#ive edited this too many times but i think im satisfied

[aroaceweirdos101]

Oh dear, Matpat has discovered Welcome Home. This could lead to a few things:

1. The obvious, Matpat will later make theory on it.

2. Alot of people will be joining the fandom, considering matpats popularity(unfortunately this will also mean that a few discourse will happen)

3. More fan works including...nsfw..

Sigh..

Dear newcomers, pls respect Clown(partycoffin(creator)'s boundaries aswell as being civil to one another(we dont want to stress out, Clown, even more now do we?) And note that this project isnt finish, Clown, also doesn't consider this as an ARG, more of a personal horror art project. Clown, has stated that the project isn't connected to any real world events. Do not cause havoc and do not harrass/bully people(especially sending death threats to them), a friendly reminder is enough.

Clown is not comfortable/doesn't like:

People selling merch of his characters withought his permission.

People impersonating them(If you find an impersonator, comment that they aren't the real Clown, before reporting them).

People reposting old concept art that isn't canon anymore(anything prior to january 2021 is not canon)

People making NSFW/R34 of their characters, if you want to draw NSFW/R34, then pls dont post it on the main tag and use the tag playfellowxxx instead(If you see anyone accidentally using the main tag, pls kindly remind them to use the other tag instead DO NOT HARASS!!!).

More information is on Clown's tumblr and twitter.

I also do not tolerate harrassing Matpat because of this, he most likely did not know about the discourse(tho I wished he did his research first), it's better to kindly tell him about it, and maybe also tell him that he shouldn't make any theory videos yet, not until the project is complete(considering that it's only at 5% completion).

Thank you for reading, and remember to be civil and peaceful with one another.

Update: Clown has announce a Welcome Home NSFW tag on twitter: playfellowxxx, to those who are uncomfortable with NSFW, you can block the tag so you dont have to see a bunch of puppet penises on your for you page/lh.

[100-gar]

Controversial take but i watched all of jjk, in subbed, so it had my full attention 100% of the time, and i am of the opinion that it just fucking sucks.

So me and my wife were talking about it, and we were trying to figure out why people like it and we've come up short. I do not understand what's so appealing about this show for so many people. Can someone PLEASE tell me.

[batbetbitbotbut]

my slow cooker smells like cinnamon. MAKE IT STOP - A Reddit Saga

With thanks to Direct-Caterpillar77 for compiling this as a BestOfRedditorUpdates post here.

THE PROLOGUE: Too many apples. how to use them (that isnt a pie)? Oct 8, 2024

unicornfarthappyhour: went apple picking and ended up with wayyyy too many macintosh apples. ive already made 6+ pies, apple tarts, apple mini pies, baked apples... and i still have 2 dozen apples ..please share any ideas on how to get through a horde of apples

EDIT - THANK YOU!!! so far tonight i made applesauce and have 2 trays of dried apple slices in the oven right now! 14 apples remaining!!

mrmadchef: Apple butter? I think you can even make it in a slow cooker.

THE MAIN EVENT: my slow cooker smells like cinnamon. MAKE IT STOP Oct 15, 2024

i made apple butter and now my slowcooker has a permament cinnamon smell. i tried soaking the lid in soapy aater for an hour. i washed every part 8 times, unscrewed the handles and cleaned every nook any cranny.. but IT WONT GO AWAY!!! and its not a faint smell its a cinnaMAXIMUM smell in the lid.

is there a product i can use? or do i just have to accept my fate?

fruithasbugsinit: Try slow cooking two cups of 1:1 vinegar and water. Then let it air out and cool down for a day or so for the vinegar to go away. ETA: Unless you have birds as this can hurt or kill them with their sensitive systems.

unicornfarthappyhour: have I wronged you in the past? my home. my santuary. is being forcibly air marinated. I'm dry heaving with each breath as the tiny vapors of this weaponized witches brew of Cinnamon Vinegarette Salad Dressing deep dives into my esophagus.

FIVE HOURS LATER:

unicornfarthappyhour: the mixture of vinegar and cinnamon scents wafting through my kitchen is permeating through my eyeballs and directly into my soul.

wawa2022: Throw a piece of fish in that baby. You won’t smell the cinnamon anymore unicornfarthappyhour: squinting really hard at you lol

THE FOLLOWING DAY:

unicornfarthappyhour: As i drifted off to sleep last night i still smelled it, covering the inside of my nose. and dreamed i was pickled.

it seems that the cinnamon has effectively mutated in the fiery hell of its vinegar battle, and has has now become a biohazard. i soaked the lid in a big plastic tub with water, soap and vinegar mixture, because why not double down?

my sunk cost fallacy arguement has now made the bin ALSO smell like a spicy formaldehide.

my next attempt is sunlight, and open space....aka sneaking into my in laws home while theyre on vacation and leaving it on their kitchen table for a week.

im 99% sure my nasal membranes have adopted these defiant particles and have begun incorporating them into my mucus. my sneezes are spicy...

FIVE DAYS LATER: Update Oct 21, 2024

unicornfarthappyhour: Welcome back to my cinnightmare.

I had to drop off my ILs mail, so I checked on my lid. I was hoping that sunlight and fresh air would help, but my lid is not made of vampires.

Accepting temporary defeat I moved the fight back onto home turf, and got a new set of supplies. Shout out to u/generic-curiosity who reminded me about the hydrophobic properties of my cinnenemy. With this knowledge, I was ready to reengage in this battle

I armed myself with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol, a Love is Blind sized wad of paper towels, and…olive oil.

I scrubbed with alcohol, then rubbed it down with the oil, then back at it again with the alcohol. Out of context, that would make for an amazing party game.

this Sisyphean deodorizing battle will haunt my dreams for years to come.

I don’t remember how many times I repeated this alcohol and oil endeavor, but I’m going to choose the number 6, because of the evil connotations of the number.

Much like my spirit, the smell has died down and has become a repressed whisper of the wild soul it once was.

Satisfied that my slow cooker no longer bore the tonsil-coating scent of a season craft store mid-december, I went on my merry way. Ignorant, I Know.

As the days went on, and I continued to use more kitchen supplies, I began to think this was all in my mind – I just. Kept. Smelling. It. SOMEWHERE.

Like any sane person I started sniffing around my kitchen like a tweaked out 2 legged bloodhound. I had used a rubber spatula to stir my cinnncoction. Immediately binned it. I refuse to bend my will for the $2 spatula. And now, it will never see the light of day again, forever to think about how it failed to serve its culinary master. Forever to miss the hot broth it once knew. It must suffer in perpetuity for its betrayal.

And I am NEVER using cinnamon again.

the apple butter tastes amazing.

[tonydaddingham]

hey….totally unprompted question not prompted by terrible visions but do you have any tips for making amvs / any suggestions for editing softwares (preferabky on mobile but computer can work too) ? 😁

oh babe ive GOTCHU okay so obligatory "im just a girl that can't escape the brainrot" disclaimer. im not an expert, i do not do this professionally in any capacity, and im sure more seasoned video makers and editors will look at this list and think it's horseshit - and they'd be right!!! but for what it's worth here are the things that help me:

okay so first off, i edit everything (inc music, bc i do Not have the capacity to make edits to a full 4 min song) on my phone, so you've come to the right place - this nifty little app here is what i use.

is it good? as long as you're happy with it not being overly flash, yeah sure. does it get the job done? well id like to think so, as long as you're willing to get a bit creative/think outside the box on occasion. is it free? fuck yeah, as long as you don't want the spanglier functions.

okay so as for creating the vids themselves (very good omens centric, btw):

(here is where i wrote loads of shite but i remembered that you, dear anon, would have to read this and probably just want a simple list but always happy to discuss in more detail just lmk)

