venom-for-free

[venom-for-free]

City of Lights 2

It's the last day of 2024, and City of Lights 2, the continuation of our cyberpunk slash mafia rivaere fic is finished. 45 chapters. Over 190,000 words (again!). @venom-for-free and I couldn't be prouder.

As usual, we have to thank Taedae for helping us with this project. Without her, it wouldn't be as good.

If you've missed Jena and Paradis, buckle up, because it's going to be a bumpy ride ending with a bang. Or two.

Summary: "Home. Eren blinks. Where’s home? All around him, needle-like skyscrapers stab the dark sky. People recoil, stare, point their smartphones and other overpriced tech shit at him. Lifeless eye implants focus and record. This isn’t home. It’s— A voice whispers into his ear. He has to get moving. Has to find Levi. Won’t be able to confuse the pigs for much longer. Don’t pick a fight. Run." - OR: It's summer in Jena and Paradis. The colorful streets shimmer and shine under the neon lights—until they don't. Police sirens tear through the chatter and laughter. Someone's on the loose. Something is happening. The city of lights never rests.

Chapters: 45/45

TW: Graphic depiction of violence, Angst, Gang Violence, Gun Violence, Drug Use, Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Class Differences/Social inequities talk, Child Death, Minor Character Death, Dysfunctional Family, explicit sex (see Ao3 for the full list of tags)

Ships: rivaere, Eren and Levi had past relationships, background relationships between secondary characters (honestly too many to list)

Illustrated: cards about the characters and places by @venom-for-free

Are you ready to travel to Jena and the sunken district of Paradis again?

Put some headphones on (yes, @venom-for-free also created a playlist for you) and get ready!

Read on Ao3

[venom-for-free]

Another drawing made for City of Lights, the rivaere cyberpunk mafia AU I'm writing with @venom-for-free. Reference (main one)

[venom-for-free]

Shrouded in a Sinful Mist

A City of Lights' side story.

Drawing by @venom-for-free, my partner in crime, and story by me.

Summary: “The exhaustion Erwin has been keeping at bay for hours slithers into his brain and drags him into a deeper swamp. The brackish water can’t hide his numerous, faceless victims, those people he led to an awful end. He should stop fighting, sink and drown right here and now. That’s what he deserves. That’s what would be truly right.” There's no rest for the wicked, so it's only justice Chief of Police Erwin Smith can't get a single moment of peace. But sometimes he dares to dream of a better life with his daughter and the man he shouldn't love.

Chapter: 2/2

TW: explicit drug use, suicide ideation

Ships: Erwin/Farlan

Read on Ao3

[venom-for-free]

friends

[venom-for-free]

my favorites from the s4 key animation book

[venom-for-free]

That ol’ chart of mine makes the rounds online periodically and it drives me crazy because it’s frankly not very good. So, I finally got around to remaking it.

I doubt this will get anywhere near as popular, but I wanted to make it.

Good reference for animation, comics, and for visualizing phonetics!

[venom-for-free]

Some art posting tips for the artists migrating over here, as a Certified Tumblr Artist Veteran™️ who's never stopped posting here in a decade:

1. Don't add links under all of your posts

It means they won't show up in search results or tags, it's better to have the one pinned post with links at the top of your blog or links in your description. Alternatively like I do, you can keep links out of posts when you're just posting your art on its own, then only add them to posts that are specifically calling to visit another site (e.g. you're promoting a Kickstarter)

2. You don't need to use really specific tags like on Instagram, and the first 20 ones you use are the ones that count

I remember a few years back it was passed around that the key to getting attention on Instagram was using alternating niche tags, but now some artists just do it everywhere when it won't really do you any favours here.

The first 20 tags you use are the ones that appear in search results, the best general tags to use are #art and #artists on tumblr then after that use ones more specific to you such as say, #illustration or #digital art (also notice these have spaces between the words as tags mostly do on this website)

3. Keep your posts pretty and clean looking

A lot of users can be particular about what they have on their blog because they're trying to keep it clean and aesthetic looking, if your posts are overall pleasing to the eye including the description I've found people are more likely to reblog your posts. That means avoiding massive paragraphs with needless hashtags in the description, and uploading high-quality photosets of your work that shows off the pretty details of your artworks!

As a general rule if you have a bunch of sketches or similar images they'll do much better as a photo set than posting them all individually, unlike on other social media posts do better with quality over quantity, and your post won't "expire" after like 24 hours - people will keep reblogging a post for years here especially artworks.

4. Submit to blogs

One downside for a new artist posting here is there's no algorithm to show you to random strangers to get a momentum going, and it can be hard starting off from nothing because of this. However, if you search around you'll find that there are quite a few art curation blogs here who will be happy to either reblog your art or take submissions and post your art on your behalf with links back to your blog. Just be sure it's a blog that's actively looking for artists and not a random user that you're pestering to promote your work, they usually indicate in their description that they're accepting submissions.

Some examples: @artistalley @sosuperawesome @littlealienproducts @art @supersonicart

You may even find yourself drawing the attention of the Tumblr staff who run multiple art promotion blogs and often feature artists on the Tumblr Radar (it's a little spotlight section visible both on mobile and desktop that features your post to the whole userbase, and it's very exciting getting an email that you've been selected! :D)

5. Read the tags under your posts

Due to an old habit that the website collectively held onto from the days where replies hadn't been added to posts yet, a lot of people use the tags to basically ramble their thoughts under a post they're reblogging.

What does this have to do with artists? Well a lot of people will think out loud in the tags about your art and you can read them all under your post, I find it really supportive and endearing and it's one of my favourite things about posting here!

