#and learning that way. which works great for me but also i write a function how i think and then go to improving it after

[leaving-fragments]

waking up at 5am is crazy, i've done two hours of work, watched an hour long episode of my show and had breakfast pancakes and my flatmates aren't even awake yet

[vaspider]

While I'm writing things that I've been intending to write for a while... one of the things that I think that a lot of people who haven't been involved in like... banking or corporate shenaniganry miss about why our economy is its current flavor of total fuckery is the concept of "fiduciary duty to shareholders."

"Why does every corporation pursue endless growth?" Fiduciary duty to shareholders.

"Why do corporations treat workers the way they do?" Fiduciary duty to shareholders.

"Why do corporations make such bass-ackwards decisions about what's 'good for' the company?" Fiduciary duty to shareholders.

The legal purpose of a corporation with shareholders -- its only true purpose -- is the generation of revenue/returns for shareholders. Period. That's it. Anything else it does is secondary to that. Sustainability of business, treatment of workers, sustainability and quality of product, those things are functionally and legally second to generating revenue for shareholders. Again, period, end of story. There is no other function of a corporation, and all of its extensive legal privileges exist to allow it to do that.

"But Spider," you might say, "that sounds like corporations only exist in current business in order to extract as much money and value as possible from the people actually doing the work and transfer it up to the people who aren't actually doing the work!"

Yes. You are correct. Thank you for coming with me to that realization. You are incredibly smart and also attractive.

You might also say, "but Spider, is this a legal obligation? Could those running a company be held legally responsible for failing their obligations if they prioritize sustainability or quality of product or care of workers above returns for shareholders?"

Yes! They absolutely can! Isn't that terrifying? Also you look great today, you're terribly clever for thinking about these things. The board and officers of a corporation can be held legally responsible to varying degrees for failing to maximize shareholder value.

And that, my friends, is why corporations do things that don't seem to make any fucking sense, and why 'continuous growth' is valued above literally anything else: because it fucking has to be.

If you're thinking that this doesn't sound like a sustainable economic model, you're not alone. People who are much smarter than both of us, and probably nearly as attractive, have written a proposal for how to change corporate law in order to create a more sensible and sustainable economy. This is one of several proposals, and while I don't agree with all of this stuff, I think that reading it will really help people as a springboard to understanding exactly why our economy is as fucked up as it is, and why just saying 'well then don't pursue eternal growth' isn't going to work -- because right now it legally can't. We'd need to change -- and we can change -- the laws around corporate governance.

This concept of 'shareholder primacy' and the fiduciary duty to shareholders is one I had to learn when I was getting my securities licenses, and every time I see people confusedly asking why corporations try to grow grow grow in a way that only makes sense if you're a tumor, I sigh and think, 'yeah, fiduciary duty to shareholders.'

(And this is why Emet and I have refused to seek investors for NK -- we might become beholden to make decisions which maximize investor return, and that would get in the way of being able to fully support our people and our values and say the things we started this company to say.)

Anyway, you should read up on these concepts if you're not familiar. It's pretty eye-opening.

[lazycats-stuff]

Hiiii! I was wondering if u could so a batfam x deaf male reader? Where everyone in the family knows sign language and all that. But during one of Bruce's galas the reader gets kidnapped and no one's knows until Damian notices that his younger brothers not there anymore? U can decide how u wanna finish it and its completely if Ur not comfortable writing it. Also I love Ur writing 😙

Oh hell yeah. Thank you for loving my questionable writing though.

Summary: (Y/N) is deaf. That doesn't help him when he gets kidnapped.

Warnings: kidnapping, protective family, fluff I guess...

Bruce was protective of all of his children. But he was more protective of (Y/N), his youngest child. Why? The reason is very simple. (Y/N) has been deaf since birth and that made Bruce beyond protective. (Y/N)'s brothers were no better than Bruce. Of course, they knew that deaf people could function normally in society. They knew that very well.

However, problem lies in two points.

First one being that they live in Gotham City. Crime is rampant, criminals are absolutely everywhere and the fact is that you get mugged at any point during the day or night. Although most of criminal life in Gotham operates during the night, no one wants to take any chances.

And even though (Y/N) doesn't go on patrol, Bruce still worried about his youngest son. Always has and always been.

The four birds shared the same sentiment. Everyone made sure to learn sign language and how to live with a deaf person. Rules were determined, such as, if entering (Y/N)'s room, just push your hand in and then flicker the lights on and off to signalize that you are entering. Don't approach (Y/N) from behind because he would often get spooked.

(Y/N)'s own words.

The second problem lies in the last name Wayne. Bruce Wayne is a well known businessman in the world. And the world of business is like a sea full of sharks. Bruce knew that very well. One drop of blood and they would be out for you and your weaknesses. And one of those is your public image.

Bruce was a proud father, attending anything that his children might have. Anything there is. He wants to be there for his kids, sue him. He would never allow work to take him away from his children. And the way he presents himself in the public is the way he is. More often than not, he hates how many people can be ignorant about deafness.

Sure, some may be genuinely curious about it and the questions come from a genuine place of interest. Unfortunately, such people are far few in between. Bruce can sniff them out rather quickly. More often then not, they often look condescending. Which is a rather judgmental way of looking at people, yes, but it's obvious.

Whenever they had a gall, one of the boys would be with (Y/N) to translate. And despite the fact that (Y/N) can read lips, he's not a fan of that. If someone turns their head and he can't see their lips, it gets more complicated.

Even now, as they are at the gala full of people, (Y/N) stuck close to his brothers, needing a translator. Bruce and others often rotated, to make sure that (Y/N) knows what's going on and that he's in the loop. (Y/N) was happy with that he wasn't out of the loop. It's not a good feeling to be out of the loop. Hearing or not.

He signed to Jason that he was going to go to the bathroom, who nodded, sipping his drink.

Jason signed back. " Sure, go ahead. I'll be moving around so don't expect to find me here. "

(Y/N) nodded and started walking to the bathroom. Jason glanced at him for the last time before moving to the table with food, ready for a snack. He was hungry and the catering at galas is just great since rich people pay for it. AKA Bruce Wayne pays for it and he also loves good food.

As Jason went to the food table, (Y/N) was on his way to the bathroom. He was about to enter when someone grabbed him from behind, putting a cloth over his mouth. (Y/N) panicked and tried to remember the self defense that he was taught. He tried to break free from the person, but the smell of the cloth made him go out cold.

Something was off. Damian glanced around the room, trying to spot what that something could have been bothering him so much. His eyes moved around the room, trained to find anything out of the normal. Then it hit him.

Where is (Y/N)?

Damian moved around the room discreetly, trying to figure out where he went. He talked to Jason about it and Jason told him about (Y/N) going to the bathroom. But that was far too long ago... Damian now became more suspicious and worried. He was on edge. He could feel himself getting more and more restless, his mind screaming at him that something is wrong.

He quickly walked over to his family as they all took a chance to breathe on the balcony. Damian made sure that they had some sort of privacy.

" Are you alright Damian? " Bruce asked, glancing over Damian. He could feel that something is wrong with Damian.

" I'm not alright father. I can't seem to find (Y/N) anywhere. " He crossed his arms as he leaned on the railing of the balcony. Everyone tensed up at that.

" Hold on, he went to the bathroom the last time I talked to him, " Jason declared and Damian nodded.

