#so i'm really excited about trying out the drawing function

[shandian-go]

Happy CNY, everyone! I'll be giving out some 'red pocket' style gift vouchers like last year to celebrate the new year :D

GA Details

5 winners

Open worldwide!

Each winner will receive a $10 CAD gift voucher that can be applied to any order from the Order Site

Rules

Follow + Like + Reblog/Retweet

Max 2 entries per person (1 on Tumblr, 1 on Twitter)

Deadline: Jan 27, 2023

Good luck to everyone and wishing you all health + prosperity in the new year! n__n

[dice-wizard]

Hello everyone looking for a new fantasy tabletop game!

You can buy Exalted Essence now.

What's Exalted you ask?

Exalted is an epic fantasy TTRPG where players play the titular Exalted - humans elevated to superhuman/demigod status - in a wild and unique setting that draws inspiration from the ancient world rather than medieval Europe. Creation (the setting) draws key inspirations from the entire world. If you're used to having to make yourself visible on your own in other fantasy, there's probably some representation in Exalted.

It has explicit queer and trans themes about finding your people, creating your own identity, and having the power to punch back at the people who hate you. This isn't incidental. The writing staff is queer as hell. You can hear me break this down more here.

Curious to learn all you can? Well you can get a detailed overview of the entire game on the podcast Systematic Understanding of Everything hosted by myself, @presidentofbirds and @phillycuriosity

If I'm used to D&D 5e why should I pick this up?

Well, I presume if you're reading this post you're already interested in trying something new, so:

The entire game in one book. Exalted: Essence is self contained, character types, equipment, enemies and all!

An exciting style of fantasy that's different than classic D&D but like, textually gay, and very easy to have scenes like ballroom fights, epic galas, and touching homoerotic healing scenes - no house rules required.

But also, tactical depth and combat you can really sink your teeth into if fighting monsters and villains is your bag.

An excuse to use all your d10s at once

Character building and advancement mechanics designed to be familiar to a 5e audience. Characters "level up" based on story beats, and have Advantages, which are functionally similar to class and race features.

A world welcoming to most heroic archetypes, so it's easy to convert your favorite OC.

Extremely kissable dragons, demons, gods, elementals, ghosts, faeries, and unnamed ancient horrors

I'm a fan of a previous edition, what's Essence got for me?

Design focused on alleviating some of the previous versions' missteps

Virtues are back, baby

2e fans will find it an improvement from second edition's mechanical strengths - it's pretty easy to convert all your favorite 2e Charms to XS.

Streamlined versions of familiar rules to make it painless to introduce new friends to the game we love.

The Cliff's notes on Ex3's new Exalt types.

Did I mention it's all of Exalted in one book?

How does it play?

d10 dice pool looking for 7,8,9 as successes. 10s count as two successes, which can lead to explosive, heroic outcomes

Combat system designed to keep all players engaged the entire time - even characters who aren't focused on fighting at all.

Combat also narrows the gap between experienced and new players and players who want to win at RPGs and players who just wanna vibe so GMs aren't tearing their hair out trying to balance encounters.

Social system designed to resolve in a single roll so you can be immersed in role play and not interrupt it with constant rolling - without sacrificing a variety of social approaches

"Ventures" system for characters working on long term projects from traveling across the world to crafting magical wonders to building communities without forcing this to be "downtime" activity

Characters have access to Charms - exception-based special powers that make them extremely good at whatever they focus on.

It's easily my favorite game (and the project I developed that I'm the proudest of), so I'm excited for everyone to try it out.

[asexualbookbird]

Hm. Okay. So I didn't read a lot this last month. I've been fighting chronic illness and the brain fog that comes with it so really it's a miracle I read what I did. Didn't do any drawing challenge this year, but I DID knit a half dozen cool little things I can't yet share but am very excited about! I also had fun with the Tricking Treats this year. Yall really came through for that game this year, thanks! Acquired a nice new monitor for computer and it's been wonderful. Next step is speakers so I can watch things!

I feel like I made a pretty decent dent in my yearly reading list and while I don't think I'll finish it (waitlist for Jasmine Throne audio is still about sixteen weeks long), I'm happy with where I am. Three (3!!) books I read this month were from the list and I think that's very cool and executive functioning of me.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan ⭐⭐⭐½ - A friend has been trying to get me to read this since it came out and I've always put it off because our tastes are SO different, but I didn't hate this! I mostly enjoyed it! It missed a few marks for me and I wouldn't really want to read it again, but I'm glad I experienced it. Love a good gremlin of a main character.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence ⭐ - Yawn. Snore. Boring. Read for book club, but I wasn't exactly not interested in it on my own. IT just. Didn't hit right. Mark Lawrence needs to stop being afraid of aging up his characters because there is no way a nine year old is doing all that. Was this scifi? Where those space ships?? Is the moon haunted??? Who knows. Who cares. Not I.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I am forever a Daughter of Smoke and Bone girlie (gender neutral) so I've been avoiding this because what if I don't like it?? Spoiler! I did like it! It somehow scratched the hole left in my heart after DoSaB, but still felt distinct and unique. Did not like the insta love going on, yall have known each other for like twelve hours what do you mean you're In Love. Visuals were great and world building stunning as always. I wish Laini Taylor published more books, I love the worlds she creates.

Once & Future by AR Capetta and Cory McCarthy ⭐ - I'm never reading another book with Jimmy Pees name on it ever again. I meant to do a full review on this one, but time slipped away. I think this could be SO GOOD if it was reworked to two books where book one stopped at the time skip and book two took more time to overthrow the Evil Capitalist. It was too on the nose. It felt like middle grade, it dealt with older young adult topics. Merlin fucking sucked. I find it icky that everyone was paired off except for the ace character who EVERYONE HATED. Sure they came around to her, but ONLY AFTER IT WAS MADE CLEAR SHE WASN'T INTO GWEN. Ick. Full of potential, and yet.

Not a great reading month. Maybe November will be kinder. I'm slowly getting through Sunbringer, and am enjoying what I'm read so far so things are looking up. Going to see Nerd Squad soon. Still making knitted things I can't share until after the holidays. Tricking Treats also made me excited to do art again and because there were so many I ended up learning a lot about how CSP works which is fun! So hey! November is looking good! November is looking fun! I WILL MAKE IT FUN!

[just-jordie-things]

omg i love the way u write jjk characters! i was reading ur work and had a scenario that i thought would be so fun to read from you if you like the idea! i was thinking abt if you got drunk with them at the school (like maybe all the students sneak to one persons dorm or something), how they would act drunk, how they would treat u, what would happen etc. my favs are toge and yuji but you could do whoever ofc!

ok idk if this is exactly what you were looking for but since i've wrtten a few fics now where drinking/partying was the theme, i'm gonna assign the jjk crews their party night roles lolol so enjoy

ITADORI YUUJI is the life of the party, obviously. he's the type to bring jello shots to the function and if no one wants them, he'll eat em all himself. he's the guy that you dare to do stuff as the night goes on. he's the guy that somehow, at the end of each party, is missing a shirt. did he go swimming? did someone spill on it? did he spill on it? (most likely) everyone laughs but no one really complains about it. he's always got a fun plan or game in mind to keep the night going, and everyone's happy to have him there.

