#though that’s usually good for at least 4 doodles for me

[dagaan]

couple old Fryes?

[silksongeveryday]

Drawing Hornet everyday until Silksong comes out - Day 200!!!

(huge thanks to this person for the art suggestion!! <3)

I genuinely can’t believe that I’ve made it to 200 days, it’s truly been wild how time flies by like that and the amount of doodles I’ve made during that time. Over 200 doodles (217 to be exact if we’re counting double pictures/extra doodles) have been made over the past 200 days. :0

And thank you all so much for the love and support! Not only have we reached 200 days but also 1400+ followers about a week ago! <3

But, having said that I’d like to make a few announcements—some good, some not so great—about a few things regarding the blog, myself, and other stuff.

Putting it all under the cut so the post isn’t long if you’d like to know more

______________________________

Announcements!

My pfp!

1.) I’ll be changing my pfp again!! I’ve officially decided that after every 100 days or so I’ll change up the pfp so it’s up to date with my doodle style (assuming it changed at all lol), but generally it’ll look relatively the same as the last!

Possibly more admins?

2.) As of right now I’m looking into the idea/possibility of having a second (maybe third?) person help me with daily doodles! As much as I’d like to keep doodling everyday there are some days that it can be tough or some situation might be happening. (i.e. recently got injured)

See, the problem is I don’t exactly have a proper way of trying this out??? My idea was to maybe do this through dms or more preferably Google Forms. I also don’t really know what form of communication afterward would be best either, suggestions to help me work this out would be great! (as you can tell I’m not very good at this stuff lol)

Commissions!

3.) After much consideration and a lot of thought, I’ve decided that in the near future, I’ll be opening commissions again for the first time in years. I don’t have everything set up quite yet, but expect more info in the near future!

About requests:

4.) You may have noticed recently that I haven’t been doing as many doodle requests recently. Sure, there’s usually quite a few in a row at once but you may have noticed I’ve also been doing “non-requested” doodles aka ones that I just do on my own.

Expect this to become a very normal thing going forward. I probably won’t be doing as many requests as before because frankly with the amount of requests I get daily when it’s open is a lot to handle sometimes. Does this mean requests will be stopped entirely? No, I’ll still do some occasionally, but not as much as I have in the past.

Also I’ll likely be doing strictly anonymous requests.

About Burnout:

5.) Alright let’s address the elephant in the room.

There have been quite a few instances where people have wondered if I would ever have burnout and have occasionally joked about “dying” from said burnout because “Silksong will never release, you’ll be doing this forever” etc etc.

In the past I’ve been fine, motivation has been great, but recently I’ve noticed it a little bit.

Unfortunately life has its own plans so it can be a little hard for me to make a doodle that day, expecially recently since I’ve been experiencing personal/medical issues. It’s part of the reason I’m hoping to get a second (maybe third) person to help me do daily doodles so I can take a little bit of the load off my shoulders.

So what does this mean for this blog?

Not much right now. But in the future, there may be some changes. My current plan is to keep going on daily doodles/posts for the length of a standard year, so roughly 365 days. After that, if things in personal life keep up the way they have, I may have to stop daily doodles and instead will post only if I have time. That likely means doodles every other day or every three days or something. At the very least I’ll still post a doodle once a week.

Not to worry though! I’ll still try my best even after I reach day 365 :)

I’ll discuss how things work a little more on my main @miizori later, but that’s as much as I can think to explain rn.

———————————————

Just a few more things I wanted to say!

This community has been so cool to interact with, so much tamer than some others I’ve been apart of in the past. I’m genuinely thankful for how much support and how nice everyone has been. I truly didn’t expect to get this far, I was fully expecting to have stopped like 10 doodles in lol. I especially love to see all your comments in the tags and people sharing their art. You’re all so cool :)))

I have a dtiys from back when I reached 300 followers that’s still available if you’re feeling up to it!

Also my main (again, @miizori) is where I make updates on doodle stuff, regular art stuff and so on if you’re interested at all in that lol

I think that’s all that I can remember wanting to say, so thanks!! I look forward to more doodles for you all :)

[booburt]

Hi, I've been wondering for the photography AU what general time period it's set in, what type of camera(s) does Koby use (it looks like a canon to me but seems to make polaroids, at least that's the surface level observation I can make from my extremely limited knowledge on cameras), what type of photography he personally enjoys and the type he usually does for work (if he does it as his profession too). What does Koby aim to capture with his images, the casual mundane life of an average person, an unreal, etheral sight in a place the average person can't go, Luffy's luffiness, etc? Also what's the general budget Koby has towards camera equipment (doesn't need to be that exact, just a general "he's broke" or "He spends all his money on lenses" would suffice)? My questions are kinda vague here because I'm going to research more about photography later. Thanks in advance :D Oh yeah and also does Koby travel, if not what's the general landscape of his nearby area. You don't need to answer this since I'll probably make it up but it'd be good to know.

okok i wrote this all in the few free periods i got earlier take what you will ^_^

also a doodle i did ages aaaaago with a bit of slightly illegible info in my awful handwriting (sorry)

actual answer vvv

- its a modern au!! so set like. now!

- koby uses sony cameras primarily but yes he does have a few canons (nikon confuses him)

- he has a seperate polaroid camera!!! he usually prints digitally from sd though

- for type of photography, he started with a passion for ocean and landscape photography, mostly beaches and any scene with water in focus. he also has an interest in portraiture but his love for portraiture only comes to play when he meets luffy. cheese cheese cheeeesyyyy because luffy smiles and hes IMMEDIATELY enamoured. anyway, he starts to study and practice portraiture in depth because of the pretty boy he met in maths class and eventually works up the courage to ask him to model for him. they get super close and eventually start dating; luffy likes how dedicated koby is to his work and how cute he is when he blushes.

-SORDY got carried away with the sappy lovey stuff. koby sells his landscape/wildlife photography at local stores as a side hustle thing haha. but he doesnt really do it professionally, he much prefers to keep it as a hobby / simple income.

- koby aims to capture the beauty of colour! he loves vibrancy when shooting with a softbox or some other source of light he will usually use something to change the hue rather than plain old bw on a simple white bg

- following on he HATES shooting black and white photos unless theyre negatives because idk i think he would think it looks cool. what a guy

- with luffy photography he just likes catching luffys smile or just luffy in general; whipped dud!!! he thinks he is gorgeous

- ahahhhh budget budgettt. lenses are fucking EXPENSIVE!!! he uses a 50mm that helmeppo got him for his birthday one year (rich kid stuff. he knew koby likes photography and searched Best Lense For People Pictures and bought the first one he saw) the 50 is canon as consequence so koby uses canon for loofy pics. he has an 18-55mm he uses as well.

- he is broke yes. koby does have a minimum wage weekend job to pay for living expenses but all in all that boys pockets are empty. luffy is the breadwinner (miss rabbit with the one zillion jobs) he works about 4 different jobs and is happy to pay for anything koby wants despite kobys adamant NOs. like i said he gets helmeppo to pay for a bunch of stuff and helmeppo pays on his dads card LOL.

