#thank you for the ask aaah

[sternentreue]

2 and 15 from the codex thing for Firion please!

Finally getting to my huge pile of asks this weekend! Thank you for sending these, I had so much fun with them!!! 🩷

I still haven't decided how Firion feels about the slow burn, if he's just as oblivious or frustrated at some point, so for now I settled on "desperate for feeling loved", oops.

transcript under the cut

2. An entry from Rook’s journal

A PAGE FROM ROOK'S SECRET JOURNAL

The paper is slightly damp and the ink has run out here and there.

Spite made an appearance today. The others still think he's dangerous and they keep their distance, but I think he's just confused and lonely. Lucanis doesn't pay attention to him and drowns him out. And he tries to hide this side of him from me, more or less successfully. I told him Spite didn't bother me and then something shifted in him. He was so close, I barely remember how it happened, my ears were ringing and my knees almost gave out. My heart is still pounding just thinking about it. But he stopped halfway and left.

I thought he would kiss me. I must have looked like an idiot.

I can't seem to figure him out. One minute he just looks at me, and me alone (maybe that's just wishful thinking), with his big brown eyes that make my stomach turn, and he says these sweet things and makes me snacks in the middle of the night, and the next minute he's being obscure and treats me like an associate.

Did I misread his sweet gestures or have I not shown him enough that I’m interested? Or too much? Sometimes he seems to be uncomfortable with my attempts at flattery. Maybe he's not into men, or elves? Or maybe (illegible) in me as a person. (illegible) hurts, thinking about it. But I mustn’t be selfish. I am not entitled to his affection. I shouldn’t be feeling this way about him, (illegible) anything at all. He must focus on our mission and so must I. But I’m I want (illegible) feel so alone.

I was looking forward to spend a little time with him today. I hope he will still allow it.

15. Rook’s packing list for travel to a quest location

SCRIBBLED NOTE

Harding wants to look for the missing dwarves tomorrow. Deep Roads — ask Davrin to come with us.

To pack: 

— back pack — bed roll — comfy pants — brush  — water flask — washing cloth + soap — bandages — canavaris (ask Lace) (packed some — Lace) — petroleum jelly (hands) — long coat (ask Davrin) — treats for Assan (ask Lucanis) — sketch pad (just in case) — books (just in case) NO BOOKS (— Lace)

Added in Lucanis' handwriting: I expect you will be gone for a few days, so I packed some boxed lunches for you, including treats for Assan. Remember to eat and drink enough, I know you tend to forget. It will be cold too, please wear the socks I have knitted for you. I don’t want you to come home with your toes all blue. Be safe. — Lucanis

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

hope you feel better soon!

I am riddled with ailments, but I stay silly!

[etanow]

He got flowers for his lovely dead wife <3

!!!!!! LOOKIT HIM

[shkika]

I'm literally buzzing with excitement for the Wind comic thing :> I've been coming up with my own theories of what it could hold, and even making a video based on those theories! Tho, it'll take some time to finish XD It's like...A big project. Love your works!

This ask made me so happy I blacked out and this appeared on my screen.

I have the comic planned and sketched out with placeholder dialogue between the rodent sisters I just need to finalize it when I can!

[genericpuff]

Hi! Maybe this is a difficult question with no answer, but as a fan of Rekindled who might want to start their own comic, what do you suggest to avoid burnout? Do you start wiht writting the script right away, you doodle a bit,..? Thanks for reading, I love how you draw big noses, makes me more comfy with mine!

no fr my dark secret is that i've been experiencing burnout with my main original project that I've spent the last decade working on for literally a year now. this isn't the first long hiatus i've taken, the longest one i've ever been on has lasted two years, and it's undoubtedly not the last i'll experience because the lump of salt and fat and tissue that is my brain often overworks itself into exhaustion like a big dummy

rekindled has been my reprieve from the burnout. it has been my vacation from years of working on the same project, meeting the same deadlines, drawing the same characters, over and over and over again since before i was in college.

if there's anything working on rekindled has made clear to me, it's that i'm still capable of drawing comics. the comic-making isn't the problem. it's just that when you work on the same project for years and trap yourself in an uphill battle, eventually your climbing gear is bound to break.

