#my build tips:

[battybiologist]

Min maxing in Disco Elysium is really fun because A) Thoughts really add depth to the calculations you need to do in order to get your build right, B) you can really shape the narrative of your Harry DuBois, C) it's just. So funny. You drink yourself half to death and now you're a genius eagle-eyed kung-fu empath. You might break down in tears rambling about Contact Mike, but you dodged a bullet and reconstructed an entire ballistic trajectory with essentially no evidence.

[genericpuff]

Tbh at this point you should just make your own webcomic app/website because it would probably be 100 times better than whatever going on with webtoon right now.

hahaha it wouldn't tho, sorry 💀

Here's the fundamental issue with webcomic platforms that a lot of people just don't realize (and why they're so difficult to run successfully):

Storage costs are incredibly expensive, it's why so many sites have limitations on file sizes / page sizes / etc. because all of those images and site info have to be stored somewhere, which costs $$$.

Maintenance costs are expensive and get more so as you grow, you need people who are capable of fixing bugs ASAP and managing the servers and site itself

Financially speaking, webcomics are in a state of high supply, low demand. Loads of artists are willing to create their passion projects, but getting people to read them and pay for them is a whole other issue. Demand is high in the general sense that once people get attached to a webtoon they'll demand more, but many people aren't actually willing to go looking for new stuff to read and depend more on what sites feed them (and what they already like). There are a lot of comics to go around and thus a lot of competition with a limited audience of people willing to actually pay for them.

Trying to build a new platform from the ground up is incredibly difficult and a majority of sites fail within their first year. Not only do you have to convince artists to take a chance on your platform, you have to convince readers to come. Readers won't come if there isn't work on the platform to read, but artists won't come if they don't think the site will be worth it due to low traffic numbers. This is why the artists with large followings who are willing to take chances on the smaller sites are crucial, but that's only if you can convince them to use the site in favor of (or alongside) whatever platform they're using already where the majority of their audience lies. For many creators it's just not worth the time, energy, or risk.

Even if you find short-term success, in the long-term there are always going to be profit margins to maintain. The more users you pull in, the more storage is used by incoming artists, the more you have to spend on storage and server maintenance costs, and that means either taking the risk at crowdfunding (ex. ComicFury) or having to resort to outsider investments (ex. Tapas). Look at SmackJeeves, it used to be a titan in the independent webcomic hosting community, until it folded over to a buyout by NHN and then was pretty much immediately shuttered due to NHN basically turning it into a manwha scanlation site and driving away its entire userbase. And if you don't get bought out and try your hand at crowdfunding, you may just wind up living on a lifeline that could cut out at any moment, like what happened to Inkblazers (fun fact, the death of Inkblazers was what kicked off the cultural shift in Tapas around 2015-16 when all of IB's users migrated over and brought their work with them which was more aimed towards the BL and romancee drama community, rather than the comedy / gag-a-day culture that Tapas had made itself known for... now you deadass can't tell Tapas apart from a lot of scanlation sites because it got bought out by Kakao and kept putting all of its eggs into the isekai/romance drama basket.)

Right now the mindset in which artists and readers are operating is that they're trying way, way too hard to find a "one size fits all" site. Readers want a place where they can find all their favorite webtoons without much effort, artists wants a place where they can post to an audience of thousands, and both sides want a community that will feel tight-knit. But the reality is that you can't really have all three of those things, not on one site. Something always winds up having to be sacrificed - if a site grows big enough, it'll have to start seeking more funding while also cutting costs which will result in features becoming paywall'd, intrusive ads, creators losing their freedom, and/or outsider support which often results in the platform losing its core identity and alienating its tight-knit community.

If I had to describe what I'm talking about in a "pick one" graphic, it would look something like this:

(*note: this is mostly based on my own observations from using all of these sites at some point or another, they're not necessarily entirely accurate to the statistical performance of each site, I can only glean so much from experience and traffic trackers LMAO that said I did ask some comic pals for input and they were very helpful in helping me adjust it with their own takes <3).