" But it's been far too long though, " Damian countered the point.

" Did he come to anyone, at all? " Bruce asked and everyone shook their heads.

" Okay, maybe he went to his room, " Tim said, trying to provide a logical explanation. " But he would have told one of us where he would go. He would find one of us and he would tell us... " Tim muttered, now worried himself.

" Should we check the security cameras? " Dick asked, worried, but trying not to show it.

" I'll check the cameras near the bathroom. " Bruce took his phone out of his pocket and going into his security feed.

Jason remained silent, feeling guilty that he didn't notice sooner. Bruce noticed and put his hand on his shoulder. " Do not blame yourself Jason. Please. You couldn't have known. This is our home and none of us should be on guard in our own home, " Bruce murmured and Jason sighed.

Bruce brought Jason into a hug. " (Y/N)'s going to be fine. We are going to find him quickly. "

Dick and Tim furrowed their brows. " What do you mean? " Dick asked.

" You 4 have to swear to me that you won't tell (Y/N), " Bruce stepped away from Jason and everyone muttered that they won't tell.

" I put a tracker on his suit. It's a small one, " Bruce admitted and everyone was shocked by it. They knew that their suits that they wear for their vigilante activities have trackers on them, but a normal suit, for galas and other events...

" It's only when we are at galas and such. There's no tracker on him 24/7, " Bruce elaborated before his sons could accuse him of something.

" Well, we can't tell (Y/N). But lets go get (Y/N) please, " Tim said and everyone nodded.

" I'll have Alfred make something up and we'll make a story so it doesn't seem suspicious about why we didn't know (Y/N) was taken. "

And that's what happened. They concocted a story about it and once Batman dropped him off at GCPD, Bruce came in as a worried father. Media had a field day with the story, a father and son reuniting after a such traumatic event. Bruce couldn't care less about them, his sons are his priority. Screw the media.

Understandably, (Y/N) was shaken up by the entire ordeal. Anyone would be shaken up after being kidnapped in their own home, but with (Y/N) being deaf, he couldn't hear anyone walking up to him. Not to mention, they put a bag over his head. Being in the dark, not being able to hear...

It tugged at Bruce's heartstrings. The other 4 weren't immune either. Damian, the normally stoic one, was affected by that aspect. Even he saw how scary it was. Not being able to see due to the bag over your head and not being able to hear because you are deaf sounds like hell. Damian saw it as a form of torture. And in a way it is. Sensory depravation. Only being able to feel with your touch or feel vibrations, but still...

Damian still shuddered as he tried to envision it.

The other 3 shared the very same sentiment.

And even now, as (Y/N) was with them, on the couch, bundled up in blankets, sipping some herbal tea that Alfred made to calm him down. Both Bruce and Alfred were trying to calm him down too. Bruce was going to find a therapist for (Y/N), that much is sure. It would have to be someone who can sign though...

Well, he'll make sure to find one. For now, he'll focus on making sure that (Y/N) is calm enough to try and sleep. Buce knew that adrenaline was still pumping, but that it will stop soon and (Y/N) would essentially crash.

Everyone sat around (Y/N), trying to calm him and make him feel safe again. Bruce and Tim were going to see how in God's name they managed to get into the manor. This place is more safer than Pentagon, designed to keep any intruder out. And he was going to find out why they wanted to kidnap him.

The best bet was probably money, but then again, you never know. And Bruce was going to make sure that he knew why. You have to nip the problem in the bud.

[heretherebeturtles-comic]

Hello! Many people have said this but ill say it too, I LOVE YOUR COMIC SO MUCH ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

I really wanted to ask you about how you do the backgrounds? (Something i struggle with) whats the process? Like from start to finish, also, to do the rise backgrounds do you use reference from the show and generally real photo of ny? Or do you come up with them? And last question- The shadow and light on the background- Like HOW

i know it’s a lot of questions but i’m just so curious qwq and wanna learn to be better, thank you again in case you read this and respond, in case you don’t, i hope you have a nice day and a wonderful life uwu keep up the great work! (≧◡≦) ♡

Backgrounds are a really broad subject and I'm always a little overwhelmed when asked this question. Just like drawing the human body, backgrounds take time, repetition, and practice!

My answer got a bit long, so it's going under a read more :) but if you digest info better in video format I found this on youtube

It pretty much goes over everything I wanted to say, but in a much better way. I wish I had found it before writing all this out lol

ok, first of all, I'm not a teacher nor was I built to be one of those cool helpful art tutorial people who do a full coloured tutorial filled with illustrations. This is just going to be a messy "how I do backgrounds / environment layouts from start to finish." kinda thing.

... lets start with a sight tangent.

Sketch from Life!!!

If you want to get better at backgrounds I recommend doing some sketching out in the real world!

When I was first getting into doing backgrounds I went to cafes and parks to just sketch the buildings and objects. Sketch rocks, flowers, clumps of grass, garbage cans, bottles, tables, street signs, etc. If you are drawing a tree observe how the trunks twist, how the bark flows, or how the leaves are bunched.

If you can't leave the house the same still applies! Sketch the interiors of your house, the walls, or common objects like chairs and bookshelves. How are objects stacked? items on the floor?

If you aren't comfortable with drawing outside or in public you can take some photos to draw from! They are good for practice and you can use them again as references later. Alternatively you can find pictures online of buildings and objects to sketch as practice.

All spaces have objects in them, it becomes easier to draw those kinds of spaces when you already have spent time observing and sketching them.

ALSO! They don't have to be good sketches! It's just to build out your mental catalogue and strengthen your perception of perspective.

now the actual thing...

BACKGROUNDS

(the pictures used for this are my own. I dug them out of my 2022 folder)

Backgrounds have slightly different rules based on what you are making them for. Videogame Environment Concept Art vs Animation Layouts vs Comic Backgrounds vs Illustration backgrounds.

They all follow the same basics, which I will go over here, but the intention and function of those designs are going to be different. It's all about how you set up the scene and what it's purpose is!

Brainstorming and Thumbnailing

I like to think about a location as though it is a character. An abandoned old house with creaky sagging floorboards is very different from a futuristic space ship with sharp metal floor panels. A gas station has a very different feeling from a library.

I usually start by asking what is this location's story? Why was it built and for what purpose? What kinds of things does this room need to fulfill that purpose? You don’t need solid answers, but its good to be thinking about it while you are working.

Next, sketch some ideas for how this place is going to look. For me, this usually involves drawing the idea from multiple angles and then making lists & small sketches of the objects I think should be filling the space.

Example: The main character of my original work is a Wanderer. They collect a lot of things on their travels, but those items have to be small enough to be easily carried in a backpack. I wanted his room to be in the corner of an attic, walled off by curtains, and filled with trinkets. You can see some of my brainstorming above.

References

I only look for references after I've done some sketching and planning; this is to solidify my idea first so that I don't accidentally copy anyone else's work. I will make a moodboard with pictures of lighting, colours, items, rooms with specific ceiling beams, old chairs, etc. basically whatever I feel fits the vibe.

Honestly, I don't use references as much as I should. For ROTTMNT fanart I look at backgrounds and screenshots from the series to study the style. I also reference actual photos of NYC to get a feel for how Rise condenses the visual information.