if there's another thing that rekindled has opened my eyes to, it's the insanity that i put myself through prior to rekindled that led to my burnout in the first place.

i get people telling me that they couldn't imagine doing what i do, that even before i had my assistant helping me out, i was still able to put out 30-40 panel updates every week.

but before that, i was putting out 70-90 panel episodes of my original work. every week. full color. full spread action scenes. no assistant. very little financial gain aside from a couple patrons on patreon and one dedicated viewer on twitch, which i was also streaming on 2-3 times a week.

and now that i've been working on rekindled and even finding myself often crunched for time with that, i have zero clue, no idea, a complete lack of comprehension of how i pulled off 70-90 panels a week for months on end. there's a reason it resulted in burnout and i know that now. this comparison is not for the sake of a flex - this comparison is to make it clear that much of what i do isn't the norm and isn't exactly a healthy standard. case in point, i sneezed while sweeping up yesterday morning and it caused a muscle strain in my lower back/hips and i've been working out of my bed since, i'm in a lot of pain and it might mean i don't make any money this week if it's not better by the time i have to do my appointments at my day job on thursday. my need to create my personal passion projects is often at odds with my bad habits of not taking care of myself 。゜゜(´Ｏ`) ゜゜。

when it comes to tackling burnout, your guess is as good as mine. really it just comes down to rest. when burnout - real, true burnout - hits, it's not just "man i'm bored of working on this", it's "i can't even think of looking at this thing let alone working on it", it's basically akin to depression and it's an awful thing that i wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy (even with Rachel, I don't want to psychoanalyze her mental health but it does seem like she's possibly been experiencing burnout with LO for years now and that really sucks for her if that's true). so the solution is just as complicated as the cause, it's not something that you can just rest from for a week and come back from, it takes real long-term healing.

when I found my way out of that 2 year hiatus, it was in spring of 2019 and I decided to just work on a random comic page that wasn't even in the comic I was working on. and then suddenly it was like a switch flicked back into the on position and i didn't even finish what i was working on, i just went back to my original project and i kept working on it until it was finally finished at the end of 2021. as suddenly and randomly as it had set in, it was gone. but i can't just do the same thing this time, it just doesn't work that way.

that said, through all this, i've learned that my need to create is not restricted to any one tangible thing, i'm not doomed or designed to stick with the same words, the same faces, the same ideas until the end of time. while i do try to keep up healthy routines for myself to ensure i'm looking out for my future self and their deadlines and their upload schedules, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. and in my case, the heart wanted to take a break from the self-reflective psychological analysis dark fantasy weebo stuff and just draw some pink and blue characters a little less ugly. the self-reflective weebo shit will still be there when i'm done with the pink and blue stuff, and i'll surely have loads of new things to unpack through it once i return.

there are still times when i'm working on rekindled and i'm feeling the creeping hand of my routine destruction digging its claws into my back. the reality is that 30-40 panels is still a lot for someone like myself who's doing this entirely for free, but my definition of normal for a while was so insanely inhumane that even what's still considered a lot by most people's standards feels sane and normal to me after what i put myself through.

i've learned to be more gentle with myself, and to loosen my own expectations of what i'm capable of to ensure i don't do anything like that to myself, by myself, again. i give myself room to create without expectations or the pressure of eyes watching when i can, and i remind myself that even if burnout rears its head again, and again, and again, the will to create is not gone. it's just tired, and resting, and growing, and healing as i am.

anyways that turned into a self-reflective essay post, to answer your question about making stuff ahead of time, i find that's more helpful with just like, planning out a structured story (so you don't write yourself into a corner) but whether or not it helps with burnout kind of depends. because it can just as also easily be the cause of the problem because constantly seeing the stuff you wanna be drawing so far away can be just as much of a morale killer as a motivator. some of the stuff i'm super psyched to write and draw with time gate is years away and that timeline grows longer the more the burnout goes on which makes the struggle feel even more overwhelming and pointless and defeating. so plan ahead, but keep it all within your means if you can. i find what works for me is planning out just general beat-to-beat plot structures (to ensure i at least have a plot skeleton going on so i know where i'm going) then i leave the finer details to when the actual episode i've planned gets closer to fruition and i can get myself in the headspace to write it fully.