The homogenization of the Internet has really whipped people into submission for the "big sites" that offer "everything", but that's never been the Internet, it relies on being multi-faceted and offering different spaces for different purposes. And we're seeing that ideology falter through the enshittification of sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. where users are at odds with the platforms because the platforms are gutting features in an attempt to satisfy shareholders whom without the platforms would not exist. Like, most of us aren't paying money to use social media sites / comic platform sites, so where else are they gonna make the necessary funds to keep these sites running? Selling ad space and locking features behind paywalls.

And this is especially true for a lot of budding sites that don't have the audience to support them via crowdfunding but also don't have the leverage to ask for investments - so unless they get really REALLY lucky in EITHER of those departments, they're gonna be operating at a loss, and even once they do achieve either of those things there are gonna be issues in the site's longevity, whether it be dying from lack of growing crowdfunding support or dying from shareholder meddling.

So what can we do?

We can learn how to take our independence back. We don't have to stop using these big platforms altogether as they do have things to offer in their own way, particularly their large audience sizes and dipping into other demographics that might not be reachable from certain sites - but we gotta learn that no single site is going to satisfy every wish we have and we have to be willing to learn the skills necessary to running our own spaces again. Pick up HTML/CSS, get to know other people who know HTML/CSS if you can't grasp it (it's me, I can't grasp it LOL), be willing to take a chance on those "smaller sites" and don't write them off entirely as spaces that can be beneficial to you just because they don't have large numbers or because they don't offer rewards programs. And if you have a really polished piece of work in your hands, look into agencies and publishing houses that specialize in indie comics / graphic novels, don't settle for the first Originals contract that gets sent your way.

For the last decade corporations have been convincing us that our worth is tied to the eyes we can bring to them. Instead of serving ourselves, we've begun serving the big guys, insisting that it has to be worth something eventually and that it'll "payoff" simply by the virtue of gambler's fallacy. Ask yourself what site is right for you and your work rather than asking yourself if your work is good enough for them. Most of us are broke trying to make it work on these sites anyways, may as well be broke and fulfilled by posting in places that actually suit us and our work if we can. Don't define your success by what sites like Webtoons are enforcing - that definition only benefits them, not you.

[eggwishing]

sans looking at ice or something

[icamefromadream]

°•°Habits to Give Your Characters°•°

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Constantly crosses legs when sitting

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Doodles when zoned out (if there's no paper around they could trace doodles like little hearts on a table or even on the back of their hand)

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Crucks knuckles

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Braids hair when their bored (or just generally plays with their hair)

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Stands way to close to people when talking to them.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Avoids eyecontact when people talk to them.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Clutches on to other's sleeves.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Bites nails when nervous

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Raises their eyebrows when interested.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Offers food to others, before taking a bite themselves.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Scratches top of nails (like when you're scratching the coat of nail polish off your nails.)

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Whistles to ease nerves.

Follow @paranoia-art for more!

Do message me if you have anymore you would like to add!

[allastoredeer]

My Hellaverse Writing & Drawing Resources (Masterpost) & Blog Tags

(A lot of this is for me, but feel free to use if you want.)

(Is updated as I stumble across more or make my own resources)

Blog Tags

#Undercover Angel AU (for my Angel Alastor au)

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My World-Building, Character Analysis, and Lore

The Hierarchal Power Structure in Pentagram City + Royal Family Character Analysis

Lucifer's Religious Trauma - Character Analysis

Why I Don't Include Dante's 9 Circles of Hell in my Hellaverse World-Building Lore

