#did two styles cuz the assignment is to EXPERIMENTING

[nerves-nebula]

a room based on dotty's personal preferences and some other stuff. don't worry about it. this is ALSO homework.

[id0what1want]

Cereza and the teachers

In need of something fluffy. Fuck it. Cereza's relationship with every professor at NaranjUva.

Jacq

He is her homeroom teacher, and it shows. Cereza doesn't have a father figure in her life and is normally pretty averse to adult men, but Jacq doesn't bother her. Out of all the subjects she enjoys biology the most since she's such a nerd about Pokémon. Jacq is always the first to notice when Cereza is overworked or struggling.

He is the most flexible of the professors when it comes to his curriculum and he noticed that despite being a prodigy at catching Pokémon, Cereza had very little progress on her PokeDex, which is a grade (it's not a requirement to fill it all the way, just making a certain bare minimum amount of progress). She did amazing on his other assignments and often showed that she was super ahead on the material but just refused to touch the Pokedex assignment. He pulled her aside, curious as to why she avoided it despite her obvious passion for the subject. Cereza explained that outside of her team she really dislikes catching Pokémon she won't use. She doesn't want any Pokémon to be lonely even if the box system is ethical, and when she catches a Pokémon, she is essentially adding it to her family.

Jacq understood and proposed that instead of working on the PokeDex, that she instead could do field journaling of things she notices about her team or other Pokémon since she would be more interested in that, and it could count for field research. She agreed to try it out and Cereza found that she really did like that way more.

Since then, Jacq has really been her go-to contact for anything. She has called him panicked in the middle of the night cuz she spelunked a little too close to the sun and stepped into the habitat of a bunch of snoozing Tauros. He is probably one of the closest figures she has in her life to a dad. Jacq also is the first to try and take responsibility for her reckless behavior every time she gets sent to Clavell's office.

Jacq also of course gave her the egg that hatched eventually into her Torterra. Cereza taking the mystery egg was a leap of faith for her- she had to trust that Jacq chose a species that fit her style, and she also had to step out of her comfort zone since there was a chance she and this Pokemon wouldn't get along. Jacq is always delighted and proud to see her Torterra alongside her.

Dendra

Dendra tries her best with Cereza, she really does. It's honestly bad luck to be stuck with Cereza as a battle studies instructor. Because Cereza is a prodigy at battling and is pretty independent, Dendra struggles to find something to actually teach her.

Not to mention how Cereza is not the most conventional of battlers. The way she battles and trains is creative but often stretches the rules. Since Dendra is the school referee, she and Cereza are naturally going to run into conflict. "Foul! Drakloak is not allowed to move two turns in a row!" "It's not my fault they're too slow! If Deadeye can move that fast, why shouldn't he be allowed to?"

Dendra does get a learning experience out of Cereza though, especially witnessing the girl train her Annihilape. The typically reckless and impulsive trainer exhibited astounding patience and flexibility through the process, training the initially ornery Mankey into a gentle and disciplined creature. They both eventually come to terms with the fact that they both have their own way of doing things and Cereza's methods work. It's like having two different methods in math- Cereza achieves remarkable results, so she evidently doesn't need that much instructure. She gets bumped up a bunch of classes into super advanced battle studies that essentially only Nemona takes.

Miriam

Ohhhh this girl. Half of Miriam's job is treating this feral child it feels like, and the other half is treating the victims of her collateral shenanigans. Cereza is in the nurse's office often, it's safe to say. It gets to the point where Cereza will poke into the office and steal from the candy drawer and Miriam chases her out with a broom.

Miriam had the thought while she was in training, "Why would I ever have to learn how to safely dislodge Toxic Spikes from a student?" and Cereza is that reason. Cereza is very endearing, unfortunately, and Miriam does get bored without Cereza to entertain her with another wild story. Miriam and Cereza's mom have become quite good friends since Miriam has to call in so often. Miriam has also given up scolding Cereza for having her Pokemon out in the office. Fuck it. Tinkaton in the filing cabinet. Why the hell not.

If her dorm is too far Cereza will take naps in the bed in Miriam's office. She's not supposed to but when has that literally ever stopped her. Cereza is Miriam's weird cat at this point, she's accepted it.

Raifort

Raifort is not allowed to have favorite students, but it is fairly obvious that Cereza is her favorite.

To Cereza's face she is pretty strict, scolding her for being late, picking on her for questions, giving her the harder versions of tests on purpose. The reason why though is because Raifort knows Cereza has that spark.

I believe that Raifort and Sada were friends in school, and she sees a lottt of Sada in Cereza's behavior. Sada had that same rebellious streak that came from not being challenged. Cereza herself doesn't care all that much about history unless Pokémon are involved. Her Tinkaton, Styx, she actually found because Raifort gave her a detention assignment to study every ruin site in Paldea and to write a report on it. It was her first Pokemon in Paldea and Raifort has never forgotten the sparks of hungry curiosity in Cereza's eyes when she found Raifort outside of class to grill her on the relevance of the Tinkaton line in history.

This is also why Raifort trusts Cereza with unlocking the Four Treasures of Ruin when the time comes for that. She had the idea to tell her way earlier than she did, but in a rare showcase of softness on her part, Raifort waited until after Cereza was Champion ranked to bring it up as an insurance of her safety. Raifort was also the first to call out the dangers of repeatedly sending Cereza into Area Zero after what happened to Sada (more on that later :3).

Raifort has never had a particular interest in kids, but Cereza and the occasional student like her is one of the secret reasons she teaches in the first place, outside of the preservation and research of history of course. Kids like Cereza are the only thing that would even give her the inkling of wanting a kid for herself, though the idea still isn't appealing.

Cereza thinks that Raifort is the coolest teacher ever by the way, no matter how much she gripes about all of her extra assignments. Cereza looks up to her a LOT and values her opinion above most others. Cereza is very stubborn, but Raifort is one of the few people she'll listen to, above even Jacq. Raifort is her second father figure lmao.

I might do a part two. This girl is sooooo beloved, by me and everyone around her (for the most part).

[conceptuma]

today specifically im thinking about alastor. im a casual critical vivzie viewer of both helluva and hazbin but ive never posted my fanart before since im not really interactive in the community at all? but i think i like the idea of drawing fanon alastor if anything. i love playing with that kind of character, id love to find more artists that draw fanon or more in depth details about what they imagine the character is like. i dont even care about canon compliant when i find a truly passionate artist that can cross reference similar medias with the same appeal, like it's really cool to find a crossover of two characters i like AND have compared... i want that

also, supplementary aesthetics or traits. its what id do with fanon darkiplier too. what objects or tools, styles, personality features, habits, living spaces, etc. would you assign to such a character to enrich the depth of flavor?

these character types are so fun and lovable for so many reasons, primarily horror abt ASPD/psychopathy/serial killers and the other appeal around that in a fiction/fantasy setting where it could overlap or depict a variety of other obscure identities ❤️

ofc no glamorization of the real counterpart of these media tropes, i honestly dont care for it aside for psychological cases that 90% of the time are not serial killers and rather just people like you and me who would like representation in media all the same. i honestly love characters who are autistic aroace aspd / DID and have some other social dilemma usually in fantasy where they are depicted as a whimsical or tidy villain somewhat? its a fun fictional way to depict their obscurity and "inhumanity" now thats a very acquired taste of mine I am aware not everyone enjoys antagonized depictions, but the way I engage with media is different lol

basically i like them somewhat cuz i resonate with them, even if they tend to be a stereotype—i think you can take that archetype and do it RIGHT, change some things around and make it more realistic and fun... BUT

i also like them cuz i dont relate to them- they are not just figuratively inhuman in the alienation/dissociation way that i experience, but also inhuman in a literal or allegorical terrifying way. so its not just a mirror, its like a fun horror character to scare u as well. its fun.

also maybe its more common than i think? im curious what other people like villains for, if it might be something similar to mine.

cuz i do think it has somehting to do with the philosophical questions and scary explorations into "worst person you could be" vs "best person you could be" taking that inner moral discussion of what you fear vs what you think you should be, and then confronting all the possible variables to show you the nature of the dilemma, painting morally grey characters and their experiences with the struggle in a more impossible fictional way that you shouldn't do IRL. it helps against mental illness in my opinion lol but only if handled properly by the viewer

thats a part of it but also i believe being a trauma survivor ontop of predisposition to my interest in horror, psychology, and gothic romance definitely adds more depth to what benefit i garner from those depictions of struggle and possible resolution.

[dreamercail]

nanowrimo musings 2.0

so like five years ago I did a little nanowrimo retrospective where I talked a little bit about each story I wrote and what I thought about it. I’ve been thinking of doing another one while also avoiding other responsibilities so join me on this walk down memory lane:

PUTTING UNDER CUT CUZ IT’S A LOT OF WORDS WHOOPS

Silicon (2009) - Oh geez, I hate to even count this one, but it was my first ever nano attempt so I gotta. A story about Theresa Lee, a girl who unknowingly is an android (closer to a cyborg?), and the team running the experiment. I don’t even think I made it to 10,000 words. Features: first attempts at an intergenerational friendship and an interesting framing device. I don’t think I’ve opened the file in at least 10 years. This is probably for the better.