also remember that just because you're really excited and motivated to work on your comic doesn't mean you should work yourself into exhaustion - it's a good thing if you're going through the mundane of your daily routine and the whole time you're hyped af to work on your hobby/personal project/etc. because that's what will keep you moving forward, so don't spend all that hype in one place by working and working and working until you're exhausted, because that hype is REALLY hard to get back after you've spent it all.

long post over! hope that helps! best of luck in your projects! ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

gerojim is my favourite character from king-ohger in a scrunkly sense, and the way you draw him makes me unreasonably happy so i wanted to say thank you. and also using dotted lines and lighter text for his speech bubbles is absolutely Inspired

Awwwww thanks so much, doggendoodle!!!!!!✨✨✨ I’m over the moon that people are enjoying my drawings of him. Gerojim and Jeramie are first in my heart (probably quite obvious by my drawing habbits) but learning to draw Gerojim was a hard earned feat and so i felt the need to flex that power as much as possible!!!! I want to see more images of him!!

I’m very excited about his speech bubbles, i played around with wiggly lines too but dashes were faster to draw hahaha! a good balloon design is one of my favorite things so i’m pleased the effort was noted!!!

Here’s a little scrap of dropped comic I had lying around! I think this was the first Gerojim speech I drew.

[lesbianoms]

God I’m in a gross vorny mood again I might answer some stuff in my askbox that I’ve been meaning to get to <3

[mirensiart]

Hiya Miry,

Just wanted to agree with the previous ask. I don't think it's rude to let people know they're asking something you've answered before, it's your own blog and it's rude to try to tone police you here. Even then I think you were incredibly nice in both your answer to the repeated question (you even repeated your answer instead of saying you'd answered it before and they can go search through your blog on their own) and the criticism you received (I probably wouldn't have even answered it) so in my eyes there's not even a hint of rudeness in any of your replies. Thank you for all the work you do for free (!) even though you're so busy with other things (!!), it speaks volumes about your dedication to share what you like with others!!!

I hope you have a nice day!

Aaaah 🥺💖

Thank you so much for your message, truly 🫂

I really don't want to come up as rude or as if I'm implying people are stupid when I mention I've been asked something before, I suppose people don't really dimension how many asks I get daily, so it is tiring! It's why I encourage people to at least check the pinned post before asking anything!

Like in the end, it's much quicker and easier to quickly look that up than wait for me to reply days later, the info is there for a reason.

I do get people telling me "hey so I looked and I didn't find x thing, so I wanted to ask" and I appreciate that! I don't want people to be afraid to ask me things cause of the possibility that I might have answered it before. Just... don't be rude or entitled when asking!

As you said, I do all the content I do and reply to all the people I do for free. My reward is sharing it with everyone and engaging with others, like that's why I do it! But if the one thing I look forward to (engaging with people) after hours of making content is the same question over and over, I believe I am entitled to feel a little bit frustrated 😓

Anyway, sorry for ranting a little bit there, but I do appreciate the people who engage with me and send me nice messages or their own ideas and brainrot!!!

I literally do all this because I love interacting with all of you guys!

I'll still try to do better when replying to repeated questions, as I said to the anon before, I do know there are shy people who want to engage but feel intimidated and that's the last thing I want. I really want everyone to know that they can engage with me, so I'll try to reign in my frustration as best as I can from now on !

[lalizah]

Hi ^^ 20 and 30 for Nate and Liz, and 2 and 13 for Mason and Liz, please? 💕

Hi lovely! Always nice to see you!

For Mason and Liz:

2) Does this change over time? What things do they find “hot” about their partner after they’ve been together for some time, and have had more time to, well, notice and appreciate?

Liz didn't really like Mason in the beginning. Like AT ALL lol. But he's so unlike everyone else she's met, especially since her best reference of relationships came from Rebecca and then Bobby. She's come to know (and fallen in love with) the fact that Mason's all about actions over words. He's never given her excuses. He's upfront and honest and there. She appreciates that he doesn't put on a front and he is who he is, and that he's a reliable constant in her life, someone she knows will be by her side and will come running before she even thinks of calling. It's funny that that is when she started thinking all the horny thoughts lmfao

Mason went from absolutely not trusting her to only trusting her lol. He appreciates how understanding she is, especially when it comes to him and to their relationship. He tries to express himself and fails miserably but luckily, Liz understands his silence and what he needs.