(edit: turns out, anon, that i still couldn't keep it to a simple list!!! and for that im very sorry)

obligatory start with: get good quality rips of the show. i didn't do this in the beginning and a lot of my old stuff is uploaded in 720p as a result, whereas now i can upload... decently in 2180p. the longer upload time is worth it. oh, and there is a small aspect ratio difference between s1 and s2, and it's the bane of my fucking life especially when i miss it and it's So Obvious To Me that ive missed it post-upload. don't make my mistakes 💕

right. advice. first, storyboard your vid. even if the song is not particularly relevant to the show/story but has Blorbo Potential™. look at the song you've got, and break it down lyrically (if applicable). what are the words saying? what is the story being told? is it thematically relevant/meta (e.g., RUTH), or is it just so applicable to Them that it's a bit embarrassing (e.g., meatloaf)? or is it neither, and it's just a Vibe (e.g., sushi restaurant)? there have been times where ive had to write out the lyrics physically and make notes on what scenes/bits to put to certain lyrics, in order to not feel overwhelmed with the whole thing... even if i change it later on/it ends up not working out anyway. but yeah take a sec to actually look at your song and work out if you have enough material to tell the story you want to tell in it - ie. not just the chorus/a bit of a verse. (ive fallen into this trap Many a time and have a Lot of abandoned wips floating around as a result)

related to the above, and i can't imagine it will be a problem lol, but being Very Familiar with the source material helps. pay attention to blocking and angles, especially if you want to do a cool/slick transition, or want to group together similar shots for a bit of visual interest and satisfying brain itching (e.g., 00:31 onwards of best shot). keep a track of filler bits, like clicks/hand claps/funny faces/dancing/dramatic head turns, because not only is it sometimes helpful for when you've got a musical interlude, but it can help maintain the tempo. (e.g., beginning of darkness)

ALSO related to the first point, and just a general tip - you don't have to start from the beginning. start, for example, with That Emotional Part where you can Perfectly see a part of the show cut to it. (e.g., cut to the feeling, where i started with the 1941 bullet catch at 1:18-1:27 for the bridge, and then built on it backwards). it helps with motivation too, when you find The Good Bit that you knows others will hate you for 🥰

in general, i recommend to keep the big set pieces (bullet catch, kiss, wall slam, in the beginning, on the wall, bookshop fire) in your back pocket for the Big Emotional, Heart-Swelling points of the song, and build on them from there. if you can, exercise symmetry in your scene choices across the choruses (e.g. dog days), or bookend the vid with the same scene (e.g., bon jovi intro and 1:45); i find it keeps a Theme going and drives up the emotional payoff, and again helps with storyboarding (dog days example: i framed as flashbacks, bon jovi example: i framed it as a flashforward)

i know others do this, and it is Not me criticising it at All because it can be soooo effective, but my personal style tries to avoid mouth movements as much as possible (unless it matches the lyrics, and then i keep it in because it's funny - e.g., "yeah" at 0:39 for bon jovi). so to that end, if you're looking to do the same thing/same style, be mindful of when expressions change/mouths start to move - it can literally be a matter of 0.1s, but be jarring if left in. this does regrettably mean losing a lot of source material (bc. yk. they talk in it, not just make Faces at each other), but i personally try to keep it to a minimum or try to keep any mouth movements out of focus.

now. i love a short cut. i go mad for a short cut. i go berserk for fast, sharp scene changes, they're like crack to me. prefer them to using huge stretches of clips. but!!! when actually editing (especially with the above app that whilst great, is not very good on refresh rate/buffering), id recommend exporting your video periodically or after doing a particularly choppy/fast bit, and Checking if it works/it's in time with the music. rewatch it 5, 10 times to make sure. you will constantly have to adjust stuff if you're creating the vid out of sync, unfortunately, but it will honestly help so much. it'll just give you a "ah yes i have 10 fast cuts there, and sure it only makes up for around 5 secs of actual screen time, but it's perfectly in sync and very satisfying, good job me" feeling, which is awesome. if you have issues with timing, consider downloading an overlaying metronome track in the bpm you need, and match it to that. (that saved in me in more of my vids than i care to count)

that being said, don't use short cuts if it doesn't suit the song!!!💕 or at least try to use a mix of them to give the vid some pacing. i like a pop or rock song, me, so i naturally tend to go for higher bpm songs (rip) anyway, but i try to get some longer cuts in there (especially around the intro/bridge) to give the viewer some breathing room (e.g., 0.00-0.44 for hero)

biggest advice tho: just have fun with it. create what You want to watch. do you listen to a song and think GOD THAT SCENE WOULD BE SO GOOD HERE??? then DO IT!!!💕 it doesn't have to slick or flash or overly clever in the transitions or effects, if you don't necessarily want it to be. don't get me wrong, they can look bloody spectacular - some of my favourite vids are really polished and impressive!!! but some of my faves are technically really basic, but they Understand the material and they Understand storytelling. equally some very kind people have told me that mine are some of their favourites (still makes me grin, months later!!!) and my transitions/effects are rudimentary at best. people will see your Vision because it is a Great Vision and will love your work regardless of the quality. you will improve with time, you will recycle bits and use them in new ways, you will learn skills and shortcuts that you will do better the next time. please pls plssss just create and have fun with it, god knows we need it in the world rn 💖

if there's anything else that i can answer or help with, anon, pls let me know!!! good luck my darling!!!💕

[aurorangen]

the freegan

remember this? it was definitely more enjoyable with the chaos and being broke at the start!! since its the 1st gen im happy with what has happened...so here are my thoughts if anyone even wants to read it ;)

first thing, dumpster diving/fabricating all furniture. i gave up when they moved house. yeah im building all their homes and i couldnt stand it. it took ages to find a toilet and fridge but the furniture found was interesting. felix found some useless shit that sold for good money. like a gaming pc worth 10,000 simoleons and other tech stuff that felt like cheating to sell. he also kept failing at the fabricator and it wasted bits/pieces.

honestly it was just family gameplay once the triplets were born, the eco gameplay was too repetitive. you could tell during their teen years how much i avoided the pack! and the world its so ugly in some seasons i was put off from playing. the eco footprint changed ALL THE TIME the game was messing with me or something. i upgrade the lots, add eco stuff, some greenery everythings great and then it decides to be industrial/neutral again.

and i absolutely hated the NAPs they were so annoying in gameplay, so i didnt take many pics of it. theres so much chaos with sharing is caring, free love, paper bags, everyone carrying clay. its either use cheats or do the long process of getting signatures. the other neighbourhoods were doing all this shit so i had to use cheats lmao. at least i got the full gameplay experience (i didnt turn off NAPs as its the eco lifestyle gen).

one thing i would change (if i had patience) is to focus more on eco gameplay and take more screenshots of it becoming greener!! i was bored of the pack and wasnt motivated to play. i know for sure i will take plenty for bryce's gen as ive gotten use to posting. my gshade/editing was all over the place before and im rly satisfied with my current style!! ill also start fresh and focus on the gen goals and have a storyline!! ahh im soo excited for this!

basically i hate eco lifestyle but love felix!! the perfect sim to start the challenge with his positivity and goofy personality! there were some good moments in his gen and i think my old gshade (which looks so dull compared to now) fits the mood in evergreen harbour.

[foxshowlwriting]

I think I’ve finally worked out the exact formula I need to get my brain to cooperate with me and actually write. (Broken down below). I’ve been working on writing a book for nearly 20 years, and just haven’t been able to get it where I want, it’s been through, technically, four versions, although version 1 really only lasted about a chapter before I scrapped it and started over with a new setting and theme. And I never quite finished version 3. But for this final re-write, I’ve worked out my plot holes, ditched a couple characters, because I really had too many, and found my magic formula.

I found some nice journals, with a cover that feels sort of fabricy and a spine that is definitely fabric. They look nice, and the pages are slightly more yellow than you typically see. They also have a flat spine. So basically, they look and feel more book like than most journals. So Ive been using those to hand write my book instead of using a computer. Something about handwriting on nice paper helps the ideas flow better. I only write on the fronts of the pages and leave the backs for notes or corrections on the page next to it. And I’m not editing/reworking things as I go. I plotted out the whole book, then each act, then a more detailed outline a chapter or two at a time. But after that I just write. I don’t try to edit/rework things as I write the way I’m tempted to on a computer, and I don’t try to get dialogue and phrasing just right. And that has made a world of difference. Just letting myself do whatever with the story and letting it get long in some parts and spending less time on other parts has made it so much easier to just keep plugging away.

I’m also using different colored pens that I change out every chapter, which makes it easier to go back and look for a specific moment in a specific chapter later on. It’s also nice to use a different color so each chapter feels new and exciting. And white out has been my best friend. I’ve been trying to keep everything looking as neat as possible, so when I do type it up, it’s easier to read.

And that’s been a huge help. Im using the three act structure, with act 2 split into two sub acts, and the first act took up a whole journal, but not more. So it seemed like a good time to pause and type it all up. And yeah, keeping things neat has made it less of a chore to type. I’m doing a little editing as I go, based on notes I made as I wrote, but mostly, I’m just using this as a way to review what the story has done so far as I get ready to tackle the next act.