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI is the shy-at-first guest. he's slow when he first gets there, and always claims he doesn't want to get too fucked up. he's got a never ending amount of excuses up his sleeve as to why he can't take that shot with you, or be your partner for beer pong. but give him an hour to warm up. he'll spend that time lining up a fire playlist and semi-mingling. the trick to getting him to loosen up? just a quick smoke first. don't jump on him with it, but if he sees a joint being passed around, he can't resist just a couple puffs. what's the harm, right? a couple puffs and he's giving in to whatever other party shenanigans come his way.

KUGISAKI NOBARA is in charge of the photography for the evening. everyone's instagrams and snapchat stories are well taken care of when she's around. in the early parts of the evening they're casual photos, fit checks, some candids of the laughing group as they play games or eat pizza. she's quite good with lighting and angles, and no one complains when she shoves her phone in their face. as the night goes on, she probably documents more than she should- toge drawing on yuuta's face while he's passed out, yuuji shirtless and covering himself in whipped cream on a dare- but it's always too funny to go through them the next day and delete half the evidence.

PANDA is the dancer. if he's drinking, he's dancing. it doesn't matter how many drinks are in his system. it doesn't matter if the music is particularly fun- or even playing. he's got too much excitement from hanging out with his friends and is down for a good time. he's also easy to coerce into pranking someone.

INUMAKI TOGE is the coercer of pranks. if someone passes out, he's always got a marker on him. he always has the best dares for truth or dare, and isn't afraid when others want to get their revenge. he's that class-clown energy at the party. sometimes it's annoying, but it's always undeniably funny. he definitely likes those tacky party favors from spencers. especially the big dick shaped syringes for taking shots. he's got a lot of sus 'party decorations'. but let's be real it's really fucking funny when he breaks out the newest one. also if he gets too drunk he will use his cursed speech for the sake of humor.

ZEN'IN MAKI is the bartender and general caretaker of the group. she's the best at mixed drinks and knows everyone's favorite, but always has something new to try. as the designated bartender she's also the one subtly making sure everyone is on a good track for the night. most of the time it just meant keeping an eye on yuuji and toge, reminding them to have some water every once in a while went a long way. and she's not afraid to cut you off if you're getting sloppy. i also think she'd roll the fattest, cleanest joints when she's not mixing drinks.

OKKOTSU YUUTA is the first to fall asleep. he's a good time, don't get me wrong. he loves the games and the dancing and the goofing around, but he's an overworked boy and... a bit of a lightweight. motherfucker takes two hits and is shaking his head the rest of the rotation. it's kinda cute that his eyes get all red after so little before he raids the snack table. maki knows he has a five drink limit before he either needs to drink water or rally or... as usual, he's slumped into the couch and snoozing away. it's a miracle that he can sleep so hard when the music is blasting and everyone has to yell to be heard- especially when it's itadori yelling. by the end of the night, someone's thrown a blanket over him, and toge's vandalized his face with permanent marker.

[stolitzsings]

A Moment in the Sun

[This is my first attempt at helluva boss fic, so please enjoy a soft, short little thing about sunlight, rest, and trying something new <3 it was inspired by this beautiful artwork, and my constant need for soft stolitz]

“Man, I didn’t know sunlight could feel this good,” Blitz said, leaning back on his hands and turning his face upward. 

Stolas shielded his face with one hand and looked at him affectionately. The light was almost blinding to his eyes, so well-suited to studying more distant stars. 

“Darling, you're up here every week,” he said.

Blitz waved this away, eyes closed as he enjoyed the warmth of the living world's sun. “Yeah, but I'm always trying to kill someone. Kinda hard to smell the roses when some asshole is trying to shoot your dick off.”

Stolas smiled. “I suppose that's true.” Blitz did look more relaxed than he'd seen in a long time. The discomfort of the searing sunlight was a small price to pay for that. 

He smoothed out a corner of the blanket they were sitting on and looked around at the earthly greenery around them. He'd been lucky to find this secluded little spot, a grassy hill that rose high enough above the surrounding trees to afford them a beautiful view of the sky. He’d brought Via here a few times to stargaze, and he was happy to share it with Blitz now.

He turned back towards Blitz to find him halfway through stripping off his shirt. Color rose immediately in his cheeks as he watched the movement of Blitz’s back muscles under his skin. 

Blitz noticed him looking. “Don't get any ideas, birdbrain. I'm not getting grass stains on my ass for you.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, letting the sun warm his back. He really was lovely in the sunlight–the dark gloss of his horns and spines, the striking contrast of white and red–and Stolas couldn't help but stare.

He stroked one finger down Blitz’s spine, slow and deliberate, enjoying the way Blitz relaxed under his touch. Then Stolas just brushed the base of his tail, and he felt him go very still.

Oh? That was something new. He started again, this time tracing from between his shoulder blades to a few inches down his tail. There was no mistaking it this time. The moment he reached it, Stolas heard his breath hitch. 

“Is everything alright, darling?” he asked innocently, one finger still drawing short, delicate lines along his tail's base.

“Yep, fine,” he snapped, too quickly. Stolas fought back a smile. Blitz liked to think of himself as cool and hard to read, keeping his true feelings hidden beneath layers of sarcasm and thoughtlessness. But there were moments when he fell open like a book, secrets exposed to the world. Stolas cherished every one. He drank in the sight of Blitz’s spines lifting along his back, his cheeks flushing faintly, his head tilting just slightly back as Stolas continued to run his hand further down his tail. 

“You know,” he said thoughtfully, his fingers circling around Blitz’s spines, “it makes sense that imp tails would be rather sensitive. I'd never thought of it because my own is just feathers.” Blitz had turned half-around now, watching Stolas with his mouth slightly open.

Happy to have his attention, Stolas lifted Blitz’s tail into his hands and began to wind it between his fingers. “But yours is functional, rather than simply ornamental.”

He could hear Blitz carefully pacing each breath, trying and failing to seem unaffected. Stolas let another few inches slip through his fingers and smiled at the way his next measured inhale became an unsteady gasp. 

“It grasps and curls,” he continued, “it probes and responds.” He reached the very end of Blitz’s tail and gently cupped its pointed barb in his hands.

“It can bristle in anger…” His voice was reverent as he bent his head down.

“...or shiver in ecstasy.” He pressed a kiss to the center of the barb and felt a thrill run through Blitz’s whole body, mirroring the excited flutter of Stolas's heart.

The next thing he felt was his back colliding with the ground as Blitz tackled him. Stolas laughed, his breath only slightly impeded by the imp now straddling his ribcage.

“Fuck you.” He tried to look stern, but he was already fumbling with the buttons of Stolas's shirt.

“Darling, I believe that's your job.”

Blitz’s tail flicked a sharp reprimand against Stolas's thigh. Then he tangled his sun-warmed hands in Stolas's hair feathers and swept him up into a kiss.