- koby does travel! mainly by train or boat, not often does he go to an entirely different country but he has previously a few times. when he does go abroad he takes luffy with him!!!! (he looks pretty in the snow. he likes taking pictures of him in snow)

IM SO GLAD SOMEONE LIKES MY AU ENOUGH TO ASK ME THIS MANY QUESTIONS LMAO i had fun answering all of this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[itstokkii]

hi! could you talk more about gerkor? it's a ship i hadnt thought a lot about before but your drawings of them are making me interested!! what do like about them and/or what headcanons do you have?

first off thank you for sending this ask!!! i'd love to talk more about gerkor!!

both germany and south korea share a lot of similarities, the main one being that they're the youngest out of their sibling pair, with the older one being separated from them due to the imperialist forces of the us and ussr.

i like to imagine they'd both find comfort in each other that they can't find in their neighbors due to WW2 and before then. both are resentful towards the allies for their respective partitions. they'd both plan to leave the nations' meeting afterparties/galas early and just go home to cuddle. sure korea pulled up to the party bc america dragged her over but she's leaving with germany because they're playing board games at his place.

i've also heard of people calling gerkor the "river pair" because they both experienced a boom in economics and development, with korea's being called the "miracle on the han river" and germany's being called the "miracle on the rhine."

in the modern day, they'd both be workaholics(more like they have to, esp korea with our record of a 60hr workweek lol) but with different ways to relax and unwind after work.

korea will drag germany along to the best korean grilling restaurants, sometimes she'll take him to karaoke(where germany slowly loses his mind as korea slowly loses her voice), and sometimes they'll order delivery food and drink flavored soju(germany's the first to tap out) as they binge watch netflix.

though germany would initially be surprised that korea would have to go to work dinners(회식) after work in the evenings. He insists on coming around the end of it and being her ride home. it's weird to him because shouldn't work stay in the office?

germany leaves work about 1 or 2 hours earlier than korea(4~6PM), and sometimes even earlier on fridays. he cooks dinner until she arrives home, to which they both eat. Then they spend time together(playing video games, baking, watching a movie, what are other things couples do at home,)

its interesting because both germany and south korea are associated with the work culture, and yet they're both on two different areas of the spectrum. if korea comes home tired from work, they both take a nap(or just sleep, given that it's maybe about 8 or 9 as she comes home due to traffic).

germany sometimes gets irked with the way korea randomly drags him along somewhere when she's feeling bored("im bored lets go shopping") tell him at least a day in advance im soojin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

he's still completely floored every time her age comes up. she's just a 2000 year old nation cosplaying as a 20 year old. hes only just about 150....

as per the small doodle i did, i do think south korea is maybe that big push to finally convince germany to have a skincare routine. all of a sudden his skin glows brighter than usual, and others are able to recognize the difference the moment he steps into the meeting room.

she loves gift giving and will regularly have at least a few gifts ready for him when he visits, ranging from luxury goods to giftcards to plushies. he does this as well, but mostly likes to gift her things that are practical and personal. if she really liked that german snack he gave her last time, he's sure to give her more as a gift.

they both love hiking and absolutely will go on hiking dates. korea is generally a very mountainous region, so there's plenty of mountains and hills to check off the list!

she likes hugging and holding hands in public. when they're waiting in line for whatever reason, she'll wrap her arms around his waist and wait that way. i can see germany not necessarily being a fan of that, aso she's had to limit her pda sometimes.

has joined germany for oktoberfest before and despite 1000 years experience of drinking, become absolutely wasted. neither of them were able to drive that night.

sometimes she sees the way he dresses and almost dies inside. sandals with socks are for when you take out the trash or a trip to the convenience store, not for...shopping? save the cargo shorts and windbreaker for hiking, not for a picnic!!!!! with the way he shows up to world meetings("it's like you shoved a giant stick up his-" she usually says before she's cut off by germany) she'd expect him to dress in a similar ilk in everyday life, but she has no choice but to accept it...

though sometimes she cheats the system by texting him "we're going somewhere fancy, make sure to dress up semi-formal" and he's sure to show up in an outfit put together with thought.

there's been times where she feels jealousy and anger for how she's been separated from her brother and how that split is regarded as "positive," whereas the partitioning of germany was seen as "negative" and its reunification "positive." she holds no ill will towards germany as most of it was beyond his control, and germany has also expressed support towards a reunified korea in the past(at least, merkel has). but sometimes she sees prussia and germany and can't help but wish that was her and north.

[anonbeadraws]

for the weirdly specific ask game: super curious about 5, 12, 21, and 27 :>

Thank you so much, I'm gonna respond to all the lovely folks who asked me here too about the weirdly specific art ask game! (Thank you to @phantomseptember, @wyrmzier , @grumpyoldsnake, @philcoulson-redtapeninja @swordsandspectacles and the other anons for asking!)

1. Art programs you have but don't use? I don’t think I have one! I’ve been playing on Photoshop for so long, though I’m thinking on getting Clip Paint Studio for comics at one point!

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)? Mmmm, often find I draw folks looking to the left, but wouldn’t say I prefer one way or the other, especially when I’m flipping the canvas at least three times to make sure they’re all even!

3. What ideas come from when you were little? Mmm, lots of fantasy things, I have this old story about the green man that I made when I was 16 and it’s been rolling and remade ever since! It really needs another go other, it was my first dip into anything non cisgender before I knew, y’know?

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw? Mmm, probably cars. Hate drawing cars, so annoying.

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself? Ohhh, probably, 80%, but that’s what happens when you’re chronically online like me lol

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw? Mmm, love a big floofy skirt or shirt, all those folds, very hard but so satisfying when I get rolling

12. Easiest part of body to draw? Mmm, eyes n’ mouth? I wanted to get good at them ever since I was a kid, cause they’re the expressive bits! I want to get better at Hands, the gay part of the body.

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing? I honestly can’t think of any? I guess I try n see the good in any art, even if it’s not my vibe; the colours, the lines… There’s always something

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth)? At home! I try and keep Digital art to my desk, but If I’m doing ink art for fun, it’s on my bedroom floor, praying that I don’t mess the carpet

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy? Mmmmmm, mouths and hair?

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways? Ohhh, mmm, lineless art! the amount of effort that goes into it, love it!

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with? Iiii should be doing it more! But it’s usually a pretty lady with voluminous hair and fangs, it’s a good go to!

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated? Mmm, I think, it’s this piece, It really vibes with what I want to make at the minute, deep shadows, good lines, good Shapes! Thanks again for asking me!!!

[mysticsparklewings]

Obscutober 2024 Day 27: Whelve 🕳️

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Whelve (v.)

to turn (as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something

to bury something deep; to hide

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Whichever one I was the most lost on how to handle before? Scratch that, this one takes that cake now. If it wasn’t obvious. 😅

It was also yet another chaotic day with not much time to play. I hope that doesn’t continue for the remaining 4…🫠

Click the "Keep Reading" and we'll talk a bit more about my general thoughts/process. ✨

⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

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😮‍💨 Sparklers, I'm tired. Remember how I said yesterday was a chaotic day around the house? That was true again today. And now you know why this piece both went up particularly late for the Obscutober pieces and spent a fair bit of time without a proper description afterward, too. 😅

Now, also to be fair, I wasn't as upset as I probably should have been about the chaos and the delays it caused because I had exactly one idea for this mandala, and it did not feel like a good enough idea to carry the mandala on its own.

...And yet, that's essentially what I did: Go with that one idea and make it carry the whole mandala. Care to take a guess what said idea was?

Granted, if I'd had more time when I was finally about to sit down and worry about the art for today, I probably would have experimented and dug for more ideas, at least to see what my options were even if the outcome wasn't that different. But that was time I just didn't have today.

So. In case you couldn't guess, my main idea was shovels, after the whole "bury something" part of the definition.

...Alright, I admit that I did briefly toy with the idea of turtles, since they tie in well with concept of hiding. But I didn't end up incorporating that both because the longer I thought about it, the less it seemed to fit, and also I really could not be bothered with the amount of trial-and-error I knew it would take to get a turtle in this style that was to my liking. 👎

I think generally this word, for me, would've been better suited to a mini-magnet approach. I could just as easily be wrong, though.

