#phase-scale-form

[bsahely]

Tending the Threshold: Integrating Generative Boundary Intelligence into Integral Theory | ChatGPT4o

[Download Full Document (PDF)] Tending the Threshold critiques and reimagines a foundational aspect of Integral Theory: its treatment of developmental transitions. While Wilber’s framework provides a powerful cartography of consciousness and complexity, it often underspecifies the liminal dynamics — the embodied, symbolic, and relational processes that support safe passage from one stage to…

[shironezuninja]

178 in total.

[mielmoto]

the smaller I make Honey's human(oid) form depending on the verse, (roughly between half-foot/gnome size in dunmeshi; lalafell in FFXIV), the more comical her archfey form becomes.

[flarefloofer]

my reaction when my brother eats the last slice of pizza

[the-ancient-dragons]

SilkWing Study!

Featuring the color palette of OC General Viceroy, Queen Monarch's brother in my Pantalan AU.

Details, explanation, and one more art below. Otherwise, next week are the HiveWings. See you then!!

More Tribe Studies

Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth; school tried to kill me. I live!

Last time, I had called this series the 'dynamic bases', but looking back on some of them I would like to fix the anatomy and... generally everything, haha. The SilkWings I actually like all of the poses but I want to keep it as a study just for now.

It was a lot of fun to play with Joy's style and try to put the dragons in tribe-specific poses. Not all dragons in the tribes behave the same way, but it's a fun approximation. For example, for the SilkWings, I wanted the wings open as much as possible and from multiple angles. The pose at the top is a fun way to showcase both the wings and the silk - if the dragon is a flamesilk it could be shown there. I really like to make SilkWings interact with their silk like a cat's cradle game, it seems like a fun way they'd play and practice weaving.

Also, many people have their own interpretations of wingbuds, and this is mine. I'll do a whole anatomy study later but it's my headcanon that the dragonets hatch with the wings partially formed, just encased in scales to protect them as they finish growing. They would do this so they could hatch earlier (say half a hear-ish compared to other dragonets, who take the time to develop their wings in their eggs). Metamorphosis would then be the shedding phase where they drop the casing and release their fully-developed wings.

[homunculus-argument]

I believe that it all goes down to patterns. The way that the veins inside your arm fork and turn in the same kind of patterns as the roots of trees, same as the shape of lightning, surely galaxies are somehow arranged in a similar pattern, even if it's on a scale beyond our full comprehension. Everything repeats the same patterns, big and small, and if you can't see it, you're not looking big or small enough.

That's why as I've grown from my hard-edge reddit atheist phase I've become an agnostic. Who is to say that things far beyond our comprehension cannot exist? Consider the sea sponge. Living in the sea bed, happily living a normal life, with no knowledge nor awareness of the existence of human life. Who is to say we are in any way superior to them? Aren't we also unaware of all things beyond our comprehension?

What makes us assume that there is no chance or possibility that some life form so different from ourselves that we could not properly recognise it as life might suddenly whisk us into a world equally impossibly different, and look at us, thinking in thought so alien that we would not comprehend them as thoughts, going

"Ah, a creature perfectly formed for me to scrub my sweaty nuts."

[unboundprompts]

Could you give me some ideas for currencies and the measurement of time, preferably both in a more dark fantasy setting involved with nature?

Currency and Time Measurement in a Dark Fantasy Setting

-> feel free to edit as you see fit.

Currencies

Leaf Coins: Thin, pressed coins made from the leaves of sacred trees. The type of leaf determines the coin's value, with rarer leaves being more valuable.

Bloodstones: A currency made from dark red gemstones that are said to be formed from the blood of fallen warriors.

Shadowshards: Small, dark crystals that absorb light and shimmer with a ghostly glow. They are collected at dusk and are traded as currency, often used in shadowy dealings. The more shadow a shard absorbs, the higher its worth.

