#someone teach me how to do cool layouts on tumblr

[jaegersolstice]

Heyyyy, i noticed your post about getting your creative juices flowing and tbh same. Burnout as a writer or artist sucks. Btw your writing is really good.

Can I request a soft fluffy moment of gojo being worried about fem!reader? Like she's on her period and is cranky and in pain. If you want to of course.

hii anon, tysm for the kind words! ive been writing so much for school so it’s been kinda hard, but i enjoyed writing this even if it was kinda short! i hope both of us recover from our burnouts soon, but also take this time to rest and regroup.

a/n: i kind of wrote gojo as a bit more annoying than requested 😭 but i hope you enjoy :))

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“having a nice nap on the floor, sweet girl?”

you’re sure that you’re gonna explode by the time satoru returns home. and so when he finds you, crumpled up on the ground in front of his king-bed, you can’t help but frown up at him.

because you love him, you really do, but sometimes (like now) you want to grab him by the paintbrush head and shake him stupid.

“missed me? or did you just decide to act like a little catapiller and—“

“i don’t care, ‘m not hungry, i don’t wanna watch that stupid show with you and i don’t—“ you begin to grumble before you break off into a quince, hands coming around your waist as you roll onto your back, tangling yourself in your blanket and forcing you to look straight into satoru’s stupidly blue eyes.

hands in his pockets, adorning a lopsided grin, he crouches down next to you, eyes darting across your face before he slips an arm under your lower back.

“ah, that’s what it is, hm?” he hums, slipping his legs under your head and sneaking a hand in your sleep shorts, fingers resting right above your abdomen.

“‘ts when my girl gets the most angry at me, i shoulda known,” he presses lightly, massaging your aching muscles and your body immediately relaxes, head falling deeper into his comfortable thighs.

“mmm, feels really good ‘toru…”

“shh, i know, i know it does,” he leans over you, placing a featherlight kiss onto your forhead, “next time you aren’t feeling well let me know, kay? i have to take care of you, sweets.” you snuggle impossibly deeper into him, lightly shaking your head at his words.

“didn’t wanna bother you ‘toru,” you whisper, feeling a new drowsiness wash over your lightly aching body.

“a bother? never, sweets. never.”

[whack-ed]

Between (Fred Weasley x Slytherin Reader!) Part 1

PART 2

Synopsis: Y/N Y/L/N never quite understood why all these things always happen to her. Nobody understood why she was put in Slytherin. But in her fifth year at Hogwarts, many things were cleared up. Your parents, your friends and also, that one should not be named, all these things explained the why. Her blood was stained, but she could not disagree more with the philosophies that made it like this. Between blood and love. Y/N had to make a choice.

Warnings: agnsty; mentions of death; sad reader.

Reader: Female

Words Count: 1.5k

Author's Notes: Am I doing my first imagine? You bet I am. This plot was from a fiction that I wrote on wattpad, but I decided to turn it into a imagine here on tumblr. The  idea of this imagine is that it has some chapters, so if you want to be taged in the next chapters, comment "i solemnly swear that i am up to no good" here. Also, and also, the names of your family members are fixed. So let's go to the history.

It was a rainy sunday morning at the Y/L/N family mansion. The house was known to many in the magical world. There had never been an owner who was not a family wizard, the mansion was always passed down from generation to generation, there is no Y/L/N who had not lived under this enormous roof. It is a typical English mansion, made of stones in dark brown tones, with three floors (visible to the naked eye, at least), small trees symmetrically cut to follow the same straight lines as the mansion, filled the front garden and, a considerably large staircase leading up to the huge entrance door. Y/N never really liked the place, she thought it was too big and not very welcoming, especially now. As much as the house was always full of relatives and employees, to the girl it always seemed very empty.

Y/N grew up inside the Y/L/N mansion, along with all her family members who lived there, she detested most of them, especially her parents. They had an obsession with blood purity and maintaining the family's reputation. She did not agree at all with the philosophy of her parents, and the rest of the family. The only person she had ever been able to talk to, the only person who really understood her, was her paternal grandmother. Harriet Y/L/N was a very friendly lady, with a wide nose and a small smile, very delicate blue eyes. Mrs. Harriet, or as she likes to be called, Grandma Harriet, did not match the layout of the mansion. She was always wearing loose white clothes and a witch hat adapted for those who care for plants, Y/N reminded of the hat that Professor Sprout wore. Everyone in the house always saw Grandma Harriet as a basketcase, thought she was crazy, but Y/N always thought she was the wisest person in the family.

Despite the presence of her grandmother, the year that ended was not easy for Y/N. She had finished her fourth year at Hogwarts, together with the Triwizard Tournament, and also with Cedric Diggory, who was to be her best friend. After the unfortunate event, the information that the Dark Lord had returned came as a bonus. Many said that Harry Potter was lying and that Dumbledore had gone mad. How Y/N wanted these people to be right. She, more than anyone, knew that the Dark Lord had indeed returned, and her family ... She would rather not even think about it. All the girl did during the winter break was to advance reading the fifth year books, so she could even for a moment forget everything that happened and everything that was going to happen. He exchanged letters with his friends too, including Draco Malfoy. Draco's family was very friendly with Y/N's family, as they shared the same ideals. Although Y/N thought completely different from Draco, the two had a great friendship. They were in the same house at Hogwarts, they were the same age, and despite their regrets, they had a good laugh together when it came to making fun of teachers.

- Daughter, dinner is ready. - Said Eva, her mother, when opening the door to her room.

Y/N was lying on her bed reading a letter she would receive from Draco in a few minutes. The boy was just saying that he was about to go crazy, as the climate inside his house was getting heavier and heavier. Y/N knew, and so did Draco, where all of this was going to take him, all these meetings at the Malfoys' house, was not a good thing.