In general, it's good to have references of real life objects/locations, because there are so many details like cracks in pavement, stickers on polls, crowning on buildings, fancy fencing, weird chair legs, etc. that you might not think of. It's the imperfect details that can make a location feel more alive.

Perspective

Once you have your chosen sketch we move to.... the infamous perspective boxes. Doing backgrounds is just learning to be comfortable drawing So Many boxes and carving items out of them.

Many better artists than myself have made videos on perspective, vanishing points, and all the technical bits. Videos like THIS ONE and THIS ONE are helpful (this post is great too!!). There are probably a lot of classes to be found on Skillshare or Schoolism. I learned a lot of this in my college art course, so I can't give you a specific video which helped me.

You can get by and be a good artist without learning this stuff. There are quite a few successful artists who have admitted they never bothered to learn perspective (one of these people even made a whole graphic novel series).

I personally avoided properly learning this stuff until I was in my 20s because I thought it would be boring and difficult to do. tbh I really wish I had learned it earlier because it's so much fun to make those silly little boxes imo. It looks scary and complicated but, just like drawing humans, it just takes time, repetition, and practice to develop the knowledge and skills.

Cleanup

You have your boxes and lines! Cool! Now to make a scene out of it. Fill in the details, get everything placed were you want it! Generally, the lines of each item will point back towards the horizon line, but they can have different perspective points.

Generally you would want to clean it up and get your room completely sketched before doing the lineart. I tend to combine the steps (not recommended)

Lineart

I've mentioned how I do this before. Closer objects have thicker lines and more detailed inside. Further objects have thinner lines and less detail. I didn't quite achieve that balance with the image below, but it's close enough.

Colours and Shading will have to be a separate post. In the meantime, I highly recommend the book "Color and Light" by James Gurney. I used to borrow it from my local library and a good chunk of my knowledge was learned from it :)

[th0rnback]

Do you have any headcanons that tend to translate into your writing?

Oooooo, that is a good'un. I’ve been in this fandom so long sometimes I forget what is headcanon and what’s canon 🫠

Buuuuut, I’m sure some of these might be shared with lots of folks, yet off the top of my head:

⭕Edward wears gloves not so much to hide his automail, but to soften it. Metal joints pinch. He learned this the hard way when shaking someone’s hand. It genuinely upset/embarrassed/made him self conscious for a while after that event. ⭕Alphonse always like the barn cats since he was small, yet moreso after Trisha’s death. He liked to entice them into the house of an evening for the warmth and comfort. The house didn’t feel quiet so empty when filled with a patter of paws or rumbling purrs.

⭕Ed’s an ugly crier and he is SUPER self aware of this fact, while he is trying to ‘keep a stiff upper lip’ he also has the worse poker face known to mankind (which I guess can be canon? Because the sweet bean was a mess at Trisha’s funeral, howling at the sky with snot) ⭕Al, even when human and back when kids, is the better liar. He’s got a good poker face (even without the helm) and the street cred of polite sweetness.

⭕Roy hides it well and because irony is key: Roy gets anxious around horses. As a kid a mounted MP’s horse nipped him and Chris presumed this is why he is still Not A Fan of the hooved beasts…. In reality, watching a group of Ishvalan’s get trampled when the cavalry arrived on scene made him realize how terrifyingly powerful such animals are (cue his anxiety over FoM!Ed being so tiny around an animal with hooves bigger than the kids skull)   ⭕ Riza doesn't like being ignored. She can deal with it, but it does make her hackles rise. There is something about being so blankly disregarded she finds as rude yet know, deep known, its because she spent too much of her youth with a father who barely spared her a glance, absorbed in his work... until he suddenly was like ''yo lovely daughter, need to borrow that skin on your back for a second'' ⭕Riza is very good at leg sweeping, hip checking, or just thwacking the back of Roy's knees because when he came to live as her father's apprentice at their crumbling rural manor house, she took great joy tripping him up in the corridors to the point it became a game.

⭕Havoc was nominated for first aider training for their unit. He drew the short straw. Hated every second of the weekend long training he got shoved into. The team make frequent jokes they were hoping to improve his experience, as his dating life is piss-poor and doing CPR would be is only form of ‘kissing’.

⭕ Riza’s a tea-a-holic (which could be canon? Girl be drinking tea in a lot of manga panels). She likes tea due to the variety of scents and finds the method of brewing/preparing it as a form of decompression/keeps her mind blank and hands busy because there are only many times she can dismantling and cleaning her service weapons to a pristine condition before someone presumes she has OCD.

⭕Roy isn’t very good with the scent of fatty meat being cooked. He can deal with it, but sometimes, on The Bad Days™the scent can send him reeling. (This was mostly inspired given how my paternal grandfather was a tank-man during ww2 and my uncle had the horrors of playing with flame throwers in other dumb-mens-wars and neither of them could cope with the smell of smoked bacon of fat-heavy meat).

⭕Fuery is blind AF without his glasses…. Probably me projecting like hell as poor sighted dweeb with thick glasses and also how I HATE that characters in fiction get their glasses off and can FUNCTION DURING CHAOS??? LIKE, NO. EVERYTHING IS BLURRY AND SCARY. MATE, I ONCE LOST MY GLASSES IN THE AMAZING MAZE OF MAIZE AND I FELT LIKE I WAS IN THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE. Also, during a paintball match, I had to forgo my glasses because the eye protective googles didn’t like me wearing them, so I was just blindly taking people out and running into trees, but that’s another story. Rant over.

⭕Maes & Gracia had experienced pregnancy loss before they finally had Elicia: its why the two of them cherish her so much

Annnnnd... I'll stop. Otherwise we are gonna end up with a sickeningly large amount and I fear I'll bore you. 💖

[li-an-nie]

Blue Lock Headcanoas!!

mainly complementary for my ao3 Bastard Truth, but also just thought of them on the way

in no particular order

Hiori:

he’s a lot harsher and more honest/crude with his roommates Isagi, Kurona and Yukimura than with others

usually very nice and sweet to strangers and new friends, as we can see with his first meeting with Isagi and Nanase, obviously on the soccer field he’s more aggressive, but now that he has found his true purpose and he has gotten comfortable with his friend group, he lets himself much more loose

we’ve already seen that in the manga but he loves talking in gaming terms because our boy is a certified  g a m e r

Kurona:

falls asleep like a statue with his face to the ceiling, but after falling asleep he will move around a LOT, even accidentally waking himself up sometimes lmao (already mentioned that)

there was one time where he woke everyone up by pushing a lamp down the table, that’s how everyone ended up knowing

no confirmed family, but I like to imagine he has sisters that used to play with his hair (and he also likes to play with his hair since he was small). So they would always end up making braids into it, and he picked up that habit as well

he’s a simple soul but cares a great deal about his friends, and can pick up on small social cues, not as well as Hiori who does it with his analytical mind, but Kurona does it by intuition and it works really well sometimes (sometimes not so)

every joke that comes from his mouth is also a genuine question

in another universe, he would be my cute little pet shark, accompanying me on my daily morning seafish massacres

Yukimura:

Kaiser:

mentally unstable, sometimes has suicidal thoughts, but strongly suppresses them

takes different medication to function, from mood stabilizers to sleeping pills

if he doesn’t take sleeping pills, he can’t fall asleep as he will just keep repeating his ptsd flashbacks in his head

he doesn’t really like sleeping on the soft mattress that he gets in hotels or initially in the Blue Lock facility, will sometimes end up sleeping on the floor, but he complained about it to Ego and he made him a custom mattress

very tech-inept (usually that’s a fun character quirk, in this case not so much…)

can use basic features of a phone, knows what social media is but barely uses it outside of interviews

likes to read after he learned reading (confirmed canon)

he sometimes thinks about his mom… once in a year maybe. But when he does, he’ll think about her a lot. Every possible scenario. Every what-if. Until he represses all his thoughts for another year

his eyeliner is not just for show. it partly is, but it’s also yet another thing to set himself apart from his dad

he has terrible handwriting, but he has perfected his autograph to a T and it looks so elegant and beautiful you wouldn’t even fathom that his usual writing looks like doctors’ notes

his parents met at the Berlinale

Isagi:

he really wasn’t trying to hide his injuries very much because when it comes to things outside his expertise, which is soccer and keeping his schedule, he tends to be a bit klutzy

yes, he has metavision and it helps him outside of the soccer field as well, but that’s more for short-term unexpected scenarios

spoiler

Also I was recently looking at Isagi’s profile again and his strengths/weaknesses are very relatable lmao

Strengths: Finding the good in others.

Weakness: Looking too much at other’s expressions.

Tell me that's not a good boy who truly cares about others??? (and then on the soccer field he won't give a f* lmao)

Noa:

he’s French, but his personality is so stereotypically German omg, according to his wiki he’s been like that since small but I like to imagine that he picked up some habits from his German colleagues

this is fun because now I can imagine all the German stereotypes on him lmao

he doesn’t like being late and he hates it when others are late

he has no sense of humour

he wears socks under sandals

at the beach he reserves seats by putting a towel on them (it’s not part of the rules, but at the beach there are no rules)

he doesn’t necessarily like Japanese polite nature, but he acknowledges its strengths (which is why he was even more surprised when he met Ego with his very untypical crude nature)

more on the way!

[ejoym]

Continuing on the last ask about learning to start drawing OCs, do you have any tips on developing styles? I find it really difficult to “let go” of the need for things to be proportional or physically accurate, but I really want to start developing a more cartoon style.

Hi! In reference to this last post. I'm going to site a lot of stuff from a book called Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud. It's a great resource for anyone interested in cartooning, visual art, and comics as a unique storytelling art form.

Cartooning, whether it’s for comics or animation, is a very utilitarian art form. Cartooning skills and an artist's style are often forged in the hellfire of a deadline. For example, what my art style looks like when I've drawn an 80-panel comic in one week looks very different from a single illustration I’ve done in that same time frame.

Cartoonists simplify for the function of needing to draw everything by hand over and over and over again. But we also simplify for the emotional universality of the cartoon image! As stated by McCloud in the following three images.

Technically all 2D art is a form of caricature because we are reducing our 3D reality onto a 2D plane - which inherently abstracts form. Anytime someone sits down to draw (or write), they're engaging with a level of representation within pictorial space.

As an artist, we inevitably work in all modes at some point or another. But I think most artists will show a preference towards different corners of this diagram and that influences their style!

Ask yourself: where would you place the style you're seeking to achieve on this triangle? There's a more detailed version below with many cartoonists and styles for more examples.

I like this diagram especially because it shows the wide variety of cartoonist's styles. That's why this ask has been particularly tricky for me to answer. It's hard to give advice on becoming more cartoony without knowing what that specifically means for you, anon!

That said, I can still give some general good practice tips that hopefully anyone can utilize in their cartooning journey!

Figure drawing. Short poses (1-5 minutes). Figure drawing from life is ideal because life very rarely sits still. If you don't have any figure drawing studios in your area then go to libraries and coffee shops. You can also ask friends or family to sit for you. And finally there are figure drawing resources online that often include timers. Tip: Try drawing only with ink so you can’t erase. You won't have to do this forever but it's a great way to live with the "happy accidents" and then move on to the next drawing!

2. Gesture lines and S-curves. The gesture line captures the initial motion of the pose and will often follow the direction of the spine! S-curves are the alternating "S" shaped curves that represent the distribution of weight across the body. Exaggerating the S-curves is how cartoonists and animators often push the expressive form of the figure. When drawing the figure try to find the gesture line first and then build the weight of the pose on top of that!

3. Give yourself a deadline. Set a timer. Stick to it! Even if all you manage is a quick line gesture. Just move on to the next pose!

Finally, I really recommend reading Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud! It's a wonderful resource that anyone interested in the visual arts could benefit from reading. I first read it 17 years ago, back in my high school film class.

Phew! That's a long one. Hopefully, there's some useful info in there for you. But do feel free to ask any follow-up questions. And good luck on your cartooning journey! 🖤

(There's also another ask in my inbox about drawing cartoonish expressions. I'm working on a response but it may take a little bit. But don't worry, I'll have a detailed answer to that in the coming weeks!)

[prince-liest]

it doesn’t mean so much coming from a stranger on the internet but i hope you’re feeling better from covid !

i was wondering your opinion on the relative toxicity of the punnet square of the possible radiostatic genderbends. imo from most to least healthy it would go m/m > f(al)/m(vox) >>> m(al)/f(vox) > f/f but what are your thoughts?

fwiw, the straight radiostatic fic you wrote a while back, lady’s first? i’m convinced it’s the greatest literary masterpiece of this generation + have reread it enough times to recite it from memory lmao. i’d kill or at least commit mild wrongdoings for fem al + vox.

anyway thanks for writing as you do, your fics are what got me into fandom as a whole and i always learn some new vocab from them.

Aw, thank you! I am feeling much better and back at work! (Which is labor & delivery atm which thankfully despite being a 12 hour shift typically includes time for naps, haha.)

I LOVE this question and have in fact pondered it in the past!! I almost fully agree with you, and I think the small point of my disagreement is dependent on what you even consider healthy/toxic. Here's my take on least to most toxic, with two asterisks: firstly, any M!Vox I write is probably at least implicitly trans; secondly, I write Alastor as agender and presenting per the gender roles raised with, which you might think makes for a less gender-role-susceptible character but in fact often does the opposite.

M!Vox/F!Alastor: Least toxic, largely as a function of Vox being raised alongside "how a gentleman treats a lady" manners and actually respecting Alastor('s terrifying nature) enough to apply them. She's not like other ladies (Madonna/whore)! Not to be confused with NOT being toxic, because any iteration of fem!Alastor is going to have a bunch of personal hangups re: gender role expectations and how they intersect with being aroace. Lifelong bachelor is unfortunately a more socially acceptable position than spinster or old maid.

M!Vox/M!Alastor: Slightly more toxic. You can extract a lot (but not all) of the misogyny, but as a direct consequence you have knocked down some of the nominal barriers to them choosing to be incredibly fucking violent, inconsiderate, and/or sleazy (mostly Vox for the latter).

F!Vox/M!Alastor: F!Vox is fucking unhinged but I simply do not think that Alastor would be interested in her like that. Women are to be respected and befriended, not dated. Insert some of the misogyny back in, this time from Alastor's well-intentioned but nonetheless condescending end, and a possible breakup if Vox doesn't back the fuck off eventually. She might fistfight Rosie, though, and Alastor would probably think that's awfully precocious of her.