Relapse of Vernadora (2010) - my first NaNo win! Originally started off steampunk inspired but I have no idea what the final product was (there were airships?? and that was really it). A story about a half dozen Chosen Ones™️ who represent ~elemental abilities~ and they have to...save the country they’re in?? Because it happens every couple hundred years?? I don’t really know. Featuring: a fun first half of interconnecting stories and dialogue that sounds like bad anime fan fiction. Overall a yikes from me but I still love Chira Chronum as a character and will until I die.

Colossal (2011) - I will always label this one as the most read amongst people I know. It’s a pretty simple story about a group of teenagers who can see giants and have to go on a road trip to stop the guy who’s bringing them back from the dead. Featuring: a literal ripped from tv tropes 5 man band set up and entirely okay if not weak narration. In the end it’s hard for me to go back to and read because I’ve gotten a lot better but I’m still proud of it. Also the five main teens have such a special place in my heart and I’ll probably never be fully done with them. Also I think my only nano with a sequel?? (that took me like six years to write lmao)

Extinction Could be a Lot Worse (2012) - 300 years after global cataclysm, and humans have become a minority, giving rise to insect- and fish-humanoid hybrids known as Entosaps and Aquacrans. Arata is a kid with a guitar looking for one of the last major human settlements on earth. Featuring: half baked concepts, heavy handed and misguided messages about racism, and one actually decent speech at the end. Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh I’ve never felt great about this one. It didn’t take me long after writing it to realize my messaging was super mixed and not as woke as I thought. Also like a few super problematic parts that make me cringe hard. Not the worst thing ever but not one I go back to.

How to be an Urban Legend (2013) - oh thank god the streak of straight protagonists has been broken. A really fun deuteragonist set up! Aliya is a party girl in need of a job. Morse is a down on her luck, awkward girl with a penchant for local urban legends. Each encounter Mackenzie Fylan, an urban legend known as a parsinct, a person who goes through overwhelming tragedy and emerges with supernatural abilities, and chaotic teleporter. Through a series of events the two girls uncover some peculiar goings ons in the basement of their office building. Featuring: a plot where like not a ton happens and a fun chapter naming convention. In the grand scheme of things an entirely okay story. Not a story with a ton of stakes but it marked a turning point in my writing as far as description writing and narration go. Aliya and Morse are an unstable couple, but I think I take a little too much joy in their dysfunction.

Scribed. (2014) - Most famous for not being finished, rip. In a world where writers are assigned particular individuals to “scribe” their lives, Ariel Hess accidentally discovers he’s being written about by the inexperienced scribe, Maiara Snow. It would’ve been a fun kind of breakdown and commentary on the stories we consume and the protagonists we choose to write about but it never quite made it off the ground (partially due to life being a lot that year). Featuring: really not much but some fun with style/formatting.

The Incredibly Consequential Life of Charlie Zappala (2016) - After having to skip 2015, this was a fun one to write. Also, chaotic cuz I dallied the first half of the month then ended up writing like 22k in 6 days. Charlie is a disillusioned 20-something who always thought they were made for something greater until real life came and beat them with a stick. That is, until an interdimensional elf herald pops out of their refrigerator and claims they’re the Chosen One. From there Charlie has to balance the world of their dreams with the world they know and figure out which is really meant for them. Featuring: first nonbinary protagonist and a whole lot of swearing. Charlie as a character is such an outlet for a lot of processing of what it means to be an adult in this day and age. I love them a lot. Of course, in the manic way the story was written the pacing is wonk and needs some work before it’s the best it can be. Also the only nanowrimo (save the unfinished ones) that never got a proper edit.

a.u. (2017) - HEY DID I MENTION THIS ONE WON AN AWARD. I’m sure I have. To go from no one reading my stories to now thousands of folks having checked this one out is A Lot but also probably one of the coolest things to ever happen to me. Damian is a fresh out of college fuck boy, Alexander is a hipster barista. They meet in a coffee shop, we all know what happens then, right? If by that you meant that a mysterious earthquake comes every morning to the coffee shop and leaves the two with the only memories of it happening, then yes, we all know what happens. A story meant to be an exploration of fan fiction tropes and AUs, but also with an underlying message of what it means to find yourself when the world around you is constantly changing (#kidswhomovedalotproblems). Very admittedly nervous that I was gonna come across as fetishizing mlm relationships just by nature exploring the typical “””””BL plot””””” so that’s probably what’s stopped me from out right asking people I know to read it haha. Featuring: boys kissing and some actually damn good analogies that I have yet to replicate. Did I mention it won an award? And currently has 30k reads?? Anyway read it online. No shame.

Road to Arcadia (2018) - Boy does this one have my whole heart. Set in a very nearby future (about 30 years) in a world where we did jack shit about climate change (so like current trajectory), Kai Gilling sets off to the desert to look for something better. On the way he encounters a pair of siblings and a woman who says she has a map to Arcadia, an urban legend rumored to be the only city thriving during these hellish times. Cue: desert road trip story. I’d been wanting to write a desert road trip story for ages and the route the characters follow is nearly identical to one my dad and I took on a road trip the preceding summer, so it all came together. Featuring: a main cast where none of the characters are cis/het and Jeep Wranglers. The letters Kai writes back home have some of my favorite writing and some raw emotion and thoughts from me. It’s not perfect in its execution and it doesn’t have the playfulness that a.u. has, but it’s really special to me. Also available online! (not as many reads tho working on that one)

EXCAVATOR: Tales from the Twelve Vessels (2019) - Probably my first real big step into hardcore sci-fi and another deuteragonist tale. In the future, out in the deep recesses of space, flies the jaundian coalition, a group of twelve spaceships housing orphaned races from across the universe, most notably the sapiens (ya humans) and the nkrey (kinda like a mix between grey aliens and high elves). The story follows Meera, a wide-eyed Idealist looking to work planetside and Sauk, a convicted criminal who would like to do not that. Shenanigans ensue. It’s definitely out of my comfort zone to write something in a world so unfamiliar and it was hard to do a nanowrimo story when half the time needed was for world building. Also still not fully finished to this day. I got the 50k but still have a lot left to write in terms of plot. Featuring: ALIENS and sassy teammates. One that I probably won’t know how to feel about until at least another year or so.

Thanks so much for reading!! And oh man I’m only scraping the surface of a lot of this. If you ever wanna know one thing I could talk forever about it’s my stories and characters.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

1, 8, 9, 12, 15, 32, 52

fuck yeah ty for the Moral Support lmao

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

coffee mugs! i’m using one right now. it’s very autumnal, it’s got this orangey brown glaze and raised maple-ish leaves around it. brilliant. i like to have a lot of liquid. Oh How I Love A Novelty Mug......not really but you know that association is gonna be there forever now

8. movies or tv shows?

uhh movies b/c you can get the Whole Experience in a couple of hours and like, i barely watch entire tv shows b/c it’s just hard to pick one that i’ll Get Into / or Want to get into even, cuz it’s a whole thing yknow

9. favorite smell in the summer?

idk but i have this generic body wash that says its smell is “himalayan salt” but to me it has Chlorinated Pool Smell and i just repeatedly huff it. i like swimming a bunch but haven’t done so in ages, boo to that......taylor mason brand now ig

12. name of your favorite playlist?

i don’t make or use playlists rip

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment? 

ohh as an Assignment....hmm!!! tough!! oh no wait i’m forgetting about the Elementary School Ones b/c the middle school / college assignment ones weren’t really fave raves but my 3rd-5th grade english / language arts teacher was a lot of fun and we’d have like, a bunch of Activities around the assignments to make it fun. i remember we read “the view from saturday” which is about a quartet of misfit precocious kids who are in a quiz bowl tournament which i didn’t really absorb until like, this year lmfao, and they of course like Come Together along with their teacher also and have interestingly Interconnected stories and experiences and everyone learns something and probably support each other and stuff. one activity we did was “make a t-shirt based off of your Favorite Character” (as in like...get a white tee and draw on it) and i picked the character who only one other kid also picked, in part to be contrarian like that, and because in Classic Milo Style i sort of picked up that this character wasn’t taken as ~seriously~ by the narrative as the other kids might. he was pedantic and “nitpick” was a whole running thing with him and that was sort of his whole thing and his own story didn’t really have the ~stakes~ that the other kids got, and i was very annoyed by this semi-Romance between two of these other kids lmao and how it kind of made them out to be the ones with the most *depth* or that we should care about them most b/c of it like, nah i don’t care!!!!!! i like the nerd who everyone rolls their eyes at!!!!!!!! and here i am today, being the exact same. i reread Excerpts / quotes / summaries of the book a few months ago and it’s fun that when i read it it was like “oh wow these Maturer Wiser Middle Schoolers” and now it’s like oh a little baby.......and i only feel More confident that yes noah is the fave character lmao. so i’ll go with that book lol...