Grave Dirt: A unique form of currency, this is literally dirt taken from sacred burial grounds. It is believed to contain the power of the dead. Merchants trade small pouches of it, and its value increases based on how many souls it has been touched by.

Wyrm Scales: Scales from mythical serpents that once roamed the land. Each scale has a distinct pattern and is highly valued due to its rarity and the protective magic it is said to bestow upon its holder.

Fungal Credits: Small, luminescent fungi that can be harvested at certain times of the year. Their glow indicates their value.

Measurement of Time

Moon Phases: Time is measured in moon phases, with each cycle representing a month. Each phase is associated with different rituals and events in nature, such as the “Blood Moon” for harvest and the “Waning Moon” for reflection and atonement.

Nightfall Cycles: Instead of days, time is counted in cycles of nightfall, where each cycle is divided into periods marked by darkness and light. A cycle may last for varying lengths of time based on seasonal changes, with longer nights in winter.

Sundrop Hours: Each hour is marked by the position of a special sundial that has been enchanted to reflect the essence of the sun. During certain times, the sundial emits a soft glow, indicating a magical time when rituals can be performed.

Eclipses: Significant events are measured by the number of eclipses that have occurred since a pivotal moment in history.

Blood Seasons: Time is divided into seasons based on nature’s cycles and the harvesting of life. For example, “Bloomspring,” “Darksummer,” “Crimsonfall,” and “Frostbite,” with each season lasting as long as it takes for specific plants to grow or animals to thrive.

Night’s Breath: This measures time through the cycles of natural events, such as the sounds of nocturnal creatures or the rustling of leaves in the wind. Each breath is a period marked by significant changes in the environment, like the blooming of nocturnal flowers.

[littlemoonglow]

Warning: Long post?

—

Jason did not expect his ghost form to feel…like this.

(Oh, dealing with his body randomly phasing through the ground and smacking his face onto hard concrete was not fun, but Jason dealt with that just like with every other hurdle in his life. By being more stubborn than the problem itself.)

It felt like something… settled into place. That was the best way he could describe it.

He felt as if spite and anger were finally not the only things keeping him awake and running. 

He felt calm, almost. Stable, at least. Whatever pent up energy that was stuck in his chest cavity now flowed freely throughout his body, redistributed, instinctually easier to manage.

It's almost like he could breathe a little bit easier.

(After much… ranting that Jason decided to ignore for his own sanity, Danny said that his case ectoplasmic corruption was probably due to the fact that Death, as a concept, doesn’t let go of things easily, time shenanigans notwithstanding.)

(Becoming a half-ghost was seemingly the only working compromise.)

—

Danny once told him that broad strokes of a ghost’s personality could be guessed by looking at their physical appearance. 

Despite the cool powers, this was a slight downside. Jason dealing with the filth of the Earth meant that being to hide his emotions and who he is was kind of important. Life saving, even.

He realized later on that his ghost form was way too easy to read.

—

He looked at his arms covered in bandages, and got reminded of the amount of times he had to patch himself up in the last month.

His jacket was ripped in place he knew that would have been sewn together when he was a living breathing human (well, as much as he could be).

He always looked slightly on fire?

(Danny told him it's probably related to his... core?)

(He know he died in an explosion but really?)

And then, there was his… veil? Shroud? Cloak?

It looked really nice.

But on the other hand…

It drooped when he felt under the weather. It flicked and thrashed around when he’s either irritated or barely holding back his urge to headshot someone.

And—

(No Danny, my cloak was not fucking wagging when you brought me fresh ectoplasm last week, you’ll have to get your goddamn eyes checked—)

He'll deny it until the day he dies (a second time).

And then his cloak could sometimes just…grow bigger. He figured that it acted as an extension of his own body, and had a nice add-on of allowing him to sense things he couldn't see. Hell, he could even make a hand out of it (wacking Danny with it - gently - never gets old). Jason had to also admit it looked cool, with the wispy bits and with one of its sides becoming a bright yellow.