Still, with shovels as my base, the next logical thing I could think to do was just make some ground surrounding the shovels; Emphasizing how you'd use a shovel to dig down deep, through multiple layers of dirt. And that explains the bulk of the mandala, except...

Those square not-quite-flower things at the end of every shovel. What's that about?

Honestly, I just wanted something else that was less doodle-y, less specifically tied to the ground/shovel concept, and maybe kinda felt like it tired more into hiding.

It's a very loose connection, but I was sort of thinking this square-ish motif at least vaguely went with "hide" since the edges are dark and the center almost looks like a mid-bloom flower or something. So maybe in some sense you'll get a "flower hiding secrets" kind of vibe from it?

Similarly, the fill-in colors for those wasn't really thought out. I just went with colors I thought would look good—Which I think was a success, at least!

There might have been hints of "gold for treasure, like you'd bury" or "red like an X-marks-the-spot would be on a map" influencing me there, but I won't swear to it, and I'm genuinely still not sure of where the blue came from other than making a nice primary palette. ��‍♀️

Sooo...That's kinda it. 😅 I do think visually, as a piece of art, it came out well—pretty, even! My hang up is purely that it doesn't tie back into the definition for the word super well. Quite possibly the worst so far on that front.

But, given the events of the day, I'm going to mostly let it go and just be happy that it does look nice and that I was able to get it done and posted in time.

I am hoping though that this coming week, things will calm down a little bit so we can end the month on a higher note...I'm expecting that, because I know how these things tend to go, but I can dream, can't I? 🫠

Now if you Sparklers will excuse me, I need a bit of a rest before it's time to start on the next one of these. 😴

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See the Prompt List

Artwork © me, MysticSparklewings

Obscutober Concept Inspired by nikolas_tower

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⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️=

[starry-eyed-never-satisfied]

Get to Know Me and My Obsession with KISS 🎸

Thanks for the tag @sluttery-withoutshame

1. Who is your favorite member?

Paul

2. Who is your least favorite member?

MSJ

3. Best album?

Ooh this is hard cause my favourite changes depending on my mood, but Revenge is usually up there.

4. Worst album?

I'm so sorry, I don't wanna be one of those people, but Monster

5. Favorite song?

Love Gun

6. Say one nice thing about each member.

Ooh only choosing one thing is hard! I love these guys soo much!

Paul- Only one! Okay, the soul of KISS, there would be no KISS without him

Gene- sweet lovable demon teddy bear!

Peter- energetic crazy idiot (positive)

Ace- baby girl

Eric C- such a sweetie

Vinnie-talented songwriter

Mark- ummm? Filled in the gap between Vinnie and Bruce

Bruce- the loveliest guy on earth

Eric S- friendly and fun

Tommy- loyal, sensible, stepped up when he was needed and has taken shit for that he didn't deserve

7. What do you dislike about each member?

Gene- Can take the obnoxious act too far sometimes.

Paul- Paul, my love, please stop being so critical of what you've done in the past. The Elder is a great album, let it go!

Peter- He was really bitter for a while (seems okay now though, hope that is reality)

Ace- Sorry Ace moots, but I really despise his attitude rn

Eric C- I wish he had been able to conquer his insecurities

Vinnie- a bit pushy in some of the interviews, answering questions that Paul or Gene should have been answering

Mark- yeah, I don't need to go into that

Bruce- too nice

Eric S- I've heard he talks a lot and i don't usually like people who talk a lot, so maybe that

Tommy- he's not Bruce! Sorry Tommy, I know it's not your fault

8. How did you get into KISS?

Sorry to anyone who's heard this story before! When I was 10 or 11 I saw the Crazy Crazy Nights music video on tv, and loved them!

9. Have you been to a concert?

3! (shoulda been 4 😡) 1997, Reunion, Auckland, 2008 Wellington, 2015 Auckland

10. Do you have any merch?

All the albums, too many t-shirts to count, books, figures

11. Unique thing you have related to KISS?

I don't know if I have anything especially unique. I have two of Paul's guitar picks, from the 1997 and 2015 shows and a copy of the Kiss my ass cd that is signed by Paul, Gene, Bruce and Eric (no they didn't sign it for me, I won it on a radio competition.

12. Who is/are your favorite lineup?

Paul, Gene, Bruce, Eric

13. What's your favorite era?

Revenge

14. What are your opinions on Tommy and Eric?

I love them! They stepped up, kept KISS going through the 21st century, and in all honesty I reper them to Ace and Peter. I would hae cried (not for joy) if they had been kicked off the stage in the last show to bring those two back

15. A question you would ask the band if you could?

I don't know that i can think of anything. I'd probably fall to my knees Wayne's Word style and go I'm not worthy!

16. What other bands/artists are you into?

Iron Maiden, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath

17. Do you have a KISSona?

I'm not sure what that is

18. Who are some of your favorite blogs?

@ladyshandioftheendless @namelessbutters-doodles @elrohare @insanityisdivine @loveherallican-blog @tanookikiss @therockywhorerpictureshow @doctapuella @spacefoxy

19. If you could spend a day with one member who would it be?

Paul of course!

20. How would you explain the band to someone who isn't familiar with KISS?

I'm not good with verbalising my feelings, these guys are, after my family, my everything. People who dismiss KISS are missing out on a helluva lot.

[recurring-polynya]

Writing/Art Update 10.29.24

It is Tuesday and I am doing my Tuesday update, miracle of miracles!

So, on one hand, I actually did the things I said I was going to do last week! "Getting ready" took a little longer than I expected it to--I didn't finish my re-read until yesterday, but I did finish it, and I have written (drumroll): 1,300 words.

Do not mistake me: I am very excited about my 1,300 words. I finished a scene that had been sitting there, half done, for two years. I had that one and another scene that I wasn't really sure what to do with, because they were both kind of short, but I thought up a third scene I could write and group the three of them together into a chapter, and I did that. I now have 4 drafted chapters and ideas for the next two.

On the less-good hand, I wish I felt better about any of this. Unfortunately, reading the beginning of this fanfic reminded me that the early bits of it were Good, Actually, and I know in my heart that I'm not going to be on that level. ("I’m still me, just a slightly better me. I have a good job and one nice haori and bankai, but the part of me that cares about you hasn’t changed at all."<-how am I supposed to live up to that???) SIGH. Anyway, I'm in this sort of tug of war between trying to think up scenes that are better than the scenes I have in my outline, and just going for it, because sometimes you just gotta write some crap in order to get your head around whatever's going on.

My big complaint with it right now is just that it's boring at a point when I need the story to escalate. It's also turning into a parade of the Best Of Polynya's OCs, which is not a thing I want to do, but at this point, I'm pulling in the greater Kuchiki ecosystem, and it's either that or make up new OCs, which is worse. The nerd squad is back, too, and at least I am happy to spend some time with them again. All I can do is soldier on and hope that it shapes up eventually. They usually do.

I did a few more silly doodles for the Bleach Pilot comic from Celebrate Bleach week. I'm actually extremely happy with how they came out, and when I always complain that I think my art would look better if I left it in a more scribbly style rather than trying to render it, this is what I'm talking about.

Even though it is time-consuming, I'm really glad I've been interested in drawing again lately. I've been doing some stuff for my art club, too, but I do have another fanart that I'd like to do while it's seasonally appropriate.

Guess that's it for now. I have a lot going on over the next week, but I think it's not to ambitious to try to beat this week's wordcount.