32. top five favorite vines?

ough “remembering things” and “having favorites,” i always fail at it, but hm just at random Uh.......oh no i’ve been thinking on this for like ten minutes and getting nowhere. ive never seen a vine in my life i’m bailing on this one or we’ll all die here in [me trying to remember vines i think are funny] hell 

52. favorite font?

i always leaned towards those Low Ink fonts like goudy old style or garamond. for the look though, the low ink practical bonus wasn’t really a factor

[qwerty-the-duck]

‘Cuz this post bouta be hella long, Imma out the text under the cut ^U^

Also, here’s the link to some background info to the story for these characters

Welcome To LSS!

So, as you can see I separated these twenty OC’s into 5 groups. I will be going down the groups and from left to right through the characters. But, first a few disclaimers. 

A) I did not draw these in the order that I am introducing them, and my art is already pretty inconsistent so…sorry?

B) These are only the first 20 characters that directly interacted (or are) the main characters of the story. The reasoning was explained in an earlier post

C) All art was done digitally on Medibang, a free art program.

D) As we go down the list the explanations and descriptions of the characters will become vaguer, but I am always down to answer any questions.

E) Lastly, I am not planning on posting any of my writing soon after this post so I will be being less careful about spoilers in this post. I am still going to avoid major things though, so yeah.

At the top is the main four characters, which is why they have full bodies instead of just busts.

Alecs. She is eighteen years old, technically, and is just over five feet tall (153cm.) She has silver (not gray) hair that is lazily parted to one side. Due to a necessary “procedure,” she only has one purple/pink eye. The other is just a socket filled with a special worm, thus eyepatch. She is not a full human, and her body is sexless. She doesn’t really have a gender and doesn’t have sexuality either (as stated before she is not a sexual being) and other people use She/her pronouns but she doesn’t actually care herself. Her body is feminine shaped but a little extra chub on her.

She is quiet and observant. Her emotions are very compact and she really only gets angry when someone is talking sh*t about Bee. She is illiterate and not very knowledgable of the world, making her very dependent on Bee whenever they go on a mission or travel. She isn’t a mean or malicious person but she isn’t altruistic either, really only doing things when she is asked to. She also keeps Bee focused and tries to keep him from starting drama.

She used an old fashioned sword for fighting for a few reasons. One, she has never been practically trained so it’s easy to just swing around. Two, the sword is made of reinforced materials that balance out her overwhelming strength. Three, it was a gift from Bee (daw.)

Being as she is not a real human, her mutations are a little strange. Her offensive mutation is just raw power. She has overwhelming strength due to her body being made mostly of just straight hyper-radiation. Her defensive mutation is endless regeneration, that’s right, she literally cannot die. I want to point out that while she does sound OP, she doesn’t actually do a lot of fighting and can only act when Bee allows her to. 

Alecs gets assigned to the Black Department. She was originally assigned to red, but her lack of social skills and her apathetic attitude lead to concern and she was then moved to Black.

Bee (Benson) (My personal fav) - He is thirty-two years old, and is pretty tall, around six-six (201cm) He has white hair slicked back on top with it shaved on the sides and black (Yes it grows that way naturally, and it actually serves as vital tell of his character) and blue eyes. He often wears dopey and bright clothing with some utility, such as large pocketed pants and boots. Often on his wrist are his dog tags. He has a scar on his left eye that cuts through his black brow. His teeth are jagged and sharp. He is muscular and toned, having a bit of heft to his body. He is our gay son and I love him with my whole being. And he is cisgender male. 

He is the guy who is always smiling. His light humorous attitude comes through is any circumstance and sometimes leads to other people becoming irritated or offended. He is humble but cocky at the sometimes, only speaking the honest truth about situations. He is a bit of a loveable asshole, constantly taking the piss out of a person or situation. He’s a great teammate but performs better alone, often taking is out route in a plan without risking others. He pretty much takes care of Alecs as like an older brother but isn’t always great at it. 

Bee uses his bare fists to fight. He is part of the “military” - an elite selection of mutants who handle tasks deemed too difficult for other citizens to handle. He is well versed in several weapons and fighting styles but a more mixed style of hand-to-hand works best with his mutations and personality on the field. 

Bee is a Clan Breed mutant. His two powers stem from his one mutation. Due to his role in the military, his mutation has been named by his comrades and authorities. His mutation (named Beelzebub) allows him to convert multiple forms of energy into his own, most efficiently through ingestion. The offensive power from this is the ability to use this as his own strength, literally, like, he is strong boi. His defensive power is a little cheat. Not only can he absorb the energy from the attack, negating damage, but he can also use energy to heal injuries and combat fatigue. But with such a one-sided power there is always a catch. He does have to be careful since his power does originally come from hyper-radiation. While he can use other forms of energy, his body depends on HR, when he loses too much he falls into a primal type of state and just kinda tries to eat everything. This leads to Bee depending mostly on his military and physical training over the use of his powers.

Bee is in the Red department. His prowess for battle, as well as the versatility of his mutation, made him a great battle asset. (The the fact that he is Military would have told them that but whatever.)

Kat - Kat is an unknown age and is five-ten in height (177cm.) She has bright purple hair (yes, naturally) and medium brown eyes. She has a slimmer build but is toned. On her sides are zipper-like black shapes that run from her navel around her back to the other side.  When fighting, she often wears smaller articles of clothing, due to her defensive mutation, but otherwise, she wears casual, lounging clothes. Kat is pansexual and is in a relationship with Ric. She is cisgender female but can change to a male-sex body if need be.

Kat is a kind person if you are kind to her. She is a mutual respect kind of woman who is stern, cool and collected but has a big heart. She is like the vodka aunt but more responsible. She has an unexplained knowledge of the history of the world.

Kat has a combat knife but is able to manage with several types of weapons and uses her offensive mutation to turn whatever surrounding objects into a weapon. She joined the department a long time before the beginning of my story so she already has a lot of experience with how it works. 

Kats offensive mutation is the ability to change the shape of objects. She cannot change the mass of said material but can change its density, size, and shape to make weapons, tools, etc. She cannot change the basic compounds of things either. Iron cannot be changed to water etc. And also cannot change the state of matter of an object against its nature. She cannot make room temperature water into ice or solidify oxygen. Her defensive mutation is the ability to "shed her skin" With this she can heal simple injuries as well as change her appearance. She can change everything but her skin color and hair color. However, she can only shed once a day and will have to later revert back to her natural body. 

Kat was formerly a member of the white department, her transformation ability seen as a valuable resource for field support. But, since she has been a member of Central for so long she is qualified as a freelance member who can come and go as she pleases. 

Ric (the edge lord) - He is twenty-five years old and stands at five-seven (170 cm.) His hair is pitch-black. It is actually so dark that it seems to absorb the light from around him. He slicks his hair back to keep the dark shadows from covering his face. His eyes are a similar black darkening the whites of his eyes around his iris. Ric is lean, slightly lanky as isn’t as muscular as Kat or Bee. Due to his past and constantly being dirty and wearing hospital garbs, he is now slightly obsessed with wearing neater, collected clothing..thus suit. He also wears a brown leather gun harness around his chest when battling. Ric is a panromantic asexual. He is in a happy relationship with Kat and is a cisguy

Ric is a reserved, cynical person. His past lead him to miss proper people skills. Not to the extreme that he doesn’t know how to communicate or is clueless, he just very brash and direct. He would rather not talk to people if need be. He is nice though and does has a heroic part of his personality, finding himself helping strangers when he can. He is very calm and collected...on the outside. He is a very anxiety-filled guy who is constantly watching his surroundings. This causes him to overthink a lot and sometimes find himself overwhelmed. Both Kat and Ai help to keep him calm. Ai is an identity in Ric’s brain (no, this is not an attempt at DID or schizophrenia or anything and I try to make that clear is the story as well) who helps Ric process and organize his rampant thoughts. 

Ric battles using two specially made guns loaded with bullets that disrupt hyper-radiation. They were made by Kat and often have to be repaired due to Ric’s excessive use of the guns as blunt melee weaponry. Ric is also incredibly intelligent and can quickly make plans in his head with his observations and quick thinking.

Ric was originally born a nonmutant but his crazy-ass dad found a way to save him just before he turns into a “zombie” and this also resulted in very broken powers developing. His offensive mutation is the ability to turn of the subconscious hesitation in the human body that keeps him from using his full strength. In simple terms, he can push his body past the breaking point to use the high levels of strength that would normally be held back. This power does destroy his body when he uses it so he has to be careful when decided to use it. His defensive ability is a good combo with his offensive, however. He can heal any wound that he can reset or hold shut. So he can heal bones, semi-deep cuts and low-level amputations like fingers or a hand. He can’t heal damage to internal organs, his brain, or missing limbs like arms or legs. 

Ric is put in the Blue department. His exam was actually sabotaged, but his score on the writing part was high enough that his value was still seen for the field. He is a valuable recon asset to do his ability to quickly take in a communicate information to a team.