- Letter from whom? - Asked his mother entering the room.

- Draco - Y/N replied without taking her eyes off the letter.

- Draco? I like his family a lot, I'm glad you are friends, he ... - Said the woman standing in front of him looking directly at a photo in which Y/N was with Hermione Granger. She hated the fact that her daughter was a friend of a mudblood. - It's a good influence for you.

- Yeah, I agree with half of what you said - Y/N said finally looking at her mother, with a sinus smile on her face.

The rest of the night spent slowly at the Y/L/N house. Y/N couldn't bear to hear the prejudiced comments from Klaus and Hanz, her uncles. Usually whenever the girl thought about saying something, her mother looked at her with an explicit disapproving look. But lately, even that the girl was not doing, she was quiet, something in her will fade. Since Cedric died she had not argued once with her uncles and cousins, which was the custom for a girl. Everyone had noticed the difference, but no one dared to say anything, they preferred it that way.

At the dinner table her father, Petrus, commented on the change in the Hogwarts faculty, that Dumbledore was a scum, that it was absurd that no one had done anything about it yet. Nothing new to everyone at the table. As soon as dinner was over, everyone went to their corner of the house, and before Y/N could go up to her room with a jar of caramels, the doorbell rang. As she was closer to the door, she went to answer it before Pugsley, one of the mansion's house elves, did so.

- Okay Pugsley, I tell my dad that you were busy polishing his shoes, he won't be bothered by that, will he? - The girl laughed.

- Thank you my mistress - The elf smiled making a short bow - You are the cool soul of this house.

- Coolest, Pusgley, coolest soul of this house. We need to improve your vocabulary huh, I'll help you later. Now, I need to answer before someone sees us, you better go.

And so the Elf went to enjoy the rest of the night somewhere, until he was asked again.

Y/N opened the door and was surprised, she just couldn't tell if it was good or bad. In front of him were Lucio, Narcissa and none other than Draco Malfoy. The girl smiled when she saw the boy.

- Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, what a surprise to see you. - He smiled politely at the couple in front of him, pretending the best he can. - Draco - He nodded and gave a half smile. - Come on in - Y/N gave the couple and their son a ticket to their mansion.

- Very good to see you Y/N, you are more beautiful every day - Narcissa said sympathetically.

Lucio was about to say something to Y/N when Petrus arrived against the couple, greeting them like the great friends they are. If the friendship of the two families was not based on horrible concepts, they would even look like nice people. Draco's parents were accompanied by Y/N's parents to the living room to talk. The boy stayed behind with Y/N.

- Hey. How are you? - Draco said with a loose smile on his face, he knew his friend was not doing well.

Y/N didn't say a word, just indicated for stairs and the two went up to the girl's room. Once there, Y/N closed the door and simply burst into tears while hugging his friend. She had been holding them for almost a month. Draco could be insensitive to many people, but with Y/N it was different, he really cared about the girl. As much as he didn't like her friends, including Cedric, he would never deny her a hug of comfort. And deep down, even though he didn't want to admit it, Draco wanted that hug to last forever.

While Draco and Y/N were in an affectionate and personal moment up the stairs, their parents had other plans for this meeting.

- So you really saw him, Lucio? Petrus asked the blond man in front of him, pouring him a glass of whiskey.

- Yes, he is stronger than ever, he thanked me for being one of the only ones to be on his side, it was an honor - Lucio replied, even though he knew it had not been so.

- Merlin! It must have been wonderful - Eva said with a smile on her face.

- And as it was, finally after years of waiting he finally came back. I can't stand to see Hogwarts in that state anymore, full of ... wizards of an impure lineage. Teaching that we can mix, what will become of our race in this way? - Lucio commented with disgust in his voice.

- Don't even tell me, every day I have more problems with Y/N, she insists that we can mix with these people. But I know she says it out loud, we created it so well, it's just a phase - Eva said, wanting to believe her own words.

- When the time comes, she'll have to make a choice, you know that don't you, Petrus? - Said Narcissa sitting like a lady on the dark sofa in front of the fireplace.

- Yes. And certainly she chose the family, I have no doubt that she will be a great diner - Firmed Petrus.

The truth is that none of the four adults there believed in it very much, but none of them would have the audacity to speak out loud, that perhaps, when the time came, Y/N would be a traitor to her own blood.

[bondsmagii]

Hi! So I just finished reading The Secret History after putting it off for ages (I put it down for nearly a year, but your blog helped me follow through). I was wondering if you could talk about why you like it? And just generally what your take is on it? (Particularly re. Julian??? Like he is such a significant figure that looms over everything yet he is actually in it less than random secondary characters and it blows my mind coz I haven't seen that done effectively before in other books)

[rubs hands together] I hope you’re prepared for something very disorganised but my god I have a lot of thoughts.

what I like about it is simple enough. I love the way it’s written, I love all the descriptions and the settings, I love all the characters even if they’re all absolutely insufferable, I think the moral questions the plot forces you to ask yourself are pretty intense. like deadass by the time they killed Bunny I was happy to see his ass go, but then Richard’s realisations at the funeral, where it really sunk in that they had actually honest to god killed a man? fucking harrowing tbh. I also loved how extra the book was, and how it didn’t take itself too seriously in a lot of places (it reads quite pretentiously, but under the veneer of classical studies and champagne in fine china teapots there’s like... snorting cocaine in a Burger King parking lot, and smoking weed at a wake -- not to mention its narrator is a character within the story who literally admits right away that his fatal flaw is that he romanticises absolutely everything). it’s just raw college student chaos, but like. taken to the extreme, and absolutely horrific. it really is an impossibly fun read, and the aesthetics are on point. I see a lot of people talk about how it apparently encourages people to think murder and drugs and alcoholism are cool or whatever, but I think that’s just Tumblr being Tumblr -- i.e., people clutching their pearls every time somebody likes a character or story that isn’t pure and 100% good. all the people I know who have been influenced by The Secret History’s totally extra aesthetic have just started dressing cooler and throwing themselves into deeper and more varied studies, which is only a good thing. I know it’s made me a lot more productive and really helped me just commit to being a little over the top here, a little dramatique there... and all with absolutely no drug abuse or murder!