[frecklystars]

I'm sorry to make a vent post :c I hate being negative but I haven't been online in a couple of months and this kind of explains why + I really needed to let this out somewhere. TW for mentions of self harm and suicide mention, this vent post is a little bit heavy.

i havent been online for a couple of months now except one (1) time, and then i left again, just letting my queue post as always. my cptsd/depression/anxiety has been astronomical levels of Terrible. going offline just made me feel so so so much worse bc this is where i normally self ship and post my art. not blogging about my F/Os, not drawing them, not editing videos/not making gifs, feels... really really bad. self shipping is my main coping mechanism and not being able to self ship makes everything feel 50 billion times more hopeless. so I should try to get back into that habit again

its july. its gonna be my anniversary w/ the two F/Os who breathed life back into me when i was at my absolute worst. i should be really excited to celebrate an F/O anniversary for the first time in two years, but ive been... so... fucking miserable. the last few months i have been back into My Worst State Of Mind Ever. i have been having really bad days where im slipping back into planning how to end my life and self harming again like i did a year ago. this isnt an everyday occurrence as of right now, and rn as im queueing this post, i am not planning currently. but every other day i slip back into those old self destructive bad habits, so it's safe to say my depression is definitely Worse. im trying to figure out how to uh, hang in there. because i can't stop the source of the Thing that is causing me to feel like my only escape option is ending my life. this isn't just my mental health/a chemical imbalance in the brain making me feel this way, this is entirely situational and out of my control.

i know the source of my problem and why i feel this way, and i cannot control it. i havent talked about it on my blogs bc i dont wanna scare anyone, and i will NOT go into details here, but i havent felt safe in a very very very long time. i contacted the authorities back in January this year, i am planning to contact them again soon, but im afraid they can't do anything for me until things get worse than they already are. it sucks that you have to wait until things are literally impossible to get through until the authorities even CONSIDER helping you.

i have just been trying to take everything one day at a time and vent to a few close friends when i need to, but this has been so unbearably difficult to endure every single day. ive been dealing with this FAR longer than a few months, but regarding these last few months specifically, i feel like i haven't been functioning like a person. every single second i am just,,, scared and paranoid, this is the only thing i am ever thinking about because im so, so stressed. i dont WANT to think about it but i literally am incapable of having any peace. every few weeks, something scary regarding my situation happens, and makes my anxiety worse. i cannot tell you how scared ive been. im so scared every day that this is going to kill me, whether it's the actual situation that will kill me, or my own anxiety/fear will drive me into making an irreversible choice. which! i don't wanna do! i genuinely don't want to end my life, i just - i feel extremely trapped in this situation and i've felt very very very hopeless about it for a LONG ass time, and that shit weighs on you over time

my fear/paranoia has affected my self shipping, and self shipping is my main source of comfort, i cant lose it. i keep losing it. ive lost so much already i dont want to lose my F/Os all over again. i keep thinking there’s no point in self shipping because my F/Os would betray me or harm me in some way. i know they’re imaginary and they can’t hurt me IRL but like, from a self shipping standpoint, i can’t stop fretting over all of it being a huge trick. like they’re pretending to love me so they can betray me later. i can’t get any relief, I am having panic attacks all the time, my flashbacks are worse than ever. I can’t self ship and I can’t... function. i'm so messed up from everything that has been happening to me, i feel like healing is impossible at this point. i really hope that is just the severe anxiety/depression/ptsd talking. i hate being negative, i dont want to have such a pessimistic outlook, but it's just felt so... hopeless. like there is no point. but what am i gonna do, not try to feel things with my F/Os again? what am i gonna do, not self ship ever again?? i really have nothing else to do except try my best every day to get through this. or kill myself - and i dont wanna go down that latter road again bc its messy and it sucks and its expensive when you fail and i have permanent scars from the last time i failed two years ago, and i! want! to! get better! i dont genuinely want to die, i just want to escape my situation! this situation i am in should not be worth ending my life over. but i am scared all the time and that hopeless feeling is so heavy and it's just getting harder and harder to carry for so so so so long

i have friends both IRL and online who are trying to help me get back into a safe situation again, but there is only so much we can all do. so i just have to keep taking all of this shit one day at a time and just hope and pray some sort of miracle gets me through this. its been years so i really dont believe theres a way out anymore but i am just! agh!! fucking angry and sad and terrified 24/7 and sick of dealing with this, so i will keep powering through every day even if i gotta kick and scream the entire time.

ok anyway! im gonna stay offline for a little while longer (this is queued, if anyone is kind enough to reply/send an ask, i will try to respond when i return) but i will come back slowly but surely sometime maybe this week, next week at the latest. i at least want to celebrate my July 21st anniversary :( thats my most important one this year. i really really really need to get back into the habit of self shipping even if i dont feel much for my F/Os atm. i refuse to just lay down and take this, i want to at least try to feel something again even if it hurts.

thank you to those who have been patient with me with replies; tumblr says i have over 200 inbox messages and 99+ dms since ive been gone. i will try to get back to people slowly but surely, its just probably gonna take me a hot minute. if anyone has the free minute, if you can just send me something like "everything will be okay" in my inbox, i would super appreciate it 😭🙏 and thank you to anyone who took the time to read my ramblings.

[ask-codeearasure]

Ink, Sketch, and the curse of lack of emotions. (Alternate Title: Ouija geeks out and fangirls about seeing something she has been wanting to be explored for AGES)

So during the writing of The Outer Realms, I have been watching Underverse with Sarco (who had insisted I watch it, thankfully) -- it is a really good series by the way -- because I had no idea who the fuck Cross is and how actually extremely complicated Ink is as a character.

One of my biggest complaints about the fandom was their lack of creativity over someone having a lack of emotions and empathy and how that could affect his interactions with those around him and his interpersonal relationships. I had ranted to Sarco about this, and went as far as comparing Ink to two different characters:

Kyubey from Madoka Magica and Nilah from League of Legends.

I made this comparison because of how Nilah could only feel joy and nothing else and she knew this and constantly had an internal struggle with herself because she knew this was a bad thing.

With Kyubey, I made that comparison because it actively promoted miscommunication with the other characters and never once did he consider what he was doing was immoral nor did he even bother to try to understand everyone. His species actually view emotions as a mental illness. A fucking defect.

I am currently at Season 2 (watched 0.5 just last night) of Underverse and I saw that Ink is very much like Kyubey. He is unable to even consider let alone he doesn't even want to try and consider or even empathize with the emotions of those around him or how he is actively hurting them. Ink doesn't view his actions as immoral and is even excited to see the X-Event continue and go further.

Now this isn't to say that I don't like Ink -- no, this is the exact opposite.

I FUCKING LOVE IT. I LOVE SEEING HIS BIASES GETTING EXPLORED FOR ONCE INSTEAD OF WRITTEN OFF AS INHERENTLY VILLAINOUS.

I understand that canonically speaking Ink can never ever go without his paints because they are the one thing that is keeping him alive and functional (speaking of which if you are reading The Outer Realms -- feel free to go to our Ask Box, doing so and saying anything actively influences the story because it will be treated as you donating paint to Ink.) and thus he does have emotions in that sense. But also canonically, Ink views other people, with the exception of Creators, as "characters" which is literally everyone else, and Dream breaks their friendship over that because that's an actually understandable reason to do so. Not saying either of them are inherently bad people either, it's just Ink's got issues. Very. Interesting. Issues.