I have written so much since working out my process and it’s something I’m really enjoying again. Also, I filled a journal and completed an act, which feels more satisfying than finishing a certain number of chapters or pages. Part of why it’s taken me so long to write this book is that I’ll write more or less the whole thing, and then get so burnt out or life circumstances get overwhelming, and I abandon it for years at a time. And then by the time I come back to it, I’ve changed as a writer and person so much, it’s easier to rewrite it. But this time, I feel like I can keep going and won’t need the hiatuses I’ve taken in the past.

So in list form, my personal formula is this:

-work out overall plot

-make an outline with more details using three act structure

-plot out a more detailed outline for chapters as you go, one or two at a time

-use a good quality journal and hand write your story

-only write on the front of the page, leaving the backs for notes

-don’t worry about perfecting dialogue and phrasing yet, just write and have fun with it

-use colored pens to make things more fun

-use white out instead of crossing things out to keep things looking neat

-type up what you’ve written at the end of each act, making small/easy edits as you go

-start truly editing and perfecting wording once the book has been written and typed in its entirety.

[valodia]

ah 10:34 am GMT+1. perfect time to rate each flstudio plugin ive ever used

rating is based on: personal subjectivity, effort it costs to use, and number of times ive actually used it

-non native instruments- (all these are free btw)

"Accordion VST" ★☆☆☆☆ self explanatory. got it around 1 or 2 years after i started making music for lofi songs. i couldnt get it to sound like i wanted n blend in well with the other instruments so i only used it a couple times. im thinking of trying it again messing around with filters since at the time of use i didnt know how to do that

"Revitar" ★★★★★ acoustic guitar plugin, sounds very folk. absolutely adore and also the very first plugin i got. since my version of flstudio didnt have any acoustic guitar plugins. can be tuned to sound like a shamisen <3 revitar loads poorly in my experience (just doesnt open on boot/loading it) but i always manage to get it to work eventually and its so good i forgive it.

"DSK Dynamic Guitars" ★★★☆☆ classical guitar plugin. got it i think like 5 years ago bc i wanted a guitar plugin that wasnt revitar. not perfect but does the job.

"DSK Overture" ★★★★★ iirc second plugin i got after revitar. it's a plugin for orchestra type instruments. i think i got it bc i wanted a violin. this plugin is amazing as it does many many instruments n i do use most of them. also some "instruments" are actually combo presets. you can set 4 of instruments to play at once (including the combos) which is ideal to mix them and get interesting sounds. absolute fave.

"EasternONE" ★☆☆☆☆ another versatile plugin i got early on when i started music. it does several instruments (though not as many as DSK Overture) among which: aud, accordion, santur, kaman, etc. kinda like accordion vst i used it a few times but not that much. also have a hard time blending the sounds with other instruments in a satisfying way. it does sound way more real and less digital then other plugins.

"NES VST" ★★★★☆ plugin for retro nintendo shape sounds: square, triangle, noise. perfect for that electronic sound and easily tunable <3 loses a star bc requires some work to fit effectively with other instruments.

EDIT: I FORGOT MINI ERHU!!!!!!!!! here it is:

"Mini Erhu" ★★★★★ self explanatory: erhu plugin. has several presets to instantly get different ways for it to sound. mixes very well with other instruments. absolutely perfect i love it so much. its just a sound i love. makes my music sound so weird since i mash it with other instruments in like electronical music etc and yea! idk how to make normal music! anyway its only dramatic downside is that the range is abysmal. otherwise so good.

-native instruments- (came with my FLstudio 12 version fruity edition - bc im fruity and its the shit tier of the paying versions.)

"Boobass" ★★★★☆ very classical bass that fits most modern sounding songs. a lil bland for my taste but perfect for not emphasizing bassline too much

"FLKeys" ★★★★★ // ★★★★☆ piano synth plugin. used to be perfect but in my version it broke so i can only use the shittier presets and i have to tune it every single time i use it. does not save presets. does not let me use my fave setting which was the grandpiano one </3 never got to work normally again.

EDIT: I also forgot FLSlayer OTL here it is

"FLSlayer" ★★★★☆ electric guitar plugin for rock or metal. very versatile for bass, rhythm guitar or solo guitar sound. it comes with a bunch of different "amps" also. just pretty good. dramatical downside is that it takes forever to tune to get the exact sound you want and mix it with other instruments.

-native filters-

"Fruity limiter" ★★★★☆ it's a limiter. always on by default and i never thought to turn it off. have no opinion on it.

"Fruity Reeverb 2" ★★★☆☆ a reverb plugin, fun to play around with to make the song sounds like its in a big orchestral room or something. i cannot be trusted to use it responsibly so ive stopped using it altogether lately.

"EQUO" ★★★★☆ another limiter, very versatile to give interesting shapes to sounds. i use it to get kind of a retro, desaturated sound. very much love.

there. hopefully this gives some insight about how i fully use FLStudio to almost 1% of its capacity. good nite.

also i did not elaborate on drumlines plugins thats bc i broadly dont care about drumline so much so i have way less of an opinion on them. i use most of the native plugins + DSK Overture for the drumline

[kerykomo]

so i got my drawing tablet back after coming home from college...

comic explaination and transcription under the cut

not to get super into it like i did in a previous post, but as i mentioned in said previous post, i was struggling a lot both in different aspects of my life and creatively. which sucks, because art has been both an enjoyment and an outlet, so not even being able to use it for purposes like venting- or feeling like that i couldn't make art AT ALL was just.. so difficult. not to mention having to convince myself that it was temporary and the storm of artblock couldn't last forever.

not to say that im fully through the storm yet- but this is the biggest, longest break in my fight with artblock that i've had in a long time. all because i switched up a drawing method. normally i draw either on paper or on my ipad (used as an on-screen drawing tablet) so when i got sick of/stuck with one, i would often switch to the other. but not too long ago BOTH mediums became impossible for me to create with. i tried new pens, new colors, new styles- nothing stuck, and nothing seemed to work.

all until i finally came home from my semester away at uni, and reunited with my off-screen drawing tablet. little tiny wacom intuos comic edition from 2016 that STILL WORKS despite how many years ive used it. so i decided to make this post :)

-+-

comic transcription: i got my drawing tablet back! /pos

i'll be the first to admit it- going back to the hand-eye disconnect was WEIRD. but it was nice to go "back to my roots" in a sense- and after a few minutes of drawing the muscle memory started kicking in. it was fun. drawing was FUN.

drawing was FUN- creating was FUN. for the first time in months- YEARS of depressive art block, thinking i was just "bad" at digital art- i felt FREE. i didn't feel like i HAD to make things or else it invalidated me as an artist- i just... DID. / i came back with new skills and drawing techniques from years away and started being able to apply them and make my art look good. i was finally satisfied with what i was creating.

"I MISSED YOU LIL BUDDY!! UEUEUEUE"

[dragonowl]

Owl: Tada! We’re not dead!

Dragon: It’s felt like it sometimes though!

Owl: We’ve survived, though there may have been some death in the process. But, no matter! No need to worry about that for now. What’s important is that we’re back! Boom Baby!

Dragon: 

Owl: COme back dragon! Come back! Don't go into the depths of the internet! DO NOT LOOK INTO THE VOID

Dragon: bUT OOOH SHINY

Owl: We’re not done talking though! We still have so much to say! It been 2 Ye— 

Dragon: ssSHHHHH We’re not talking about that!

Owl: Yeah…(-｡-;

Dragon: Life happened. It happened a lot…

Owl: But! I have been writing! I’ve written so much! All over the place…

Dragon: It’s so hard because most of what is written takes place near the middle or end of the story, but we’ve finally got enough for here at the beginning to go on for a while!

Owl: So part 3 and 4 just need some editing, and I’m working on part 5 as well. But writing can also be an Ooooo shiny too…the things I have written…

Dragon: Oh the perils of being a writer!

Owl: Oh the perils of all the inspiring comebacks….

Dragon: ʘ‿ʘ They. Just. Keep. Coming.

Owl: And more groups just keep. Popping. UP.

Dragon: CAN THEY JUST STOP FOR TWO SECONDS PLEASE

Owl: The story is writing itself half the time. JUST NOT THE PARTS WE NEED NOW

Dragon: Like, Yes, we know everything that happens at this one point, BUT WE KEEP TRYING TO GET THERE AND ITS NOT HAPPENING WHY

Owl: Action and mystery and trauma are also so much easier to write than fluff that goes in the in between. Which is where I need to write. Don’t get me wrong! I love fluff. It’s just very hard to write when all this other stuff is happening. Stupid Red Force. Stupid…Ta—...spoilers (*^‿^*)

Dragon: Dear Tabbi. You can figure this out. I believe in you. You have all the pieces. I BEG OF YOU. YOU KNOW IT.