So from here on the explanations are going to be more limited to name, gender, sexuality (for whatever reason), mutations, and department. 

Lucy - Cishet guy. Clan Breed mutations. His offensive mutation is just having horns all over his head. They fall out and grow back all the time like shark teeth lel. Defensive is also having horns all over that grow back. He isn’t that great at fighting but is great as organizing his team and exploiting their abilities to make a great squad. His skills are so revered that he is Department Head of the blue department. 

Amanita - Cisgal bisexual. Her offensive mutation pores that she can expel from her palms and mouth that poison or weaken humans and kill nonmutant “zombies.” Her defensive is the blubs on her hair like tissue on her head. She can pull of these white and red-speckled balls and they can be ingested to heal and energize. Her powers sound similar and like they should be clan breed but they ain’t, I promise. Her ability to take down large amounts of foes from a distance makes her a strong fighter. Her stern attitude also makes her a level headed leader, helping her reach the position of Department Head for the red department. 

Erik - Cisguy aro-ace. So...prefacing by saying that Erik runs around in nothing but green painted handprints and bandages loosely covering his groin...yeah. His offensive power is the ability to change the density of objects. While the power can be used in multiple more ways that he uses it (sigh, phuck Erik) he tends to just make things heavier. The bandages are a convenient tool that he can use a weapon. He increases the density and can use them as restraints and traps. He can also make living things heavier. His defensive ability is able to make things fatigued. His voice is loud and tiring and commanding and his touch literally saps your energy away. His ability to catch and restrain unwanted individuals in Central along with his ability to motivate and organize his department is what let him become the Department Head of the green department, The Department of Central’s home security.

Alula - SPACE! Non-binary who uses she/her. She basically drips “space” designed black liquid everywhere and can control it as an extension of herself after that. She is a Clan breed so she also can heal wounds as long as it is covered in the black liquid. She is ruthless and quick to cut off those who don’t meet her standards. Her unruly behavior along with her overly powerful mutation gave her the spot of Department Head for the black department. 

Fifty-four  - Cishet guy. Named after his longest battle, lasting almost an hour, fifty-four sports the offensive mutation of weight distribution. His mutation can affect the way gravity and magnetism affects his body, moving his center of mass around in his body. His defensive mutation is a thick jelly-like coating that surrounds him. It’s invisible but is strong/thick enough to stop even a bullet from only a few feet away. Fifty-four is a member of the green department and is a proctor of the practical entrance exam due to his durability and stamina in battle. He is a member of the green department.

Belen - (the asshole egh) Cisguy gay. He has the ability to cause a hazing fog to appear. He can’t control what is shown, but often times is negative memories or hallucinations. He is a clan breed, his offensive and defensive stemming from one mutation.  His hazing fog can also have other psychosomatic effects on those who breathe it in. It can trick the body into thinking it’s lighter, heavier, frozen, injured, etc. Belen’s abilities, as well as his experience, make him a famous person amongst the Sanctum and Central. It also makes him a possible replacement as Head Chairperson for Sanctum, which is why he wears a golden pin. He is a member of the red department.

Sophia - Cishetwoman. The current Head Chairperson of Sanctum. Her offensive ability is the ability to force blood to flow out of the body and fester wounds. Any small cut from Sophia allows her to drain the entire body of blood or cripple the wound to a borderline amputation. This powerful offensive skill is countered by a weaker defensive ability. Her *literally* golden hair releases a cloud of dust that mesmerizes people forcing them to listen to her commands. It really only works on a human since “zombies” are mindless anyway. Sophia is technically a member of the red department but her position of Head Chairperson overrides that title.

Nadine - Cisgal lesbian. She has the offensive ability to be able to “disconnect” the brain from certain parts of the body. It can affect anywhere from just a finger to the whole body. This can be used to stop bleeding, paralyze a limb, stop motion, etc. This is a defensive and offensive ability, but Nadien is not a clan breed. Nadine also has the ability to read emotions, intentions, and feelings through touch. It’s not really a benefit in combat but helps when dealing with nonmutants in other sanctions and organizing squads in battle, setting her in the Blue department. Nadine is also a candidate for Head Chairperson but isn’t interested in the position, thus she doesn’t wear the golden pin.

Gideon (the grimy gross guy) - Cishet guy. His offensive ability is being able to directly influence the hyper-radiation in an object. While it is a very strong ability, he doesn’t like using it, since it also disturbs his own balance and makes him very sick. His defensive ability is being able to sterilize his surroundings. This sterilization goes beyond just germs and bacteria. Any single targeted compound can be immediately destroyed from a specific area. Gideon is a member of the yellow department, the research, and development department. He has been offered the DH position but declines every time in favor of his personal research and projects.

Frederick -  Cisguy pansexual. The youngest personal in Sanctum at the young age of fourteen. Federick has the offensive ability of super speed, pretty straight forward. The only problem with super speed is that the body is not build to handle that type of pressure change and inertia. Luckily, his defensive power is his ability to turn his bones and muscles to a rubber-like thing that bend to prevent damage from the speed of his movements. Sometimes he forgets though and hurts himself before activating his mutation. Frederick is a member of the blue team because his speed is good for recon and support.

Morgan - A selectively mute ace lesbian gal. She has “metal” sheets layered on her arms and legs that move and fold to cover her arms like claws and feet like talons. She also has the ability to communicate with animals with intent and body cues rather than spoken words as her defensive mutation. Morgan is a member of the red team do to the high defense and offense of her offensive mutation.

Idonea - (Got help from my friend @i-am-papercrane for this one) A young bisexual woman. She has the Clan Breed ability to control liquids. Thicker liquids are easier to manipulate for her. Her offensive ability is her control of blood, which she forms into weapons and tools. Her defensive ability is controlling moisture in the air to form quick, disposable shields, platforms, or other strategic things. She is in the Red department due to her working easily with others and her strong desire for battles. She also can (somewhat) tell how strong someone is by the quality of their blood.

This last section is mutant characters who did directly interact with the main characters, but I’m not sure if they will be coming back later in the story.

Keagan - A straight boy who lost one of his mutations due to losing his eye. His defensive mutation is the ability to condense and combine molecules in his surroundings. For example, he can combine hydrogen and oxygen to make water. He is not a member of Sanctum

Elliot - A genderfluid pansexual friend of Kat’s (pronouns change but I will be using she her cuz that’s what she uses during her scene in the story.) She is a clan breed. Her power to control threads that she produces acts as both defense and offense. She can quickly stitch together cloth and fabric to take the brunt of attacks and she can control puppets she made to attack for her. She owns a small clothing shop in the outskirts of East sanction so the puppets are just used as models and employes. Elliot is not a member of Sanctum

Roady  - An old cellmate of Ric’s. He has more likely hood of coming back in the story. His offensive mutation is the claws on his hands. His defensive mutation is acidic blood. He is a member of the green department due to his abrasive attitude and smug personality. His incompatibility in a team means he doesn’t fit in a field department but his fighting prowess is still valuable in the green department.

Arbor - A friendly neighborhood tree. Cishet guy. His brother shows up later, but for now, he doesn’t need to come back. Sorry, tree bud. Clan breed his offensive power is he’s a tree increased strength and his defensive power is he’s a tree having dense and tough skin

So that’s the notable characters that have been seen in name and face so far in LSS. Obviously, my concept art still isn’t exactly how I would like it, but it’s nice to see my guy, gals, and NB pals chillin’ in the real world. Depending on how I’m feeling I may do this for other stories (they won’t be nearly as long lel.) AS ALWAYS I am always down for answering any questions about the characters and/or story and I hope you the post is entertaining and interesting. Can you figure out who the antagonists are?

*Lastly, I’m sorry if this is a bit unorganized or confusing, this is my first time doing a) such a big post b) a post with multiple characters in it like this.*

**Also! I want to do some valentine’s day art with the main 4 so keep an eye out**

Have a good day everyone!

[renegade-is-in-my-blood]

Hey.

Some time ago I posted article titled I – an artist  It was immediately met with greater success I could ever dreamed of. It’s my most read,liked and commented post ever. Many of you left sweet, encouraging comments underneath it and I’m so grateful for every single one of them.

Because of such support and demand of my artworks I’m very happy to announce I got back to creating art again. My biggest thank you goes to juliemellorpoetsite . as this happened:

!!!

I received the book and started working on it. I’m very grateful for this opportunity. Even thought she made it clear I don’t have to create anything I felt like it’s the right push for me to get to creating my thing again. So here is small sneak peek of what you might expect in the future on my blog:

As you all liked my art so much I’m here to bring it even closer to you that before.

Marilyn Monroe

I myself consider my Marilyn Monroe portray the best piece I ever made and it has great personal value to me as I’m about to explain it to you in this article.

As you know by now from my I – an artist  article I attended art school when I was a kid. One day we got assignment to recreate photography into much bigger form using square net. Point was to make it as realistic as possible, we had to be precise and pay attention to the details.