When I was first creating Sketch and telling Sarco about him and how the fandom is not pushing Ink as a character and his concept far enough hence why I made Sketch, Sarco kept telling me that Sketch is literally Ink's worst nightmare coming to life in a sense. In fact, I didn't know about Pale!Ink either until currently and he and Sketch have their emptiness in common. This is something that scares the shit out of Ink to see, because that could have been them.

Upon further discussion, I learned a lot about Ink and he is now one of my favorite characters -- however, I have a bias towards Sketch because I'm an edgy goth bitch fuck you.

I literally think that I am not pushing this fear far enough.

What if Ink gets stuck with only one vial and has only that one emotion for an extended point of time. How off-putting would it be for him to be in that position?

Okay. I am gonna go back to drawing my emotionless nightmare-fueled son. Have fun with this explosion of fangirling.

-- Ouija

[anathtsurugi]

hey, I'm using your lasan conlang for a fic I'm writing and I was wondering if there were any pre-exsisting languages you use as an inspiration or where you get your ideas from

Hello, hello! Always exciting to hear.

Well, there's no one specific thing I draw from for Lasana. I suppose you could say it's just the reflection of me as a language geek. I've been a Tolkien nut since I was a kid, so it was probably inevitable I would one day try to con a lang of my own. So the Middle Earth languages are the first part of the mix.

The only languages I've formally studied are Spanish, French, and Latin (plus a smattering of practical Greek from my wife's family), so a lot of my understanding of structure is rooted in the Romance family.

As for what I geek out about and just really love hearing/looking at in a language, it's gotta be things like Japanese and Hawai'ian. I love the almost flowing motion of the vowels and the, shall we say, undeceptive nature of the spelling. I would have to say a bit of that has worked its way into Lasana.

I didn't really set out to create a language. I sort of just started cobbling things together as I had need of them. And now, here we are some 6 years later. Hwow. I don't have as much time as I used to to work on things (currently mothering twins), but I have been working on another Lasana project on and off since they were born. I've been gradually working on translating the script of A New Hope into Lasana. I feel like once we hit that point, we can safely say that Lasana is a properly functioning language.

Also, if you ever find you have need of something that doesn't yet appear in the lexicon, let me know. I'll see if I can find it for you in my labyrinth of notes.

Happy writing!

[miela]

Dear Reader

Hey, Hey, Heeeeeeyyyyy

Long time no update, eh? I hope you're all doing well! Let me know down in the comments I miss all of you truly.

Let's get this out of the way: No, I'm not here to tell you that I won't be continuing the fic. I certainly am going to. Really I just wanted to give you guys updates on what's going on and why my hiatus took 7 plus months unexpectedly. I won't go into the nitty gritty details of it all but I will give a general idea because it may result in other hiatuses (I’m working around trying to find a way to prevent that though).

Firstly, I have been dealing with chronic pain for the past few months. I feel it in my back, knees, neck and hands mostly. Which you can imagine, prevents me from typing, drawing or doing much of anything as much as I would like to. At most I can properly type a few paragraphs at a time before my fingers want to give out. Regarding my hands, I have no idea where this stems from (certainly not me cracking my knuckles as a teenager, not that can’t be it…), but I’m doing different things and exercises that have been helping me. For the rest of my body, I couldn’t tell you but I’m working on doing better health practices to keep myself functioning.

Secondly, I’m a uni graduate (yay). And I have been STRUGGLING at finding a job in this post-pandemic economy. I’m not even gonna go into the absolute outrage I feel about this. Either way, I got a small job at a cafe that lasted a month and it put me in such a depressive state that I just recently was able to pull myself out of it (it was seriously THAT BAD, guys). And on top of that I’ve been feeling like a failure for not being able to find a job in my field. Either way, I’m in my Miles Morales era and doing my own thing.

There’s more to it but those are the main ones. I have been thinking about this story NON-STOP so don’t worry I haven’t given up on it. I promise I will be back. I’m going to be writing, but I probably will be updating slower than usual. I want to improve in my writing and make sure the chapters are the best they can be for you guys to enjoy (literally I was reading Manacled and Crimson Rivers and the writing is soooo good that I was mad at myself for not being at that level even if I did have a decade long writer’s block LMAO). If you sent in any request for me to write, I haven’t abandoned you guys either! Don’t worry! I SEE YOU! I will give you your requests!

Speaking of, I am planning my next fic (literally ignore my trello I have to organize it honestly). It’s going to be Marauders Era one. I have a few ideas of what I want to do but I am excited to write it! More OCs to come! (Disclaimer: FUCK JKR, Let’s all steal the wizarding world and make it lgbtqia+ AF). 

Anyways, I didn’t say all this to gain pity. Please don’t pity me. I just wanted to keep you all updated on what's going on. 

It’s good to be back! I missed all of you. 

(Literally i'm such an asshole for leaving ya'll on a cliffhanger like that. I am SO SORRY. Literally tf is wrong with me fr.)

Tags:

@i-love-mommy-wanda @riordanness @peterdarlingg @thecrystalclarity @brckenmemories @paleprincesssxo @blackcanary130 @kindlover @i-have-no-life-charlie @melodicheauxxlovesfood @hufflepuff-n-fluff

[kiiyome-art]

I've been thinking a lot about destiny lately, and how I want to go about writing and drawing out my warlock, Vienna's, story, now that the light and dark saga is coming to a close. I was a bit late to the destiny scene, all things considered, and between my creative struggles and (trying) to be a functional human being, I've not created as much as id have liked to. So come along with me on my little rant as I think allowed my thoughts, if you feel so inclined.^^

There's still so much I want to write, and stories to tell within the destiny universe.

I started playing the game during season of the plunder, when my friends introduced me to it, and we became a glorious fireteam! I was drawn to the pretty warlock space magic immediately, and thus, Vienna was born. ( Though I've since become a hunter main, she's still my favorite blorbo. )

I quickly fell in love with the story and it's characters, dug deep into the lore and since then, her story has gone through a LOT of changes. I try to stick close to the canon story for the most part, in my universe Vienna is the young wolf who was risen in D1, and has since gone through most of what we see throughout the dlcs and seasons past then, I'll probably elaborate on that further at one point.

Most of my drawings that I've posted here are fun little doodles, occasional quips between characters, and overall "for fun" stuff. The majority of what I've thought up for Vienna has been confined to my own head and the rare rants to my friends. And now with final shape being so close, I feel myself pressured to know, and write down, everything that I can. Which, realistically, is silly.

I had plans to make a three minute animatic of Vienna during forsaken since it was a MASSIVE turning point for her, have it out by final shape, then make an entirely NEW animatic based off OF final shape, mostly inspired by Caydes return. Whilst I had mapped out most of it and gotten some rough sketches down, I didn't even begin on the actual project. Could I have? Probably. Do i feel guilty about it? Yes. Will those projects still happen? Hopefully.

I know for all you creatives out there that might be reading this, the feeling of having plans, and not being able to carry through with them, or it not turning out how you wanted, is a shitty feeling, not foreign to ANY of us.

I felt myself compelled to write this in the first place because I know that, well, I'm not alone.

There's many creatives out there feeling the same pressure to get stuff done as I am, even if we don't say it. We want to have everything figured out, to create something wonderful, with the final shape feeling like "the end" of destiny as we know it and all. So this is me calling out to whoever might be listening; be nicer to yourself.