Owl:  (ノ-_-)ノ ミ ┴┴ 

Owl: If it were a snake it would have bitten you!!! Wait… anyways…

Dragon: Ahem. That message was for a dear friend. Moving on. Anyways… We’re back! 

Owl: Yep! And posts might be…sporadic… But I think we’ll be back on top of things. 

Dragon: Hopefully! But I think so too (✿◠‿◠)

Owl: The format will be a little different for part 2. For now, the rating will remain the same. But after this, expect the rating to go up. Specifically for violence. If you know Exo’s lore, you know where this could be going. 

Dragon: Things get intense

Owl: Like…really intense. Sorry, not sorry

Dragon: But our motto is: “By golly get them out of there and into therapy!”

Owl:  We may like our trauma, but we also love our healing and happy endings. So don’t worry! 

Dragon: You get a happy ending, you get a happy ending, you get—

Owl: Okay, not everyone is going to get a “happy” ending. That’s subjective. But you as the readers will! 

Dragon: If you care about a character, they’re going to have a satisfying resolution.

Owl: Agreed. And often times, happy ending and satisfying ending are not one in the same. Sometimes the main characters need to die…NOT HERE THOUGH I PROMISE

Dragon: DONT SAY THAT

Owl: I MEAN, I DONT THINK…wait…no. No. we’re good…right? RIGHT???

Dragon: *TACKLES OWL* STOP TALKING

Owl: IM SORRY! I CANT REMEMBER! IVE WRITTEN TOO MUCH!! IVE WATCHED TOO MANY MVS! I MEAN, MAIN CHARACTER IS RELATI— 

Dragon: *SHOVES OWL INTO A PILE OF BLANKETS* Please pay no attention to the owl behind the curtain! Everything is fine! 

Owl: *pops head out of blankets* there is no war in ba sing se ~(‘.’~)

Dragon: *pushes her head back in* Please! We swear it’ll be fine! 

Owl: *pops head back out* Gotta create some intrigue ♪～(￣、￣ )

Dragon: I mean… I guess so… But we were just saying for them not to worry!

Owl: There’s no need to worry. Promise. If you can’t wait, just go watch some mvs and you’ll see that everything is fine!

Dragon: Except that one mv… or that other one…

Owl: heh heh

Dragon: Welp. That blanket pile looks comfy. Time to say bye and squish an owl!

Owl: I don’t write anything they don’t give me! Fine! I’ll stop! SOMEONE HELP! OWLS ARE SMALLER THAN DRAGONS

Dragon: *SQUISH*

Owl: help…

Dragon: *purrs*

Owl: …okay…that’s all for now…enjoy this chapter…and as per usual. Feel free to comment, send in asks, request to be on the tag list, or join our discord. We don’t bite…or, owls don’t… (“¬_¬)

Dragon: *purrs louder* (─‿‿─) ♡

Owl: eep! 

Thank you to our amazing editor! @chaysingthesun !

Special mention: @feralleprechaun

Pathcode:

Light Through a Broken Lens

The Sky That Doesn't End: Part 2

Masterlist

Genre: EXO AU, Romance, Mystery

Rated: PG

Pairing: Byun Baekhyun x Lara (OC)

Summery: Exo has scattered. Now in hiding after the Red Force closed in on them and Luhan went missing. Baekhyun finds himself in a small town while he waits until they can reunite again. Guarded after everything that has taken place, he’s not looking for friendship, or anything else, until a light shines through, even as the darkness closes around them.

Next (coming soon), AO3

Chapter 1: Depth of Field

The sun warmed Baekhyun’s skin against the cold breeze that weaved through the tall grass. It was turning golden, creating the perfect lighting for him to catch through his lens. The puttering of an old truck broke the stillness as it made its way on the road behind him, but he kept his focus on the camera. He was so focused that he didn’t notice the puttering had stopped. 

“You okay?” 

He jumped with a yelp at the sudden voice and spun around to find that the truck had come to a stop and its driver was addressing him. The light of the setting sun was blocking his view of the woman’s features, but he could tell she was young by her voice. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Do you need help?” she asked with a giggle that tinkled like soft bells. 

“I’m okay,” he responded, the Russian still awkward in his mouth. “Just catching some photos before the sun goes down.”

“Would you like a ride back to town?” she asked. “It’s quite a walk.”

“I’m going to be taking photos for a while, but thank you,” Baekhyun said and started to turn back to the scene he was capturing. 

“I don’t mind waiting,” the woman said. “I’d hate to leave someone alone on these roads after dark. They’re not the safest.”

“It could be a while,” he said, turning back to her again. 

“My evening is free.”

“Well…” he thought for a second. Walking back in the dark was not the most ideal situation. “Okay,” he finally conceded. “I’ll buy you dinner as a thank you.”

“I’d never refuse a free meal,” she said with a chuckle. 

He smiled at her honest response and then turned back to the scenery that was quickly changing with the sun’s descent. Faster than he anticipated, the sun was gone and he rushed to pack his gear in the lack of light, then made his way carefully through the tall grass to the road where the truck still waited. 

The young woman was now hidden in the heavy shadows of twilight, but she noticed him coming before he had even left the brush. 

“All done?” she asked, leaning across the truck to open his door from inside. 

“Yep,” he responded as he finally made it to the asphalt. “Where can I put my gear?”

“There isn't much room in the cabin, unfortunately, but you can get in here what will fit and place the rest in the bed if you’re okay with that.”

“Better than lugging it back to town on foot,” he said. He placed his camera bag on the floor then took his tripod to the back and placed it in the truck bed as securely as possible. When he climbed into the front she started the vehicle and then held her hand out to him. 

“My name’s Lara,” she said and he took her hand. 

“Baekhyun,” he said after a second of hesitation. 

“Korean?” she asked with surprise, her grip tightening as she pulled him closer.

He nodded, trying to pull back.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, letting go and switching to Korean. “I got excited. There aren’t really many Koreans in the surrounding towns. 

The language change surprised him and he noted the lack of accent. “Are you Korean as well?”

“On my mom’s side,” she said, then put the truck in gear and started driving. “Spoke both Korean and Russian growing up, so I’m fluent in both. Your Russian is pretty good, but I can tell it’s not a natural language for you. How long have you lived here? Must be fairly new if I hadn’t heard about you yet. Word about newcomers travels pretty fast around here.”

“I haven’t been around long,” he said, adjusting in his seat as he tried to come up with answers. “I travel a lot and liked some of the scenery in the area so I thought I’d stick around for a bit.”

“Do you work for a magazine, or…?”

“Just freelance,” he responded when she trailed off. “I’ll send shots to magazine companies sometimes and find random requests online to fulfill. I’d like to set up a studio someday though if I can ever settle down.”

“Wanderlust?”

“Something like that. Nowhere really feels like home.” He shifted again and coughed. “What about you?”

“I can’t really seem to escape the small-town life,” she said with a shrug. “Moved away from home, but only made it a few towns over. I didn’t really have any grand plans, just wanted to see how I would do on my own.”

“Sounds grand to me,” Baekhyun said with a smile. “Where do you work?”

“The little bakery on the east end at the corner. I was just coming back from a delivery to the next town over.”

“I’ve been meaning to go in there. What do you recommend?”

“We’ve got some pretty good muffins,” she said. “But they’re my specialty so I might be biased.”

“I happen to really like muffins,” he said. “I’ll have to give them a try.”

They continued to chat casually as they bounced down the road. Stars became more and more visible as the light continued to fade in the horizon and the homesickness that Baekhyun had been struggling with lightened slightly at the familiar language and constant chatter.