I got to choose from 2 womans photographs: Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. In that time when I created my Marilyn I was just 13 years old and knew nothing much about neither of the ladies. Sure I knew their names and simple basic information but nothing else to choose by, but I was drawn to Marilyn more. I listened to my guts and you already know who I choose to draw.

I even took my final work home even though we usually left all of our artworks at school and I truly never been more proud of myself. Here is my Marilyn I drew when I was 13 (9 years ago)

For my final work at art school I simply copied this art I did before and inspired by Andy Warhol’s pop art color scheme I did my own mosaic of Marilyn Monroe. Sadly  – but not so much – I can’t show you photo of my final work as it’s displayed at my art school in my hometown.

But I decided to recreate the artwork and use it to decorate my new room in my family’s new built house. I still had the original picture so I copied it on the paper, bought some wavelets paper, glue and got to work.

I took me around two months to finish 2 pieces. It would be much quicker but this was the time I was suffering from my mental illness the most and I took the opportunity to create art as a small form of therapy. I took bunch of breaks and I considered it incredible success if I glued like 15 colorful pieces in a weak. Now it will forever remind me of my worst times and shows me the beauty that came out of it.

How I did it?

I copied the original on the baking form. Placed the baking form on clear paper and drew over existing lines with my pencil. It created imprint at new paper and I retraced those lines and the portrait was copied. Then i randomly cut colorful wavelets paper into small pieces, pour liquid glue on the paper, took small brush and glued each piece individually.

Originally I wanted to do 3 portraits and exchange the colors in each of them but then I settled just for 2 and placed original black and white work between them.

Here are some “in progress” photos (some with snapchat filters)

  And here are some detailed photos of my greatest artwork:

What started out as a simple school assignment turned out to have greater meaning to me. Since I already knew her face detailed as I drew her I slowly learned more info about her and grew to like and admire the woman. I noticed many similarities that made me relate to her. I’m sure as hell not comparing myself to most beautiful woman who ever walked the earth, but there are few things we have in common and many other I just admire about her:

Curves – Marilyn was not size 0 and neither am I. To see woman with curves viewed as a sex symbol is great boost for my and I bet many other woman self-esteem. There is still wild discussion going on whether Marilyn was or was not plus sized but the point remains the same – She knew how to wear her curves.  The confidence she had is something I greatly admire and aspire to have

Mental illness – It’s well-known fact that Marilyn suffered form mental illness. Depression, anxiety, self-doubt, low self-esteem, desperate need to be loved and admired.  Mental illness ran in her family. In the end she lost her battle as she reportedly committed suicide. (this topic is way too controversial and mysterious thought) I can surely relate to her in this one as I talked about my own experiences with mental illness in my article HERE  . To see such goddess experience mental illness and continue to work and be one of the most influential woman ever is very empowering for me.

Creativity – You can’t deny her artistic soul. It feels like artistic soul and mental illness goes hand in hand. It’s like the creativity and beauty is too much for your brain to handle so it gets sad. 

Menstrual pain – Marilyn suffered from huge menstrual pain, reportedly she once stopped her car and wince in pain at sidewalk. She took bunch of painkillers and this is something I can relate to as well. I suffered from unbearable menstrual pain since I was 14, I had strong cramps, I kept vomiting, fainting and crying in pain for 3 days a month. I couldn’t go to school or work properly as I couldn’t move because of the pain. I took hell lot of pills, but because of medical toleration I kept needing more and stronger ones. Blessings of a woman. Luckily when I was 18 my gynecologist prescribed me birth control pills to ease the pain.

Determination – Marilyn did everything it took to make her dream come true. All she wanted was to be actress and be loved. With 3 failed marriages and  shit ton of men claiming to bed her ( well of course if you had the chance you would claim you fucked Marilyn Monroe because who wouldn’t wanted to?) I’m not really sure if she was truly loved. Marilyn Monroe was loved but was Norma Jeane? There  is no denying in her being a call girl but that just proves her incredible determination to get what she wanted

Sex symbol – Considering the times when she lived and for a woman at that time being so open about her own sexuality is admirable. Even now woman talking about sex, liking sex and practising sex is still consider something shameful – we are not supposed to talk about it cuz it makes people uncomfortable. I feel like Marilyn brought grace into womans sexuality.

Style – No matter what she wore she looked incredibly. She knew how to wear clothes – important and many times neglected feature. There was confidence and sex appeal flashing out of her every move and every look.

I’m currently reading book about Marilyn’s life called Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe by Anthony Summers and I’m just couple pages in but I’m loving it:

In conclusion:

I aspire to be like her and I enjoy drawing her very much.

I end this rant with my photo with Marilyn’s wax figurine in Prague’s wax museum from this article

Thank you so much for your attention

xo Natalia

Story behind my Marilyn Hey. Some time ago I posted article titled I – an artist  It was immediately met with greater success I could ever dreamed of.

[thatgreenhighlighter]

My Best Advice For Seniors

Summer is finally here and for many of my fellow high school seniors, we’re starting a new chapter of our lives at university this fall. I recently had the opportunity to take a university class in grade 12 and I’ll be honest, it was a wakeup call. Even though it was only one class, I learned a lot about university life and I am definitely more prepared for this fall. Obviously, this was a one in a million opportunity that not everyone will have, so I figured I’d share all the information I got out of the experience. (DISCLAIMER: I took a first year political science course so this information may not be relevant to certain subject areas)

 1. FORGET YOUR AESTHETIC DURING CLASS

Your prof gonna talk for 50 mostly uninterrupted minutes about a subject that they LOVE to talk about if you get a good one. You’re gonna be taking notes on rapid fire and you have no time to think about your colour code when your prof is bouncing from topic to topic. HOWEVER, your prof WILL make it obvious what’s important. I can’t really say how because it differs from prof to prof and is not as obvious as a high school teacher, but you will definitely know when it happens. When that would happen in my class, I would either underline it with the pencil I was writing with or with the yellow highlighter I found on the floor my first day.

What I used for note taking during my lectures literally cost a total of three dollars MAYBE for all of it. I used a composition notebook from the dollar bin at walmart, a found highlighter and a staedtler fineliner (which was actually the most expensive part of the whole ordeal) 

One last thing: depending on your prof you may or may not have a powerpoint to follow. The prof I had refused to use powerpoint because it did not fit with her teaching style, but she would write an outline of the lecture on the whiteboard at the beginning of each lecture so we had an idea of what was going on. Like I said, it depends heavily on the prof.

2. THE READINGS WILL BE DAMN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO DO

so don’t do all of them. I’m not saying to blow them off entirely but I am saying that not doing every single reading will give you an F. For me, it was very high school in the way that my prof would discuss the content with us after the reading was supposed to be done. Additionally, make sure to read your readings sheet carefully because often times my prof would only want us to read certain chapters or sections of chapters. This saves a lot of stress and work so please make sure you read your readings sheet carefully.

Going with that, sparknotes can save your life. For me, when we had to read all these early political philosophers, I just did not understand anything I read so going to sparknotes would just clarify any questions I had.

3. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE REVIEW YOUR NOTES AFTER THE LECTURE 

Literally just review them whenever you have down time that day. Even if you just glance at them while you’re eating lunch or before going to bed, its better than nothing. This is just so you can have them in your head and think about them so if you have questions you can write them down and ask one of the people in your class if they understood it. At this time you can also highlight some new vocabulary words or important topics and write some extra notes in the margins. My friend and I used to do this when we got back to school and it literally look 15 minutes. Our grades totally benefitted too like we both ended up with As in the course as high school students which is never the expectation going in.

4. YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT MAKE FRIENDS IN LECTURES

I swear to god I only talked to 4 people in that entire semester I was taking the class. Two of them were friends from my high school that graduated, one was my friend who also got to take a uni course ass a grade 12 and one was some guy who asked what day it was when we were taking our midterm. This probably sounds really discouraging, especially if you’ll be commuting to uni from home, but I found it was a really good way to not be distracted in a room of 200 people. It was also comforting to know that no one cared how bad you looked cuz you’ll probably never see them again.

If you’re still worried that you won’t make any friends because maybe you live off campus or something, don’t be! I ended up making a lot of friends outside of my lectures. No matter if you live on or off campus, you can study in the library or any other designated study space. Surprisingly, there are quiet study spaces and there are not so quiet study spaces and in the not so quiet spaces, people will probably talk to you unless you clearly don’t want to be talked to (wearing headphones, head buried in work, etc). This is actually an awesome way to spend time between classes if you commute or if your dorm is across campus from your next class. Just be reminded that the lecture hall is gonna be dead silent and that is like the ONLY place on campus where you probably won’t make a friend.  

5. YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS LIED

How many times did you hear “college will be a lot harder than this!” or “your prof will NEVER let you hand work in late” or “your prof WILL NOT let you go on your phone!” or any other garbage like that? Yeah probably a lot if your high school teachers were anything like mine. The truth is that most of it depends on your prof. Profs are a lot less... standardized(?) than high school teachers. What I mean by that is that profs can pretty much do whatever they want within reason so if they wanna ban all laptops and smartphones in their class they totally can but that goes both ways and they low key don’t care, especially in first year classes with 200+ students. They don’t even know your name, let alone if you’re playing on your phone. Most of the time they won’t even care if your essay is late if you go in at office hours and explain yourself. You’ll probably get a percentage taken off but the notion that they won’t accept late work is dumb. That being said, there were assignments in my course where you could not hand in the paper unless you attended the tutorial, but even so, if you couldn’t make it for whatever reason (my reason was that I was seeing Green Day 8 hours away so literally any reason) you could talk to the prof about it and she’d arrange for you to attend a different tutorial.

I personally found that my prof was a lot less high strung than my teachers at high school. When I would talk to my prof she was always super chill and she basically just wanted to talk about politics. The only time she wasn’t chill was when she respectfully called out some dude bros aggressively talking about football in the back row.

My weird point here is that teachers make REALLY general statements about college based for the purpose of motivating students to actually do anything during class time.  

Anyway, this has been my super long post of advice. I hope it helps in some way and if you have any questions about university, I will do my very best to help you!! This is just the stuff that I wish I knew when I started off my adventure into part-time post-secondary education!

[diviinedogs]

❣️hoi, what was art school like? I'm planning to go myself (and my family is pretty passively aggressively turning me down), but I just want to know what skills do you learn? What is the experience? Thank u for your time! Ur blog and art are amazing btw

hI I think it really depends on the school but I can give like the idea of two of them since I went to another school for precollege to see if it was something I’d be interested in majoring in! C./C/A and I went to Ri/.ngli./.ng and my parents are actually letting me go back to school now so hopefully I’ll be back there in Fall c’: also thank you for liking my stuff!

this ask is gonna long because I know I’m gonna ramble so I’m gonna call the schools C and R so I don’t have to do the slashes all the time! C’s experience was a specific  1-2 month course so it’s nothing like actual college at R so feel free to skip down to it, I just thought it was important to add since it was my first experience at an art school

and after I talk about the schools I’ll say what stuff’s good to include in your portfolio, of course this is based on my experience but for the most part it helps in what you should try strengthening 

I did animation at C, which was 2D in the morning and 3D in the afternoon. I did precollege the summer before my senior year cuz it’s like the college experience before college so you do get the feel of how it is being on your own, and I wanted to see if I was good enough to pursue something art related. At this point, my parents were on the fence about the idea, so it would help them too. And C’s in California, so I had a bunch of relatives who could show me around and who I could stay with during the weekends

experience wise, the teachers and TAs I had were really nice, so in 2D it was stuff like learning Principles of Animation and the first thing we did was a flipbook animation I think? and then it went to looking at scenes from movies for inbetweens and character sheets and we all worked together reanimating a quick scene from a movie. In the end, we all chose a really short scene from an animated movie to study and reanimate for our final

while in 3D, it was just learning around Maya and doing animation exercises each day with it, eventually working your way up to a mini film (nothing’s completely rendered though! just models), other than that it was pretty much the same as 2D

so basically, I learned the basics and they were really helpful, but to be honest I felt a bit lost with how free it was, you basically had to learn everything on your own with the teachers just checking your work. I was really good at 3D but it... wasn’t fun for me lol so I decided that after this I’d want to stay in the 2D realm of things

now for R! My parents were worried about the starving artist myth and all that, so they would absolutely not let me do Illustration even though that’s what I really wanted, so I chose Game Design and I was like hey I’ll deal with it or like maybe I’ll like it. If not, I could always try convincing my parents to let me switch my major. 

the way things work at R is that all the majors are put into categories, so Computer Animation, Game Art, and Illustration are all the Media Arts majors. All Freshman take basically the same type of classes and things start breaking off around the second semester of freshman year. Eventually you like see no one outside your major lol

and lET ME TELL YOU........ R HAS A VERY HEAVY WORK LOAD, so you gotta be prepared for that. I think just about all art schools are like this, but R’s very strict on it.  Manage your time wisely, there’s a lot of times I’ve seen people pull all nighters just to finish all their assignments. I was really bad at managing my time too, so when I go back I need to be more strict on myself. It’s better to do things early and relax than relax until last minute and have anxiety hell. Not many of the teachers are about how much homework you have in other classes. Also, it’s good to not do things last minute because then you can relax earlier and scanners and place you go to take photos aren’t crowded.

and trust me, your teachers will know if you did something last minute, and they can tell whether effort was put into something or not. 

Now for classes, I’ll talk about just freshman year since that’s probably what’s most helpful to you right now and since I was made to drop out by my parents I’ll probably be repeating like the second semester of that rip.... anywAY

so, R starts you with foundation, so figures classes, 2D design, drawing (this one’s perspective! so important but rip everyone forgets everything after that semester so I should probably start studying perspective again)

the figure classes at R are sO GOOD............ you improve a lot with those, a few weeks into it I was thinking about the figures I had in my portfolio and was just like...... fuck these are so shitty how the hell did the school accept me.... of course the experience depends on the teacher, but I loved my figure drawing teacher he was really cool and good. He did demos at some point every class to where we would all just hover over his shoulder and watch him draw while he explained what he was doing. You i

2D design I hated because like...... abstract... it’s supposed to help you work with compositions and such but I really don’t understand abstract and execute it properly so that was a really difficult class for me 

drawing class is just doing still life and perspective exercises, you don’t really get to the fun part till second semester, I forget the other exercises but I remember that towards the end there was one where you designed a car (like a fun spin on it like.... I think mine was a firefly styled car? yeAH)

other classes were Film & Narrative (so studying films, it was cool) and Writing Studio, which is just like a writing class, they don’t really apply to skills/experience in art so I’ll skip over those

second semester, you still have Figure Drawing, but there’s more of a focus on stuff and you get to draw animals too (sadly no, no real animals come into the classroom. You work off of projections and then there’s a field trip to a big cat sanctuary)

drawing II gets fun because you finally get to use photoshop for your still life and assignments, the assignments get more fun like the Tro/./.ja./n Ho//rs/e assignment. Like you could either do the actual one or draw a similar scenario, I’m totally blanking out on what I did but one of the examples was like a giant wooden mouse with cheese and in the back were cats watching the actual mice. Anyway, it had even more of a focus on compositions and colors. 

Another assignment was designing a character’s room. It could be any character, but you couldn’t have anything that gave away their name. People had to be able to guess who the room belonged to just by looking at it. Sounds hard, but fun. If the character you chose had like a specific style from the concept art of where they’re from you’re free to use that too! I did Kida from Atlantis and one of my friends did Greg Universe’s room, so she got to imitate SU’s background style which was cool to see!

3/D desi/gn was............. super difficult to me, I almost failed that class >w>;;;; because it was woodshop type stuff and polymer clay depending on what you wanted. However, every assignment you did would lead up to the grunt assignment, which was like, you had three designs of things that would be possible grunt level monsters, and you essentially pitch a game idea to the class and they pick the best. SO again, modeling especially with actual clay is hard for me but it was a great experience when it came to designing and stuff. There’s more but I don’t want to get into all the assignments

3/.D design differs based on what major you’re in, and you only get it if you’re doing one of the Media Arts majors, but I’m pretty sure for the most part they’re the same?

if you major in Game Art or Animation, then you also take traditional animation, which was really fun but tbh...... I only knew how to do animation because of me being at precollege at C and then like learning stuff on my own, you were really left alone a lot, which is the same for some of the other classes. They’ll help you if you ask, but if you don’t then you can’t really get helpful feedback. Again, it depends on the teacher. The one I had was really nice and I frequently went to her for help.

so despite how some assignments/classes were hard for me, I really loved R and I’m excited at my parents giving me the option to go back, I just need to do a portfolio again >w>;;;; R’s a really good school with a lot of great resources. All of my issues came from problems with people (not teachers just other students) there and I’m not gonna get into those cuz personal lol

OKAY SO for portfolio tips

still life

figURES

ANIMALS, it makes you have a better understanding of anatomy and stuff

try to have a mix of media in there, like I mainly do digital but still have some traditional stuff to show that you know how to use those

I would keep figures realistic and not stylized so they can see that you have an understanding of them

depends on the school I think, but R strictly says in their guidelines to not do fantasy stuff like unicorns and dragons

NO FAN ART.......  you can have it but you need to be really, really vague? if that makes sense, like people shouldn’t be able to tell it’s fan art

have what you’re applying for in your portfolio, so like depending on what you want I’d add concept art stylized stuff or character designs 

you gotta have your best work in there, like some people like having okay/bad work to show how much they improved but that’s a bad idea, if you don’t think something’s good don’t put it in for colleges to see 

[sugaforthesoul]

[Fan Account] 20170401 - BTS WINGS Tour in Anaheim, CA

So you guys may or may not know but I was in Anaheim last night to see Bangtan. If you'd like to find out about my experience, just keep on reading!