[rou-luxe]

trade secret #4 - tips for taking pictures of traditional work!!

I started out traditional, I've taken pictures of my own traditional work for years

euggghgh but there are just things that bother me yk

first of all... it's best to have more natural ambient light. shadows of your phone aren't exactly fun

here's a really old doodle of jade as an example

there's a light from a yellow-colored lamp in the background, just enough to see... but not harsh enough for a harsh shadow and glare.

make sure the lines are dark enough to appear on the image!! some lines on the shoulders are really faint.

good news, though... on android at least, there's a built-in editing program!! there's probably more on iphone but yeah 😭😭

LET'S GO SANEMI

the left picture was before effects were applied and the right picture is after

I pretty much just mess with everything until it works 💀💀 but mostly trying to up the contrast and definition in the image

you gotta be able to see it, you know 😭😭

this comes in handy, ESPECIALLY if you want to transfer it to digital.

in my program (firealpaca)... you can extract lines from an image. it works best with images with high contrast between values. after that, I usually just clean it up and it's ready to go

I haven't done that much lately though

some of you are fine ngl but hope this helped if you needed it!!

just prioritize on being able to see it 😭😭

[victorluvsalice]

Sims 4 Valicer Outfit Fun II -- CC Edition

We interrupt your regularly-scheduled Chill Valicer Save updates with another "watch me play dress-up with my OT3 in Sims 4" post, courtesy of me downloading a bunch of custom content outfits a few weeks ago and having period brain this past weekend. :p Sometimes you gotta keep it simple, you know? Anyway, here's some new outfits for Smiler, Victor, and Alice, all with a lovely CC bent --

First up, Smiler in an outfit from @the-crypt-o-club's 2022 Simblrween offering, Angsty Adolescence! The half-plain-black, half-black-and-yellow-checked pants were a MUST -- they remind me a bit of what Agent Joytide was wearing during the Smiler Takeover! The alternating yellow-and-black plastic bracelets also felt very appropriate to The Smiler's general theme, and of course I had to give them the yellow sneakers with the happy face and rainbow doodles and the cute Freezer Bunny t-shirt in yellow. XD I think Smiler's also sporting some custom eye make-up, though I don't know if that's from this particular pack or one of The Crypt-O-Club's other Simblrween offerings. Looks good, though -- great for a party outfit!

Next up, let's have a Victorian Smiler, courtesy of @simmerofthedawn and their Men's Day Wear set from Part One of their Victorian Collection! This is a great set of men's suits, in both darker colors for Autumn/Winter and lighter palettes for Spring/Summer, so you'll always have a suit appropriate to the season! Plus they made a copy of the Vampires top hat and gave it SO many more swatches -- "33 shades" as per their own post! Seriously, the set is worth downloading just for THAT ALONE in my opinion. I naturally had to put Smiler in the swatch that contained the most yellow, and that proved to be this particular outfit -- even if the colors are a tad more muted than I'd like. Still, they look snazzy, and it is SO NICE to have a top hat that matches their outfit perfectly! :D

We now move onto Victor's section, featuring him in his Crypt-O-Club outfit -- or, at least, one of their Freezer Bunny shirts from the Angsty Adolescence collection, in a kicky blue. I'm not 100% sure on the shorts and shoes, though I would GUESS they're also CC, as that's what I was mainly working with during this "playing dress-up in CAS" section. *shrug* Either way, he looks pretty nice -- I think this would be a good "workout" look for him!

Back to Simmer Of The Dawn's Men's Day Wear for this picture, with Victor showing off one of the darker swatches for his outfit. In fact, I chose this particular outfit because it's actually as close to a "canon" Victor outfit as I'll probably ever get! The top half isn't quite right -- wrong type of necktie, waistcoat fastens too low down, coat tails are too long -- but it's still good, and the pants are REALLY good. Maybe a BIT dark, but still REALLY close to Victor's canon trousers. I approve. :D

And while we're on the "Victor in actual Victorian clothes" train, here's Victor sporting a suit from Simmer Of The Dawn's Victorian Collection Part Four -- the Men's Day Suit collection! These also come in darker tones for Autumn/Winter and lighter ones for Spring/Summer, and feature higher waistcoats, slightly different tails on the coats, and bow ties. Victor's in a Spring/Summer light blue ensemble because I thought it looked nice on him and fit his usual color scheme, paired with a pretty gray top hat. Perfect for a promenade around town!

The top hat from Simmer Of the Dawn remains, but we move onto a different creator for this outfit (minus the gloves and shoes) -- Historical Sims Life on blogspot, with their Boldness Beckons outfit converted from Sims 3! This is a nice, more wintery look for Victor, bundled up with a thick neck scarf against the cold. :) He looks very smart indeed!

And finally, we end on a couple of Alice outfits, starting again with Crypt-O-Club's stuff! Alice here is sporting a dress from I believe the DIY Or Die fan pack -- what can I say, it looked really good on her! The shoes are another swatch of the Angsty Adolescence Converse (seriously, I love those, with all the fun doodles all over them -- you can customize them for any personality), while the stockings should ALSO be Angsty Adolescence, but might be from another pack -- I've downloaded ALL their "fan made stuff packs" at this point, so. . . XD Still, it's a great "punk princess" look for her I feel!

And as for the Victorian look, I found this by @vintagesimstress -- the 1890s Working Girl Mini-Set! A couple of blouses and a trio of skirts based off what working-class ladies wore in the 1890s, as indicated -- Alice is wearing the shortest of the three skirt lengths because I like being able to see her feet. XD The set also comes with an apron overlay that you can put on as an "accessory" (under the "tights/stocking" option), but I forgot to put that on ^^;. Still, it's nice to see Alice in a classic Victorian blouse and skirt! Even if it's a bit weird to see her in anything that long. XD

And there we have it! I hope you enjoyed this CAS post -- NEXT week, back to the Chill Valicer Save and the store!

[applesap-fics]

FABril day 4 - Chores, part one

1, 2, 3

T, 2357 words, Bruno/Agustín, Bruno & Mirabel.

Mirabel starts living with Bruno for a little while. She’s curious about why he left. Then she finds out a little more.

--

He almost slips off his cane when he sees his niece on the opposite side of the doorway.

It’s not that he’s surprised that she’s here. It’s just that Bruno isn’t quite prepared for how different she looks. The last time they saw each other she was a child. 

It is as if he’s closed the door on her one day and a moment later opened it up again, replacing her with an older version of herself. She looks eerily, and beautifully, like her mother. 

For a moment that image lasts, complete with gray hairs and wrinkles under her eyes and dressed in blue instead of the colorful attire she’s actually wearing. 

Then Bruno clenches his eyes shut and opens them again, and there she stands as she really is: fifteen, bright-eyed and nervous, wearing a hesitant smile on her face like she expects her uncle to change his mind, turn her right around and send her back home. 

“Hey, Mirabel,” he croaks a bit awkwardly. He regains his posture, trying for nonchalant as he leans on his cane. “There you are, huh? Wow, you’re- you’ve gotten so big! I mean- not like that! It’s just…it’s been a while, and you’re all grown.”

Before he knows it, she’s enveloped him in a tight hug.

--

One day Julieta called him up out of the blue and asked him if it wouldn’t be a good idea if Mirabel came to live with him for a little while, at least for the summer. 

In her fashion she was polite, slightly accusatory like their mother, and thus easily refusable. 

“And what does Ma think of me taking care of Mirabel?” He asked her, knowing fully well his mother doesn’t speak of him and likely avoided the combined topic of “Bruno” and “responsibility” alltogether. The other end of the line stayed silent. “That’s what I thought.” 