You have all the time in the world to create that animation, paint that painting, write that story. Just because final shape is "an ending," doesn't mean you can't still work on and have fun with the story beats you have in mind prior to Final Shape. No ones gunna call it silly, were all equally starved for content here. And who knows, once we all know how final shape ends, it might inspire you and help your story flow together better.

I'll try my best to tag my posts relating to Vienna and her fireteam with time stamps from now on, as I tend to jump all over the place and it could get really confusing really fast. The TLDR of it all;

Don't feel guilty about unfinished projects. Final shape isn't the end, dont let it be, and dont feel confined to just creating content relating to post final shape.

That's all! I appreciate you reading if you got this far, and im excited to see the amazing things the Destiny corner of tumblr will come up with next.

See you starside! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

[jahayla-parker]

Bewitched Love : Peter Parker x Reader

Part 19

Bewitched Love Series Navigation

Desc. & Warnings: 1.7k wc, see navigation for description and warnings

Recap:

“I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. We're gonna get through this, and we're gonna get through it together. Okay?” Y/n declared.

Peter smiled as he sniffled faintly. “Okay,” he said, placing his hands over y/n’s.

Y/n grinned and leaned her forehead against Peter’s. “Est us,” she whispered; it’s us.

Peter lightly laughed as he and the other Spider-Men rambled about the way they did they web-shooting functions. “Anyway, we're getting sidetracked,” he said, trying to redirect the group. “Look, this is where we're gonna do this, okay? It's isolated, so no one should get hurt.” Peter glanced at each of his friends but his gaze lingered on y/n longer than the rest. “We draw them there with the box, it's the one thing they all want. All we have to do is figure out how we're gonna get there,” he explained.

Y/n opened her mouth to suggest she could try a spell when Ned’s face lit up.

“Oh, we can portal there,” Ned commented casually.

Peter’s gaze snapped from y/n to Ned. “What?” he questioned.

Ned shrugged. But, his smirking lips exposed his true feelings. “I'm magic now,” Ned stated.

Y/n and Peter faced each other in confusion.

MJ laughed lightly at her friends’ reactions. “Yeah, no, no. He's right,” she nodded affirmatively. “He can. He can,” MJ promised.

“Yeah, we saw him,” the older Spider-Man agreed.

“Yeah. He is,” the other Spider-Man stated.

Y/n shrugged as Peter kept staring at her. “I felt something when he first took hold of Strange’s ring, but…” she shrugged again.

“Wait, really?” Peter asked, facing Ned.

Ned nodded with a wide grin. “Dude, I got Doctor Strange magic,” he bragged.

Peter couldn’t process how to respond. So he found himself merely repeating his confusion. “What?”

“Yeah!” Ned exclaimed. His excitement suddenly turned into shyness. “And I promise you...” Ned mumbled, focusing on Peter. “I won't turn into a supervillain and try to kill you,” he promised.

Even after the younger of the two new Spider-Mans patted Ned on the back and nodded approvingly, Peter was still confused. He nodded slowly, biting his lip as he silently questioned his friend’s statement. “O-kay... Thank... you?” Peter mumbled. “Um... Alright. Here goes nothing,” he said, redirecting the group back to their plans.

“Maybe… uhh,” y/n spoke quietly. When her Peter nodded at her to speak her mind, she smiled. “So, I expect you three,” y/n began, looking at the various Spider-Mans, “will get confused when talking to each other out there, so…”. She giggled nervously and bit her bottom lip, “maybe you could use nicknames , or I don’t know, something, to differentiate yourselves from one another?”

Peter smiled at y/n supportively, agreeing with her suggestion. “Umm, we don’t have time to get into creative ones,” he pointed out, “do either of you already have any?”

Both of the new Spider-Mans sighed and shook their heads ‘no’.

“Okay,” Peter hummed, “uh, let’s… I’ll be Peter 1..?” He pointed at the Spider-Man closest to him -the older man-, “you’ll be Peter 2?” He spun towards the other guy, “Peter 3?”.

Y/n sighed with relief when everyone agreed on the assigned nicknames. She was no longer as worried about the cohesion between the heroes. They’d only met tonight and it was going to be hard enough to work together without truly knowing or trusting each other. Ideally they’d have been able to bond a bit more before the fight, but time didn’t permit that. So, y/n was glad they at least weren’t all going to be called by the same name tonight.

The group had separated briefly, each person doing their own thing to finalize their preparations for the upcoming fight. Peter 2 was removing his outer clothing to uncover his Spider-Man suit underneath. Ned was talking with MJ about what they’d each been working on moments ago.

Peter was watching nervously as y/n was trying to fix her suit as much as possible. His eyes drifted from her tired but determined eyes to her wounded and bruised yet stitched-up leg. Peter’s heart beat loudly and rapidly in his chest as he bit deep into his lip.

Peter didn’t want to have to have this conversation with y/n. He knew no matter what he said it would seem like he didn’t think she could handle it. But, it wasn’t like that. Peter just couldn’t risk losing her.

Y/n was repeating a variety of common spells in her mind, being sure to simultaneously mentally tell her energy to not actually do them. She needed to make sure she didn’t mess up any spells. While her conversation with Peter before their friends arrived helped her feel less at fault for May’s death, she didn’t want to risk anything. There was too much at stake. Y/n knew she’d need to truly focus to properly help Peter finish fixing this chaos, help from the others or not.

Y/n sucked in a deep breath as she reminded herself to be confident in her abilities. She’d learned from her fight with Agatha just how important her confidence was in battle situations. Content with her preparedness, y/n decided she should go check on Peter Peter 1; her Peter.

Peter 1 was hesitantly making his way towards his girlfriend when she spun to face him. He felt himself freeze as y/n smiled supportively at him. This wasn’t going to be easy. But, Peter knew it needed to be done.

“Amica mea, are you okay?” Y/n questioned immediately upon seeing her boyfriend Peter’s worried stare.

Peter 1 shifted his bottom lip underneath the pressure from his top teeth, eyes glued to the floor. When y/n grabbed his hands, he forced himself to look up at her. “I… y/n,” Peter sighed, “you should… uhh… stay with MJ and-”.

“Peter, no,” y/n sighed, “respectfully, no”. She shook her head adamantly, fear rising in her. Y/n didn’t want to leave Peter to handle this situation on his own. Sure he’d have the other guys, but y/n wanted to be there to make sure someone was focused on keeping him safe too and not letting him sacrifice himself in anyway.

“Y/n/n, I clearly underestimated these villains,” Peter 1 complained. “And, look what happened,” he mumbled. “I.. It’s dangerous.”

Y/n nodded in agreement. “I know it is, that’s why I’m going,” she argued. “You’re not alone in this, Peter,” y/n reminded him.

Peter 1 calmly stepped closer to y/n. “I know,” he said appreciatively, “an-and, thank you”. Peter’s eyes watered as he held y/n’s face in his hands. “But I can’t lose you, I.. I-I c-can’t-,” he choked.

Y/n’s eyes softened as she frowned. She held her hands over her Peter’s hands as they rested on her cheeks. “Everything’s going to be fine, I’m going to be fine,” y/n encouraged.