13) What is their go-to for making a partner feel loved?

Liz loves to bombard (and I mean BOMBARD) people she loves with affection and Mason is no different lol. Lots of touching, kissing, hugging, words of affirmation, etc. She doesn't hold back in expressing how much he means to her and while Mason may grunt and moan about it, he secretly enjoys it haha.

Mason pays extra attention to stuff she loves, even if he doesn't get it. He'll listen to her talk and talk about stars and the universe and try to engage, be curious. He's also one for physical affection, and constantly touches her, holds her and keeps her close.

For Nate and Liz!

20) When would they say “I love you?” Do they say it first? Do they say it often, or is it reserved for special moments?

Liz didn't hold back from telling Nate she loves him. She said it first, when they were researching the Annunaki. She tells Nate often, and doesn't wait for an occasion.

Nate told her at the end, (so really following the book's timeline) and tells her often as well, reserving the I love yous in different languages for more intense, special moments.

30) What completely petty topic (music taste, favorite food) do they find themselves completely at odds with their partner about?

Ahaha, Liz has the Pakistani virus of putting ketchup on everything, and her pasta is not safe from her precious tomato elixer, much to Nate's horror and disgust. Liz tries to secretly sneak ketchup into the warehouse and all's well until Nate's horrified gasp is heard from the living room when he hears the bottle's squirttt! She has to bribe Felix for the safe storage of her condiments 😁

[mother-of-houseplants-2]

So you know you're beautiful stunning gorgeous incredible impeccable fic where fiona dearest into a toddler?

How about, how about! She deages into a teen!!!!

And like it's so much worse for them

Because they see the Fiona who always seemed larger than life is actually just a fucking child. Lip wants to turn around and yell only to come to face to face with a child and realise that she shouldn't even be here and that she should be away from all this mess

They all see how smart, how beautiful, how handy she is and they all wanna cry because their big sister could have gone so far had it not been for Monica and frank

OMG this is such a devastating idea!!! putting all my thoughts about this amazing idea under the cut because they got too long lol

the kids seeing fiona at thirteen, tiny and wide-eyed and determined, just a little girl really, off to the first of her three shitty after-school jobs … when at her age they were playing in the pool, hanging out with their friends, crawling into her bed at night when they couldn’t sleep.

fiona at fourteen, when monica came back for a month or two, waking up at five every morning to run for track, acing all her classes, wearing lip gloss that doesn’t suit her and writing in her diary because she’s trying to learn how to be a kid. the kids realizing that she only got to have this for a few short weeks before their parents left and reality set back in.

fiona at sixteen, pale and skinny and exhausted, a high school dropout juggling four jobs to keep the kids fed and warm and cared for. crying in the bathroom for a minute before one of the kids needs her help in the living room so she puts on a brave face and a smile and heads back out.

lip yelling at fiona for something and then freezing when he realizes she’s only a little girl pretending to be brave, wide-eyed and shaking. remembering how she used to be his whole world, all-powerful and braver than anything, when really she was so damn terrified and so damn small.

debbie getting upset when fiona reads her stuff about wanting to lose her virginity without deb’s permission, only to feel sick to her stomach when fiona reveals she’s been having sex with older people since she was a middle schooler, and that everything she saw her big sister do growing up wasn’t meant to be idolized at all, but were the results of a deeply traumatic upbringing.

UGH this is so sad … i must resist the urge to write this as a short spin-off lest it consume me …

thank you so much for the ask!!!

[shaperaverse-brainrot]

Yipeeee you reblogged another colour palette thing!!! I get so excited at the prospect of more shaperaverse art by you. I love the way you draw the puppetshade characters, could you do Jenna in Vanished, please?

Aaah mightydyke you are too nice to me, thank you so much!

Jenna! With her Fae ancestry poking through with the yellow!

Poor Jenna getting the vanished pallet of all the names,,,, You're so mean (/light-hearted)

[inkykeiji]

Clari! Hello i am back once again to ask you what is the "Dari" aesthetic?