6. Customise your blog on desktop

Something that new users who only use Tumblr on mobile might not notice is that your blog actually has its own webpage on desktop outside of the app with the URL "yourusernamehere(dot)tumblr(dot)com"

You can actually customise this page in HTML and there's a lot of premade layouts called "themes" either available for free or buyable in marketplaces - this can be a pretty accessible and cheap alternative to a custom portfolio website if you don't have one!

I hope some of this is useful, good luck with getting your art in front of new eyes! 💫

[venom-for-free]

I'm SO excited, everyone!

It's the holiday season again and just like last year, the Superfan #otayuri server decided to create an advent calendar! Without further ado, let me introduce you to the participants!

@004mog​

@kaleidodreams​

@jnlostt​

@the-lazy-panda​

@madamredwrites​

@pllsetskyonice​

@schaladresdan​

@scribblesinthemargins​

@tigersandheroes​

@soulstoned69​

@taedae-nextrea​

[venom-for-free]

just some pointers for returning artists/blogs!

don't feel like you have to "art dump" the work you've made while you've been gone. post your art separately and schedule it! increase that visibility! let all your work be appreciated!

tumblr high-traffic times are the evenings, while twitter's were mornings. keep that in mind for posting, no matter your timezone!

tags are your best friends. use general tags (#artists on tumblr, #illustration, any media/character names for fanworks, descriptive terms for original work like "cat" and "kitten" for your pet's portrait, etc). keep your most important tags in the first five!

maybe even include a tag directory on your blog!

seriously, work I made a decade ago still gets notes because of tags

reblog your own work as often as you like! please do, it helps with visibility and there's no limit to how often you can

most importantly, have fun, be kind, and support other artists!!!

[venom-for-free]

~ETSY STORE OPEN~

Hello Everyone~! As the title of this post says, my Etsy store is now open, I have a few prints to chose from!

If you’re interested, then click here!

The store will be open from 14/02/22 12am - 15/03/22 12am (UTC+11), after which I’ll begin printing and shipping. (All prices are in AUD)

As this is a hobby of sorts, I’m not sure if I will be doing this sort of thing again, however depending on how this goes I may decide to turn this into a small business venture.

If you have any questions, please feel free to message me!

Thank you all for your support!

[venom-for-free]

Kiss me like you mean it.

[venom-for-free]

@otayuriweek21, Day 7: Celebration

Happy birthday, Otabek! Crafted this piece last year for the Holidays!!! On Ice zine as a collaboration with the lovely @venom-for-free! Please check out her companion fic, Sweet Drama! It's fantastic and it (and she) deserves all the love!

[venom-for-free]

When Yuri went to visit Otabek in Kazakhstan for the first time, Otabek knew exactly where to take him ✨🌟

Fun quick drawing to practice background and no line work

[venom-for-free]

Valentine, Stay Fandom: Yuri!!! On Ice Rating: Teen Pairings: Phichimetti

Description: Despite Valentine’s Day being more than one special event, Chris throws a party in celebration focused the holiday of love instead. Of course, it also being his birthday has its own benefits, but it’s that part of of February 14th that fills his heart with joy. The well-wishes and gifts are nice, but the company and happiness of those he cared about was sweeter than any box of chocolates.

As the party winds down, however, and Chris says goodbye to his guest, one of them lingers, his own focus on his best friend’s special day and why Chris seems to be finishing the event off by himself. After all, no one should be alone on their birthday.

Written for the @yoiholidayzine​ zine as a fic+art collaboration with @venom-for-free​

[venom-for-free]

Hi

I’ll keep my things here as an archive, but I won’t post things as regularely anymore. If you want to stay informed, find me on Twitter or Instagram. ♥

Too many plattforms to keep track off, too little motivation.

[venom-for-free]

Emerald Dreams: Sour Edition Fandom: Yuri!!! On Ice Rating: Teen Pairings: Otayuri

Description: They never speak about it. The breakup. But they don’t talk about anything anymore. Their once regular video calls just … stop. No gentle fading, no hesitant attempts to keep up appearances, to make amends, even though Yuri’s phone loyally reminds him about them every Saturday evening. But Otabek’s a man of his word, or rather Yuri’s, and doesn’t even try dialling him. Though maybe it’s for the best. Yuri isn’t sure he’d pick up the call if he did. It’s just … easier this way.

At least that’s what he keeps telling himself the day after. The week after. The month after. He repeats the mantra every time he steps onto the rink, as if it’ll make the ice reflected in his heart any easier to bear. But what more can he do? He has to keep going, has to keep fighting, has to keep winning.

But he’s failing.

–

Yuri and Otabek break up after an explosive misunderstanding. And now, they both have to find a way to live with the consequences of their fallout. Somehow.

(Mind the tags) 

Birthday gift for @venom-for-free​!

[venom-for-free]

New chapter of Roots Before Branches!

@madamredwrites​ and I wrote a YouTube AU for your Otayuri needs! It updates on Tubesdays. Rated E.

Dark Horse Active live stream for 6 minutes. 4 viewers

Now it will be five. Yuri clicks the link, hasty, as he tosses the bag with his training clothes to the side. Lilia would wash them eventually. When he’s done with his ritual, he’ll be good and get up. Then he’ll drop them into a basket, and that’s where they will turn into her problem. But right now, something else is on his mind.

Someone.

--

or: Yuri is a ballet dancer with a passion for good music. He follows a pretty unknown DJ and falls in love with him through his music without ever seeing his face. Yuri ends up making his own channel and his crush follows him back. What now?