F!Vox/F!Alastor: You think my radiostatic yaoi didn't know how to communicate, you have not MET my radiostatic yuri, who are actively refusing to do so for reasons ranging from self-consciousness to outright ill-intent. The most toxic by a large margin. I think Vox would take one look at misogyny and gender roles and use them to her advantage in any way possible, and Alastor would simply not want to reveal or reach out for help when she is feeling off-balance and also has gendered expectations regarding sex and relationships (desire for, experience of, and active/passive participation in) that jive poorly with her internalized aphobia, which Vox in turn would take advantage of. My happiest ending for these two amounts to Vox accidentally realizing that Alastor is capable of leaving, and also making Alastor feel bad makes her feel bad, too. Sometimes.

Also, I'm so fucking happy you enjoyed Lady's First! I had a great time writing it and thinking about the ways I think gender is an interplay with these two characters. It's definitely one of those fics that I'm really happy about how it turned out, and it always brings me joy when others like it as well, esp because I'm still coming from the mental frame of assuming my audience doesn't really care about reading shippy works that aren't m/m.

Thank YOU for reading my stuff, I can't believe I helped pull you into fandom overall! <3 I definitely have more planned once I get my burnout a little bit more under control, and I can't wait for the next season to make me Insane once more. >:}

[etirabys]

just did 90m of painting work over 3 hours that was (1) mentally demanding (2) that did not pay off. I have nothing concrete to show for it.

today's work was prefaced by 90m of prep last night: looking my long and short term goals, identifying bottlenecks, and designing exercises to widen those bottlenecks (which I executed on today). so if you count that it's 3h of work

interestingly: after today's work, my mind was unusually, legibly split on whether that was a waste of time (prediction: feel bad) or a good use of time (prediction: feel good). and the fact that it felt like a choice – or at least indeterminate in a way I could somewhat influence – suggested to me that finding experimentation (regardless of outcome) worthwhile is a skill?

(in 2021 I stumbled into enjoying the mild-moderate fear of social risk-taking, which led to running a lot of events, which had noticeably positive effects on my social life and popularity. seems like a similar type of meta-skill – something that leads you to find skill development more attractive)

if I may be corny and quote this book review on The Education of Cyrus [the Great]:

Of all Cyrus’s many qualities: willpower, strength, charisma, glibness, intelligence, handsomeness; Xenophon makes a point of emphasizing one in particular, and his choice might strike some readers as strange. It is this: “He did not run from being defeated into the refuge of not doing that in which he had been defeated.” Cyrus learned to love the feeling of failure, because failure means you’re facing a worthy challenge, failure means you haven’t set your sights too low, … He doesn’t flee failure, he seeks it out, hungers for it, rushes towards it again and again, becoming a little scarier every time. He’s found a cognitive meta-tool, one of those secrets of the universe which, if you can actually internalize them, make you better at everything. Failure feels good to him rather than bad

fine, okay, let's lean into feeling good about today's failure and hope it updates my personality 0.01%:

that was cool! it wasn't cool to get frustrated and have to stop at one of the stages, but I have concrete ideas on how to tweak the instructions for tomorrow's run. Even if I abandon conscious directed improvement for a year, writing down what did and didn't work will help future me design better experiments / workflows. I have, in fact, built something that'll last

also, I have a spreadsheet where I log three variables and a generated column that uses those variables to spit out a "score for the day". how much I did and how hard it was have a multiplicative effect on that score, and that was pretty hard, so I'm going to get a Gold Star from My Google Sheets Function for having done this

also also, I have the slightest kernel of the desire to paint ("just not like that dear god I'm not doing that again") which I don't think was there before I forced myself to do a hard and unpleasant painting run

■ Yay

[avelera]

It sounds so self-obvious when you say it aloud, but the key to writing romance is that the characters need to be into each other.

I've seen so many so-called "romances" in mainstream movies and shows that somehow fail to achieve this very simple principle. Usually they're het romances but not always. I've also seen established lgbt+ couples who we're told are married but who never show any particular interest in one another to confirm this supposed love in a show-don't-tell manner.

Below the cut I want to explore how to write love (romantic or otherwise), what makes it work in fiction, and the important difference between why characters fall in love vs. why they choose to pursue or stay with the person they fell in love with, because those distinctions matter.

Let's quickly touch on failed fictional relationships before moving onto functioning ones. Because the thing is, it's important to flesh out relationships and romances if they are written into the story even if they aren't the focus of the story or they are doomed to fail as part of the plot.

I see it a lot of times in fictional relationships that are clearly plot points and so the author doesn't bother to invest in them. If a relationship is established with the protagonist just because this current partner is going to break up with them, thus launching our actual romance plot, then there's a temptation not to fully flesh out that doomed-to-fail relationship.

But to skate over the failed relationship is a missed opportunity for a writer. Relationships reveal a great deal about us, as do failed ones. Even if the relationships don't work out, we get the chance to learn what the protagonist is looking for in a relationship, what didn't work in the failed one, and we get to learn more about their love language. This also requires that we see these romantic partners are into each other, or were into each other, and how, before it went sour. Even if it's one sided and doomed to fail, we need to see what the infatuated side of the pairing was into about the other person. Even if it's just physical, that too is revealing.

Romeo was in love with Rosaline before he fell in love with Juliet. But we don't skate over what he loved about her. We learn that Romeo frequently falls in love, he's often impetuous in love (which we will see carried forward later in the famous balcony scene with Juliet). We learn that he is poetic about that love. We learn how much he loved Rosaline, and whether or not we believe he was in love or think that love is wise, it is important for establishing later, when he meets Juliet, the order of magnitude difference between his love of Rosaline and of Juliet. One left him broken-hearted when he lost her, but he quickly recovered. But Juliet? He was willing to die for love of her. The love of Rosaline set up the contrast in how Romeo loves that would be massively important to the impact of the story later.

I bring up this example because many years ago in a high school lit class, the teacher said that Shakespeare never explains why characters fall in love, and so writers don't have to explain why characters fall in love.

It didn't quite sit with me right, because I think it's only half true. The full maxim, and what writers today can learn with regards to romance is:

You don't have to explain why characters fall in love. You do have to explain why they stay together and/or pursue that love.

Actually, it's often better to not explain why a character fell in love. It's ineffable. It just happens. How often have we met or been introduced to someone who is, on paper, perfect for us with similar interests and compatible families or lifestyles, only to not feel any sort of spark? How many grand romances, in contrast, are about people who on paper are terrible for each other but just can't seem to quit one another and keep being drawn back together?

This doesn't just have to apply to romantic love, by the way. How many people are inevitably drawn back to toxic or abusive parents, even though they know this person has a negative impact on their life? How many people stick it out for friendships that damage their health and self-esteem, all out of love?

Again, you don't need to explain why someone loves, but you do need to explain why they pursue it or stick with it. The reasons can be societal, they can be because of guilt, they can be because of adrenaline, or because of long history together, or if it's a successful romance, it can be because they don't just love each other, they also really really like each other!

Now, this might seem somewhat inherently self-contradictory. I'm saying you have to show that people are into each other but that you don't have to explain why they fell in love??

But showing that people are into each other is actually about why they pursue it and stay with the person. The falling in love itself is simply the gravity between them, the magnetic bond, what draws them together. In fiction, we want that to be powerful, overwhelming, inevitable. If the story is about love, we need to see why these people can't walk away, or can't walk away for long, or are miserable when they do. They are drawn to each other, powerfully, destructively or gloriously.