So my day started very early on Saturday morning. I woke up around 7AM. Since this past week was my spring break, I was accustomed to waking up at 1PM and going to bed at 4AM, so needless to say, I had trouble both falling asleep and waking up in the morning. I caught a bus from outside my dorm around 9:30AM and rode it for about an hour and a half up to Oceanside. From there, I took the train around 12PM to Anaheim and I got there around 1:30PM. Fast forward past some details no one probably cares about, I came back to the Honda center (it's right across the street from Anaheim station) around 3:30PM. Since I had an assigned seat, I didn't have to worry about lining up or anything. By that time, most of the merch was gone though, so I didn't get anything ;A; I guess it's a good that 'cause that stuff is really expensive. Anyway, after hours of sitting on the curb and waiting in line, I got in around 7PM. I was in section 204 so once I was inside, I went straight through the doors into the actual stadium. Since I was in row P, my view was a little further away but I was not complaining one bit. When I sat down, a lady gave us an orange and green bag to cover lightsticks for specific songs but I didn't get to use them since I didn't buy a lightstick. For the next hour or so, they were playing Bangtan MVs on the monitors, and y'all. Why y'all got scream... at a MV? I was amused but I expected it since at SMTOWN way back in 2011, I was one of those people who screamed at the videos playing before the show (and was judged by my dad). Anyway I was sitting there amused at the audience but also watching the screen (and screaming at Jas AKA @jeons-jalebi via text and snap). As I was sitting there, watching, it hit me and I was trembling in both nervousness and excitement, which didn't subside until deep into the actual performance. I noticed the MVs were somewhat being played in chronological order but after Spring Day, I was ready for Not Today... the MV... that's not what I got. The lights cut and the intro VCR started playing. Everyone got to their feet, screaming and waving their lightsticks. I was no exception this time (minus the lightstick, obviously). Guess what they performed first. Yup, that's right, Not Today. The rose up from the back portion of the stage and it felt like my heart stopped for a moment. Yes, I video taped it but I did NOT for one moment actually look at what I was filming cuz I wanted to focus on it with my actual eyes. Even though I held my phone very close to my chest, the footage is very shaky. Yes, it's because my body was still trembling uncontrollably. I don't think I need to tell you guys how they perform because I'm sure most of you are under the impression that they're great performers, and you'd be absolutely correct. I think after was the first ment (I say I think because I don't remember how many there were or when they happened). Everyone screamed their asses off as expected and they all introduced themselves in English and all that jazz. I was expecting this but I was not prepared. Goddamn Min YOONGI (that autocorrected to all caps and obviously, I have made zero attempt to change it) did the thing where he takes his earpiece out, closes his eyes and cups his ear. Naturally, I screamed at the top of my lungs, as did others (except the girl next to me; she was texting during half the concert lol). After that they performed Am I Wrong, 뱁새, and (I think) BS&T. I'm not sure the order but I'm pretty sure BS&T was in that mix because I know they performed it around the beginning but I don't quite remember when (I jotted the setlist during the breaks, but I had forgotten by then... I guess I was just that stunned). Yo... those motherfucking hip thrusts in 뱁새... I couldn't breathe, holy shit. Honestly, no amount of preparation can prepare you to see them and I learned that many times in the course of two and a half hours. So far, the award of hype goes to Not Today and 뱁새, which is saying something because usually I'm very reserved in public and I was by myself too. After a break, Begin started and I knew there was going to be choreography for it since Jas told me . I thought I could prepare myself for it… but I was not prepared at all. Begin is one of my favorite tracks and pairing it with dancing ruined me. I was on the verge of tears. And then Lie is performed, and in that moment, it was all over. The choreography was absolutely amazing. It was sensual and well put together. Even though it was Jimin paired with sexy dancing, that style of dancing appeals to me anyway so I was just immersed. It felt a little bit theatrical too, and the red lighting was also appealing to my aesthetic. Anyone who knows me knows much I love the color red (just like Jungkook, heh). Right after, the universe decided it was going to seal the package of that round of performances with my bias. Yes, that’s right, the first round of solos was my bias list, ending off with my ultimate. Yoongi started by sitting in the middle in front of a piano and there were two strings players sitting at each side. I could hear the emotion in his voice, honestly. He kept walking closer, down the stage and delivered the verses with closed eyes. At this point, I was just watching and crying (literally). In that moment, I all of a sudden felt so thankful that I was standing there, able to see him (and them) perform in person. I’m from Florida, so needless to say, they’ve never come anywhere near my hometown. I don’t remember which ment this was in but since I mentioned that I don’t remember which ment went where and what happened in each specific one except the beginning and end one, I’ll insert this story here. So Hoseok was going to each side, getting them/us to scream. Of course the left side would still scream when he went to the right side and vice versa, but that’s beyond the point. Yoongi, after Hoseok finished both sides, growled, and I mean GROWLED like a tiger when he said, “LOUDER!” Usually the speakers in a large concert made the pitch higher, but when Yoongi growled, his voice was the deepest I had heard from him. It sent shivers down my spine (and still does at this very moment as I think back to it) and everyone went absolutely crazy. I am no exception. Every time Yoongi prompted us to be louder, lowkey highkey, I put more effort for obvious reasons. The next set of performances were in the front part of the stage, so I got a better view of it. The vocal line started with Lost. I was really impressed by how much they’ve improved their vocals. There a lot more stable now. Lost isn’t one of my favorites but I enjoyed it (as I enjoyed the performance for every song that isn’t that high up for me). Oh, I’d like to mention that by then, I’m pretty sure my body’s trembling had subsided. I think it stopped when there was a break. After Lost was Save Me, and I Need U. The choreography for Save Me was… I can’t even describe. Obviously I’m familiar with it, but seeing it in person was so good. I could definitely tell I Need U was a favorite for many because it got even louder somehow (if you didn’t know, I tend to vibe more with the tracks that are more hip-hop infused). The next set of performances were solos again and it started with Reflection. Namjoon is one of those people whom I’ve grown to admire a lot in the past four years and seeing him perform was a reiteration of that. There’s just something about the way his voice fills the stadium… that or I’m crazy. After that was Stigma, and guys, we need to talk about Taehyung’s voice. I was so accustomed to his deep singing voice. Yes, I was aware of the high notes in Stigma, but hearing it live? This probably doesn’t mean much since I was shook to the core the whole time, but I was S H O O K. Hoseok performed Mama after, and I must say, I have a newfound love for him. The choreography was very jazzy and lively, and his smile just gave me energy. That whole performance was like a vitamin. Also I had a hard time keeping my eyes on him ‘cause the main monitor behind him and a slideshow of his baby photos and babies are my weakness. After Hobi, Jin performed, and again, so impressed with those vocals. The next set of performances… this is when shit got very real for me, and this is why: the fucking CYPHER happened. Yo, I mentioned that it’s hard to hype me that much if I’m solo and in public, but you better believe I was vibing hardcore with that shit. My mannerisms were like Yoongi’s. I was too into it to notice but when I looked back at the little snapchat video I took of the beginning of his verse, I noticed we’re similar. I also do some of the dance moves Hoseok was doing (and I’m sure some of you know the origin those dances). I’m dancing while sitting at my desk typing this up, that’s how much that performance hyped me. Right after was Fire, and of course the hype did not subside (for most people, Fire is a hype song but not my favorite - dear Lord, how many times am I going to say a variation of “hype”). They had us cover our lightsticks with either a yellow bag or an orange one for it. Following was a medley of throwbacks starting from N.O. Then they did No More Dream (I was so hyped for the former two), Boy in Luv, Danger, and Run. They only did choreography for Boy in Luv out of the older songs. They did 21st Century Girl, and then it seemed like it’d be over but after lots of screaming, chanting BTS, and changing the bags on the lightsticks to create a rainbow, they came back on, starting with Hoseok dancing to Intro: Boy Meets Evil (no, he didn’t rap too). They did BS&T again and talked to us more after. Last, they performed Interlude: Wings, 2!3!, and ended with Spring Day. Most people including me didn’t leave until the VERY end, after the ending video played on the monitor and the boys bowed with everyone. As I walked out, I was a little dizzy, still dazed, but also my ears were so blocked and my throat was very hoarse. I didn’t buy merch earlier but I bought a WINGS shirt with the tour dates on the back (which I’m wearing now)... it was $10! People just went around selling them! Jas told me to look out for stuff like that. The concert was about two and a half hours but i didn’t leave until around 11:30PM because I needed an uber to go back to the Airbnb and when I first got out, they were $45, and I was like hell no because it was $14 to get to the Honda Center. I kept refreshing but the price went up to $75. Eventually I got it at $32 though. The amount of people I screamed to about it when I was lying in bed… yeah I still have post concert shock. I came back to the dorm this morning and since Anaheim Station is close to the Honda Center, I got to meet @perpetually-jungshook :’) We didn’t hang for long; I had a crowded as fuck train to catch… but yeah, that’s it. I wanna turn back time, but the moment has passed so I’ll just pray they’ll come back soon.

