#okay i finished giffing this video now but i'm gonna post this set first because

[lock-my-feelings-in-a-jar]

[motheatenscarf]

Okay, I'm at the point where I need to do a trial in order to progress the story and I'm a tank, so I'll actually have to watch a video for that, so I took a day off to parse my thoughts on things that WEREN'T unspeakable goddamn tragedies.

I will also post thoughts on the tragedy, but later. I want to see the consequences of this loss in the narrative play out first before making a value judgment, but so far I am already leaning towards "good story beat, actually emotionally impacted me and the characters in text and was thematically appropriate."

For non-tragedy thoughts, I'm just going through screenshots and gonna post my thoughts in order based on what I clearly thought was worth screenshotting;

Okay, I already talked about how I came around on Estinien, but I also really like Ysayle. I love that she earns the name "Lady Iceheart" but is the most emotionally driven character so far in her desire for peace and believes that she's the reincarnated soul of this ancient dragon's old flame. Quite the blow to realize she isn't that and this guy doesn't recognize or care about her and that she just summoned up a primal based on her own desperate beliefs. WOOF. That's a good character arc. I want to see where she goes from there.

Also the fact that she just loves Moogles because they're adorable and makes a comment like "My heart is aflutter from mere... fluffiness??" and like, girl, same, they're so cute.

Another interaction I liked from the Moogles was when Alphinaud got mad at them for making his trial of worthiness just be the chores none of them wanted to do. He got so pissed he went and said something like, "I don't know what a 'kupo nut' is but I know they use it for currency and I've half a mind to demand some for the work I just did!" and, YOU GET EM, SWEETIE! We'll make a lil pinko out of you yet, demand compensation for your labor, work to rule, honey! I'm so proud of him!!

And another fun Alphinaud moment was when he said, in the fanciest little lad way possible, "Last one to finish their job is a rotten egg!"

And speaking of babies, Nanamo's okay! I've actually got mixed feelings on that.

On the one hand, I really like Nanamo and I fucking love Raubahn, I'm full on going to switch my faction allegiance to the Immortal Flames once I max out rep in the Malestrom, but man. The MOST exciting part of the end of ARR was when they shifted the status quo that hard! I grant you the scions are still missing and we still had to retreat to Ishgard to seek new allies, but man, handwaving it so that things can more or less go back to the way they were before kinda sucks.

I was EXCITED for that change! I'm of course glad that Ruabahn is okay and gets to keep being surrounded by tiny adorable lalafel, and I really liked Nanamo and her struggle to figure out how to help her people was compelling, but man... idk... I feel like there was more to be explored with that Ul'dah crew on the run and the city in chaos that had a lot of potential we never got to see :T

This is a relatively minor complaint, of course, the stuff with Isghard is certainly gripping enough. I'm fine if Raubahn only ever gets to be that gif of the drunk girls with the puppies when it comes to keeping all of the itty bitty babies in his life safe

Final thought, UH, they kinda dropped a bomb on me that apparently half-elves exist in this world???

I .... I mean, one would assume it was possible, but we haven't seen any until now, despite there being plenty of instances of inter-species relationships that it actually raises MORE questions than it answers. Even if Dragon Age is a copout answer, it at least means they don't have to program unique models to make all children between elves and humans just humans. It means the same of probably other pairings as well, but if you put half-elves in a setting, it BEGS the question, okay, what do mixed heritages look like across the board? And namely, uh, where are all the others? I refuse to believe that this Hilda woman is special, if there is ONE thing I know about humans and elves in any given setting it's that you can't leave them alone for 5 goddamn minutes together without drowning in half-elves. Also, the others, huh? Where are the human/au-ra babies? Where are the Au-Ra/Elezen babies? I know people be fucking these anime uwu catboys and catgirls, where are the lanky elf-cats and scaley dragon cats?!

My brother actually pointed out a very real possibility that if we have humans, and we have hrothgar..... maybe that is where miqo'te came from in the first place, which begs the question of like, okay, if you can have a half and half baby of mixed heritage, what happens if that baby has babies with a third entirely different option?

You cannot introduce this element so cavalierly and then kill my goddamn elf husband and expect me to forget, I WON'T FORGET THE HALF-ELVES THAT COULD HAVE BEEN, FF14, YOU WILL ANSWER ME!

[phoenixglacier]

Tips for maintaining/building art motivation!

Want to get better at art but feel like you're not getting anywhere? Have a sad folder full of unfinished art? Does it take you three months to finish a single artpiece if it ever does get finished? Here are some tips that worked for me to keep me interested in art!

Tip 1: Notice the goal markers in each project and consider that a piece!