my general take on the novel differs from most people’s. I’ve seen near everyone say (usually while ridiculing those who like the aesthetics of the book) that The Secret History is a satire... I disagree. I don’t think it’s satirising anything. I think it’s just a straightforward “here’s what would happen if...”, and the fact that it’s set at a rich, prestigious college isn’t because Tartt is trying to show how awful rich people are but rather because Tartt herself attended such a place, and the college is directly based on Bennington College right down to the layout and the surrounding grounds and the social atmosphere at the time. I mean, it’s literally the same place with the serial numbers filed off. she based all the characters on people she knew, and then I imagine she just went nuts with the plot. same as most authors, really -- I know many who say they think of a what if question and then just run with it. of course people are going to disagree and say it’s a deconstruction of how rich people get away with everything, blah blah blah, but really the fact that so many of the characters are rich is necessary to the setting. if I was going to write a story set in 1980s Cambridge University, most of my characters would be rich as well -- they’d have to be, or they wouldn’t even be there to begin with. then it’s just convenient to the plot, because they have money to make things happen, and you can’t murder people and throw a bacchanal if you have to do backshift at Burger King, you know? even if it was meant to read as a satire and Tartt herself was like “bro I literally wrote it as a satire” I’d have to say she didn’t do a very good job, because the only satire I saw was perhaps regarding the social climate and atmosphere at Bennington while she was there, and not a deconstruction of class and wealth. it’s just... a good story. with interesting, flawed characters. it doesn’t have to be any deeper than that, and to be honest I don’t read it as such.

as for Julian... oh man. Julian. this is another place where I differ from 90% of the opinions I see. a not-insignificant amount of people seem to think that Julian is this evil mastermind who’s pulling the strings and leading the group towards their doom, and then they seem undecided when it comes to Henry. some people think he’s just another person caught up in Julian’s manipulation; others seem to think he’s Julian’s man on the ground, working with him in order to ensure his dastardly plan comes to fruition. I, however, am of the opinion that Julian is an idealistic dumbass, who allowed himself to be caught up in the romantic, idealised version of things and did not realise half of what was going on. I think he’s a man in love with the image of himself -- self-centred, slightly narcissistic, and very charming as he is, he’s in love with being the centre of the show. The Secret History’s alternative title was something along the lines of The Master of Illusions (I believe that’s still its title in the French translation), which of course refers to Dionysus but could also refer to one of the characters. many people think Henry, but to me it’s quite clear it’s Julian. when is he ever not putting on a show? everything he does, from his elite classes to his strange stories about his past to his lavish dinners... it’s all a show that he’s the master of. he’s curating the image he gives to other people and he loves doing it. everything he does is carefully selected to fit into his idealised version of himself and his life, including surrounding himself with brilliant students who share the same passion as him -- and who lack any real parental figures for various reasons. is it appropriate behaviour? absolutely not. but is it malicious? I don’t think so. at times Julian can seem almost childishly naive -- he’s stuck in this pretend game and he’s quite happy to be there... so long as he’s in control. the second he’s no longer in control, he bolts. he was on board with the idea of the bacchanal because I sincerely think he didn’t believe it would actually work; he probably thought there would be some kind of strange experience, but I don’t think he thought it would summon a god/induce psychosis (whichever you believe happened during that scene). he encouraged Henry a) because he didn’t think there was a risk and b) because how cool that his students are trying to throw a bacchanal! that’s the exact kind of thing he loves! that commitment, that throwing oneself into one’s studies, that academic fervour -- he loves it. and he saw this as just part of that. then someone ends up dead and then another person ends up dead and Julian has to face real life consequences, and he’s scared. he never planned for this because he never saw it coming. and above all he’s a coward, and a vain one at that. all of these qualities that he so loved teaching about in his classes -- stoicism, responsibility, honour -- fall by the wayside, and he runs. and that’s why Henry kills himself -- because he has been let down by his mentor, and he feels like someone should uphold those values so lovingly, apparently sincerely taught to them over the last few years. without this interpretation of Julian, I wonder how anyone made sense of Henry’s death.

in some respects, I think people are trying to look a little too deeply into this book. perhaps its subject matter -- being all about dedicated, talented scholars -- makes people think they’re reading a highly intellectual book, but while it’s wonderfully written and absolutely captivating, it’s not difficult to interpret. at least in my opinion it seems straightforward -- it’s just a story about a lot of things going wrong because of a lot of decisions; it’s about how things can so quickly get out of control no matter how much a person tries to control themselves. a man has no influence over the world around him, and things are rarely what they seem.

[figmentforms]

Loooong overdue Q&A,and Announcements!

Lots of the questions are from many many months ago. Sorry about that! I’m super behind on everything because my life got so crazy for a while there and I’m still catching up! If interested in details about my life, I wrote more in depth about it at the bottom of this post!