Like what are the vibes, do you have any mood boards or anything? 👀👀

hi hi hi sunshine!!! <33 i have an obscenely embarrassing amount of photos saved that remind me of me + dabi but i am absolutely horrid at making moodboards so >.< i tried my best with this HAHAHA but visual aesthetic wise we’re very much that cliché girly girl x bad boy, pink and black type combo <33

i especially love the last photo because that girl looks scarily similar to me LMAOOOO like seriously

in terms of what it feels like: late night drives speeding way too fast through vacant city streets; empty diners at 3am; sharp knuckles and sharp collarbones; icy hands between warm thighs; giggles bouncing off the bark of dense forests; the dainty sound of pills clicking against plastic; warped hardwood floors and a stove with two working burners; dirty fingernails tearing through white lace; combat boots splashing in puddles on the asphalt; midnight double features at the rundown drive-in; hard candy clacking against teeth as sugary tongues force it from one mouth into another; love notes scrawled hastily on torn pieces of paper; scars in the shape of hands, his teeth, his name

[desceros]

hiiii wanted to say that your symphony fic has gotten me really interested in music (jk i was already a music nerd, just new kinds) so now i have a playlist of the songs you've referenced or put in your fic that i just listen to. it has a variety of stuff so it doesn't flow perfectly, but i love it so much <3

thanks for everything you do and don't forget to drink water and rest your wrist!!

that’s so cool!!! i have one that is the titles of the chapters and i listen to it when i’m getting a feel for the flow of how things go. i think i’ve altered some of them permanently in my brain, oops

anywho, thank you for a cool message!! i appreciate your care a lot!! :D

[shkika]

SoS' return as Saint being described as "voluntary torture" with the void worm enveloping her is...interesting to say the least. Did she strike some kind of faustian bargain with one to be brought back?

Not really!

The way I picture void worms working is that their task is to keep things down or guide creatures.

Sliver, in her attempt to come back to life, she tried to make the swim up, but couldn’t, because of them. Imagine a long daunting swim ahead. Dark and quiet and tiring. So so very long. Aah- do you remember just for how long we fast travelled deeper down with the help of a void worm? Sliver tried doing that alone. Only to get dragged back down. Again and again.

It was driving her mad. So in a desperate attempt to keep them from touching her, she destroyed herself. Literally! So there would be nothing to drag down. Then sort of ascended as another creature all together. It was a painful process as she tried to abandon who she was so that she could continue up uninterrupted.

She broke the rule of what can going back up by emerging as something else entirely.

[oneiroy]

If Ryss had the chance to change one thing about herself, would she do it? Or is she like… pretty cool with things as they are?

Also it keeps circling my brain like a fruit fly- would Ryss pick being a Werewolf or a Vampire, if given the choice between the two?

Hmmm.... to be honest, I can't really think of something! Ryss has always been by hyper-confident oc, so she's more than pretty cool with how she is, she actively thinks she's great ahahah

I mean, for sure there's little things that she could try to change, like the fact that she's really not the best at reading (she can but very slowly), and she can get embarassed by that in company of avid readers like the scions but at the same time... she just doesn't really care for reading. She's not particularly trying to get better, and it doesn't stop her from feeling like she's the best lmao

As for the second question, I think you have your answer here ;)

And yes it's just their Halloween costumes but she would indeed pick werewolf for sure. I don't think she has any vampire vibes at all tbh, but turning into an even bigger and stronger version of herself to go run the woods? She's sold!

[ofallthingsnasty]

I think doflamingo would have a good time with me because I'm like five seconds from doing something drastic and horrible at any second so like he'd be torturing me and I'd just be like "well no point in holding onto that 5% of sanity I pretended to have" snd just start like writing on the walls in blood and shit. Not even dark spooky stuff just "buy more eggs" and shit

fhdjhdsj Daddy's little terror (✿◡‿◡)

No, no you're totally right, he'd love that. Never a dull moment with you. I have a tendency for outbursts of white-hot rage and I'd probably tear up his walls and throw his stupid fucking wine around before having a little crying fit... As long as you're not being a wet and whiny little bore, he'll eat it right up. Even if it makes him angry, too, sometimes. Then you get to clean your mess with your tongue and a few days in solitude, but that rarely happens ♡

He craves entertainment, no matter how weird it may seem to others. Keep him on his toes, let it all out, he doesn't care - ultimately, he's always in control, no matter how much you twist around in his grip.