“You’re both stubborn, you know? It’s the both of you.”

He left years ago for a good reason. The idea to ask him to…to take care of someone, of Mirabel, seems an absurd initiative. From his capricious mental health to living situation to sending Mirabel off to go live with her estranged uncle, there’s too much to take into consideration.

But Julieta’s, his, and his mother’s conviction didn’t matter.

One week after he hung up on Julieta, he received a long letter from Agustín. About how his daughter isn’t quite finding her way at home and how he wonders if maybe the city won’t treat her and her wild imagination better than the stifling reclusiveness of their village, just like it had for Bruno. That sending Mirabel away isn’t done out of any malice or foreboding. If Bruno would please reconsider having her, because there’s no one he trusts more to be kind and understanding than him.

The letter is two sides long. The words are gentle, but steadfast, and clearly written against the opinion of the family that Agustín usually follows to avoid conflict. Bruno smells the love he has for his daughter in every brave sentence, and all of them together form an elaborate composition. It’s like music in Casita’s courtyard. It’s familiar and his heart aches.

Bruno read it over and over before he finally sent him a letter of his own.

--

“How was your trip? Too long, right? It’s always way too long for me.” Though this wasn’t the only reason he rarely met up with his sisters.

“Oh, yeah. I wish I could’ve brought my sewing machine, but, yeah…Too heavy. It was either that or my accordion.” She shrugs her shoulders which he now sees carry an instrument bag, not a backpack. 

He gives her his sympathy. Agustín not just mentioned she’s creative, he boasted it, and Bruno believes it immediately when he looks at her embroidered orange jacket and blue skirt filled with little sewing doodles.

It makes Mirabel a bright uncanny spot in Bruno’s humble home. As she walks through his apartment, she takes in every bit of clutter with worried eyes. Even with his bad back, Bruno didn’t think he had gotten that bad with the upkeep of his home, but he’s getting embarrassed now, thinking what she must’ve expected before the trip. Certainly not stacks of telenovela scripts and books covering unaddressed letters he’s never sent.

It’s a far cry from the colorful Casita she’s left behind, which is big enough to house a dozen family members and about as talkative. He always keeps the radio on to fill the silence and to keep his house full of romantic love songs. It helps him write.

Mirabel is still holding on to her duffle bag and keeps the bag over her shoulder as if her stuff will get swallowed up once she puts it down.

“Sorry for the mess,” he says as he gives her a little tour - his apartment, though decent, isn’t all that big, but he has space for her. He gestures to unload her stuff. “I tried cleaning out the office a little - that’s your room!”

“My own room?” She asks peculiarly as he opens the door for her. 

“Of course! What, did you think your cruel tío was gonna let you sleep on the couch?” he asks amusedly.

She shrugs abashedly. “No. I guess? I dunno. I share a room with Antonio, so…I’m not used to it.”

Inside sits the spare cot he’s prepared for her and a desk he’s mostly cleared of his writing and accounting. On the walls he’s hung up drawings to give the room a bit more life. Rats in period clothes, boats on voyages, little doodles he’s made while brainstorming ideas for his stories. He feels silly about them now, realizing she’s not that much of a kid anymore. 

“I hung these up for you. To lighten the place up a little-heh.” He rubs his elbow, unsure. “But you can make your own or take them down if you don’t like them.”

Mirabel smiles. 

“No, Tío. Thank you.”

--

“So, a couple of things,” tío Bruno begins.

They’re eating the sancocho de pollo Mirabel brought from home, which is apparently Bruno’s favorite. He started humming and whistling the moment she pulled out the container. His cane lies forgotten by the front door. He only needed it to breach the distance between his front door and the lobby to let her in. She hadn’t expected he needed one - neither Mamá or tío Bruno (they had a brief conversation on the phone) had mentioned it. 

“Curfew, of course. Ehh, be home before nine if you go out. The errand boy comes here on Mondays with groceries and/or medicine - ask for the receipt and don’t let him hustle you too much. Avoid talking to the handsome boy from the next block over: he’s a loverboy. Joselito I think his name is. I know the city can be very exciting and boys may seem very fun now that you’re at that age, but you’ll get in trouble if you go looking for danger of his kind, trust me!…Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned him at all. Ay, you’re probably thinking of running away with him now!” 

He throws his hands up and clutches his hair.

She stares at him, reeling a bit at his rambling. “Uhh.” 

“Anyway,” he perks up, dramatics forgotten, “there’s a lot of clubs and activities, so there’s always something fun for you to do while you’re here. And you could come to the theater with me! I’m sure you’d love it. It’s small but has a lot of heart.”

“That sounds great.” It was the reason she wanted to come to the city. She wanted to find her place.

He beams. “But don’t let me slow you down from whatcha wanna do, okay? I’m boring anyway and I can’t always go very far.”

This remark reminds her to ask; she thought he was an architect or construction worker or something in that vein, but he told her he quit that profession to take up writing, which landed him a job at one of the local theaters. She wonders if he had to quit that first job because of his injury. 

“So,” she says, stirring against the corn cob, “what actually happened to your back?”

“My back?” His expression turns sullen, his spoon resting in the sancocho. “Oh, something awful.”

He doesn’t elaborate and she immediately regrets asking. “Oh, I’m sorry.” 

He nods gravely.

There’s so much more she wants to ask him, but most of those questions are about the family, which require a kind of perilousness she doesn’t want to drag him into just yet.

“Uhm, so,” she tries. “What’s with all the letters?”

He looks surprised. “You saw those?”

“Yeah, they’re everywhere.” All tucked tight between other manuscripts and his books, but odd and noticeable enough.

He rubs his neck. “Ehh…I don’t wanna talk about it. They just kind of appear.”

“What? What does that mean?” she asks confused, but he again doesn’t elaborate. And after an awkward moment of silence, she gives up, “Okay.” They eat their stew in silence before she tries again. “Papi said that before he even met Mamá, you and he were friends?”

“Oh.” Surprisingly, even this catches him off-guard. He looks up at that, gaze distant for a moment, eyebrows pinched. It takes a second for him to reply, scratching the scruff of his neck. “Oh, sure,” he says and goes back to slurping his soup, not looking up.

“Got any funny stories from back in the day?”

He makes a strangled sound and shrugs, back to eating.

“Oookay. Good talk.”

--

Despite his evasiveness when it comes to family talk, tío Bruno loves to talk. About his interests, his hobbies - of which he has a lot.

It makes her fond somehow, to hear how he also thinks the random pitter-patter sounds that can sometimes be heard outside the building are pixies, just like Abuela and tía Pepa do. “Poor things,” he says, smiling. “The rats like to eat them.” Mirabel has never actually seen one before and doesn’t quite believe in them, but hearing that they persist even in the city makes her think the older generation is onto something. 

Tío Bruno has so many pecularities it’s hard to list them all, from nervous ticks to his superstitions. He burns sage and avoids stepping on cracks. Every morning he does a cleansing ritual alongside taking his anti-epilepsy pills. He keeps an upside-down broom in all the rooms to keep out bad spirits (also handy for sweeping up the salt and sugar he spills a prolific amount of) and he holds his breath when he walks through every doorway, not just the one that leads outside.

He also swoons at music and always seems to have romance on his mind. He does spontaneous dances when he listens to the radio or when he’s playing some cuban bolero on his gramophone, which is such a classic item it makes it seem as though he’s stuck in time, only adding to that romanticism. Bruno loves writing and reading and tells her he can waste days watching reruns of telenovela’s he’s already seen.