Announcements:

❄ Comic updates should start to be weekly again now that things are finally settling down in my life! :D

❄ I found some copies of my comics to sell! If interested in a printed copy of AToTR Volume 1 or Volume 2, Check out my Etsy store here! https://www.etsy.com/shop/GildedPixel

***From the last round of comic selling, a few got sent back to me because something went wrong with the address. Unfortunately i have no idea who didn’t get theirs because of the aforementioned chaos. If you still haven’t gotten your order from like... half a year ago, please just let me know and I’ll send you your order again.

❄ Apparently tumblr is having some uh… “serious technical difficulties”. If it goes belly up, all my comics are free to see on my Patreon. Only the newest comic each week is locked for only patrons to view, but it unlocks when the next one comes out each week. https://www.patreon.com/LorIllustration

❄ A new update to the Youtube dub of my comic is up on Starbot Dubs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZuLjHvERxA

If you haven’t see the previous 5 parts, they’re all here as one video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTAEM9PFPVY

And Now for Q&A!!!

I am so grateful for this letter and for the many other letters of support I was sent over the past couple months. It really helped me get through the low times and I’ll always appreciate it that you and many others took the time to send me words of encouragement, empathy, and advice. Thank you so much! 

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Thank you! AND I WOULD BE SO HONORED PLEASE DO!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Thank you! My best advice for anatomy would be to focus on two things: look  online for skeletal and muscle anatomy illustrations. Knowing the hardware under the skin helps SO much! Also do lots of life drawings. Draw anyone willing to sit still long enough for you! The more you do it, the easier it will get and the more you will develop your own style!

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For the most part, I draw around the word bubbles! Then the next priority is to draw what needs to be shown to communicate the point of the panels. Usually in the super early stages it’s just characters that are sketched in, but sometimes elements of the setting are just as important, like a doorway or establishing the setting for a new scene! I hope that helps!

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LOL she would be SO tempted, but wouldn’t resort to anything like that unless it was over something extremely important that also happened to be an emergency. Ganondorf however would have no problem with it because he has a different, much more Direct, style of governing. XD

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Rinku is indeed Link!

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Absolutely the second one. XD

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TaDaaa!!!! XD

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Super good question! For the most part all the rooms are just laid out as I need them to communicate a comic clearly. The exception is if I already have drawn a room, I try to keep it the same. The throne room, Specific bedrooms, ect. But I don’t have a castle layout set in stone or anything. lol I will eventually have to do that at some point though.

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I strongly considered having this be a story arc at one point but it got dropped! Short answer is, Yes. He would eventually try to do that. But would find that Impa had already secretly killed him years ago and never told Zelda.

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Oh he totally does that all the time!!!  Just not important to the story so it’s not shown!

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YUP!!! XD

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Someday, totally, but I haven’t even caught up with the ones I started last spring!!! *I suddenly experience a mighty wave of shame*

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Awww! That’s a really sweet idea!!!! She would totally take his name and he would be so darn proud!

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Oh HECK YEAH!!!!

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Possibly! But if so, it will be in the next reincarnation arc!

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At a later point, I think! if I have time to develop it and not stagnate the story too terribly much!

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Thank you! And Tingle? At some point, YES. Mask salesman? Not sure yet! maybe!

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That's beautiful!!! Was it a fic??? That’s an incredibly cool idea!

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That’s adorable. Eventually they would have to dance together at a royal ball. Ganondorf is a bit more graceful than Zelda, but they would manage. Would be cute as heck too because Zelda would be a little shy and Ganondorf would urge her to be more confident... and maybe rile up her competitive nature by saying he’s better at it than her.

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Update on my life!

Leaving my old life and my ex last August was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it was the right choice and I’m so much happier now. Things are finally getting stable now! I was only planning to stay with my aunt Jan in Ohio for a short while, but she recently got some serious health problems so I’ll be staying with her for several months more to help take care of her. And even though I wasn’t looking for a new relationship so soon after leaving my troubled marriage, I randomly met someone a few weeks ago that just amazed me with how universally kind he is and with how much we have in common! His name is Mark and he works as an army nurse with a forward surgical team attached to a special operations joint task force. He just got deployed to Afghanistan to go and patch people up, and if all goes well he will be back home in late summer. I never thought soul mates were really a thing, but if they are, I think he’s mine! As for my dog Oscar, he’s continued to grow and be a happy giant puppy! He’s going to be a full year old at the end of December! He’s almost 60 pounds now!!!

On the less than great side, I’ve had no luck finding an art-related job, so I’m going to be switching my career goals over to becoming an art teacher. But honestly, I think teaching will be a much more emotionally fulfilling career, so even though that wasn’t my original plan, I’m excited to start to chase that new dream!

Thank you all so much for your continued kindness and support for both for my work and for me as a human. You all are a big part of why I had the confidence and self worth to leave a bad situation and I will always be grateful to you all for that. Thank you for helping me reach this new better life! 

[lionpridezines]

Meet the folks who will be modding Lion Pride zines!

Mod Drew | @boggled-senseless

Hey all, Drew here (aka @boggled-senseless on Tumblr) and I’m one of the music and finance mods for this zine! I’m currently doing a degree in technical theatre production, specializing in audio design, and I’ve been performing music for most of my life, starting piano at 8yrs old and percussion at 12yrs. This is my third time as a mod for a zine and as soon as I saw this project even being thought about I was thrilled! As a member of the LGBTQA+ community as well as an artist, having a project like this that encourages not only LGBTQA+ work, but original stuff as well is, I think, greatly needed. Plus I’ve never seen a zine involving music before and am extremely excited to share and collaborate with the mods and participants!