But you can be drawn to someone without having a single conversation or knowing anything about them. We initially fall in love with our image of a person, what they mean to us, what we think they will be in our lives. Real love is about learning who the real person is and continuing to love and to like that person. Real long-term love is loving that person even when they change from the one you first met, and they love you too as you change. But the opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy. The love is the pull.

Why characters are into each other, or why they like each other, is the force that makes them continue to pursue that person. The love itself can be the thing they're into, by the way! "I can't get this person out of my head, I can't put it in words, but they haunt me and I'm into them for that," is a totally valid way to build a romance or character relationship without any other things that they like about each other!

But as said, it can and probably should be more than that in a successful love story. The construction of the love and like of the relationship can also be Love + Long History + Physical Attraction + Deep Understanding. Gomez and Morticia Addams love each other, they'd love each other if the other was unconscious, they'd love each other to the grave and beyond. But they're also into the fact that they're both incredibly extra romantics who love demonstrating their fascination to each other, in ways presumably no other partner could keep up with. They waltz at odd hours, engage in thrilling sword fights, raise a family together based on their shared worldview, and stare deeply into each other's eyes at every opportunity. They don't suffer one another, they adore one another's presence and quirks and foibles. They are seriously whackadoodle into each other and we see it in the joy they take in one another, how much they like each other in addition to that love.

Characters who are in love should be obsessed with something about the person. Remember, these aren't real people, I'm not giving real world relationship advice. This is fiction. You can write a tepid relationship but it will be sort of boring to read. That might be the point! The tepid relationship might be in contrast to your protagonists, for example!

But my point is that in all fictional relationships there should be something in which the characters are each other's biggest fan. In mother/daughter familial love, they might love one another's outspokenness on what is important to them, we can see their eyes shine when the mother or her daughter gives that big important speech, filled with love and pride for them, and encouraging their outspokenness at every turn, inspired by it.

If the love is between two brothers, related or otherwise, we might see that love in darker times. A brother has to pick up the other from jail. It is painful, heartbreaking, but he can't turn away, he can't not do it. That's love. But, maybe the brother he picked up cracks a joke on the ride home, makes the other laugh despite himself, and suddenly, he remembers the good side of the love too, that his brother can always make him laugh. This is important because it shows us not just that these brothers love each other, but why they continue to interact with each other despite the pain and disappointment. That might actually be tragic rather than happy. One brother might not be able to escape because of the other's ability to make him laugh. That too is love, not just the magnetic attraction of it but the reason it continues to draw them together inevitably, that ability to understand one another and make the other laugh, when he really should probably walk away for his own sake.

The reason so much slash shipping exists in fanfiction is because very often, platonic love is fleshed out in the mainstream more often between two same-sex characters with greater depth than romantic love. A mainstream show might present us with a couple who we are told are attracted to each other and from there the writers assume that is enough to explain why they got together. Nothing deeper. No spark of liking one another in addition to wanting one another.

But in a buddy cop film, the buddy cops are usually obsessed with each other. They stand up for one another when the chips are down, they save one another in moments of peril, they look into each other's eyes and discuss what is important to them in life, like solving the mystery they're working on, and in doing so find understanding with one another's worldviews. That is infinitely more satisfying as a love story than simply telling me that a beautiful Barbie and Ken of main characters have slept with each other and therefore are dating and "in love".

Obsession is key. But don't get too bogged down in how the love exists. It exists because that's love. And we are fascinated in fiction by powerful love of all sorts. We love characters who don't just suffer each other but are into each other, ludicrously, obsessively, even tragically. Turn up the love to the whackadoodle maximum and break off the knob and I guarantee, you will at the very least have characters that people will watch with interest. We love characters who are obsessed with something, or someone. Their love reveals to us what is lovable about that character or thing, it makes us love them.

And then, because love alone is not always enough, show us the joy that keeps them coming back to each other. Show us some good times mixed in with the bad, tragic as they might be for how they prevent the cutting of ties that maybe should be severed. Show us why they can't give up and walk away. Show us too why they like each other. That is what draws a good love story together.

[apathetic-revenant]

uh...hi?

[head pokes around corner]

so...

I've been back to scrolling around on tumblr for a bit now, and have been really wanting to get back to actually, y'know. being here. posting. not just sort of hanging here invisibly like a mournful ghost, observing but never interacting. that sort of thing. (revenants, after all, are supposed to be corporeal undead.)

but I really wanted to explain why I just kind of abruptly vanished in the first place. no one demanded this of me, but it felt like something I had to do. and then, in the typical way of self-imposed obstacles, it became a massive stumbling block. partly because of the nerves and emotions attached to it, sure, but mostly, tbh, because it was a Task. I recently (about 3 weeks ago now?) started seeing a new psychiatrist and got an adjustment to my ADHD meds which basically made my brain boot up again for the first time in way too long. this is great! but it means I am having to kind of slowly rehab my brain into getting used to doing Literally Anything again, one small step at a time. I am not being hyperbolic when I say I had to gradually build up my executive functioning for a while just to be able to write a tumblr post.

but fuck it! I really wanted to just do this already. so, while I'm sure I'll talk about all this in more detail later, for right now I'm gonna strip this down to the bare essentials just so I can get it done at all.

here's what happened:

in 2020 I had a sudden onset of extremely severe OCD.

no, not about the pandemic, actually. yeah I was anxious about the pandemic but it was a pretty normal level of anxiety for a global pandemic, honestly. my OCD took the form of scrupulosity--essentially, an obsessive worry about being a bad person.

tumblr is....not a GREAT place to be if you have a sudden obsessive fear of being a bad person.

now, to be clear: tumblr did not CAUSE my OCD, and leaving tumblr did not cure it. that's just not how OCD works. later on, I learned that atypical antipsychotics--one of which I had been prescribed around that time, for depression--have been known to cause OCD. is there any way to prove that that's what happened? probably not, at this point! so I've just been kind of sitting with that terrible knowledge for a while.

anyway. I would've had OCD anyway, but reading a regular stream of posts going "hey, here's a really terrible thing you might be doing! you might even be doing it without knowing it! you need to think really hard and be constantly vigilant all the time for any sign that you might be doing this thing!" was basically pouring gasoline on the fire.

I never made an active decision to leave tumblr--if I had I would've said something first. I just kind of thought "god, I can't do this right now" one day and didn't open the app, which turned into days and then weeks and then months, and still things weren't getting better.

it's hard to express exactly how harrowing that whole experience was. actually I just started thinking about it and realized I would never finish this post tonight if I tried to get into it just now. so I won't. let's just say: It Was Bad.

but, by an astronomical stroke of luck, I ended up getting referred to not just an OCD therapist, not just the only OCD therapist in the state who took Medicaid, but the only OCD therapist in the state who took Medicaid and also she was really good at her job. I genuinely think that woman saved my life.