“Ah…so much can happen in a life. It’s easy to forget when you’ve got a bad back and never go anywhere. That’s why it’s important to throw in crazy stuff. You gotta remember the love exists between the cracks.”

She’s been curious about him for a long time. It is as though her own life falls into place now, Bruno the missing piece of the puzzle, a branch she was never allowed close to. It’s good to meet the person he really is instead of hearing half-finished stories from her cousins and sisters who knew him only a tiny bit better. A hard line of separation forced by a ten year old wall.

She has a vague understanding of why he left. He lost his way in the family, one way or another. Stir-crazy, tío Félix told her. Thought he was bad for the family, suicidal, and too cooped up in the village. Not to mention volatile. Made the whole house mad. 

“He was…sensitive,” Papá said with a far-off look in his eyes that seemed far too fraught on her dad’s face of all people. 

Selfish reasons, according to Abuela, but from what Mirabel gathers those ‘selfish reasons’ boil down to ‘leaving’, which seems a bit paradoxical. 

“Tío.”

It’s the end of the first night. She’s crawled up on the couch with him, leaning into his shoulder as if they’ve always done this together, drowsy from the telenovela they watched that she wasn’t all that into after a long day. “Why did you leave?”

His shoulders clench up. “Oh, that’s- I wasn’t really…that’s not important.”

“How can it not be important?”

“Okay, I guess it’s important.” 

Once again, as she’s coming to expect of him, he doesn’t elaborate. Or maybe he can’t answer because he’s always so nervous and not used to having his bothersome niece here, asking questions. 

He’s tense even as she leans against him, but he assured her that he’s just like that and that it’s okay to touch him and it doesn’t mean she’s imposing on him or anything. She did feel like she was imposing a little. She’s felt that way the moment her dad said she could go.

“But…I don’t get why you never really came back. I get leaving for a little while - I know Abuela and Isabela drive me crazy sometimes and always make me feel like I’m too awkward and that I’m only getting in their way, and now that I’m here I feel like I can”- She lets out a heavy puff of breath, heart straining -“breathe, finally. But I love them, and I already miss them.”

His mouth opens and closes, looking like he wants to answer, but keeps catching himself before words can spill. His chest heaves unevenly, like he’s getting worked up, and then puffing out his frustration again. But his face reads solemn, not angry at the thought of his family. 

Mirabel already hugs him by the time he finally says something.

“Kid, I miss you guys plenty.”

-tbc

[citrus-soda]

4, 5, 7!

4. My favorite fanart from the fandom

Woah this is a tough one! hmm. Man. Im the kind of person who has a hard time really narrowing down favorites at times.

off the top of my head... This drawing of keroro n dark keroro by putameke is super cool.

i love the lineart of this cute drawing of shinkeroro and blackstar by squishieeeeee

and the coloring style of this platoon group pic by soran is CRAZYYYY

97274's short comics (or well. the ones ive seen translated to english anyway) are fucking BONKERS like hourrghuhghgu. There's a few more aside from this one but i think they are a wee bit dark so ill spare you.

pyriteplates' comic of the day giroro got his scar is also super good.

You really cant go wrong with the stuff metoraronika over on twitter draws. So nice.

this doodle of the platoon driving a car is super fun

oh this one is real swell too :)

ok ok ill stop now. Point is. I like lots of stuff! moving on....

5. My favorite fanart from the fandom that I’ve drawn myself

Hm....... I have a special soft spot for my redesign of natsumi's movie 2 outfit. and the painting i did featuring it

I also still really like my drawing of keroro getting chased by a goose! took me ages to get that goose right.

naturally i like my giroaki sillies. i love 2 pioneer new and innovative ideas <3

also my semi-realism keronians those are fun

also this one below. this is good. i like 2 draw sily garuru

7. My least favorite character

OOOOOO hmmmm...

I really don't like the Japanese voice acting for officer Poyon and Lavie. They both sound WAY too forced and overly cutesy. it gets on my nerves. I hate Poyon's voice more than Lavie's by a long shot though.

Bariri might have a decent character design but he is very easily hateable. Man, his behavior is so... eugh. I do not like this guy.....

and ziv... i know ur a Kogoro / 556 truther but I'm sorry his episodes usually aren't that interesting to me. You may cyberbully me now <3

[civettictis]

Request: Schrödinger on the Hyperion bridge, because Mihoyo hasn't done it yet.

General question: What got you into art in the first place? I know my account clearly has a gimmick, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate your other works, so I'd like to know the "why"

wip 4 u while i work on it!!!

As for the question, Honestly, it's hard to say. If I were to summarize, I suppose I'd say I'm just an interest*-driven artist, and I've always looked up to other artists' skills and the work that they can create.

*interest, both interest in the topic of art, and my own personal interests such as the media I enjoy.

I've been drawing digitally for about 6 years (I'm 18 now), and as far as I can remember, my drawings have always had something to do with my interests. Fanart, in general, was one of the things that really made me want to take art more seriously (sounds silly!), because I tend to get REALLY invested in my interests, and fanart or OC content has been a good way for me to have been able to express this over the years, as well as something I've always enjoyed seeing others create.

Even though the whole "being able to express my ideas and love for something through art" has been one of the main factors to keep doing art, getting better at it has always driven me. It's not really like the whole "I need to be better than everyone" thing, and more that I really enjoy learning about the different aspects of art, and getting a lot of knowledge on the subject itself. (Don't get me wrong, doing studies and stuff drives me insane, but ultimately it's something I enjoy. Seeing my art progress over time, and being able to express my ideas more accurately the more I learn is always nice.)

Generally, I've always been lucky enough to have the people I know being encouraging when It came to my artwork (regardless of how suboptimal my art has been from time to time haha) so it's been rare for me to genuinely consider quitting art, and I've also developed a few habits over the years, like how I usually tend to draw at least once a day without any reason for it, have it be a minor doodle or a complete piece. (Some years back, I filled out a "one sketch a year" sketchbook I was gifted, so that might be where the habit mainly stemmed from lol) Drawing is just something I do, at this point. It's hard to imagine me not drawing. Sometimes I even wonder if I'm doing art Obsessively, but I enjoy it regardless.

Overall, I just really like drawing stuff that haunts my mind, and always have👍👍👍

[gaphic]

answer all of the artist questions or u a coward

WELL FUCK. OK

1. Art programs you have but don't use? Medibang Paint is the only one I can think of- everything happens in Procreate now!

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even)? definitely left, but right/front aren't too bad

3. What ideas come from when you were little? I'm not 100% sure I understand this one? My fairy fixation goes way back tho

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw? Boys.

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself. Probably a 90/10 split, tbh? At least 80/20. I don't post much of my art

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it) I feel like I don't really experience this with drawing? With writing and character creation definitely, but I feel like I'm conscious of all my biggest drawing inspos

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate? Hmmm. Legos

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in? Camp Cauldron

9. What are your file name conventions?

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw? Probably swishy skirts!

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what? Just my regular music

12. Easiest part of body to draw? Arms, probably

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing? I'm also not sure about this one? To me admiration goes hand in hand with liking... I respect a lot of artists whose work I'm not into though

14. Any favorite motifs? -patrick voice- is gender a motif?

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth) At home mainly, sometimes at work or just wherever I happen to be. I'm trying to spend more time in Third Places

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing? I can't think of anything? I'm getting better at enjoying every part of art

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what? No? I use my hands to draw

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken? Not that many tbh! I've always been very careful with my art things. A handful of pencils, surely

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.) Probably plants!