Next (coming soon)

[sluttywonwoo]

kaili my darling what are your thoughts about svt and birthday sex?🧐 (im totally not asking that because it was my birthday 2 days ago and ive been thinking about ok?)

seungcheol: he’d definitely treat you like a princess on your birthday, and it would continue into the bedroom that night too. he’d make love to you for hours, worshiping your body as he makes you cum on his tongue, fingers, and cock.

jeonghan: would give you as many orgasms as you want, starting with head as soon as you woke up the morning of. every couple of hours he’d be dragging you back to bed- or if he couldn’t be bothered he’d take you right where you were, whether that be the shower, the kitchen counter, the couch, etc.

joshua: he’d work you up all day with teasing touches and glances until after all the festivities were over and he could have you to himself. he’d make the night all about you and your pleasure, coaxing orgasm after orgasm out of you until you couldn’t take any more.

jun: he’d wrap himself up like a pretty present either with silk ties or lacy lingerie so that you can “unwrap” him as part of your birthday gift.

soonyoung: would honestly buy you sex toys for your birthday so that you could try them out together later that night. it’d become a tradition of sorts, the very last present he gives you each birthday always just so happens to be a dildo or a vibrator or a pair of handcuffs…

wonwoo: he would still go rough on you, just the way you like it. he’d bind your wrists to the headboard and edge you as many times as the age you were turning before finally letting you cum, mixing degrading words with praise the entire time.

jihoon: he’d let you dom him for the night, which is a big deal because he’s always the dominant one in the bedroom. but he’d be perfectly obedient for you on your birthday and not complain or say something bratty once.

seokmin: he would have you ride his face in the middle of your birthday party, pulling you aside into your shared bedroom so that you could sit on his face. he’d let you cum just once with promises of more later, and then send you back out into the party, cheeks burning and legs trembling.

mingyu: definitely buys you lingerie for your birthday. you’d tease him and ask if it was a present for him or you, but you genuinely would like what he picked out, and feel sexy in it. and ofc mingyu would love it but he’s more concerned with you loving it

minghao: his present to you is a sex tape, filmed on the birthday present you got him. he would have gone and edited it too so that every detail is perfect, and then he’d play it for you on the night of your birthday. as soon as the screen fades to black you’d be straddling his lap, asking to make a sequel.

seungkwan: he might roleplay for your birthday if that’s something you were into. i can see him reserving that for special occasions, but you’d both get really into it, and you’d be able to explore sides of seungkwan that you hadn’t seen before

vernon: he’d wear a cock ring so that you could ride him for as long as you wanted aksjdhd he’d wanna be able to last for as long as you needed him to before finally cumming inside of you once you were satisfied and unlocked the toy

chan: chan would buy special condoms for your birthday… like colorful ones, glittery ones… yeah. you’d be in disbelief when he puts a glow in the dark one on that night, but you’d also think it was sweet… even if it was a little ridiculous

[casualavocados]

alright, here comes the long ass super personal and sentimental post absolutely nobody asked for (you’re welcome)

i watched episode 1 of bad buddy the day it aired (1 year ago today!) out of sheer luck. i dont even remember how i discovered it, but my initial thought was: “im bored. it’s 11pm and i dont want to go to sleep. this trailer looked fun. oh it came out today? sure what the fuck.” and i watched it in bed, on my phone. completely fucking unaware of what was about to happen to me and my life - and this honestly amuses me so much when i think about it because let me tell you...

i am NOT one to watch romance for romance’s sake. i really couldnt care less for it tbh. i’m not what i’d call a shipper at all (though i used to be, and if you remember my blog back then i owe you financial compensation bc tbh that whole spectacle exhausted me ANYWAY-). 

romance is just something ive always preferred as a side dish to plot, bc i only tend to like it when it’s super well done, and ive never found any of it very realistic. this was actually pretty unfortunate for past me bc fun fact, i am a little bit of a hopeless romantic, and romcoms are my guilty pleasure. the problem is i also dont like any of them enough to care about them after ive satisfied my initial “i want to watch something cheesy and cute” urge. i’d seen a few other bl’s over the years but only bc i was bored or wanted to watch something gay, and none of them had ever stuck in my mind after i finished them. i actively avoided those fandom spaces so i definitely wasn’t keeping up with what was new. 

(now listen, i have very specific thoughts on bl itself, but im not gonna get into that here (and actually miscellar said yesterday that the bl difference between 2020 and 2022 is unrecognizable and that basically sums it up so i dont have to lmao <3)).

- and ep1 of bad buddy is pretty typical bl! i adore this about it tbh because i was completely unprepared for everything the show was about to pull. my initial reaction was that it was something fun to look forward to every week.

so then-

I dont!! i dont even know how to explain it! ive tried too many times!

but it really is That Bitch, and truly feels like something i’d been waiting my whole life to see. a romantic comedy that was incredibly realistic in the sense of being overwhelmingly human, and also overwhelmingly queer. it’s so effortlessly fucking funny, while simultaneously a very (very very very) layered and emotional story. i will sing its praises to the end of time. it is quite literally the most well crafted show i’ve ever seen, and every time i rewatch it, or go back and reread old meta, im reminded that im not insane believing that. it just literally is that good. it’s such a simple story done so. extremely. well. it’s so ordinary, and that makes it extraordinary, and that was the intention from the start.

but i also have to say, one of the best things about having this show, is getting to be apart of the amazing community i found here loving it alongside me. bc i avoid fandoms. i stick to the places and the people/mutuals i know. i drift through edit tags more than i follow individual blogs. i block people like lightning. i have always had anons and replies off and i enjoy my privacy!!!

and i have talked to more people and made more friends and have had more fun this past year than i ever have before on this site. 

it took me until after bb finished airing to start following people back, but by then i knew which blogs posted what and what i’d want to see more of on my dash - and there are still many many people im not following, or who arent following me, that i talk to! i love each of you so very much, and i want to do a couple special shoutouts, if thats okay. ♥️

SO, in no particular orderrrrrr:

@mrdumpling nuria you were the very first bl-centric blog to follow me, and as such gave me a little bit of a heart attack that day, because i knew you were a popular blog and i Was Not Ready For Attention lol. but im so glad you did! ik we don’t talk often, but i love lurking on your blog and following what you’re interested in, and most especially, sharing this show with you. to say your edits are beautiful is an understatement! i always love to see what you make!! 🧡

@actually-yikes SORA I MISS YOUUUUUU!!! 🌹 i love talking to you, i love bonding over warrior pran with you, i love the edits you make. i think you’re very funny and delightful. seriously. ...im kind of at a loss for words here bc you’re one of the blogs i went to the most while bb was airing, and the first person i followed after it ended. i really just think you’re wonderful, and idk how else to say it! ily!!!💕💕

@miscellar you have some of the best takes ive ever read, and you somehow seem to read my mind and write (in much better words than i ever could!) exactly what im feeling on so many different topics. i love reading your analysis, your criticism, and just in general whatever you have to say. you impress me very much tbh and im always a bit amazed whenever you talk to me. i love sharing meta with you! 💚

@pranparakul KATIIIEEE when you’re not on my dash i miss you. even if you’ve got posts in your queue ill be like 🥺 where’s katie? is she having a good day today? literally it doesnt matter what you post abt, bc your enthusiasm for whatever it is always makes me so happy. keep doing you <3♥️🌸💗💕💜🌸❣💗💜♥️💕

@snimeat GEI. okay we dont talk OFTEN but when we do we talk a LOT. your excitement is sooooooooooooo contagious and it always matches mine and i feel SO SEEN. i think your edits have such a mystical vibe to them...they always make me feel very wistful (in a very good way). luv u 💛

@pranpats Kit!!! your gifs are GORGEOUS. and you are one of the sweetest people on this site. you always say such lovely things in the tags, and i love occasionally coming to talk to you about gifmaking things. you are such a warm presence on my dash! 💜

and of COURSE @grapejuicegay - kk i think we speedran our friendship in the last 6 weeks. idk how we never really talked before, now that i know we were BOTH lurking on each other’s blogs this whole year. i don’t even know what to say that i haven’t already said in our dms. i fucking love talking to you. there are some people you just click with and im so glad you’re one of them. 💙💌💗💖💜💙💕💛♥️🌹💌💖💙💕

there are so many more of you i want to mention here!! and if you read this far please know im probably also thinking of you, and i want you all to know that i have loved every minute watching and sharing this show with you.

im constantly blown away by everyone’s kindness and how welcoming all of you are. this is truly my favorite place to be online. thank you for all the tags on my gifs and meta. thank you for being so warm.

im so happy this little show means as much to all of you as it does to me. happy one year everybody. 🎆🥂💚❤

[guiltiest-gear]

Rei’s colorblindness receipts (Text edition)

Y’all better reblog this because I did this all by hand and I don’t wanna see no two note bullshit

My God this took like maybe one and a half, maybe two hours

Anyway here it is

Zenny: No, its bc u dont like to acknowledge the fact that ur colorblind

Zenny: Rei

Yoshi: Wait Rei’s colorblind

Robin: Rei is colorblind?

Yoshi: Red-green or blue-yellow colorblind

Zenny: Red green, im pretty sure

Yoshi: Ah

Yoshi: But I never knew Rei was colorblind

Rei: I am not color blind because I refuse to accept it

Yoshi: Hmm

Yoshi: Let me see

Zenny: Thats not how that works

Robin: Rei

Rei: It dies because fuck you

Zenny: Dies?