OCD therapy is one of those "the only way out is through" kind of things. it's brutal and also quite surreal, but it has a high success rate and is very effective. OCD is not a thing that you can cure, per se, but it went from completely dominating every waking moment of my life to being something that I occasionally have to yell at in much the same way as when the cat starts knocking things off my desk at 3 in the morning.

but, the thing was, it took a year-and-a-bit before my therapist and I agreed that I had probably "graduated" as she put it. so, by the time I felt able to go back on tumblr without my brain catching on fire again, it had been so long that I didn't know how to do it. I felt like I'd pulled a major dick move by just dropping off without saying anything. I still thought about it (usually late at night, at Time To Think About Every Regret I've Ever Had O'Clock) but my brain very easily goes to a place of "well, no one would really notice or care that I was gone, and if they did they'd be mad at me for having left."

well. earlier this year I started on the road to getting past that idea. shoutout to @fordtato for helping with that, btw.

but it took me a while to work up the courage and then, as previously mentioned, even longer to work up the neurotransmitters.

I think I gotta wrap this up for now cause I don't have much concentration juice left. but, for what it's worth: I had a lot of emotions, coming back and seeing the names of people I used to talk to all the time. I don't know how you feel about me anymore, but I really missed yall. I would like to talk to you again.

[fenist]

tagged by @baeddel '9 books you're reading right now? write a post in answer and tag some more people in it'

i tag: @the5gracesshownattheirbath @terefah @twofigs @warvariations @antigonick should you be so inclined

9 is oddly specific. currently, I'm reading:

The Zohar [Pritzker edition]. not in chronological order of the 12 volumes, more like haphazard sections, especially anything related to lettrism. I like this way of reading it, which seems in keeping with the unsystematic nature of the text. at present, I'm combing all volumes for references to the letters alef and vav. alongside this, I am reading the Tishby translation of The Zohar, which has an excellent introduction. I will also aim to read some of Moses de León's Hebrew writings, such as Sefer ha-Mishkal, and Shekel ha-Qodesh. Trouble is, I can't read Hebrew, and it's hard to find English translations... so I guess I need to learn Hebrew when I figure out how to clone myself...

The Early Kabbalah by Joseph Dan. There's a section on the letters by Rabbi Jacob ben Jacob ha-Kohen that is important to my research.

Genealogies of Religion by Talal Asad. I left the book in melbourne but I am quite interested to continue it at some point soon; it's fascinating.

Ibn Arabi's The Book of Alif. It's a short treatise which Ibn Arabi claims to have written in less than an hour "on the road to al-Quds." When you read the text - which is over 3000 words - and which discusses concepts like oneness, numbers, unity, circumcision, gender, and sexual desire - you realise how crazy it is that it took only an hour to painstakingly write out. hence some scholars will whisper that Ibn Arabi was taking a lot of drugs. others will retort that divine presence is a drug. but I digress... there's a translation by Abraham Abadi from the 80s, but it's missing important sections, and is somewhat questionable in other ways. so I'm working on my own translation! the important thing is to figure out a clear translation for key terms in his lexicon like waḥdāniyya and aḥadiyya, since both can mean "oneness." I've settled for "oneness" for the former and "uniqueness," or "unicity," for the latter.

Ibn Arabi's The Meccan Openings. Admittedly, I rely mostly on the English translation by Eric Winkel, which is being published slowly in volumes. It's a great translation. I also use the Cairo al-Mansub edition for the Arabic. Again, mostly looking for references to the science of letters, the occult sciences, alphanumeric cosmology, and so on.

Walter Rodney's How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. only select chapters for a reading group I'm in.

as for what I want to read, I suppose my greatest curiosity at the moment is - how can I say this without sounding like a total freak - contemplating the way of the martyrs. it is a consolation. I am really interested in the social function of martyrdom in Palestine especially, something so all-pervasive, ancestral, and inherited in the body. a process rather than an event, before the final martyrdom of martyrdoms is actualised. "the martyr is an archive that dreams." what exactly to read though, I'm not really sure. I want to find something that really moves me. so I suppose I want to read more basil el-araj, more refaat alareer [not just the compilations of his students' writings], madhi amel, and I'm particularly drawn to the role of Qur’anic references and theology in general in speeches by the resistance.

I'd also like to read about medieval Palestinian history, darwish poetry, more at the avant-garde movement of lettrism and at more concrete poetry in the vein of adriano spatola.

[styrofauxm]

So...you're questioning if you are aromantic and/or asexual...

...and you don't know where to start.

Well, here! This is my compilation of all the things that helped me figure myself out. I would adore it if other arospec and/or acespec individuals added on as well.

Resources/Research:

1. Forums

Being able to talk to people about my experiences was really helpful and validating. Being able to see other people's experiences that were similar to mine was also so helpful.

For asexuality, there's AVEN. There's a specific section for questioning people as well. For that section, I recommend only posting, not reading other people's posts. There's also this FAQ section with a ton of helpful information about asexuality in general. Overall, I suggest browsing the site, and posting any questions you have.

(small disclaimer: in my time there, I found AVEN to be pretty unfriendly to aromantic people. I have it on good authority that the problem has been solved, but I want to be honest that my personal experience wasn't all sunshine and rainbows)

For aromanticism, there's Arocalypse. It's a smaller forum than AVEN, but also supportive and helpful. There's an Anonymous Q&A section, where you can post without an account, as well as a Discussion section where you can learn more about aromanticism. There's also a non-forum FAQ, with additional resources linked at the top. Similarly to AVEN, stay off the posts of other questioning people, browse the site, and post any questions you have.

If neither of those work for you, I recommend Reddit, but only as a last resort. The moderation there can be interesting, and there's a lot of in-fighting. But, in my opinion, it's important to have that space if you need it.

2. Videos

Seeing people talk about being asexual/aromantic is really helpful for solidifying that they are real things for real people, not just concepts on the internet. They also provide the information in a more streamlined way than forums do.

My number one recommendation for this is Ash Hardell's series on asexuality and aromanticism. There's 3 parts (One Two Three). There's a ton of good information there, presented by asexual and aromantic people.

My second recommendation is to just go to Youtube and look up "am I asexual" or "am I aromantic". This will pull up a lot of videos of people talking through their own experiences.

3. Articles

If you want to read about asexuality and/or aromanticism, it's better to use the forums. Articles about us are often outdated or include incorrect information. Similarly, the forums are awful at giving information about what sexual and/or romantic attraction is.

That's what articles are more useful for. There's a ton out there describing the experience of sexual and romantic attraction, as well as the development of it in humans. That's very helpful for figuring out if you actually feel it or not.

When looking stuff up about sexual/romantic attraction, make sure you use sources you can trust. Sexual attraction is an area where pseudoscience thrives. If you don't know the source, this site is great for checking if it is factual and unbiased.

Non-Research Stuff To Do:

1. Write down your thoughts

One of the issues I ran into while questioning is that I would figure something out, then a few weeks later, doubt myself on that. So I started writing stuff down. This both helps you remember stuff, and verifies that it happened.

2. Just try out the label(s)

Just use them. It doesn't hurt anybody, and you can always stop. You can use the umbrella terms acespec and/or arospec, or just use aromantic and/or asexual (which also function as umbrella terms). This will give you a feel for if the label is right for you. Remember, it's okay to be wrong.

3. Seek out positivity

Go find asexual and/or aromantic people who celebrate being asexual and aromantic. It's helpful in feeling comfortable enough to use the label(s).

What Not To Do:

1. Do not read other questioning people's stuff

This isn't helpful, just confusing. Trust me. Read it after you have yourself figured out.

2. Do not go through the microlabels

Going through microlabels is helpful once you know you are acespec and/or arospec. Not before. Put the queer wiki down. It won't save you.