Mod Finn | @milk-is-nutritious & @finwritesthings

Hello lovely folks! I'm Finn, a mod for this zine - with a focus on working with the writers! For social media I have two (2) tumblr accounts with my main being @milk-is-nutritious, which ranges from memes to political issues, and my slow going writing blog under the handle @finwritesthings - I also have a twitter by that same name! A little fun fact about me is that I'm a huge nerd when it comes to the ocean - especially sharks! I once spent half an hour info dumping about sharks to someone I had just met about an hour prior to that conversation. I also spend a lot of my time educating folks on queer issues, which played a huge part in wanting to help make this zine a reality. That and the fact that Nick is an incredibly talented and well organized person who I knew would propel this zine into being a complete smash! I work part-time as a peer support worker at an HIV/AIDS and trans health clinic as well as sitting on my city's pride committee as the youth outreach and coordination personnel. I have spent the last few years since coming out as trans doing various workshops education staff at schools, students, health care providers, and various organizations on queer identities, language, and how to be more inclusive. This zine is not only an opportunity to create queer rep, but is also an opportunity for queer folks to create that representation themselves - which is even harder to come by than queer rep made by cishet folks. I have also worked on 7 zines as a writer as well as currently running my own zine. I am so ecstatic for this project and I can't wait to continue forwards with it!

Mod Haryuu | @haryuusart

Hi, my name is Haryuu and I'm a Mod for the Lion Pride Zines! You can find me as "haryuusart" in basically any social media (Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, etc.) I love creating art in any form, from drawing to music, and I hope to transform this passion into a job. That's one of the reasons I am motivated for this zine: projects like this give people the possibility to create and share their work, and it's so beautiful in my opinion. Plus, being part of the LGBT+ community myself, I feel represented and I hope everyone will feel the same way.

My mod roles are general organization, music and art, and what qualifies me is my experience in these fields: I participated in a lot of zines and events, both as a mod and a contributor, and I recently organized my own zine, so thanks to these I learned lots of things;

I love music immensely, it's one of my biggest passions: I've played the piano for many years and recently started learning the ukulele. I wrote some original songs and did covers of my favorite ones, and I'm so happy I can mod this part of the zines because it's very original and new.

Finally, as I said, I love creating; I'm a traditional and digital artist, I've drawn since I was very little, so art has accompanied me through basically my whole life. I have a Diploma in Ceramic design, earned after five years of an artistic high school. l I've done commissions and illustrations for short books and fics, and I hope to share my passion with as many people as possible.

I can't wait to start this wonderful journey with the other mods and the participants!

Mod Isaiah | @galacticcannibalisms

Isaiah @galacticcannibalisms on tumblr and instagram or @galacticanibals on twitter) is one of the graphic design mods for Lion Pride. I'm a graphic design/printmaking major with aspirations to go on to graduate school and then become a professor myself. This zine speaks to me because it aligns fairly closely to one of my dreams, creating an LGBT+ focused publishing company for stories about and by members of the community. 

My mod rules consistent mostly of focusing on the layout of the zine itself, as well as any additional design that's needed. This is the second zine I will be taking care of in this way, but I've had outside experience in collating and formatting large volumes on information and creating my own layout designs that are both functional and artistic.

Mod Jay | @agentnavi

Hiya! I'm Jay, a mod for Lion Pride Zines! You can find me on Tumblr as @agentnavi or any other social media site as jaythefae. I'll be working as a mod for finance, art, and music for this project. My finance experience comes from my time spent as a Campus Activity Moderator in college. As a campus activity moderator, one of my duties was to budget the supplies necessary for multiple events throughout the year. In addition to this, researching products to find the best possible price was also something I took care of as part of my responsibilities. For my art and music experience, I took up piano at the age of 8 and have played ever since alongside picking up the flute at age 11. I have a bit of experience playing the tenor saxophone as well as clarinet and have started teaching myself guitar. I have also been a fine arts student since age 11, attending an arts-focused middle school and independently pursuing my interest independently beyond that time. Being involved in this zine is super important to me because not only is it supporting original works by a multitude of creators, it's supporting LGBT+ works, potentially giving people the springboard they need to get their content out to more people and that's super cool to me!

Mod Nick | @nikneedsalife

Heya! I’m Nick, (@nikneedsalife on Tumblr, @nïck on Pillowfort). I’ll be working on social media, writing and the general organizational aspects of Lion Pride zines! This project is my baby, and I love it very much, because I adore LGBT+ fiction—you can usually find me in a corner getting emotional about it. I also really hope to give LGBT+ creators a platform for their work!

I’ve written for about eleven zines, mainly fandom, and have experience in modding about five others! I usually work mainly with social media and writers, but I’ve also gained a lot of experience in dealing with the general work, communication and organisation that comes with a zine. 

Mod Noah | @fricz-art

Hello! My name is Noah, also known as Fricz (@fricz-art over tumblr and FriczArt on twitter) and I'm one of the art and graphic design mods for this project. I majored in Animation and Visual Effects and soon I'll start a master in Concept Art and Storyboard (I'm really excited for this!). I have always been an art kid, I started with music and writing and finally found my true vocation with drawing. I'm very happy to be part of this project, since it's an excellent way for creators to show their original works and express themselves as part of the LGBT+ community. I'm excited to help and see how this project will evolve!

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[lorenasworkbook]

Lecture 1: A creative orientation to design

First lecture, first post… Here I am writing my first blog post. During the lecture I was thinking: 

“Hmm… we need to create a blog... that’s an interesting approach! I always wanted to have a blog but could never decide what to write about.”

Through the years I constantly looked around at what platform would be best for the blog I will create someday:

“I do not even need a subject for it yet, I can just look around for which platform would be easy to use and has the nicest layouts!”