Yoshi: Hmm

Rei: Yes

Yoshi: What dies

Rei: My color blindness

Zenny: Ok

Rei: I don’t have it anymore

Yoshi: Huh

Yoshi: Wild

Zenny:

Zenny: Ok tell me what color this is

Rei: Get that ugly shade of bright ass green out of here

Robin: Oh this is fun

Yoshi: Rei

Sheep: Dkshaldjdks

Zenny: Pfft

Robin: REI

Pigeon: That is an red

Yoshi: REI

Robin: ITS RED, REI

Yoshi: IT’S FUCKING RED

Pigeon: Like pure red

Robin: REI

Yoshi: SHIT DON’T EVEN REMOTELY LOOK GREEN

Rei: Get that ugly shade of bright ass red out of here

Yoshi: Hell I’ll even sample the rgb values

Sheep: Rei, what color was my hair the one time you’ve seen me?

Zenny: Pfffft

Yoshi: (255,0,0)

Yoshi: No green at all

Rei: @/IhasSheepquake fuck if I know, can I see you again?

Robin: Pure red

Yoshi: Pure red

Sheep: gasp

Rei: Pink maybe?

Yoshi: Rei

Robin: Rei

Yoshi: It is pure red

Robin: Rei you’re colorblind

Yoshi: RED

Rei: PINK FOR SHEEP HAIR

Sheep: Rei is so colorblind they cant even see my red hair

Rei: I’m not colorblind

Robin: Yes you are

Yoshi: Rei

Robin: Accept the truth, bitch

Yoshi: That is red

Yoshi: Not green

Sheep: We literally just proved it

Zenny:

Zenny: Color?

Robin: Wait

Robin: Wait

Robin: Wait

Robin: My pfp

Zenny: OMG

Robin: Do

Robin: Do you think I’m green?

Rei: https://midnight-spectrum-again.tumblr.com/post/622005584634527744/i-am-not-color-blind

Yoshi: Wait a fucking second

Robin: Rei

Zenny: WAIT

Rei: @/ASingularPotato blue

Zenny: WHAT COLOR IS YOHSI

Sheep: Dksjdldjsk

Robin: Rei is my pfp green to you

Zenny: And no, that was purple rei

Yoshi: Hold on lemme just

Rei: I REFUSE TO ANSWER

Robin: REI

Sheep: Rei what colours are my minecraft skin?

Yoshi: WHAT COLOR IS THIS REI

Yoshi:

Rei: THIS IS HARASSMENT

Robin: YOURE COLORBLIND

Sheep: ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTIONS REI

Yoshi: REI YOU ARE TELLING ME THE ANSWER ONE GODDAMN WAY OR ANOTHER

Yoshi: WHAT’S THE GODDAMN COLOR

Robin: WHAT GODDAMN COLOR AM I REI

Robin: 

Zenny: Ive never seen your pfp that big, im terrified

Robin: Good

Robin: @/A Friend Of Mara

Yoshi: Fucking swear if Rei says I look red

Sheep: Maybe this is why Reis skins always look so ugly

Robin: Yoshi

Yoshi: 👀

Robin: Rei might think you’re red and I’m green

Yoshi: Ffs

Sheep: I wanna know what colours the see my skin as

Sheep: We already know they cant see like two of the colours on it

Sheep: So tell me rei you whore

Rei: “Maybe this is why Reis skins always look so ugly”

Rei: @/IhasSheepquake

Rei: They are supposed to be ugly

Robin: Rei said I was red on Tumblr but used green text

Robin: I’m-

Rei:

Robin: FUCK

Rei: Me

Robin: I’m getting many notifications

Robin: And no

Rei: Look my color blind is not real

Rei: Let’s not talk about it

Robin: Yes it is

Robin: And we will

Sheep: We’re not gonna stop until you answer us rei

Sheep: Answer the blood questions

Robin: What color is yoshi

Rei: Why is this important??

Robin: WHAT COLOR IS YOSHI

Sheep: WHAT COLOR IS ROBIN

Rei: RED

Robin: yeah

Robin: Cause it’s in my name

Rei: Oh darn

Robin: But what do I look like Rei

Robin: Do I look green?

Rei:

Robin: TELL US

Robin: Tell us and this can all be over

Rei: ITS NOT IMPORTANT

Robin: IT IS TO ME

Sheep: ITS IMPORTANT TO US

Rei: LETS GO WITH RED

Robin: Tell me the truth Rei

Robin: Do I look green to you?

Rei: 😳

Robin: Speak now or I will assume that means yes

Rei: OKAY FINE

Yoshi: Alright then Rei

Yoshi: What color am I

Rei:

Yoshi: Rei don’t go silent on me

Zenny:

Sheep: Answer the fucking question rei

Yoshi: WHAT COLOR IS THIS REI

Yoshi:

Robin:

Rei:

Robin: TOO BAD BITCH

Yoshi: I KNOW YOU CAN DAMN WELL SEE AND YOU WILL FUCKING LOOK AT IT

Rei: *Puts in color correcting contacts in* green

Robin: No

Yoshi: No Rei

Robin: I WANT A REAL ANSWER

Yoshi: NO GODDAMN CONTACTS

Robin: OR I ASSUME

Yoshi: WHAT’S THE FUCKING COLOR

Rei: GREEN

Robin: FOR WHICH ONE

Yoshi: Rei don’t give me ambiguity

Rei: is there a surgery for color correction??? Because imma get me that

Sheep: YOU HAVE THREE PEOPLE TO ANSWER TOO NOW TELL US THE TRUTH

Robin: SO YOU ADMIT YOURE COLORBLIND

Rei: THERE IS SURGERY

Robin: WHICH ONE OF USE IS GREEN? ME OR YOSHI?

Yoshi: TELL ME

Rei: YOSHI MEAT

Yoshi: REI DO NOT GIVE ME THAT FUCKING ANSWER

Sheep: Rei we are asking you three simple questions

Robin: REI WHAT FUCKING COLOR DO I LOOK LIKE TO YOU

Sheep: All you have to do is answer us

Robin: I’m gonna make Rei sort m&ms

Rei: why

Rei: Are we here

Rei: Just to suffer

Sheep: Yes

Robin: You’re the only one suffering Rei

Sheep: Now fucking answer

Yoshi: TELL ME REI

Robin: But that can end

Sheep: All you need to do is answer three questions

Robin: TELL US NOW

Rei: IM NOT COLOR BLIND

Robin: YES YOU ARE

Sheep: The answer the questions!!

Zenny: THEN ANSWERT THE QUESTIONS

Rei: RED

Rei: ROBIN IS RED

Sheep: You just make yourself look quilty if you keep avoiding the question

Robin: WHAT DO YOU SEEE ME AS

Zenny: AND YOSHI??

Robin: I KNOW IM RED BUT DO I LOOK GREEN

Zenny: You look yellow

Zenny:

Yoshi: Yeah got that result with a filter

Robin: My brother is red green colorblind and I’m not fully sure if that pic is accurate

Robin: Maybe for people with severe color blindness

Robin: But back to the conversation

Robin: REI

Rei: It’s not that bad because I don’t have it

Robin: YES YOU DO

Yoshi: Rei

Yoshi: IS this what I fucking look like

Yoshi:

Rei: That’s a nice Minecraft poster

Yoshi: This is green-blind colorblindness

Sheep: Oh shit yoshi you look good in that color

Yoshi: Hmm

Yoshi: Maybe

Yoshi: Maybe I can make a red edit

Yoshi: Nah that would take too long

Sheep: Is that a tan yoshi, or is a tan yoshi just normal but darker

Yoshi: Yeah maybe I can turn down the brightness

Robin: I am satisfied

Robin: I have my answers now

Yoshi: Getting screenshots rn

[valdotpng]

Question. Do you have any specific resources you used to learn art and painting, etc?? Your style and skill is so so good and I'd love to see how you Do It

oh, gosh. i dont think i could ever answer this question in a truly satisfying manner, but i’ll try my best to do it!

learning art in general has just been a road of trial and error for me! looots of trial and error. im a ‘self-taught’ artist & i’ve been drawing since i was a toddler, so i’ve accumulated certain skills just bc i’ve been doing it for so dang long

that being said, i’ll share some links in a moment! but first, some advice from me to you, anon. just.. go wild. try new things and dont set too many rules for yourself, yknow what i mean? nowadays i tend to use lots of weird textured brushes + work on only one layer (which i hear is quite bad for when youre working on commissions, but i paint for myself so i dont gotta worry about correcting things all the time), and as a person struggling w/ a pretty severe case of OCD, i find it so liberating to be Forced to not give a shit through that painting method. just have fun! allow yourself to be messy, to make mistakes, and remember that you can just paint over them later. some of your ‘mistakes’ might even end up being the things that make your drawing look more interesting/organic, in the end! the ‘happy little accidents’ mindset just makes the whole process much more enjoyable imo :]

