#like they're enemies. but they're friend. but they're lovers. but they're besties. but they're manga editor and manga author

[scoups4lyfe]

they're besties now, don't worry about it

[risingshards]

I've been hovering around a subscriber number and it's been going up and down a bit and cuz it went down a chunk today I'm a lil anxious, I worry about everything constantly so this probably isn't a big deal, but instead of dwelling on it I'm gonna try and self promote and maybe overcome this subscriber hurdle! So Self Promo Saturday in addition to Storyteller Saturday? Is that a thing already?

Anyways, if you've followed me for a while you've probably seen me talk about my main series, Rising Shards!

Rising Shards is my passion project, a super long web novel that updates Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It's always tough for me to explain it, but in short it's part fantasy series, part slice of life, part comedy, part adventure, part romance. It's got a huge cast of characters that a vast majority of are queer!

What's life like in a world where monster folks called Cani are as normal as rainy days? What's it like to juggle learning how to use your powers on fantasy adventures with taking tests and giving speeches in class? How about balancing having crushes and getting over breakups with growing tails or having full on werewolf moments? That's what Zeta Faleur, a trans girl getting over a bad breakup, has to do when her fangs come in and she has to go to a Cani school.

Other main characters have to deal with similar issues as well. Zeta's best friend Oka, a kindhearted girl with a troubled upbringing struggles to fit in at school, gets her first crush around the same time she gets her first role in a school play. Kalei, a snarky gamer jock, begins to find her own identity and all the angst and joy that comes with it. Lillia, a by the books honor student, goes through as many crushes as she gets good grades, but what happens when someone finally likes her back? Longtime friends Aira and Laenie face off with the prospect of drifting apart, while similarly close besties Iris and Maia deal with getting closer. Marmalade, a trans girl who is a late transfer to Rising Shards, strains with self doubt and acceptance. Roux goes on a gender focused journey and finds confidence in themselves. Zeta's older sister Stella starts crushing on Zeta's teacher, Dr. Evy Diast, but are there sparks between them? (given that these two also have an 18+ side series which can be read here, the answer is probably yes).

And that's just a chunk of the characters, yes there are somehow more, including wizards, pop stars, goofy principals, princesses, wannabe hall monitors, filming experts, coffee lovers, gambling obsessed gremlins, mean girls, exes, and enemies! I love stories with a huge cast of characters and actually spent time in college getting my writing degree writing essays about series that juggle tons and tons of characters. For the others, you'll have to read the series to meet them! :)

If the length of the series is intimidating (understandable!), I like to think of it like a TV show or a long manga or light novel series. It may be a ton of chapters and words and such, but they're split up into episodes and seasons, so each chunk of episodes is a complete little arc like a TV episode, and each season completes a big story. With such a huge cast and the way I pace the story, I try to use the space I have to the fullest to spend lots and lots of time with the characters.

If you wanna check the series out, it'd mean the world to me. And big bonus if you subscribe as well. :) If Tapas isn't your jam, Rising Shards is also available on Scribble Hub!

Art for Rising Shards is done by the wonderful Flopicas!

[stepswordsen]

JuAli WIP doodles

So, I'm just gonna post my old JuAli doodles from November ~ April. Obsessed with them. I've been thinking about them non-stop. Judar is wearing traditional Chinese hanfu in these :) 

Here's my JuAli doodles for now <3 They're pretty messy, so I'll put them under the cut. Also I'm putting my thought rambles under the cut too. They’re snippets of thoughts I had, including ones with friends, feel free to read them if you’re curious!

Some rambles

I was considering whether I should post my JuAli doodles since I usually prefer to keep my art account for finished arts only, but I wanted to show my love for them. I still have to refine and redraw these tbh, but I'm excited to work on these in the future! 

I also didn’t know whether to post these rambles under my art or make a new post on my side blog. Well. It’s going here now. I’ll post the rest of my sketches and another rambles in another post 

The first two Judar in hanfu doodles are some of my fave drawings ever. I really want to finish this one soon...

I think Judar has red eyeliner in the manga, and the Magi anime has Judar's eyeshadow as purple? In Ohtaka's coloured arts, it looks like a more saturated red colour to me.

I like Judar with red eyeliner/eyeshadow like how Ohtaka colours in the manga. I like how the colours pop and the contrast against his design, and how it matches his red eyes. Also cuz black and red are his image/representative colours to me anyways

I want Judar to wear black, white, red, and gold hanfu... I’ve also been looking into hanfu earrings for him. I'm thinking of red and gold. I want him to have red eyeliner and black painted fingernails.

Also, in the future, I'd also like to draw Desi inspired Alibaba wearing kurta with churidar!

Some thoughts on JuAli

I love how my friends described them as besties and one-sided enemies/worsties dynamic (from Judar’s end lmfao), it’s soooo funny. I feel like they’d have a sort of Love-Hate relationship at first, like when you hate someone so much it’s love...

My friend mentioned that because Alibaba is so different and the complete opposite of him, it makes sense he doesn’t understand it, but it only shows that he’s curious and that deep inside he wants to know.

And Judar would just constantly be like “I really don't get this guy at all” and “I don't understand what he's thinking at all!” Like how he was with Alibaba on the Dark continent. I think it’s interesting how he recognized that Alibaba has qualities that draw people to him, but just couldn't understand why.

I love their Fire and Ice duality. Light/Darkness. Angel/Devil. Hot and Cold. Enemies to Lovers. They’d bicker and kiss and make out. Twink on twink violence is their love language /lh

I feel like in the early stages of them catching feelies they’d both be really awkward around each other and constantly headbutt each other… They'd always be pretty competitive with each other, but they'd warm up to each other over time.

I love their setup, I’m obsessed with them and their vibes. They’re so funny and cute… I love their dynamic, their vibes are impeccable. I could sense the sen-core with them, I love them so much.

I awaken to my final form. Meow meow mf x Empathetic, loving ball of sunshine… It's the sen-core ship formula: meow meow mf x ball of sunshine. Morally questionable/morally bankrupt x morally agreeable <3

Also I love Light/Darkness, Yin/Yang and Sun/Moon/Eclipse themed ships. And Rivals/Enemies to Lovers. Opposites contrast :)

I love Opposites Attract ships that are also combined with any of these tropes: Narrative parallelism (Yin/Yang, Light/Darkness, Sun/Moon/Eclipse tropes), Protagonist x Rival/Antagonist/Opposing Figure, Reconciliation of Opposites, Fated Enemies/Rivals, etc.

Sen-core characters/ships: being a menace to A) the world and/or B) their rival/enemy/lover.

Alibaba is the sun, and Judar’s leitmotif is the black sun (just like Douman). And he’s also technically the moon. One of my friends told me she sees him with Eclipse symbolism, which is really interesting.