Eventually, after reading all about it, using the trial period or signing up on many website builders just to try them out, I realised I am never going to do it because I do not like writing. I am not going to lie, I do not think that writing is my best skill, but you have to do these things you’re not good at to get better, right? I never did It so now is the time. Now I have to do it.

Along many others (Blogger, WordPress, Quora, Medium, etc.), Tumblr was one of the platforms I found back then, and, while it did not make me have a blog in which I would come back to tell my story, it still made me tell a story, but it was a visual one. I started collecting images that I found visually appealing on my blog – pictures about anything: interior design, architecture, landscape, portraits, paintings and sculptures, famous or not. Anything I visually liked:

There is a print screen of my Tumblr blog with a very minimalist theme and a horizontal scroll effect which many might argue it is not what users would expect, but I really liked it and it was my tumblr blog which I did not created for other people. It was just for me.

I posted little original content but mostly reblogged images I found interesting from other people – I just thought: 

“That’s what Tumblr is about, right?”

In time I found out that people were using it in many different ways. I do like photography, looking at it or making it, but never thought mine was good enough for the collection I curated on my blog, haha, 

“I am just using my phone, I do not even own a proper camera...”

Looking back now, I realise Tumblr was actually the best for that, never mind... 

Through Tumblr I also found out about HTML & CSS. Tumblr has themes you can adapt but If you want to explore, you can modify these themes or create your own. During this HCID course, I am taking the Web Applications Development elective class which takes place just before the Creativity in Design module. My point is that even though it was not writing, Tumblr still influenced me in a good way by making me interested in Front Web Development. How relevant this is? I do not know, I just thought it would be a nice introduction. Here is a print screen of one of my first web pages – looks like it is form The Matrix, I know, that was my intention:

While I am writing this post, new ideas pop into my mind. Coming back to the fact that I always had the impression writing is not my best skill, as I previously mentioned. When I say this, people presume I say it because English is not my native language. While that might be one point, I think the same about writing in Romanian. Just writing in general makes me anxious, hahah. How do I say what I want to say without sounding too boring? Which word would better express what I want to say… most importantly, what is the best order to present my thoughts in, especially when they come in waves? I have so many thoughts and sometimes I feel like I must tell the story from the beginning for people to accurately understand the point I want to get at and how everything leads to that, and even then they might still not understand my ideas, haha. That’s how I spend too much time overthinking everything and that’s why I presume that growing up I got more into photography, drawing, painting or sculpting in clay – I wanted to express somehow. It just wasn’t going to be writing.

While I liked the humanistic profile but did not want to write much, I chose to go to an arts high school, which also introduced some of the Social Sciences but I think the mistake I did was to choose Architecture, thinking about money: 

“What will I do with my life if I go to any other section, such as painting? I am not going to find a job to support living, I can just create art in my spare time. If I do architecture, I can do any of the other, but if I do let’s say painting, I cannot do architecture”. 

That’s what I thought back then...but architecture was a lot of technical drawing as it can be seen in the next picture, and that wasn’t too much fun. I did not even know you can do sculpting or graphic design. But it was still fun learning about architecture styles.

While I enjoyed high school, towards the end I did not want to create anything anymore, I was doing enough to achieve whatever was needed for the courses but not more. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore and I felt like the way it was thought it was to make people follow some outdated rules, it was narrow minded. In my opinion art had to be the other way around, and this was not what I wanted to do with the rest of my career… Art was my gateway. But this discussion is more related to the bad teaching style in Romania or maybe arts schools in general and this is not why I am currently writing this post.

After years I started creating art again, even if just now and then. I painted at home when I was feeling different strong emotions. After, I went to sculpting classes. One of each can be seen in the following pictures:

All this time I kept taking photos as nowadays technology allows us to have a pretty good camera on us all the time, on our smartphones. Why all this discussion about drawing/ art in general? All this got to be useful at something. I realised I never read any notes I take in class because they’re just long lines of writing. Boring. That’s why I decided to start Sketchnoting from the second semester. I saw someone (Michele Stara) doing it at the UX Live conference and thought: 

“Wow, that’s pretty cool! I want to do that, maybe I will actually look over my notes again!”.

So that’s how I started sketchnoting for every class, not just for Creativity in Design. As I did not actually draw in years, my sketches are not the best and also combined with paying attention to class, I have to be fast, resulting in not so pretty drawings. However, apparently transmitting ideas through image rather than just writing text requires a bigger thought process and I should remember the facts easier.

In conclusion, I am now willing and ready to approach things from a different perspective and while my writing or my sketches are not the best, there’s only one way too get better. Practice, practice, practice, practice.

How relevant this is to the class? Not sure, but I thought it would be a nice way to introduce myself. 

[theuiucollegian]

The Collegian is Back in Print

Collegian editor Hazel Lim and staff Sze Xin Khoo (L-R) working on the page layout of the print copy of The Collegian in the studio. (Photo courtesy of Charis Lee / For the Collegian)

UIU archivist Janette Garcia explains the history of The Collegian. Garcia refers to previous issues of The Collegian to check the history of the school. (Photo by Hazel Lim / Collegian Staff) 

On Dec. 11, 250 printed copies of The Collegian were distributed to students, staff and faculty members. The Fall 2018 newsroom took up the print project to bring it back in print since going completely digital in 2010. The newspaper will publish its next print copy by the end of Spring 2019.

The Fall 2018 newsroom consists of editor Hazel Lim, and staff members Jack Beulke, Chee Chung Ho, Khoo Sze Xin, Jessica Kron, Ling Sze Hwa and Erin McIndoo.