ALSO, an important thing to me was finding the right brushes for painting. just dl a shit ton of the ones that look fun to you (or make your own if your drawing program allows it!) and make an effort to try out each and every one of them at least once!! the brushes certainly arent that important-- you could paint a masterpiece with a simple square brush-- but more often than not i find my style being subtly influenced by the brushes that i use at the moment. its a thing worth considering!

another thing i should note is that, while im mostly happy with my art nowadays, i AM still learning, and i dont think i’ll ever stop learning, so, like, check in in a couple of years for some better tips i guess asuhdfuashfusdf

anyways, here are some resources that are/were very helpful to me:

when i need to browse for general art tips/tutorials/cheat sheets/etc, i usually go here: [link 1], [link 2], [link 3], [link 4], [link 5], 

now, here are some specific posts ive collected over the years that really made me rethink how i approach composition and the like in my, uh, more ‘serious’ paintings: [link 1], [link 2], [link 3], [link 4], [link 5]

this [link] video series is a Godsend, its got some very good advice AND its got nice editing too, my hellbrain was actually able to focus and learn smth from a video tutorial for once

heres a nice post about practice and improvement that you should deffo read before using all of these resources

i also find it very helpful to just.. look at art that inspires you/ that you find appealing Right before painting? that way all of the techniques you might pick up while staring at other peoples art will stay fresh in your mind, so you’ll be more likely to try em out. (setting a drawing that you really like as a phone/desktop bg works well too since youll inevitably stare at it quite often)

i also really like seeing other peoples process, so i tend to watch speedpaints/analyse process gifs & photosets a lot! seeing how messy and abstract most drawings are in the early stages of painting is really comforting/reassuring to me :] heres a couple for u: [link 1], [link 2], [link 3], [link 4], [link 5], [link 6], [link 7], [link 8], and finally, [link 9] and [link 10] (3, 9 and 10 are the ones that inspire me the most atm)

as a bonus, heres one from me as well! (usually i only post these on my patreon, but ik times are tough rn and any of your spare money could (and should) go to a far better cause) im putting it under a read more bc it contains blood and self-impalement, so beware! (bloodborne bosses, man) i might make a speedpaint in the future, too, so watch out for that!

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression Ep 1 - Haruna Fuuka files lawsuit against internet slanderers

*with Kaoru (K), Joe (J), Tasai (T) , who is a journalist writing for the newspaper Tokyo Sports, and Kami/god.*

Kaoru: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru. Have you heard of 'The Freedom of Expression' somewhere before?

Joe, Tasai : *noding*

K: I've a feeling we've done this before...

J: Thats right, yes...Its not a feeling, we actually did.

K: We are reviving the show we did on the radio station InterFM from 2015-16, on youtube this time.

J: Awesome

*applause*

J: I was really happy when I was first told about the revival.

K: I was also surprised *laughs*

J: Its not that you were made to revive the show though, right Kaoru?

K: The suggestion just came at me.

J: Oh really, like 'How about it?'

K: Like, 'Wanna tryy?' 1*

J: Ah, in a Kansai accent?

K:Yes yes

J: Like, 'Lets tryyy'..kind of thing...it started like that *laughs*

K: Yep

J: We did quite a lot (on InterFM). We even did a special edition

K, T : Yes, we did

J: We even made stickers

K: Brazil!

J:Yes

T: Ah, the live broadcast..at the Olympics

J: It was Dobashi san...Bishbash Dobashi san.

T: It would be good if we could do another live broadcast at this year's Tokyo Olympics.

J: On this You tube channel?

T: Yes *laughs*

J: A live broadcast might be a bit difficult legally, as for the Olymipcs *T laughs*

K: Um, thats *shhh*

J: Oh, its a secret!' *K laughing*  Maybe if were are asked by Tokyo Sports..?

K: Yes yes...So, as to the freedom of expression... 

Kami/god: Wait, wait, wait..I've come down too.

J: Oh, Kami?

K: He's saying it from himself *laughs*..I thought he would come if we beckoned him though.

J: Thats what usually happened. He was the kind of god that would come down after we called him, but now a god that comes down on his own accord.

K: Wasn't he like that before too? Should we keep him in reseve a bit more?

J: He'll want to appear, we can't help it?

Kami: You were forgetting about me!

K: We are not forgetting you!

Kami: You musn't forget your god!

*laughing*

T: We are not forgetting you!

Kami: Its not good!

J: You are always in our hearts.

T: Yes, he is.

Kami: Yes, thats it..you have to think like that.

J: But, you are not in the studio today, kami?

Kami: Oh..um, im just getting off a night shift..

J: A night shift?!

K: Ah, but it was like that before..

Kami: Right.

J: You are doing night shift work again? *Tasai laughs*

Kami: yes, thats right.

K: That was a while ago wasn't it, how many years ago?

J: Oh, is this the night shift season?

Kami: No, its..

T: You worked for ￥1000 per hour right?

Kami: Yes, yes...my hourly rate has risen a bit though. They were telling me 'Take a rest, take a rest', so my income dropped.

J: Ahh, its what they called a 'reformed working style', right?

Kami: Right

J: Its tough for you too, Kami.

Kami: *laughs* Yes it is.

K: He's the same as ever...  so lets get started.

J, T: Please

K: Ah, by the way, Tasai san, as well as Bishbashi Dohashi san, wasn't there another person before (at InterFM)?

T: Yes..a beastly guy *K laughs* An old aquaintance of the listeners', a guy called Monster Hiranabe.

J: Its a strange story, but once when a certain celebrity died, Hiranabe-san called me up, and asked me if I had known the deceased guy...as soon as I said that I hadn't known him very well, he hung up on me straight away!

T: Thats awful!

J: He is awful

T: This very guy, Hiranabe, even got a promotion from the manager.

J: Eh? Promoted to what?!

T: To Director

J:Eh?! Really?

K: Is that okay??

J: No, it'll be terrible!

K: Right, lets move onto the main news...I'd like to get deeper into the concept of 'The Freedom of Expression'.

J: Right, so Haruna Fuuka has filed a lawsuit againts those who engage in 'internet slander'.

A tweet stated 'Both her parents created a failure'.

On Jan 14th, 18 year old Haruna and her mother filed a lawsuit at Yokohama district court demanding ￥2,654,000 in damages from a person engaged in spreading falsehoods which have damaged her dignity.

On the acknowledgement that these tweets went beyond what was deemed acceptable by society at large, on Nov 1st the internet provider was ordered to make public the persons name and address etc.

Haruna has been tweeting since the age of 9, giving her opinion at random about society's problems, and creating a stir. She now has over 200,000 followers and is fighting 10 years of slander. Kaoru, what do you think about this?

K: Well..I mean, naturally, you'd feel like that..

J: Hmm, but I don't know the details but..the name of the defendant has been withheld...well, its a common problem that as a person speaking in the public eye, you are going to get criticism along with praise...like a 'fame tax'.  That said, how far do you go before honour is damaged? On SNS, you are of course free to express yourself, you can write what you want, but the issue is what constitutes damage to honour. This might be a very difficult area in which to draw a legal line, but on the other hand, if you don't draw a legal line, things may escalate out of control...Kaoru, what do you think?

K: Well for example, if banter between friends is written down...controlling that...Its best not to look at whats written in the first place.

J: Ah, the person in question right? By the way Kaoru, its a strange question, but do you search for yourself online?

K: No, not really. I hear things, the office staff will tell me.

J: Oh, if anything is being said?

T: In the world of fame its quite true, that even if 98 or 99 opinions out of 100 are good, the one negative thing will stand out.

K: Well, yes, its the bad things that..

J: On the other hand, from the writers'  perspective at Tokyo Sports, how far are you willing to slander someone? You could write an article in a good or bad way..

T: Of course balance is important, but of course, if the courts want to complain to us, they can call us, and start an exchange, but in the case of slanders on the internet, its like, who do you complain to? So, if you ask celebrities, they will say Tokyo Sports slander is better than anonymous online slander because at least they can complain to our face.

J: Mm, absolutely. Just how far do we protect these tweets, these freedoms of expression? Its difficult.

K: Are these really 'expressions'?

J: Well, esentially, yes. When you say 'tweets' you think of nonsense, but really its media expressing things, or artists expressing things..

K: Yes, yes, you can get a sense of individual expression.