3. Do not go into spaces that focus on issues

This also isn't helpful, just upsetting. These spaces are helpful for people who are confident in their identities. Not for people questioning.

Other:

Go through the notes! Hopefully, people have added stuff!

[ivyblossom]

Lessons in Story: Editing

I was a pantser for a very long time. I lived in the writing of a story, and couldn't be bothered planning it. Or editing it, frankly. I was just a drafter. The writing of it is glorious, and then it's over, and I'm done. Is that a best practice? Definitely not. But that's what so great about fanfiction. I can do that. It might not make for the best fics, and they would be full of typos, but the whole point of fanwork doing what you want the way you want to do it, right? So I did the part I understood and loved, and nothing else.

Why did I do that? Because I'm a brat, probably? I mentioned already that my maturity level has always been low.

But I think there's more to it than that. I think I worked that way because it was fun and it produced stories that weren't bad, they were sometimes pretty good, but I had no idea how they functioned. If you don't know how a story works, how do you edit or tweak it? I think I was afraid to look back at it most of the time. The only way I knew how to fix a story was to start over and write another one. That's the only thing I knew how to do. The experience of the story was living the story. How do you edit that? I always felt like restructuring the beginning of a story would mean a new branch had started, the rest of the story wouldn't match anymore. It would be a new story, I would be throwing this one way. You see what I mean?

I learned to be a slightly better editor over time (but not really). At least I fixed dropped words and typos (mostly). But even then could say to me, "Hey, this could be good if you edited it and expanded on X and got rid of Y." I'm sure people tried. But I didn't know how to do that. (Okay: I technically knew how to do that, but this basic misunderstanding made that really difficult.) It would probably freak me out a bit. I would have understood what you meant, but the only way I knew who to do that is to delete the whole thing and start over. Because I didn't really understand the pieces that make up a story. It was all one piece to me. You could cut it up, sure, but it wouldn't be one piece any more. It would be broken.

I'm not suggesting this make sense, that's what I'm learning about my own history of process.

I wouldn't have said any of this at the time because I really didn't understand that that's how it was. I could (and did) talk until I was blue in the face about narrative, but I really didn't understand how it was working from a writing perspective. If I had understood it and said it out loud, it would have been easier to fix, but I didn't realize this was my obstacle. Now I'm learning about it, and repairing it. Because of course a story isn't one piece. It's many pieces, and they fit together and look like one piece when you're done.

This is also connected to planning, which I can (and will) go on about at great length.

How did I come to have this completely bonkers belief system about how creative writing works? Who can say. It might have something to do with learning to read by myself at a very young age (2). Stories were always whole pieces that I fell into face first. I don't even exist when I read, I just experience a story whole and then return to myself. I was writing the way I was reading.

So that's an obstacle I've deconstructed, and let me tell you: it's a lot easier when you know that's behind your own process and thinking.

[maryrouille]

Tips for good studying

I must admit that I am shocked at how helpful the post about Toxic romanticization of studying was for you, so I decided to expand it with a second part. Here I will talk a little about examples from my own experience with studying.

1. Take small steps

Even tiny, but keep moving forward. I know it's a very clichéd phrase, but it really works. Especially in the case of very complex theories or extensive material. Then it is worth starting by understanding the basics and expanding this knowledge based on the information that we can best learn first. This way of learning looks like creating increasingly wider circles around one dot (which was our basis).

My practical advice: when I learn very difficult things, I start by finding starting points and writing them down on a small piece of paper (e.g. names or dates). Then I try to combine it in any way possible. When I find connotations, I look for more information about them, which I transfer to a larger piece of paper. This creates charts of varying levels of connection and complexity.

2. Clearly divide time for studying, rest and fun

Of course, studying can be fun, but sometimes we need a moment to relax and do nothing. It's good to divide these moments, which will allow us to either focus completely on work or on rest. Combining learning, especially the kind that is a burden for us, with some form of relaxation makes both activities ineffective. And we still get tired of all this.

My mistake: the countless times I've worked on something and wasn't happy with the results that day. And the evening came, and instead of letting go and resting, I tried to combine "relaxation" with further work. It ended up that I didn't do anything productive, nor did I enjoy a glass of wine or a movie that I watched because she stubbornly tried to do something else.

3. Stimulants are always harmful

In this case, stimulants can be understood in many ways. It may be coffee, alcohol, nicotine or even illegal things. Culturally, we don't see anything wrong with another cup of coffee when we need to concentrate. Or another cigarette, or champagne when we need to relieve stress. However, it should be remembered that all these substances affect our perception and brain functioning to a greater or lesser extent. And isn't it great and healthy to know that we can achieve a lot without these boosters?

My weakness: as I mentioned earlier about a glass of wine, It's nice, but it doesn't help me study. However, I read undemanding books with a wine in bed for pure pleasure.

4. Take care of your neurons

First of all, you need to understand that our brain is responsible for studying. And the brain is an organ and our will is not always enough for its proper functioning. We need to take care of our neurons so that they continue to develop and expand their connections. How to do it? In addition to maintaining overall health, you also need to get enough sleep, have access to fresh air and sun, discover and experience new things and take care of your diet.

My tip: discovering something new every day seems to be an extremely difficult challenge, but it may just be tiny things done in a different way. Changing the place helps me gain a fresh perspective when studying. Sometimes I go to another room, sit by the open window, move everything to the floor or go outside.

If you have any examples of mistakes, good advice or similar problems with studying, you can share them below. There is nothing better than exchanging experiences and having a joint discussion that can bring new solutions to problems!

[mindfulwrath]

just started dunmeshi (anime version) and while i'm only up to ep 8, the thing i'm finding the most remarkable about it is how it portrays expertise

like, everyone in the main party has something they're really really good at, to the point where it's obvious why a party would want this person in particular to come take on the challenges of a dungeon, and why this particular combination of skill sets has allowed the party to get as far as they have. that's great writing, but it's not what i find remarkable.

the remarkable parts are:

everyone in the party has something in their skillset that the others could benefit from learning

even the experts don't know everything about the field in which they have expertise

#1 is pretty common in stories where skill acquisition is how the main characters progress (i'm thinking of things like naruto and dbz, where learning new techniques is how one advances in the power scheme of the world). the way dunmeshi handles it strikes me as different and interesting, because instead of The Main Character assembling an armory of skills by mastering The One Skill each secondary character has to teach, everybody is learning from everybody, and they're picking and choosing skills that are relevant to their areas of expertise. the example that comes to mind is senshi learning how to spot and avoid traps from chilchuck - he's never going to become better at it than chil, but he's learning it because it's a useful thing for him to know how to do.

#2 is what i find the most remarkable, because i don't know if i've seen it done before. the example that comes to mind most readily is senshi - who seems to know everything there is to know about the monsters he's familiar with - not knowing that lighting a fire around the red dragon's body is a potentially deadly misstep. that's a piece of information laios has, despite being orders of magnitude less familiar with the dungeon than senshi is. but it also makes perfect sense that laios would know that and senshi wouldn't, because laios has encountered a lot of dragons and read a lot about dragons and senshi hasn't.

and in my experience, in a line of work where i'm surrounded by a bunch of experts in a similar field with markedly different skillsets, this is how experts interface and how expertise functions in real life.

and it's made me realize that experts written without those two aspects fall completely flat for me.