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy? HANDS I love drawing hands

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways? Art styles unlike my own are my favorites! Jamie Hewlett, @tanglefootcomic, @ampreh, and @maruti-bitamin to name a few

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any? I always do some light warmups/hand and arm stretches

23. Do you use different layer modes? Yes ofc, great shortcut for shading and lighting

24. Do your references include stock images? I don't have like, a set reference folder, I just google what I need. So yeah, that usually includes stock images!

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by? Scott Pilgrim

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended? I don't post enough for this to happen to me B)

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with? I warm up with spirals, connect the dots, and snake in a basket

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines) nope :\

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically? Oxymoronic. Everything I love inspires me

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated? I DON'T POST ENOUGH FOR THIS but my color study self-portrait was really good

[mymelodyisme]

If I understood it right you have sdv oc's? I'd love to know a few fun facts abt them🤗

Hiiiiii :) I apologize now for the length this post will take upon your screen.

I really only have Mys and the few people in her backstory 😭 (I can come up with some fun stuff for them now though :D)

Mys is mostly a self insert because I’ve gotten really into making her one but here’s a few fun facts about her!!

1. Before she moved into the valley she was actually way less colorful and looked a bit more classy and put together. Her boyfriend was a bit of a minimalist and snob and wasn’t a huge fan of bright colors. So she wore pale clothes, lots of skirts and dresses, her hair was usually long and tied up neatly, etc. I’d argue she also dyed her hair a few times to make it look more like a natural color (it’s naturally that pink/red shade). Three days before moving she bought a pair of overalls and had a wild time just adding a bunch of details to them, even if it wasn’t super well put together ☺️ (the space halo heart is my own logo btw lol)

2. Mys came into the farm life clueless, friendless, and lonely 100%. It’s why she’s so eager to befriend the townies and comes off a little strong. It’s also why she can’t say no and so quick to overexert herself if someone asks her for help 😭 if she knew that most people in town had no faith in her based off the way she looked and acted when she first arrived, she would likely cry. She’s probably a little too nice sometimes too 🥺 if you’re mean to her she’ll take it and cry alone later on.

3. She talks A LOT. When she gets to know you well enough she’ll just start talking about something she’s really into and go on for hours always finding something new to point out (poor Shane lol). I once said if she was a real character in the game one of her heart events would be her holding the farmer hostage as she explained the entire lore of her show after she invited them in to watch it with her. (I have done this myself so many times.) 😭 She’s also a bit of thoughtless speaker sometimes. Saying things a little too quickly before her brain processes it.

4. On her slow farm days she’ll stay inside and catch up on tv. She really likes trash tv drama and novellas. Adding to that, she’s a huge romantic. She swoons and sighs and hopes that someone would love her so strongly. Especially after what she went though with her ex 🥹 Other hobbies include: gaming, journaling (she picked this one up after she moved), taking as many photos as possible of everything, reading (comics, romance novels, and mysteries) daydreaming, and collecting things (stuffed animals mostly)

5. She loves a good lemonade and pizza! She doesn’t really drink (at least not until she met Shane 😭) and will go into the saloon to chat with Emily over lemonade. To win Shane’s friendship she started buying a pizza to share with him, and she’d sit patiently at a booth until he came in (on easy days.) she also goes around and says hi to everyone at least once. If she’s just having me-time, you can find her in a booth writing + doodling in her journal with a bunch of candy around her.

6. I just think this little fun fact is really cute but when she found out Shane loved peppers she planted some in her greenhouse so she’ll always have some to give or use for food. 🥺 (I have that in game 🤭 and she only gives him high quality ones)

7. She’s magic babey! ✨ the day before she moved her mom gave her a red brooch. After her grandpa passed away, he sent it to her mom with instructions to only give it to Mys when she decided to move to the valley. She only found out about it when the wizard pulled it towards him and suggested that someone in her family must have arcane experience.

😭😭 sorry that was so long. I’ll write like two facts about the others

The ex: dark brown hair, brown eyes, suits (lol idk)

1. Has no name yet 😩 Can he even count as a character?? Literally the worst boyfriend ever. He and Mys dated in high school up until he ghosted her a month before she moved. He been sleeping with her best friend, Celia, and then proceeded to elope with her. This man kept Mys around with jewelry, promises, and guilt.

2. He was an executive for Joja. Mys worked for the company because of him, and ultimately had to leave for that same reason. She found out about the elopement at the office, and had a long cry in the bathroom stalls. (Btw he totally gets his butt kicked by Shane at some point)

Celia: Blonde, thin, very pretty and model-like, wears a lot of tight clothes and has that one fake best friend voice

1. The “best friend,” the betrayer. She clung onto Mys because Mys was really easy to manipulate. 🥺 Wasn’t very nice to her at all but made her believe she loved her like a sister. When Mys met Haley it was like meeting a younger Celia. 🥹 I guess mys still missed her because she tried to be Haley’s friend despite how mean she was. Luckily, Haley actually becomes pretty nice and apologizes for her rude behavior.

2. She would absolutely be a modern day influencer. Perhaps she is (if phones exist in this interpretation 🤔 I like to think they do but pelican town can’t host then or something 😭)

Todd: 7ft tall, thin but definitely works out, looks like he has money and works with money, very serious and classy 😭

1. Mys’s Boyfriend year 3? She and Shane are already pretty established as smitten by the town but they’re both stuck at the fork in the road of to be or not to be. (At some point Mys finally makes her move only for him to reject her out of fear 😭). Anyways!! She was asked by mayor Lewis to take an important business trip into the city to meet with an investor who wanted to open the land for expansion and more agricultural work. He figured Mys, as the local farmer, would have better input. Shane was supposed to accompany her into the city but they got into a bit so she left alone (Shane realized he was being stupid and ran to catch the bus but jsut barely missed it, his missed opportunity at love 😭). The investor turned out to be a guy named Toddrick Theodore Tapps. He was quickly taken with her because she was just so lively of a person. He could not believe she was the local farmer. He decided to head back into the valley with her to visit the land and ended up staying in one of Mys’s spare rooms at the farmhouse. He didn’t help her on the farm at all, mostly just walked around took notes, and inspected the quality of everything.

2. He’s very jealous. He and Shane are constantly at each other’s throats. Mys told him all about her best friend Shane :) and he knew immediately that Mys was in love with him. 😭 he did NOT expect Shane to be so dingy tho which is funny. He mentioned that to his face too. (It doesn’t help that Todd TOWERS over the both of them and looks like he comes from old money.) He polices mys’s friendships a bit commenting how some of the townies are rather immature, some seem like terrible people, and in particular, that Shane is a bad influence on those around him. When she gets upset at his obvious disrespect he apologizes for saying things that hurt her feelings 😭 the man literally only puts up with Shane for her. I do think he is romantic though, and definitely what Mys imagined being romanced would be like. He’s pretty rich so he spoils her, and buys the town’s approval with generous donations.

3. He’s a bit of himself. He’s not a bad guy, but he does think he’s a quality man and he loves what he does. So when he asks Mys to move to the city with him where he’ll spoil her for the rest of her life he’s surprised that she actually wants to be a farmer dealing with dirt, grime, monsters, and all the things in between. This man genuinely tries to convince her to give up the farm, and even tries to make a compromise that the farm will still be up and running but they’ll hire people to tend to it. (He probably also suggested changing the name to something more serious). He and Mys get into a fight over it, and he tells her what time his bus to the city will be leaving. She wishes him well, and a happy life with a wife who shares his values, and doesn’t show up that day.