“I-” Peter 1’s voice broke. He took in a shaky breath as he weakly shook his head. “Please, I … I…” he sighed. “I know we work good together,” Peter admitted, making y/n nod. “But, t-tonight, I… I really need to kn-know you’re s-safe,” he pleaded breathily.

Y/n bit her lip and sighed lightly. “I don’t want to argue babe, I just… I don’t want you trying to do this alone”. Y/n gave Peter a sympathetic smile, “I understand you want me safe, but I want you safe too Peter”.

Peter 1 sniffled as a small smile formed on his face. He nodded rapidly, “the o-other Spider-Mans are enough”. “They-they’ve fought those guys before, I’ll be safe”.

Y/n took a deep breath. She hesitantly nodded faintly, still unsure she was okay with this plan. But, she also refused to push her boyfriend. He’d just lost Aunt May, y/n had no doubt he felt he needed to be so overprotective of y/n now.

Peter 1 easily picked up on the reluctance in y/n’s considerate agreement. He rewarded her with a grateful smile, his hands tenderly squeezing her cheeks. “Thank you, I j-just can’t lose you,” he explained, “e-especially not after May”. Peter closed his eyes and leaned in until his lips embraced y/n’s.

“We-we’re still in this together, deliciae,” Peter promised when his lips parted from y/N’s. “Besides, you’ll be able to ensure that things stay on course if Ned’s … magic? Doesn’t work the way we need,” he said, trying to soften the blow of needing her to stay behind. “But, I’ll see you soon,” Peter nodded with a determined expression.

As the group exchanged hugs and words of encouragement, y/n stood beside the Spider-Mans from the other universes. She glanced over to ensure her Peter was distracted. After y/n confirmed her Peter Peter 1 was busy talking to their friends, she faced the other Spider-Mans. “Okay,” y/n started.

The men startled faintly due to the intensity behind y/n’s demeanor.

“You have,” y/n said, looking over at her Peter briefly, “you have to protect him”. She took a deep breath and focused her gaze on the men before her. “Please, I-” she sighed. “He blames himself for this and f-for Ma-May,” y/n shook her head slowly, “I’m worried he’ll risk his safety to overcompensate to-”.

Peter 3 nodded, grabbing y/n’s hand and squeezing it. “I understand,” he smiled sympathetically. “I also know you want to be there yourself,” Peter 3 hummed, “but, we’ll watch him for you”.

Peter 2 smiled and nodded towards y/n. “He’ll be fine,” he encouraged. “These guys were going to cure? They’ve reach only gone up against one Spider-Man. But, tonight? There’s three”. Peter 2’s confident stance softened as he stared intently at y/n, “we’ve got his back”.

Y/n smiled as she nodded in appreciation. “Th-thank you,” she replied breathily. She looked over at her Peter just as he turned to her. Y/n’s soft smile grew as he walked over and pulled her in for one more hug.

“I’ll be careful,” Peter promised y/n, seeing the worry she was trying to hide. He closed his eyes and pressed a delicate kiss to her forehead, “I’ll do my best”. Peter leaned back to look at the group, “Here goes nothing. If this doesn’t work-”.

Y/n stopped Peter by closing her eyes and shaking her head. “It will work,” y/n declared. As she looked around their newly formed team, she offered an encouraging smile with a determined expression in her eyes. “We’re going to make it work. We’re going to kick some ass,” she argued.

Peter 1 smiled at y/n, “okay”.

Peter 2 hummed. “Cure,” he corrected softly. “Cure some ass.”

Ned wrapped his arm around y/n and nodded at the three Spider-Mans. “Cure that ass,” he agreed. Ned’s wide smile sealed the deal and soon everyone parted for their assigned starting points.

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[eternalshadeart]

I've been doing digital art for almost 2 years now, with little to no practice on actual paper for these 2 years, and that got me thinking did I Lose my touch with traditional art, Haven't picked up an actual paint brush in so long. Its easy to get lost in the vast possibilities that digital painting softwares offer, ranging from hundreds of brush textures, to tools to make your shaky lines smooth, making the perfect circles, filing a solid colour in an instant.

Where you absolutely dont have to wait for your oils or watercolor to dry up before going for the next layer, and most importantly no need to spend dollars on art supplies and if you make any mistake the undo option is always there for you.

It did make painting easier in a way, but it also comes with its own cons, when I started digital painting I felt like I had to learn from scratch how to use the particular software, and had to learn to paint all over again. Tho it catches up quick but still figuering out how to use each tool, how all the functions, brushes, layers, blend modes work. It does take some time.

Nevertheless I ventured from my point, so since I've been painting dgitally for 2 years I figured its time to indulge in some traditional work, touch base and see If im still worthy.

I tried painting a couple of small canvas and got stuck figuring out what to draw, to have the exact outcome planned out because if I decide halfway through coloring my background that I dont like how it looks, I dont have a ctrl Z to help me this time, I'll have to paint over the whole thing and start from scratch. Painting on the canvas directly is a commitment and theres a looming pressure that the outcome should look beautiful and completed, and I already have enough anxiety, not really excited about been anxious about the thing i love.

One warm afternoon I picked up a tiny notebook I had, bought it on a whim last year and it has been sitting on my shelf since then, its a 4"x4" pocket notebook with decent paper quality, perfect to try out the random black gel pen I found lying around. And I got to it, found a cozy warm place and made a small pen sketch of a tree. The texture looked nice, i did mess up a couple timeson the leaves but since its just a disposable paper I didnt worry much on it, just covered it up with more scriblings. It felt pretty good, ad I realised with digital art the one thing I'm missing is customisign how I organise and decorate my work collection.

With digital software all your art is stored as mere .png or .jpg or whichever format you prefer, but thats it, its just a photo album, unlike a sketchbook where you can decorate the cover, add a couple of sticker or notes to it, stick a dried flower you found, or just about anything creative.

The overall feel of a sketchbook is entirely different and I dont have to worry about each page looking like a finished work.

I love painting digitally but painting on a sketchbook is almost nostalgic, so I finally started one.

Got myself a small A6 sketcbook with a pretty floral cover,cut out the pen sketch i did and glued it on the first page, and thus started to fill each page with totally random unrelated paintings.

So anyway this was a lengthy way to tell you how painting on a sketchbook somehow made me improve my art, and felt incredibly amazing, tho I've completed just couple pages, each page looks beatifull in its own way, and i got to try out a couple of pens, and paints that I havnt used in so long.

got to try doing simple portraits, tried to double tap multiple times on the page (stupid muscle memory).

so anyway here are a few pages that I have completed, and if you did read till the end, thanks for bearing with the (rant)?

[rindemption]

So, I'm not sure how many people are still around from 2-3 years ago when I first talked about it, but I had some (for me) significant health changes a few summers ago that, while greatly improving, are apparently still affecting me

I was in a high stress/ high energy output job for a while. Nearly 10 years, and the longer I was there the worse it got. From a promotion that changed my job expectations to post-covid understaffing. Over the course of one summer I lost a significant amount of weight for the size I already was. It was just under 10% of my total weight, and put a lot of strain on my body. I lost muscle mass as well, because I ran out of fat to lose. On top of physical stress, I was under a lot of mental stress as well, and situations at home and among my social group left me in a very negative headspace that in no way helped my situation. When I'm depressed and stressed out, I have no appetite.