“Pushing for the print copy has been something I wanted to do since I got this job four-plus years ago,” Collegian adviser Dr. Matthew Foy said. “As soon as I found out from Elissa Wenthe, my department chair, that it was not only possible but something we were prioritizing, it became a matter of whether the Collegian staff wanted to do it.”

The first issue came out of the Communication department’s budget. However, it was not until midway throughout Fall Session II when the Collegian received the full thumbs-up from the department.

“I can't praise this year's staff enough,” Foy said. “They were willing to jump onto the print project in relatively short order. I told them, ‘We can do this if you're ready.’ They took on a new project and all the accompanying unknowns and challenges, and got it done fast and well.”

The Collegian editor Hazel Lim joined the newsroom in January 2018.

“Bringing The Collegian back in print is definitely the highlight of my university life,” Lim said. “I’ll always remember the moment I first held the pages in my hands. It’s a success, thanks to my amazing team and of course, Dr. Foy, who has always been a great guidance to us. We couldn’t ask for a better adviser.”

The UIU Collegian newspaper was first established in 1883. It is the oldest continuously running campus newspaper west of the Mississippi. Back issues of The Collegian have been digitized and are available online at http://uiucollegian.advantage-preservation.com.

The last print version was a 4-page copy published on Oct. 1st, 2010. The newsroom had two editors, one co-editor and four staff members, led by faculty adviser Katrina Mcneely Farren. On the second page of the 2010 edition, a column introduced the transition of The Collegian to becoming an online news site. It read: “The Collegian is now online! Starting Friday, October 8, the site will be live and ready for visitors.”  

According to university archivist Janette Garcia, the campus newspaper tried to maintain a weekly cycle in the past.

“Returning in print is definitely a step forward,” Garcia said. “In terms of historical material, regardless of the version or software, paper can be hundreds of years old, and you will still be able to read it. It doesn’t require any special equipment.”

The words of the first The Collegian issue are clearly readable up to this date, 136 years after print. All printed issues of The Collegian can be found at the Henderson-Wilder library on Fayette campus.

Foy explains that printing a physical paper is vital for a college publication to appear legitimate.

“Even in this age in which we get our news online, there's something powerful in being able to point to a physical, tangible paper,” Foy said. “It feels important even if it’s ultimately destined for the recycling bin, and I think that's as true for The Collegian as it’s for the New York Times,” Foy said.

The Collegian intends to be a bi-weekly newspaper. The newspaper will publish its next print copy by the end of Spring 2019.

The Collegian’s mission statement is: “To promote community service and to provide students, staff, faculty, family, friends and community members with the latest news on and around the Upper Iowa campus.”

“When I want to check the history of the school, the first place I go to is either The Collegian or the year books,” Garcia said.

Foy said, “I'll always be a newspaper guy, or at least a print media guy. I want our students to use The Collegian as a place to document what's happening in their school and community, and to weigh in on matters of importance to them. I can't imagine being passive enough to not want that opportunity.”

“I was excited to finally distribute the paper to the students,” newsroom staff Jessica Kron said. “I love seeing the team’s hard work and being able to actually hold it in our hands was really cool. I’m proud of everyone working as a team to create a really great product.”

Kron, who had had no experience laying out a newspaper before, learned how to use Adobe InDesign to layout the print copy of the latest issue.

Newsroom expands physically and virtually

In January, the Collegian has just introduced its first work study position. The team hopes to have more staff members to have a fully functional news team.  

“I wish I had greater numbers, but I'm not only happy about the print paper, but we've also started publishing stories from our online students,” Foy said. “This is a whole other world and a whole other perspective.”

Returning as a physical paper does not stop the newsroom staff from updating current UIU news on The Collegian Tumblr page at http://theuiucollegian.tumblr.com.

“I'd love to see us grow toward a fully staffed newsroom with multiple editors and a bright, vibrant position on campus,” Foy said. “I can't and won't stop trying to recruit folks until The Collegian is something people come to UIU wanting to be involved with.”

According to Foy, recruitment is challenging because students are “loaded in terms sports, jobs and other commitments.” He explains that international students, additionally, are adjusting to a whole new culture and may be weary of another activity, especially one that requires writing.

For those who are yet to commit joining the team, story and photo submissions are open to all students, staff and faculty members.

“My challenge is to convince prospective contributors that being part of the Collegian isn't just another thing to write,” Foy said. “One of my favorite aspects of my profession is interacting with someone who has an idea and helping them make it happen, or make it better. When someone has an idea for a story, or wants to try a different way of covering a familiar story, there's true joy in it for me to offer whatever light I have to support that idea.”

“The Collegian has given me the opportunity to learn much more than any class can teach,” Lim said. “From joining the newsroom as a reporter, and now becoming the editor, it has truly been a life-changing experience for me. The hands-on journalism experience is invaluable. I can’t tell you how proud I am to be a part of The Collegian.”

[kevinasisart110fall19]

E - Extra Credit - Feedback

What did you think of the format of the class? To begin with, interesting to be sure. I’m a big fan of the way you eased us into the activities rather than starting all gungho right from the start. Starting with the art galleries surprised me, but I’m glad that I presented fairly early on rather than having the option to and surely procrastinating to this moment in time when I have other projects and things going on. The whole one idea about art a week thing is something I find particularly enjoyable, although it would have been nice to hear you talk about and explore the ideas on both days rather than just one.

What did you think of making & presenting your Art Gallery? Making the art gallery was rather interesting, I was pleasantly surprised to learn about someone whose work has been prevalent all throughout my life in the form of Best Buddies and Andy Haring who I never even knew about. Presenting the art gallery was actually more fun that making it, but I honestly do wish that I got a few more questions because Andy Haring is such an interesting guy. Working with Wix again has also got me thinking about how to use the website for personal purposes like I did way back in High School.