4. I like to imagine years down the line Mys and Shane are in the city doing some work and play when they run into him. Both parties find out that the other is engaged/married. And they make up. He still can’t believe Mys chose Shane tho 😭 “I thought you would choose him, but I’m still surprised. You seemed so smitten with him, but he didn’t look like he was ever going to make anything of that.”

[liz-and-the-blue-bird]

Good evening to me

Since I've gotten some new followers: "Good ___ to me" indicate long personal posts. You don't have to read them ofc, they're mostly for me down the line.

This is kind of a weird one, it's mostly reflective stuff today. I don't usually make these without a lot of negative or at least melancholic emotions to work through. Regardless, I want to stop writing about the recent ex, but a lot of this is going to be tangential to her, so she'll pop up a few times. However, I want to focus on some personal thoughts that I've been thinking about.

Here's a song.

Right at the end of February, I took an OCEAN test or a "Big Five Personality" test. This is actually unusual among personality tests, it is actually supported by Psych research. Results tend to not change over a long period of time, etc. etc. You can take it yourself here, and be sure to share with me your results! I'd love to see them. In the meantime, here are my results:

The Extraversion and Openness to experience being so high is unusual, I think. It means a lot of what makes me comfortable involves art and people, or perhaps as an extension of that, expressing myself and communicating. With this context in mind, I've started to look back at my personal history. Moments where I'm sad or melancholic, I tend to write. When I was very young, it started with poetry, but now it has evolved into these journal entries. And I guess the reason I prefer to make them public is because of that extraversion, that longing to communicate with people my ideas or emotion.

Speaking of, I found a bunch of old notebooks the first week of March. So I've been reading through them all. And by a lot, I mean a lot:

And then, even older notebooks.

You can tell these are older because I doodled things on them. I never doodle anymore.

The first batch, the moleskins and stuff like that are primarily journals. Or at the very least, notes on what happened. The one that is open actually started 4 days after the ex 8 years ago. After a week of being sad and noting every single thing that has been happening, it abruptly jumps 8 months to me complaining about something else because I was not a very consistent note taker.

Meanwhile the one with the bird on it is actually a poetry notebook, before I started preferring to write exclusively online aka in the tumblr editor. The last poem written in there is Sucks. Then I stopped writing poetry for a very long time, and a lot of my writing energy became these journal entries, as well as other stuff on this blog, usually regarding anime.

The older notebooks, the spirals, are pretty much all poetry notebooks back from middle school and early high school. Though there's a few where I just doodled a bunch. They date all the way back to end of middle school.

But the poems SUCK. Like they're REALLY BAD. Most of them are actually on DeviantArt however, so they actually had an audience. Had.

I enjoyed looking through them. Interestingly, a lot of the love poems in them are reference to my first first girlfriend in middle school/high school. There was even a photo of us from back then, which was a big surprise. I don't remember much from her other than, well, making out a lot. I liked making out. I still do, but it started there.

We were a problem. We made out on all the band trips home. We would be late to band practice because I had brought her to a quiet corner of the school to just make out with her straddling me or me grabbing her butt. We made out so much in the practice rooms that the band directors ended up putting up signs in the band room saying to limit PDA ("no purpling" I think is what they said).

But I digress. I don't know her anymore. And she has such a common name that I wouldn't be able to stalk her if I wanted to.

Here's an indie song I just learned about and have recently been obsessed with.

I already kind of feel normal. I have spikes down but I've started waking up at 7/10 instead of 3/10 and winding up. 7/10 is about my default state. 10/10 is like... On a date with a girlfriend who I know is excited to be with me. 1/10 is trying to decide if life is worth living. 7/10 is "would dance to One Direction if it started playing right now".

I had a moment about a month after the break up where I just had a really bad breakdown. It was a combination of some more bottled up thoughts about the relationship that I had trouble finding a reason to write down or tell anyone and how poorly I had been taking care of myself and my surroundings because of my mental state. And I told it all out to a very old friend of mine. She comforted me but she said something that has made me feel better the most since the break up happened.

"But the fact that you're here, telling me this in this moment, just shows how much you cared and how much you can care for people."

It made me feel better. A lot better.

My capacity to care.

I care about a lot of things, very deeply, and often for very little reason. Stuff like the most efficient route to work, or my specific boba order that tries to get the "most drink per drink." How I tend to pause and stare at the sky for no real reason other than it's there and I won't see another like it. How I overthink things and memorize useless things. But this is the first time that that I've been told and thus realized, that it is no weakness or weirdness.

It's a strength. It's just me. A tremendous capacity to care.

I've been holding on to that ever since. I hope I don't forget it. Because from my old poetry and journal entrees, I tend to let girls and myself gaslight me into thinking that me caring about them so much, "too much" is a fault of my own. It isn't.

It isn't. It isn't. It isn't.

It is simply me.

But anyway.

I've started talking to a new girl. I've made it clear I just got out of a relationship, just to be fair to her, and tbh I'm not super certain on her, but it feels like I just want to see where this goes. I just really really want to meet people right now.

I think I have always had this fetish for nostalgia. Where I couldn't fall in love with anyone who I hadn't known for a long time. I think I learned about this very recently, and was why I was so aromatic until I re-met the ex. When I realized it, I started thinking I needed to grow out of it in some way. Especially if I'm actively trying to meet someone new. It's not that I wouldn't open up to people, I've always been a chronic oversharer (see, um, this entire tumblr post series), but rather I wouldn't feel supremely comfortable with people until I knew them for years.

But then a friend told me that my music taste is nostalgia. After I linked her that song I just linked. Because a lot of songs I send to her have this nostalgic feeling, even between different bands, genres, languages. Sometimes it's sad nostalgia, sometimes it's happy nostalgia, but it's definitely a longing for something deep and sentimental.

And I had just learned about that song.

This changed my feelings towards my "nostalgia fetish." I don't think I am looking for people who I have known for years. It just so happens that lot of my closest friends are that because I'm old and that's just how friends are when you're old. But I think it's moreso I'm looking for someone who has this same sentimentality. This same depth of emotion when looking at something old or close to them. My fetish for nostalgia isn't nostalgia for the person, but nostalgia in the person.

At least, I hope so.

Whatever, I'm looking forward to meeting new people.

Last song.

Many years ago, I remember the first time I felt normal after that break up. It was like 10 or 11pm and I was bringing someone home. They lived in Round Rock but I lived in downtown Austin, since I was a UT student at the time. After dropping them off, I still had like a 20 minute drive and I had just learned that The Summer Set's album, Legendary, had a deluxe edition, which that song I just linked is a part of. I look them up on youtube and hit play.

And on that drive home I found peace, somehow. I remember stopping before getting to the highway, next to a unkempt grassy field, and standing there, looking at the sky. I missed the sky and stars. I missed that hour drive home from her house when it was getting dark and you could see the constellations because I was between 2 medium sized cities. I missed that bumpy road that seemed perpetually under construction and twisted and winded and didn't make sense. I was a lonely boy who didn't have a place that felt like home and didn't know where he was going to end up. But I knew and, at least in that moment, was fine with it.

I still am that boy. But that constantly under construction road got finished in the past 8 years. That starry sky was gone, I noticed, from our drives to Austin together—too many small towns and buildings had popped up, too much light pollution. I thought I found a place person like home but it was a dusty extended stay motel that I ended up staying at for 5 months, with too high of a rent and a crummy landlord.

Last time I felt over her, I remember saying that my daydreams no longer had a girl on my shoulder. I felt really aromatic. Really antisocial. I became an island. And I don't know if I'm trying to replace her or what, but I don't think that will happen this time. I might be fine without a partner, but I know I am better with one. I know I'm ready.

For anything, really.