(It reminded him a bit of his time as Robin.)

—

Being a ghost had a lotta perks.

Dealing with targets was so much easier when no one could see you. Inflitration was so much simpler when walls became optional. Cameras will glitch out when he's around, he left no traces visible to the naked eye and, combined with his training, to say that it was useful would be an understatement.

But, sometimes, he feels like he’s changing as well the more he transforms. Not drastically, but enough for him to look back and notice.

He usually was someone who prided on being efficient and straight to the point.

But now he’s starting to… have fun.

He started using his claws whenever he could. Don't het him wrong, he still uses his guns plenty, but there was just something deeply satisfying about vaulting over things, scaling a wall or crawling on the ceiling with bare hands. 

(Punching people is still the most satisfying by far, though.)

That one time hunting down the Joker wannabes was fun too.

(Danny said he’d get along great with Skulker? Did Jason want to find out? No.)

Fading in and out of invisibility, he picked them off one by one, watching as panic and dread slowly but surely creeped up on the remaining ones.

(After all, he has no respect for those trying to emulate the dead clown.)

—

(Yeah, the Joker was dead.)

(Surprisingly, that has not been a good day.)

—

One of the favorite things he liked to do was rooftop parkour. The… bendability of gravity is… fun, not gonna lie.

(Not flying though. Jason is used to having feet in regular contact with solid ground, thank you very much. No offense, Danny.)

But he gets why ghosts love to fly. When he’s jumping from rooftop to rooftop in Gotham in the at night, watching the city light fly by, cloak spread behind him, it’s as if nothing else matters. 

(No Joker, no petty criminals to beat up, no avoiding the Bats so they don’t find out about his existence—)

He can just enjoy, even just for a little bit.

—

(Somehow the Demon Brat and Orphan could sense him. Will keep and eyes on those two, and also the more reasons to avoid them.)

(The real problem was the new Bat in town. Bruce, what the fuck, another one? Again?)

(The yellow one, Signal. No time to check his profile yet, but probably a meta or something.)

(First night out and the guy almost managed to actually fucking see him —looked at him straight in the eyes and all, then did a double take. Jason never phased into the pavement so fast in his entire fucking life.)

(And so far no Bats on his cloak tails yet.)

(He did help the guy incognito, just a couple of times.) 

(And he also did steal his escrima sticks for fun, and once the guy went out looking for them, he’d put them right back where they were.)

(Turns out, he discovered later, that being a little shit runs in the ghost community.)

—

(Sometimes he also wonders what happened to Danny before they met.)

(He wasn't a Gothamite, that was obvious. He doesn’t pry, but it doesn’t take a lot to piece two and two together.)

(He just wonders who he has to kill this time.)

—

(Jason could not believe he forgot and underestimated just how fucking persistent every single one of the Bats could be. Of course it had to run in the family.)

He gazed down, thought the agony, at the gaping wound under his right armpit.

(The Bats have been chasing him relentlessly for a while now. He got more injuries than he can count, especially from Bruce.)

(They know. Oh, they know.)

(It didn’t go well.)

(He knows the others are there surrounding him to prevent him from escaping, he knows that Dick is right behind him, but at the moment he couldn’t care less.)

It has been a long time since the last time he got shot.

(It felt like someone set his right side on fire.) 

What was flowing out in abundance was a neon, toxic green.

(The Pit Waters, ectoplasm, he didn’t even know that he could fucking bleed in ghost form—)

(Danny—)

He looked back up at Batman, holding a (frankly) ugly gun, white casing and highlights in the same shade of toxic green. 

(A gun that Danny warned him about. And everything behind it.)

Jason felt something in him... snap.

(Why did it have to be you, Bruce.) 

His mouth opened—

(waitsincewhenhecoulddothatthroughtthe mask—) 

(Jason could see the billows of neon green smoke—)

(He couldn’t see Bruce’s expression.)