More About Dante's 9 Circles + Imp City and the Goetia

Hellborn and Sinner Similarities and Differences + Classism

Helluva Boss Canon Lore Tidbits

Note: Some posts may have repeated canon lore

Post 1

Post 2

Post 3

Art Resources

Alastor

Alastor Drawing Guide

Alastor Cane Drawing Guide & Hand Reference Sheet

Alastor 3/4 (right) Expression Sheet

Alastor Side Profile Breakdown

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Vox Drawing Guide

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Husk Drawing Guide

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Rosie Drawing Guide

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75 Words That Describe Smell

Descriptive Words for Scents: List of Smell Adjectives

200+ Words to Describe a Voice

How to Describe a Smile in Different Ways

600+ Words to Describe Smiles

What a Decomposing Body Smells Like

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How to Write Immersive Stories Using Description

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6 Seconds, 6 Months - Writing Advice/Challenge

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How to Write Realistic Injuries

Explosives and Blasting Agents

BOM: The Next Generation of High Performance Explosives

Burning Points of Various Fabrics

English to Shakespearean (Perfect for Zestial! Thank you @witch-of-the-writing-desk)

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Fantastic Post About Louisiana and New Orleans (Great for writing Alastor!)

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Hiveword: The Search Engine For Writers

StimuWrite Desktop

OneStopForWriters

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Scrivener

My Ko-Fi

You know. If you wanna (◕‿◕✿)

[mmgceramics]

A mini kylix. I thought it could make an opulent cat bowl, but I think its owner is going to keep it safe on a shelf.

[diamxndjules]

i’m new at this, lol.

hi, my name is julian.

22 // he/they only // non-binary transmasc // pls only interact if you are 18+

reblogs appreciated! **

my menu || tip me

[cryptic-underground]

Decided to draw him in my style since I'm still struggling with the show's style, heh. I should probably sit down to do a proper study one of these days. But I'm happy with how this turned out! Still getting the hang of using an iPad (I was gifted one in my art absence on here, so no more phone drawing for me unless I'm posting old stuff).

I also have a doodle page that I did before this, and a comic:

Image #1 text:

"Okay, either Sixer used his nerd brain to make some science glasses, or all those punches ta the head are finally catching up to me."

*Can almost see clearly.*

*Gave him my astigmatism*

*Drew him in my style*

Image #2

"???"

"You forgot the eight, Sixer."

"Oh, thank you, Stanley!"

"Wait, WHAT."

[peachesncremate]

God almighty we're getting there....

[rueclfer]

well looks like im never leaving california! if any of u guys need reproductive healthcare i will house all of you im not even playing

[satans-knitwear]

i'll keep trying 🥺

Treat me ~ Tip me ~ More of me

[literaryvein-reblogs]

bunny x cat dynamic?

Like, adhd bunny and grumpy cat dynamic? I'm going to try writing a bit where the dynamic of the main characters are fleshed out. Any input on what people often enjoy about these for me to take into account?

To me it's so cute because she considers herself more as an annoying dog but for him, he considers her to be a cute, hyperactive bunny (that's kind of useless to (literal) death but let's put that aside, or not)

The ideal response to this would come from your readers. If you've already established your reader base, try asking them their preferences and expectations. Of course—still, write the story you want (and need) as a writer. And there it is, in your second paragraph. The idea is that if you write what you want, the people who also prefer this dynamic will find your work and stay for the rest of the story, and will more likely enjoy your other work as well (this is essentially what most successful authors advise new writers—write what you want, what you enjoy etc etc). But striking a balance between your readers' and your own preferences would be great too.

If you don't have a reader base yet, I'd suggest going through your favourite literature/films and finding ones that depict this particular character dynamic. Then you yourself, as a reader/viewer now, could answer what you find enjoyable about these pieces of media, and incorporate that in your writing.

Also, here are some tropes that I think have similarities with the dynamic you described. Same suggestion with finding books or films/TV shows you like that feature these tropes. But also research their readers'/audience's feedback to find out what they enjoyed about these character tropes, and this is what you can take into consideration for your story.

Grump and sunshine. One character is so grumpy all the time; the other character is so bubbly all the time. And somehow, through that power-of-love thing, they end up balancing each other out. The grump sometimes has sworn off love.

Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl. This is a potential pairing (platonic or otherwise) between a pragmatic guy and a girl who is very full of energy. One partner in the pair will be lively and optimistic while the other is savvy and more slothful, quiet, or otherwise less expressive. EXAMPLES:

In Corpse Bride, Emily and Victor. The former is a dead bride who is rather lively and spiritual for a corpse, while the latter is a live man who is shy and awkward almost to a fault.

This defines Anna and Kristoff's relationship in Frozen nicely. She is a spunky princess willing to do whatever it takes to bring her sister home, he is a grumpy, rough-around-the-edges ice harvester helping her along the way.

In Pixar's Up, the quiet and timid Carl befriended and eventually married the energetic Ellie.

Uptight Loves Wild. He's stuffy. She's untamed. It's true love. Mr. Stuffy is in a rut: Life is boring because he plays by the rules. Along comes this wild and crazy woman to show him how to live life to its fullest, and she just might learn a few things along the way, too. EXAMPLES:

Enchanted: Stuffy, cynical divorce lawyer Robert meets fairytale princess Giselle.

The Sound of Music: Maria isn't "wild", but she is a Blithe Spirit in the face of the extremely uptight, Captain von Trapp.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Quite thoroughly deconstructs this. A relationship like this doesn't always work and after the falling-in-love part, it causes more pain than joy; so much so that both parties opt to have their memories removed of each other. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is also far more complicated: "I'm not a concept, I'm just a fucked-up girl looking for a peace of mind".

Opposites Attract. EXAMPLES:

The Princess and the Frog has Tiana and Naveen. She's a Workaholic, no-nonsense waitress and he's a fun-loving, lazy prince.

Tangled gives us the jaded, worldly-wise thief Flynn Rider and the spirited, innocent princess Rapunzel.

Treasure Planet has Captain Amelia and Dr. Doppler. She's a tough-as-nails Action Girl, he's a bookish scientist, not to mention they're basically an anthropomorphic cat and dog, respectively. The two grow closer throughout the movie, and by the end they even have several kids.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References

[pushing500]

I'm going for a long term city builder colony any recommendations considering your experience?

Oh, I love love love city builder colonies!! They're definitely one of my favourite types to build <3 <3

1- Keep temperature management in mind when selecting a place for your city! While playing the Animist Alliance run, I found managing temperatures across the colony super difficult. I couldn't just put vents in walls to even out the temperatures of a bunch of conjoined rooms; I had to give every separate room its own heater and cooler. I was very grateful that the random map tile was a temperate forest, or I would have been fretting about it a lot more than I did.

2- It's so much easier if you have an ideology that's tolerant of other ideologies! If you're using the 'City Builders' meme from Vanilla Ideology Expanded - Memes and Structures, your colonists absolutely will not want to leave the colony. If you allow one or two people of a different ideology to join you, they'll be able to do quests or trade caravan trips without suffering mental breaks every two minutes, and it's so much easier to recruit heretics when your colonists aren't calling them heretics to their faces.

3- Long-term colonies are more fun when you've got someone to share them with! The Animist Alliance was the first ever RimWorld colony I played through to the end, and I 100% believe it was because I was sharing the adventure on Tumblr. Then I finished the Children of Ecthuctu run, and I'm holding steady with A Mechanitor's Message too! Talking about the crazy RimWorld dramatics makes the game so much more enjoyable. My brother and I spend so much time raving about our shared misadventures, and we have so many RimWorld colonies whose stories we retell over and over and over and over again. The Cyberdwarves, Charlie's Androids, The Outcasts and Heretics, Where's Waldo... Heck, we have one colonist who's so legendary we have a plush toy of him!! You don't have to share your colonies with anyone if you're uncomfortable doing it, but for me, that human connection makes the long-term feel so much more rewarding.