I had to make changes to my diet that, while not ultimately healthy, ensured I wasn't at a calorie deficit. It was a horrible cycle: I would come home from work with no energy to cook, which meant I wasn't getting the nutrients to give my body energy. So I'd resort to quick, high calorie, ready made meals, that in the long run resulted in vitamin deficiencies instead.

And the physical state affects the psychological state, so mentally I was a mess. My two main creative outputs at the time were writing and virtual photography. Looking back, my writing style was inconsistent, messy, and the tone of it was all over depending on my current mood. I didn't have the mental energy to draw, but I could get excited about and do vp. But even that was only to the point of "good-enough". I could never focus long enough or put the energy in to get it to the standards I wanted.

I'm in a much better place now, but I can still feel the shockwaves of the toll all of that took on me. I left that job a few months ago, and thanks to my spouse's support I'm putting weight back on. But I still feel like a train wreck. I lose words- even just writing this I've had to stop multiple times to try to figure out what word I was about to write. I'm doing low impact workouts to try to put functional muscle mass back on, and my balance is completely shot. I'm doing stabilizing workouts meant for the elderly and struggling. I'm not even 30 yet. I started drawing again, but I get fatigued quickly and take a day-long break between doing any significant art. And I still struggle to focus long enough to get the game pictures I really want, but it's slowly getting better.

I guess the point of writing this is three things. Firstly, an update for anyone who was around back at the beginning, when I mentioned my struggles. Secondly, if anyone else is dealing with something similar, or finally getting out of a stressful situation: you're not alone. It's hard, long work, but we'll get better with time and persistence. And thirdly, if it seems like I'm changing it's because I am. I'm not in survival mode like I was before, I'm slowly patching up my mental state, slowly getting better. I'm figuring out who I am when I'm not struggling just to stay alive. But I feel like I'm changing for the better.

[skele-bunny]

Thinking about Special & Bell /Doves....

I'm insane about them, y'all just gonna have to deal with it

(nothing but fluff underneath!)

Special and Bell grew up in the 60s, a while before 7 Inches of Satanic Panic, and my GAWD did they have fun. Twister, Phil was obsessed with Operation, Cowbell loves the glow light drawings.

In the 70s, Special got even more obsessed with roller skates when the trend started coming around, and would be seen pulling Cowbell around on a scooter board around the ministry. There's so, so many pictures of them doing crazy shit, even Bell with the feathered hair and Special with a mullet. It's embarrassing, but they look back on it fondly

Special showed the Doves his photo album that Sister gave him, just having a blast and willingly embarrassing himself.

Well.... Special & Bell's anniversary with the Doves are coming up, and my LAWD they love showing affection and going all out for those two. So what do they do? They simply reserve the dance hall in the abbey, decorating it with neon lights and even a disco ball that's kept in there. Gaia and Agni get to WORK with cooking specifically 60-80s dishes. Swedish meatballs, pineapple upside down cake, haggen-dazz ice cream, scotch eggs, and even sloppy joes. They're showering through the storage hall the ministry has, even slipping in their Master's room to try and get an idea of more things they could do.

Sarra has them both in his arms, blindfolded for their surprise, both of them just curious the entire time before they enter the hall. Bell is the first to rip his blindfold off and his mouth just DROPS.... These idiots somehow managed to find the shag carpet the sanctum had!!

They're just over the moon, hugging every single one of their mates and just in awe at the amount of relics they got just for this. Special can't help himself as he finds a super squirter laying on the table and Bell has 0 seconds before he's being sprayed with water, then he's aiming at their mates.

Later on, Iris offers skates and you know Spec has to try it. "God I haven't touched a pair of these since I was 10!"

He has to glamour his paws but they fit snug, catching his balance before kicking off, just having the time of his life and holding Iris's hand as the dove glides with him. "We tried learning, we really did! It was ridiculous seeing us giants flopping on our faces and ass. I think Aqua has a bruise on his hip from it."

Cowbell is dancing with Agni while Billy Idol is playing, that twinkle in his eyes so much bigger than normal. Also he can't stop stealing everyone's meatballs, and even hissing when they try to take some in return.

He's rambling the entire time while he's more occupied with the toys laying around, infodumping and showing how each one works and functions, it's honestly adorable.

They have a small gift exchange, usually something of their current interests or jewelry. Bell and Spec just can't thank them enough but feel bad that their anniversary gift isn't until tomorrow afternoon. They're reassured and continue their little party until midnight, then just two sleepy nulls are hauled away.

When it's the Doves turn, they're kicked out of their own den. Both of the brothers kissing them over and over. "7! Come back at 7! True forms!! I love you!!!" And the door is shut. So the doves are wandering around the ministry, freaking people out bc oh fuck why are the missionaries out...

But, it's 7 now. They're all completely unglamoured, just shifting awkwardly outside until their door opens to a fluff blob with a skeleton face, smiling wide and snapping his jaw and reaching up with such happy jumps. Sarra picks him up ofc, nuzzling this bundle of curly fur and letting his skull bump at his chin. Then 5 pairs of eyes are looking back with decorative body jewelry, a heavy purple shadow following that shows large horns and full wings.

"come in, come in!!" Special is clapping, too. "Oh fuck I'm so excited right now-"

They're instantly hit with the smell of Pit food, looking at the table pulled to the now empty common room, set up like a mixture of their elements culture examples. The luscious candelabra right in the middle with wind chimes against the wall, multiple pit plants (courtesy of the other earth ghouls), dead corral hanging from the ceiling, the nests full of feathers and star mimics, and little heating pads for seats to mimic magma rocks.

Now... Deep down, the Doves know this isn't anywhere near their Era, it's more for the modern eras. But they can't help but fawn at it, complimenting every little detail they put in down to how the nests are arranged.

Honestly the food is their favorite part. Those two studied HARD. So many trial and errors, but they have kraken sushi, venison to mimick the verais in the pit (even set up like how the earth ghouls worship it!), blood chalices from both human and animals ("we had too much a- negative in the blood bank..."), and even pomegranates. There's hell of a variety around they can't even wrap their heads around.

They all snuggle up around the table, and Sarra lets out the loudest fucking moan from the pomegranates it's INSANE they think he just came emjekdjx

"Despite these also being a topside fruit, it's always so rare we get these!" He tries to explain himself. It's only laughed at.

Now is their turn to infodump, showing their own ceremonies and rituals, some that aren't even known in the modern eras! Special and Bell are just LIVING for it.

Bell and Spec show them one more surprise, equally showing the bottom of their right foot to show their own sigil for "love". All of the Doves have it, so they decided to get it done themselves! It genuinely is the biggest act of love one can show in their Era, just dumping affection all over them -- which ends up with Bell getting his fur groomed by Gaia bc PHEW..... Bluebell (love him) can't do it for SHIT.

While Bell is occupied with Gaia and Iris, Special quietly leading away Sarra, Aqua, and Agni. Then later swapped out and once again they're back to dotting over their Bell 🩷 praising him for all the work he did, how much he's made them happy, and then bam ghoul pile. A while after Special carried out and plopped right in the middle next to Bell to join the pile, just purring and holding one another.