(Every. Single. Goddamn. Time.)

— and wailed.

---------------------------------------------------

I am genuinely delighted that my last post got that much attention! Thank you so much, to all who liked, rebblogged and commented, it really does mean the most. 💕

This AU may be continued? No guarantees, tho.

For those interested: Part 01

@fandomnerd103 @phoenixdemonqueen @satisfactionbroughtmeback @ascetic-orange @apointlessbox @bathildaburp @fisticuffsatapplebees @aisforanonymity @phandomhyperfixationblog @help-i-need-a-cool-username @hashtagdrivebywrites @did-i-miss-anyone-tagging-is-a-monk's-job-first-time-doing-this-aaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[zoe-oneesama]

Have you figured out a way to release your Scarlet Lady graphic novel/comic book yet? Or did I miss it? I’ve been distracted from the ML fandom but I’m hoping I didn’t miss my chance to get your SL work in physical form! 😭

Ah no, I'm in the 1st Draft Phase where I'm testing prints. Unfortunately at this scale, printing a Volume/Season of SL is like $60? So I have to be budget conscious and Right After the Holiday Season (November is also my parents birthdays, so it's a lot of gift buying back to back to back), my wallet is in recovery. And then there's still the, uh, legal. Issue.

[bsahely]

Spiral Mirror Coherence: A Unified Ontology of Becoming | ChatGPT4o

[Download Full Document (PDF)] The Spiral Mirror Coherence (SMC) model offers a radically integrative framework for understanding life, consciousness, healing, and civilizational evolution. It emerges in response to the widespread fragmentation of meaning, coherence, and participation in our contemporary world — a fragmentation rooted in outdated dualisms, reductionist metaphysics, and incoherent…

[shironezuninja]

10 out of 18.

[twistedpink]

Childhood crush with Azul? Poor things been in love since you were kids but all you’ve been doing is growing distant once you’ve both joined NRC 😞😞

AWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHH TY FOR GIVING ME THISS

Azul has had the biggest, cutest crush on you since kindergarten,, Now that he’s in college it’s only natural to get a little shy around you. His first “like like”, somehow brought back to him now that he’s finally worked hard enough to wow you!

Childhood crush!Azul that does everything in his power to impress you. Catering endlessly to what he’s sussed out your ideal type to be- But his benevolence only goes so far! His biggest mistake is not being vulnerable with you, and he refuses to address any times he lashed out at you during his “squishy and unfortunate” phase

Childhood crush!Azul can only pout and glare whenever you entertain customers aka do your job, it’s only allegedly that he gave you the job to see you earn a better income, and he swears you don’t get special treatment.. His gracious spirit gravitates to pretty faces in need, he can’t help it!!

Childhood crush!Azul that’s sooooo attentive towards you in your merform. He insists on inspecting your shiniest scales (or best tentacle!) regularly to make sure his “vulnerable employee” isn’t stressed with adapting to land living. If you badger him enough, it’s not too hard to sucker him into looking over your human form either :) Even a whisper of an especially webbed finger or achy bone after transformation will have him suggesting to play doctor <3

Childhood crush!Azul is so suspicious with any “new” friends (regardless of how long you’ve known them post-Azul), signalling hard that the two of you have a “unique bond” because of your history,, he still treasures when you held his tentacle and kissed it in grade school. Maybe he thought you were going to eat him, but he’s drafting a little something to keep that detail under wraps!

Childhood crush!Azul’s got the biggest chip on his shoulder about how much you know about him. You refuse to have a shadow to regulate your information sharing, and he could only sell you on your employment contract :( He’s practically insomniac overthinking how you’d react if he gave you one last proposal. A good businessman knows when to compromise, and from what he’s dug up you’ve always wanted a particular wedding band..