If you're like me and take forever to finish one piece, you're probably spending ages on each part of the project. Maybe you do just the hair, then just the face, then just the clothes. Maybe you do a sketch, then another sketch, then another sketch, then another sketch, then flat colours then rendering. Each time you hit one of those, save an image/scan/video/gif/whatever you're making of that version. Put it in that folder where you put all your finished art.

If you do lose interest in that project, one day when you look back you'll see an "unfinished" artpiece with some pretty boss stuff. It will be a more accurate record of what you actually spent your time on. Sure, this sketch doesn't have a clean lineart on it, but you can totally tell what it is! Sure, this piece has super detailed hair but flat everything else, well maybe the hair is the star of the show and for that matter that's really cool technique you used for the hair! Art doesn't always have to be finished! Just look at the work out there you're aspiring to:

Tip 2: Look at how others use art to communicate

If you're here on tumblr, there's a wide range of art out in the wilderness for you to forage. You're gonna see some people that are probably gods painting the most intensely beautiful artwork you'll never be able to fantasise - but that's just one type of content. I'm constantly attracted to art that are absolutely not in the style I lean towards, but they express emotions or pitch a new design or honestly are just about characters that I'm starving for. Not all art has to be perfectly polished, often you'll see a sketch posted instead because that was sufficient to get across the idea. Focus on the idea. Aspire to create art that gets across these ideas in one way or another.

I would also say to read comic books. Webtoons are good too - there are many stories I've read where I was interested enough in the story, and the art wasn't all that appealing to me. But if the art gets across that story, mission achieved, and it's also motivating to see the change in the artists' style over time. You're a baby deer taking your first steps but you're not the only one; artists that you look up to are all doing the same.

Tip 3: Set staggering "finishedness" goals

Okay, so we've talked about treating "unfinished" artwork like finished work, and we've talked about how artwork doesn't have to look "finished" to be enjoyable for us. How 'bout we do it on purpose now?

Again, I'm gonna assume you're like me and take several months to finish one piece that maybe has background, lineart, full rendering, the works. Well, remember that that's not the only type of "finished" artwork. Here are a couple of mild suggestions:

Draw the proportions cartoonised or chibi.

Work on creating a really pretty background.

Skip the lineart. Just colour straight over the sketch.

Skip the colouring too. Just tidy your sketch up slightly.

Instead of colouring your lineart, add some fun embellishments in monocolour and/or change the colour of your linart.

Pick up a sketchbook (oops I've been assuming you do digital all this time) and do any of these. After being trapped in digital I find physical sketching quite freeing.

Do this for a concept/design that you want to communicate. Consider this the equivalent of jotting down notes in a meeting that you don't want to forget.

Tip 4: Break up your art projects with more art projects

Perhaps controversial, but I find that forcing myself to stay on a single artpiece is the fastest way for me to lose motivation for it. Plus, our brains do like the satisfaction of having finished a project, so we can't deprive ourselves of that for too long.

So we have our staggered "goals"finishedness" goals above. The idea is to plan break projects that won't last more than a day or two. For example, I'm working on a piece that's been going for a month already. On a day that I just feel stuck looking at it, I'll choose to maybe do a design concept art for a different character with just a basic sketch and messy flat colours. This took me about two 1-hour sessions, which meant it was done after a day. After that, I'm back to the main project. When I'm out, I do some physical sketches, nothing coloured or super lined, just new characters again.

Give yourself permission to do other art, with the only rule being don't plan a project that's gonna be just as long. The timing is going to be different for everyone, but no one's keeping track except you.

Tip 5: Draw for yourself

Art is subjective. If you're planning to be a professional artist then you might have to be harsher on yourself, but as someone who draws for enjoyment I implore you to make yourself your biggest audience. You don't have to scrutinise every piece you make. You don't have to wonder whether others will like it. You don't have to heed unasked criticism. If you like it, an enormous goal has already been reached. We are all already our biggest critics. Draw the weird idea and never show anyone. It's fine. It makes you happy. Now go out into the wild and create <3

[acejunhee]

I'm trying to find a bias in a.c.e and I was wondering if you can tell me what made you fall in love with all of them? Sorry if this seems random - you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

LIST EN I WANT TO THANK U FOR SENDING ME THIS MESSAGE BECAUSE I LITERALLY FEEL SO MANY EMOTIONS TOWARDS THESE BOYS AND I NEED AN OUTLETReasons why/how I fell in love with A.C.EI’ll start with the five of them as a group and then move on to each member.

As a group:

They’re very? Laid back. It’s not always over the top excitement & random shenanigans with them. They have their moments where they’re very funny and goofy, but they are also very calm and peaceful too. As a whole group, I’d say they’re one of the most soft spoken groups I’ve ever been a fan of.