[the-coolest-mallard]

Homework Woes

Yes, you guessed it. Louie and his experience with homework.

Words required for Lena: 2006 exactly

There were days like today where Louie desperately wished he could just drop out of school and become a gangster. Or maybe he’d ditch school and join a circus. Or somehow out of the blue he’d make it big in a rock band and never have to study for any test or do any homework ever again. Oh how badly he wished he could do any of those things instead of stare down the assignment that Mr. Lyons had given them because he hated his students. Louie was sure the guy had to be hating them.

And okay, Simba Lyons was a cool dude when he wasn’t teaching. But teaching meant that he gave Louie stuff to do, and Louie didn’t like stuff. Especially not stuff about the medieval times and the days where people smelled really bad and thought kings were the shit. Maybe the kings had the shits, but Louie was fairly sure not a single one of those old farts was any good. The only dude that was interesting was one of the Henrys, and only because he went full psycho!

But no, here was Louie, stuck writing a paper on some asshole King Richard III. Well, he was doing his best. But Uncle Donald was working, and Huey was off doing who knew what, so Louie didn’t really have any good helpers to make sure his work made sense so far. As he glanced down at what he had, he couldn’t help but be dismayed by his efforts.

Rihard the third was burn the youngest sun and was considred to be a loser. No one cared.

Well, at least Louie could kind of sympathize for the dude. Like Louie, he was the youngest probably talentless guy who nobody really cared about. Though he would guess that this Richard dude could probably spell better than Louie could. His letters were all over the place. He was all over the place. He was pretty sure this Richard dude caused a big family drama, but he wasn’t sure that he had the right family drama written down. He knew about the Henry that chopped heads off, but that wasn’t the Henry that Richard’s family was against. At least he was pretty sure. Why did English history have to have so many repeated names for royalty? It was so damn confusing!

Okay focus Louie. Focus! He told himself, eyebrows furrowing as he glanced at the textbook he had, as well as extra material he’d researched on academic sites online. Well, he’d found an article or two before he’d completely lost focus and started playing games on his computer. But he was getting there. Slowly. Probably. Well he had like two sentences written in his draft. That was two more than there had been an hour ago. God help him. Louie was going to die writing this paper, he was sure of it. 

For a moment Louie found himself tempted to try to reach out to Mark. Maybe he’d text Mark about how the next guy to die by crazy medieval death would be Louie! Or he’d text Mark and tell him that he couldn’t do anymore of this paper and that he should come over. Or he should send Mark cool pictures of himself and insist Mark send some back. Anything other than actually work on this medieval paper for History class. “Okay...okay if i just add this part here. This part is important I can do that and it’ll be...yeah.”

Richard’s bro Edward became King of England after people bitched about who was sposed to be King. He becm King Edward IV on March 4th, 1461. This made our guy Richie a royal prince.

Louie dropped his pen and sighed, staring at the tragic abyss that was all the blank space of his notebook. He’d had to ban himself from his computer to write it (though it would have good spellcheck, because there were just too many ways to distract himself on there) and now he felt like his hand was going to die. He’d only written a few sentences. God, why couldn’t Louie be smart like his brother? Or at least let him be smart for these occasions where it kind of mattered? Louie dreamed of getting through this paper with minimal crying.

His head jerked up at that, and he found his fingers already twitching for his phone. Speaking of crying, Louie should text Tae and see how bad off he had it with this whole thing. He was pretty sure Tae would hate this just as much as he did. Louie debated over what to say, before he grinned and just sent: ‘couldn’t give a fuck bot dis Richard dude. Howre u doin with ur old fart paper?’ Louie then forced himself to set his phone aside again and stare at the words on his computer screen. This Richard dude dealt with a fucked up situation. That part Louie had been able to focus on. It was just hard to write about said fucked up situation without writing it terribly. 

He already knew what comments he’d get with this: decent fact finding, but could stand to write in a more academic way. This is a research paper, not a casual conversation among friends. Stuff like that. He’d probably get more shit than that, but Louie was pretty familiar with all the red marks and comments he got for his shitty work. “Ugggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh,” Louie whined, throwing his head back and slumping in his chair. How did smart people do this? Louie struggled so hard to get through a paragraph!

Maybe he should try music. Louie hadn’t considered that option yet, but it was definitely one that could potentially get him through his paper. Music had to be it! After all, spotify had all kinds of study playlists and shit, things to help someone get through the work they were trying to do. Maybe Louie would do that. So he went ahead and switched on one of those study playlists and started reading stuff on this Richard dude again. But then the music was so calming, and Louie’s eyelids started drooping. His head started to drop, and then the next thing he knew he was jerking awake and looking at the clock.

“Oh shit! You slept for an hour Louie? Oh goooood why am I such a fucking idiooooot,” he moaned, putting his head in his hands and shaking his head desperately. This was so bad. Louie was so doomed if he didn’t get this paper done by midnight. He had four hours left or something, but he needed every damn second of that time. Writing all of this was so much harder for him than other people. Other people didn’t struggle to keep focused on one thing for as long as Louie did. He was going to fail and end up as a horribly sad janitor and everyone would laugh at him. Louie could see a tragic future.

So he decided he was going to pep up his mood a little. He took a nap? Now it was time to play some lively music and get back into it. Louie turned on Green Day. Louie started bobbing his head enthusiastically, glancing over at his computer to see what he could add about this Richard guy. If he were truly honest, the history was kind of interesting, but Louie still couldn’t keep himself focused enough to get through it more efficiently. He was on to the next little segment for himself, eyebrows furrowing as he debated how to put it.

Richie becm duk of gloucster n a knight of the roun table? or just a knight? something bout a garter. He was placed in a house of the kingmaker guy and grew to be an adult there i guess. ADULTS WERE 16. means im an adult and-

Louie cut himself off. Not important for the purposes of the essay, but he did debate over coming at his uncle with that. Like, ‘listen Uncle Donald, I know there are some dumb rules here, but I’m an adult in the medieval world. I can do what i want!’ Yeah, that probably wouldn’t go over very well, but Louie liked to believe he could have more control over his life. It gave him a satisfying feeling. Or the pretense of satisfaction. Much more satisfying than working on this thrice cursed paper for History. 

He tapped his pen against his chin, tilting his head as he tried to review some more notes and stuff when an absolute bop of a Green Day song came on. “Oh shit, gotta turn that up.” Louie turned up the volume for his speakers and got to his feet, dramatically playing the guitar for the song. It was too good to ignore! “I walk a lonely road the only one that I have ever knowwwwwwwn don’t know where it goes but it’s home to me and I walk alone!” Louie belted it out, not caring about who would here because well, apparently none of his family was around to help him suffer less. He rocked the air guitar, letting his head rock with it and himself pretend he was the amazingly talented Mike Dirnt. He forgot himself for a song before sighing and heading back towards his table and misery. Why did history have to suck so badly?

“Okay Richard, man...couldn’t you help a guy out and write this for me?” Louie suggested with a laugh, shaking his head as he glanced down at what he’d written. He really didn’t have much at all. He was doomed to a life of failure and crime probably. While his brother Huey became Prime Minister or some shit one day, Louie would be nothing. A no good hoodlum or a janitor or a tragically broke musician or something. The longer this went on the more depressing his future looked. He could cry. “Right so so...war of the roses started again right? It stopped chilling out....when.” His eyebrows furrowed, glancing at his paper and the computer with a sigh.

The rose war started up agin in 1469 when Richard and King Edwrds bro n the kingmaker guy Warwick were like ‘f u Edward’ n seized control of Eddie an his gov. Our dude Richie stayed loyal cuz he wasnt a piece of shit bro.

Louie glanced over what he wrote and shrugged. Was it informal? Yes. Did he basically know the history of this dude? Sort of. Mostly. Honestly, at least Louie was making the story more accessible. Maybe this paper could be his Hamilton. He was just offering it to the masses. The masses wanted information that wasn’t horribly bland and basic! Louie was totally delivering on that. In his opinion anyway. He was still probably going to fail this paper. 

But he had made it so far, so Louie let himself keep trying, figuring he still had a few hours leeway to make it sound more “academic” and “boring” rather than his actual writing and thinking style. Why were academic people so lame? Louie sighed, leaning over his paper again to start writing.

Warwick n the dumbass bro reinstated one of the Henrys...3? 4? who the fuck evn knows? 5? Before our man Richie and his bro King Eddie came back n KICKED ASS MAN. Took the throne back after a year lol bitches u tried.

Louie rubbed his eyes tiredly, getting up to go grab himself a snack. He was working hard. He was doing better than usual. Usually by now he’d have given up and just started playing games (or called Mark to do something actually fun). Instead Louie brought himself some crisps, a can of soda, and some chocolate for when it got too depressing to last without sweetness. He could do this! He could do this right? As it got later he started to debate the merit of selling his soul and offering it to Mr. Lyons. Maybe then the dude would go easy on Louie’s best effort. He really had tried.