no difference to gaining attention whatsoever. Just make sure it’s easy to remember I suppose! :) That’s always nice!

Anyway. Basically, I’d suggest starting out on Tumblr, dA is old, it’s not worth it, so just have a blog here, and try to post as much as you can if you want people to see your stuff! Instagram is also a good place for art because it has more users than Tumblr. I created my Instagram later than Tumblr, but I have more followers there just because of that. I still prefer Tumblr as a medium, you can see the drawings better, you can navigate it, organize it, you can do things that Instagram doesn’t offer. And people on Instagram are also more rude from my experience, but idk if it would be an issue for you. Oh and it’s also hard to start out on Instagram at first, but at some point the follower flow becomes constant and steady. For me, I had a bigger account shoutout me, and that was extremely helpful! So look out for shoutout opportunities, Instagram or Tumblr.

Anywayyyyyy yeah, not sure if any of this is useful, I hope so! Good luck!!! <3

#Q&A #tips #anonymous #upthehillask

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