What did you think of visiting the SOA Art Galleries? I loved visiting the SOA art galleries and talking to the artists, but I really disliked the crowds that we went with. I understand the limitations with the class and the need for everyone to ask the same questions in the same time frame. I also understand that if I feel that way I should simply go at another time to ask my questions and get the responses that I want but that is just the way I feel about it at that moment. It was fantastic going out there and talking to those very interesting people seeing their passions spilling out onto the page. I am also glad that I have access to the social media and contact information of artists who I find I vibe with or whose work I especially enjoy since I can follow and message them on my own time!

What did you think of the weekly Art Activities? Rather interesting and counter intuitive(in a good way!) to me. As an engineer I am often given concrete steps and concrete answers for my work but the open-ended nature of these activities really work as a way to foster creativity. I often ended up resorting to my “strength” of making a picture or a digital painting but on the off days where I adventured outside of my comfort zone it was really rewarding and fun! That being said, the open ended nature of the activities can be scary. I can’t tell you how many times I have been paralyzed by choice only to waste minutes and hours and seconds trying to decide on what to do. It’s good that you offer options in class and on the website like suggesting a painting but I think it would be cool to maybe have a theme of the week? Even if it’s one word or one phrase, like from a random prompt generator so that we can all see different expressions of the ideas brought on by the same originator. 

What did you think of the “7 Ideas about Art”? Seven ideas about art... Abstraction, identity, speech, free speech, architecture, images, and remix. In this class I have learned so much and had my narrow mind widened in the few minutes per week I have spent listening to your explanations and explorations on these matters. I especially enjoyed your commentary on the whole “engineers are building their own replacements” that was hilarious and scarily true and awesome. My favorite activity was the remix activity. In a world where it seems almost everyone has done everything already, accepting the repetitive and cyclical nature of creations was refreshing and liberating. I am always worried in my Dungeons and Dragons games that I am being too cliche’ed or not being original enough to call it my story but as other Celebrity Dungeon Masters say: STEAL, steal everything and anything you can that you enjoy and apply it for you enjoyment. When you do that, you will end up creating something all your own: Synthesis, the end paragraph of every artist conversation.

How did you feel about using Tumblr for your blog? Well, at the start of the semester Tumblr was literally not working for me or my devices which left a really sour taste in my mouth. From the magic link not working, to the website not accepting my password, to the application on my phone refusing to open I was extremely angry and displeased. This, while not responsible for the irresponsible actions I took in not being punctual, massively contributed to me not wanting to turn in assignments through Tumblr. I would strongly recommend switching to Instagram although now that Tumblr is working for me I don’t mind it as much as I used to.

How did feel about using Wix for your virtual art gallery? I’ve used Wix before and I actually really love the intuitive design of the website builder. The only thing I can think of is that it is difficult to work together on it in class due to the restrictive nature of the one editor at a time thing. But mechanically, Wix is a great option for the online art gallery, very fun and easy to use.

What did you think of using the class website, glenn.zucman.com/i2va, plus your own websites, instead of BeachBoard? The class website was awesome, love the layout, love the colors, and especially the user-friendly interface. I think it would be cool to have a “post of the week” thing going that would also serve as a week-marker progress bar page that could feature one student’s exemplary post once a week with their permission. That could also make making a class semester memory page easy!

What did you think about having a class with no tests? I don’t just mean “was it cool to not have to take any,” but students use tests to guide their study and participation in a class. Students tend to learn what’s on the test, and to not learn anything that isn’t. Did not having exams make it harder to focus or find importance and relevance in the class? The thing about having a class without iron clad rules and other such constructs like rigid evaluations is that it largely depends on the students. We have to have open minds and the willingness to try to learn a new way and go along with the fluid nature of the course. I found my purpose in the class fairly late on in the desire to apply your teachings to my creative foundries in the forms of learning to draw, world-building my dungeons and dragons world, writing stories, and appreciating art for its message and emotions rather than solely mechanical and physical form.

It seemed like it was hard to get very much Class Participation, especially toward the end of the class. Did I talk too much? Ask the wrong questions? Was it too confusing? Not interesting/relevant enough? Any suggestions for more class participation in the future? One thing that makes me sad within these classes is that as I said in my answer to question 9 is that in these more fluid classes(especially in the GE sections) it largely depends on the students’ willingness to participate. I can’t tell you how much it breaks the flow of the class in STEM classes when the professor asks a question and no one answers and it becomes deadlocked in silence wasting time. No one like getting called on when they don’t want to answer any questions, and no one likes just sitting around in silent waiting for someone else to answer. I admit that I could probably have a long conversation with you regarding the ideas that you have been teaching like abstraction, images as story tellers, etc but I didn’t want to be constantly sticking my hand up and answering every single question even if I wanted to. It’s a sort of group mentality thing, I didn’t want to stand out like in my other classes(Greek Myth). I don’t know. I think that perhaps a method to get more group participation is to make it a requirement to ask a certain amount of questions or answer a certain amount of problems. I can tell you that it greatly aided my creative writing class’s teacher and fostered greater communication between students and forced people to contribute to the conversation on stories and ideas. If you make a question and answer quota for every student it will be difficult to keep track of(maybe don’t even keep track of it but just say you do) but people will begin to participate in the name of points.

Any other thoughts I really enjoyed the “write a story instead of an artist essay” that you implemented last week and I was taking a look at the art experiences master list. Perhaps as a way of giving further control to the students who want to you could offer the added option of swapping out one activity on a given idea about art for another of the same category on the master art experiences list. I doubt many students would take the opportunity but those that do would probably find something that they resonate more with.