In that aspect, I feel at ease when I listen to them talk with each other. They’re very….idk how to properly explain it. They’re very chill? You can tell that they all listen to each other really well. 

Their stage performance is no joke. The charisma they have when they perform is astounding for a rookie group. They seem to handle the nerves of going on stage really well. 

Individual members under the cut because this is…gonna be a long one because the amount of love I have for these boys can’t be summarized

Chan:

If he were an emoji, I’m convinced that he’d be the sun. 

Everything about this boy is? Bright? Happy. Content. He’s the youngest but he also has a very nice air of maturity around him (much like the others). 

Even with that maturity, he’s a ball of sunshine - he’s bright and happy and his antics are always an appreciated source of entertainment.

My favorite video of him is still this one, mainly because his smile never leaves his face. The boy radiates positive energy like he can 100%, without fail, make me smile.

The little face scrunches he does when he sings? Here’s a gif set of it because everyone needs to see it.

Donghun & Junhee’s first impressions of Chan were “He was bright”, “Full of energy”, “Just a kid”. They say that that impression “hasn’t changed much.”

He literally had a two part series dedicated to him going out and eating because he couldn’t visit home and we got to see it!! Part one Part two

Not to mention his vocals lets just admire his singing.

Jason:

Ball of energy 2.0

Apparently mood maker of the group from what the others have said - which I can see.

Much like Chan & the others, he’s very laid back but those moments weave in and out of him goofing around.

He’s just overall so happy about everything and you can tell that he’s happy.

Then of course, the freestyle video

His dance cover of “Where U At”

The boy is t a l e n t e d. Seeing the two above videos and comparing it to his 2014 JYP Auditions, you can see how he’s improved. Like he was good before, but he’s still growing. What we see now with him as a rookie (with all of them, really) is just a fraction of what he’ll be in a few years time.

There’s just something about him that draws me to him. There was no one thing that made me fall in love with him, it was just the accumulation of facts & learning about him that made me appreciate him so, so much.

Junhee:

Where do I begin with this man I s w e a r . . alright first off the video I will never shut up about

Junhee became my bias before I even knew much about the group. There was just something that pointed me in his direction and told me to love him. 

His voice is soothing, it’s a voice that I would find very fitting for ballads. If he sung a lullaby I would probably cry no joke.

I find the most mundane facts interesting about him. For instance, according to the twitter Q&A, he orders strawberry yogurt when the manager takes their coffee orders. I don’t know it’s adorable to me it’s perfectly fitting for him in some odd way. 

He starred in a musical, Peste. It goes to show how talented he is - to star in a musical while simultaneously working towards debut. That had to be stressful for him. 

He continued to keep the team motivated, as discussed by Donghun in A.C.E Video Diary. Being unsure of your own group’s debut date is a worrying thing for many idols, but Junhee seemed to be 100% committed to keeping everyone’s hopes high (even if he did come off a bit nagging)

Another iconic moment that made me love him was ICSYV where he utterly shocked the judges!! Like their reactions are so good!!

‘I’m not good with poses’

I have so much to say about him but I’m getting sleepy & I wanna finish this ashdjg JUNHEE I LOVE YOU

Seyoon:

His lil ‘OW’ noise in Uptown Funk is a good moment….pure moment.

‘In charge of having no facial expressions’ please I love this boy so much

He’s so reserved and quiet but you can’t help but notice him? The power of Kim Seyoon everyone.

Then of course, you get him to dance to Dumb Dumb

Or watch him free style

He thinks of Jason & Chan as his two younger brothers how cute is that??? SUPER CUTE IS THE CORRECT ANSWER

If anyone thinks he’s too serious or stoic I will gladly show them this scene from their interview I know he was trying to be Sexy but it was so funny and it’s still funny THE CHAIR JUST FALLS OVER

He seems like the one that might give off a ‘cold impression’ based off his looks and lack of talking, but he’s just such a sweetheart who has a lot of love to give

FINALLY, Donghun:

So much to say so little coherency I’ll pull through for him though he deserves nothing but the best

Literally A.C.E Video Diaries was a gift? He’s got the perfect voice for a radio show, it’s something I can fall asleep to (and probably will ngl)

How he’s got that lowkey pouty look that makes him look sad sometimes but he’s okay I promise

His habit of saving Junhee from himself by fixing his hair or some other miscellaneous piece of clothing

His distress at the mere thought of doing aegyo, the fact that he looks like he goes through the five stages of grief when actually doing the aegyo. 

His ICSYV clip speaks for itself really.

His voice in general makes me emotional

Thus we come to the end of a very very very long post but I have so many feelings about these boys and I can’t really handle them all;;; IF YOU READ THIS FAR I LOVE YOU