J: And this especially has the power to influence...

K: Yes, and people get swept up in it.

J: I think this is universal, but at the moment I think Japan is bit like a geyser, people will rush towards any incident and some will start complaining, I mean, I think its important to say what you feel, but its complaining without trying to solve anything, only satisfying yourself.

K: Thats it

J: Its sounds strange to say, but it ends like masturbation. If it turns into something towards a soloution its ok, but just creating thoughtless slander to satisfy yourself is questionable.

K: So its often said, if you continue the conversation only looking at the bad things, it can't be helped. There are also good people out there..you know, put more importance on those people. How to put it...its like we said before, if you focus too much on that one out of a hundred, its kind of rude to the other 99.

J: I see. Still this person has over 200,000 followers and its said she has been fighting slander for ten years.

T: She's always been a bit of a talking point online. I'll just search for her.

J: I also have Instagram, I do stuff to do with societal problems on The Dave Fromm show's youtube channel, and whenever I upload about it (on IG), my followers decrease!  *everyone laughs* Outrageously decrease! Im serious, despite getting so far, that channel updates every week, and with every update my followers decrease. Maybe people hate reading about societal problems..*to Tasai* What did you find?

T: So for example there was that thing recently about regulating gamers to 60mins per session, she had quite a few things to say about that, playing vs learning etc.

J: I see..Young people do complain, well you can't really tell here, but on the other hand, young people these days, i know they would hate us old guys talking about this, but young people apparently have three main taboos. The first is talking about sex, they dont follow this, the second is politics, they don't follow this either, and the other one is, they don't like being made to talk about the kind of things that they really need to be talking about...there seems to be this kind of trend. So i think in this way...theres a chance Haruna is getting right to the point of this. But certainly, applying the law in a way that recognises infringement/damage to honour by way of personal utterances has the potential to lead to restrictions on the freedom of expression. Its a difficult play off, isnt it?

T: Yes, it really is

J: Obviously, when it comes to race, or racial discrimination, there has come to be rules concerning hate speech and so on, but how far can you regulate one-to-one slandering, or..how far can you protect the person being attacked? Should the country or the judiciary decide this? Its difficult.

K: Kami, what do you think? Are you there?

Kami: Well, I hear slanders towards me all the time *everyone laughs* Like, god tells lies, god is useless, or even that there is no such thing as god!

J: Ahh, i see. They deny you!

Kami: Yes, thats it. If I care about those things, I lose!

J: Do you search for yourself online?

Kami: I do. *everyone laughs* ..and whenever I do its only ever those things that come up.

J: Ah of course...Kami, you have an exceptionally good handle on social media  dont you?

T: He's great

Kami: Ive got a good handle on it.

J: Do you use an iphone?

Kami: I have two.

J: God has two iphones! Thats brilliant.

Kami: Yep, I have two...im not allowed to use them while im working.

T: Does he have a contract? With his address and such?

J: I can't tell whether he's great, or whether he's not so great...

Kami: If i care, I lose...I prefer them to hate me, rather than to be indifferent to me.

K: Kami, what do you think about playing computer games for one hour?

Kami: If the kid is good at it, they should keep doing it.

T: I see, i see.

J: Ohh not sure about that. That seems a bit out.

Kami: No, i really think so. Skilled kids can carry on playing.

K: Should unskilled ones give up?

Kami: Yes, they shouldn't do it...When they play all day, and they just can't clear the level..that kind of kid.

K: Its a waste of time right?

Kami: Exactly, its a waste.

J: They should do something else?

Kami: Yes

K: You should quit if you have no talent for it?

Kami: Yes, yes, its talent.

J: Well, just getting off a nightshift must be tiring.

K: For us too, you know, we should try not to say 'stop it' too quickly...we have to keep it interesting.

Kami: It was interesting though, I was listening.

T: Oh thank you.

Kami: But don't tell lies about me.

T: If you thought it was interesting, you should write about it on your social media.

Kami: Yeh, everyone pretends on social media anyway, they won't know its me.

K: Well, that was the first episode of 'The Freedom of Expression' but, should I ask how it was..? *laughs*

J: But, being together again after a while was refreshing..

K,T: Yes, thats right

T: Im happy.

J: So am I.

K: Well, so we started in this vein....Tune in next time to see how it goes.  So this time, only this camera, theres nothing here *gestures behind*, but if lots of people watch, we could go different places, increase our cameras. I still don't know about your fee, Joe.

J: Eh?! What do you mean? It says here my fee will stay the same!

K: I might have to lower it *laughs*

J: *coughs* You're only lowering mine?...But everyone please subscribe.

K: Yes please. Please look forward to next time. Thank you very much.

1* They are saying 'How about this?' in a Kansai accent, how to translate that??

[james-fun-in-the-sunderland]

z. Zach ? Zach deadly premonition ?

hehe absolutely bc like what i said abt york where his characterization is just a bunch of headcanons stacked on top of each other in a trenchcoat, that but x100 bc zach gets like no time to develop and in dp2 when he gets more development time its like they forgot all the slim characterizations they gave him and just made him a worse copy of york but like anyway ANYWAY,

Send a character’s name to receive four different headcanons

Headcanon A:  realistic

This is going to be kind of 2 headcanons bc i just have so many headcanons for both york and zach.

Zach has a much more casual dress style than york, in fact hes really really satisfied with just a tee-shirt and jeans, hell even pajama pants can be fine to go out in for zach. This mostly is because hes used to how it was when he was a teen, him and york would go thrift shopping for clothes, mostly punk clothes. (And a small bit because he (and to a lesser extent york) just doesnt like how dress clothes feel (too tight :( york often doesnt wear his tie bc of this <3)) 

To add onto the thrifting headcanon, back when they first got into punk n punk music, they found a really cool punk as hell leather jacket at a local thrift store and bought it even though it was pretty big on them. (They were small in their early teens i think i headcanoned like 5′4?) a few years or so later they had a major growth spurt (launching them up to 6′2) and the jacket finally fit properly! Zach still has the jacket somewhere and can still wear it, even though its tight in some places.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Zach doesnt know how to play chess and absolutely refuses to learn. Its one of the only things that has made york outwardly frustrated at zach because york just doesnt understand that zach is doing it purposefully to make him mad, and well, it works :-) (Small bonus, im disregarding canon here bc dp2 makes me mad, he continues to refuse to learn chess even after york has left him even though theres no real reason to keep up the bit. He likes to think though one day he’ll meet up with york again and he can keep making him mad :-) )

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

I think for zach this section is much too easy, after all his whole childhood and everything :/ plus alot of interpretations of him, his character, and deeper examinations of him rely on him being tragic, thinking of an original sad headcanon is kind of hard so im just going for something ive only recently thought about and probably isnt as heart crushing and awful but at least its a little less touched upon.

Zach hates his scar, it was something that never really bothered him until he got full control of his body after york left and realized how ugly and still present it was. After all its a ever present physical reminder of his trauma, his responsibilities, and just all of the things he really wouldnt really want to remember. Its one of the main reasons he really avoids mirrors and imo probably has a small fear of them. Its that and also his white hair probably. The scar and the hair make him stick out horribly in a crowd and he just knows people talk about it behind his back. (Plus i have a bonus headcanon that goes against his canon design but zachs father had some white hairs even though he was pretty young because of the stress of his job, thus zach seeing his own white hair would likely remind him of his father and uh yeah bad times for zach :( )

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

this part is just going to be me hissing and growling at dp2 be prepared. Also gonna have multiples here.

Anyway so Zach doesnt care much for movies, thats yorks thing after all, while i do think he would watch movies and enjoy them (in part bc it makes him feel closer w york) i dont think he would particularly be at the same level as york is with them. I think personally Zach would be much more of a TV guy! Probably would be fine with TV edits of movies too (Gets rid of the bothersome blood n guts that probably bother him imo) 

Zach swears, like alot. I think he should drop way more f bombs than in dp2. He talks way more casually than york and just in general is more of a casual guy. I like thinking this bc i mean just the CONTRAST between his anime protag looking ass and his casual barely quirky at all demeanor is very funny and just fun in general. Also i think he would be a very outwardly nice guy <3 contrast to york whos kinda an outward asshole.

Final one but i think zach didnt really want to become an FBI agent, i think that was more yorks business, instead i think zach wanted to be someone involved in the music industry. In fact when he was a teen he really wanted to start a band and would write lyrics and little melodys, probably still does on occasion. Probably accidentally humming something he thought abt while on the job c:

[comicteaparty]

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)

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.

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

Oh

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.