I'm no expert, so these tips might not be useful at all, but I bet you're going to have so much fun with your colony!! I hope it goes amazingly and you get a kickass story out of it <3

[adharagranley-writer]

last night i was thinking about what a hug from my characters would be like. and i think it's a good way to explore them.

[icamefromadream]

OK SO HEAR ME OUT

A villain who hates life, hates the very concept of life, he is a puppet. A puppet who can mimic anyone's movement, whoever he pleases.

He mimicks the hero, everything from his punches and kicks to the way he breathes. Even their heartbeats are in sync.

The villain is a 7ft tall puppet with no strings attached, it mostly dangles with large sharp hands and small skinny sticks for feet (it makes more sense in my head), it's hair is long and covers its face which is also very demonic and disoriented.

It's what they call a monster, a creation that should have been destroyed.

It can also mimic the appearance and personality of others, but I can only mimic one, a appearance or their actions.

Yet ofcourse no character can ever be created without a flaw!

The Puppet can only mimic one being at a time, it can easily switch from one to the other.

As I said earlier The Puppet can mimic everything, all the way to how one breathes, so what if the hero holds their breath?

Well they can' refuse oxegyn forever, and as soon as they draw a breath, so does the puppet.

I also said that the puppet can't mimic 2 people at once but can easily switch, so what if there were 2 Heros?

Well as soon as one runs out of breath, the other would have to jump in just in time after inhaling deeply to hold their breath longer.

This leaves The Puppet with two choices,

die a noble death due to suffocation

OR

surrender.

What villain would wish to surrender after all the damage they've done?

The Puppet dies, their last memories being of humans and how they've existed around them.

Had he enjoyed the meaningless lives of humans?

It amused him.

@paranoia-art

[loopdile]

transcription under the cut!

The worst ship chart ever.

Ship name: Loopdile

[insert very tiny math] Ages: 43 and 31? Age difference: 8?

Portrait of Odile with an eyebrow raised saying "I'm not telling." Name: Odile. Gender: trans woman (maybe nb but idrc rn). Sexuality: Aro lesbian.

Portrait of Loop with a finger raised saying "I'm not telling~" Name: Loop. Gender: Nonbinary (??? what is identity). Sexuality: Ace bi

General sliders. "Relationship starts quickly vs the slowest burn you can possibly imagine" is marked fairly close to slowly and trails off towards slow burn. "They'll be together forever vs They'll break up after 2 months tops" has two marks, one at 2 months and one really close to forever. "Cute couple vs dear god they're ugly" is marked a quarter slider away from cute. "Reasonably healthy and normal relationship vs They're dying and getting killed and hurt man" has a wide mark all the way from the halfway point to a quarter away from healthy. "Extremely popular ship vs literally no one ships this but me" is marked fairly close to no one.

Specific sliders. "Giddy and happy to be in love vs they just killed themselves 40 times in their head at the idea of being in love" has loop at died and odile fairly close to died. "The madoka vs the homura" has loop at homura and odile a third of the slider away. "Telling anyone who will listen about their partner vs rarely brings up that they're in a relationship" has loop a quarter away from telling anyone and odile fairly close to rarely. "eats and/or encourages a healthy diet vs eats dry instant noodles only" has loop at noodles and odile a third away from healthy. "crazy ass vs truck freak" has loop at crazy ass and odile fairly close to truck freak.

Tell me why your ship is interesting... go!

What draws them together? Odile is the only motherfucker that can handle them; Loop is weird and intriguing.

What stands in the way? Poor communication skills; Loop is clingy but Odile often needs space; Loop lashes out and self-isolates.

What are their good traits? They're both hilarious and dedicated to the bit; they're both devoted to their loved ones.

What makes them hopeless at romance? Odile is aro-spec and uninterested in romance; Loop both hates/fears and craves romance; Luckily they can just be something stranger!

Describe them with one trope: found family, deadpan x emotional, secret third thing, I'll protect you from yourself.