My GAWD they fucking love each other it's RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!

[tamelee]

hi! I really enjoy your art, it has a very unique touch to it that I really like. do you sell prints of your art anywhere?

I've never been much of an artist myself, but lately I've been feeling like I would really like to try and learn how to draw. I know it takes a LOT of practise and that some have a more natural touch to it than others, but do you have any tips for a beginner? where should I start? I have tried reference pics and stuff like that but I never seem to get them right. how can I keep myself motivated when nothing I try turns out the way I imagine it?

sorry if you've already answered something similar to this, I would love to read that too. sending you good vibes and many thanks in advance ✨

Aaaahh thankyou so much! 💕 I don't yet but will soon I'll update on that 🎉🫶

Absolutely!

And wow that's great to hear! I'm really excited for you honestly because it's really fun :3 Well, my ways have always been a little unconventional but most teachers would tell you to pick up a pen and paper and.. just start drawing/doodling with whatever reference you have. Or if you have a pen tablet already, explore the program you're working with. Any kinds of brushes, try them out, try functions the program has- see what it does, make it a fun experience because you can't make any mistakes. It isn't something you have to deliver to anyone, this is practice and this is for you. Put on some music or watch a show on the side that's easy to follow (not one you have to pay close attention to) and just scribble away. You can use an extra program like 'Pureref' (which is free!) that allows you to drag in any references you need on top of your drawing-program or create an extra window where you can drag in any images and rearrange everything just the way you like it, like this:

And then let's try a Sasuke sketch in that pose upper-left corner.

I usually flood the document with a bunch of references in case I need it. (It's always more than I need but I hoard my files a lot 😂.. I think it's a fear of it not being enough "just in case"- but it's okay.) When I'm coloring a sketch, I think of colors beforehand but it kinda depends on my mood. Most of the time I don't bother until I get to the lighting stage. If you feel like you don't really got the hang of using a pen-tablet yet, there is a good tutorial with exercises here. And don't worry at all!!! Because it'll get much easier and easier overtime, just please take care of your hands and stretch gently always. Remember it is never supposed to hurt.

Honestly the way to improve fast with art is... just get obsessed over something 😂 and draw that. Find something you like and enjoy drawing it at least from my understanding that is what happened to many people. For me it's.. well.. If you want to get inspired, go to places, preferably professional spaces and make a board with art in styles you really like. (Or a folder for example!)

This way you can use references to make something and it's a good start/practice ^^! At least it was very helpful for me! If you feel like nothing turns out the way you imagine it, then don't worry about it please.. creating something involves so many steps it is nearly impossible.. or it is impossible actually to have something turn out exactly as you imagine it beforehand. It is more important that the end-result is something that is satisfying which has more to do with the actual process itself. And I know that is not something you might want to hear now but I guess you'd have to experience it? At least for me, every new art I make involves something along the lines of "oh I kinda liked that" or "ew, no, nope, no, not doing that ever again" it's a constant process. Here are some helpful video's for beginners because I think visual inspiration would be more beneficial for you than just a bunch of text from me!

5 FIRST STEPS TO LEARN TO DRAW

HOW TO DRAW SIMPLE FACES

HOW I STUDY DRAWING

Advice for Starting your Art Journey

Extra (not necessarily for beginners):

Why BELIEF Is More Important Than TALENT

How I Reduce TOXIC Perfection As An Artist (Best Drawing Exercise TO Do)

What to do If you aren't Improving

Why it takes so long to get good at art

I hope any of this is helpful to you and I hope you have a nice day 🌷💕! Happy drawing!

[scramble-crossing]

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2. A headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like! Hmm. Hitting a roadblock trying to think of other people's headcanons (usually I like them right away or don't and they immediately slide out of my brain) so for my own headcanon I've gone back and forth on how I think Sho died between a long, complicated struggle with some sort of illness-possibly a lifelong autoimmune disorder-and suicide (though he doesn't see it as being suicide; he knows about the Game and is damn certain he can win, so to him it's more like "moving into a more exciting plane of existence." I also see Joshua as going out in a similar fashion, though he's more realistic about his chances and just doesn't care if he wins or disappears). I've always liked the illness route for how un-Minamomoto-like it feels for him to just quietly wither away, but the second parallels him with Joshua in a way I think is interesting (coupled with the theory that they could both see the UG when they were alive, they lived and died the exact same way, they were the same, so why can't Sho beat him?) But also if you're feeling really dark about it you can combine em. Sho knows he's on his way out anyways and takes matters into his own hands, fuck you I die when I say I'm dying.

I don't think this even answers the question. Whatever. Sho time.

3. A character that fandom has helped you appreciate I love seeing content of background characters in general like shopkeepers + sidequest guys :] it's always fun to see someone breath a little more life into them. I like Futoshi + Mick and even if I'm not too interested in them particularly I like seeing what people do with Mina and Ai and Eri in fics.

Also! Tsugumi's brother! I saw one design for him and it immediately fastened itself deep into my brain. He's definitely an interesting character and I'd like to see + write some explorations of him in the future.

8. You hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc) Sho and Neku's whole dynamic (both existing and potential) is so, so fantastic in the many ways in which they mirror each other in their limited, self-centred beliefs that are eventually challenged and soon reshaped entirely, changed merely by the action of letting themselves be changed, and how much fun it is that Sho's whole neo arc is essentially a failed-or at least faltering-version of Neku's (and by extension very much like Joshua's). In that sense they're capable of understanding each other like no one else can. And it seems like they do! Sho maaaaybe has some begrudging respect for the guy (as much as he can respect anyone, anyways) and Neku's sees the best in him in a way no other character does. It's a super fun narrative and also just plain sweet and I'm very attached to the idea of a bizarre post-neo ShoNeku friendship where Sho's like this mangy stray Neku somehow finds charming and slowly earns the trust of by plying him with sweets and reciprocal math-speak. I wish there was more fan content of them. But the crumbs sustain me.

Also. From the wiki:

Me and the bestie when we're cosmically connected by Monkey

12. Compliment someone else in your fandom

YOU

I LOVE your artstyle (big fan of that one shoka and sho catsiblings drawing especially. I don't know art speak but something something shoka and shos muted, mostly-black colour schemes set against the bright + colourful background is super pleasing to look at) and the shofutomicki get throupled idiot is the funniest thing I've ever seen in my entire life and I'll treasure it forever

Also I don't think they have a tumblr, but shout-out to oddvector on ao3 for writing some VERY impressively-written Sho fic with mathspeak I aspire to be able to write someday. I haven't totally worked my way through their collection of works, but the ones I've read are some of my favourite fics (Minamimoto Turns Up to the Function in particular is everything I love in a Shofic)

Actually speaking of which, A New Friendship it's just you and me on this cold hard bitch of an earth (one of like 11 whole fics in the Sho&Neku tag. 2 of which are mine. one of which is nsfw. one of which is ShoJosh. horror show.)

16. A tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate Can we talk about what's going on between Sumio and Maito please I don't have the screenshots on me but there is something deeply troubling and possibly homoerotic going on with those two in neo. If you know you know.