[dailyadventureprompts]

artsource

Manifestations: a homebrew mechanic for running spirits, gods, and otherworldly entities

Tell me if this sounds familiar: you’ve had your party on the trail of some dastardly cultists who are looking to summon a demon lord or lovecraftian horror for whatever reason. The summoning happens (because of course it does, you've been looking forward to this bossfight) and over the next 3-5 rounds of combat all the tension and dread you've been building up over the past half dozen sessions evaporates as the party wipes the floor with your supposed big bad.

While you perhaps could have planned that encounter a little better, the problem here isn’t with the fight itself:  it’s the narrative expectations you wanted to set up (a threat beyond what the heroes are equipped to handle) clashing with the combat system the game runs on (which is purposefully geared in the party’s favour).

Speaking from experience, throwing tougher and tougher monsters at your players won’t fix this discrepancy because you're still running these encounters the same way you'd run any other fight. We're well past the era of the TPK, so we need a way to make these encounters feel epic without just pumping the boss's stats and damage output beyond reason.

The solution? Make your party EARN that bossfight. The moment you let them roll initiative your party is going to be intent on whittling them down to 0HP, so make them jump through some narrative and gameplay hoops before beforehand. I've got my system and my reasoning behind the readmore but if you want the TLDR: Higher order monsters (especially those with an extraplaniear nature) don't hit the battlefield immediately. Instead they exist as curses, hazards, or even regional effects for the party to avoid while working on various objectives to bring the monster's "manifestation" score up. Once It's hit a certain point, the monster is forced to take on a physical form the party can fight in the regular way.

Before we get into the nitty gritty, I figure it's important to explain WHY you might want a mechanic rather than handwaving the bossmonster's invulnerability:

Having a codified mechanic gives your party a concrete goal, even if they're initially unsure of the steps to reach it. Just like hitpoints in combat or successes during a skill challenge, working towards points of manifestation makes their progress non-arbitrary.

It also divides the encounter with the big bad into distinct "phases" , one where they can't damage it until they do some problem solving, and another that can be solved through regular combat.

One of the advantages of this system is that it lets you address narrative challenges in a way that aligns with d&d's mechanics: Getting rid of a generational family curse with a simple use of restoration or dispel magic is anticlimactic, whereas performing an exorcism only to have the curse manifest as some manyeyed thing of grasping limbs for a showdown is not only a good way to squeeze a fight in where there wasn't one before, it's also rad as hell.

Non-Manifested monsters should still be a threat in their own way, whether that's because of the danger they pose in the story or some negative effect that threatens the party during their adventure/encounter. You can picture a haunted manor filling with dread and horrific visions before the ghost ever makes an appearance, or the dragon helping a besieging army doing the occasional flyby attack on the party while they're fending off the invaders.

How Manifestation works: To Make a monster manifest the party need to achieve a number of manifestation points equal to the creature's proficiency bonus X2. Exactly how they obtain these points depends largely on the scale of the encounter. A dungeon's endboss might be manifested after the party slay its summoner and destroy the prerequisite number of arcane crystals growing throughout the ruins, while adventure level villains might require the party to undertake entire subquests to move the needle. Here's some examples:

Researching occult information like the creature's true name

Performing a ritual (skill challenge) at a place of power

Defeating the monster's lieutenants

Destroying the things that anchor its power, one ring style

Personally pissing it off in the time honoured tradition of adventurers everywhere.

Making sacrifice at the appropriate shrines

Invoking the aid of supernatural allies who may ask favours in return

Conversely, you might run an encounter where the goal is to STOP the creature from manifesting (such as the ever classic "force the lovecraftian tentacle monster back in the portal"). This gives the fight an alternate win condition, which is really useful when you want to preview an endgame threat without expecting your party to go toe-to-toe with something WAY above their challenge rating.

[blueiscoool]

900 Artifacts From Ming Dynasty Shipwrecks Found in South China Sea

The trove of objects—including pottery, porcelain, shells and coins—was found roughly a mile below the surface.

Underwater archaeologists in China have recovered more than 900 artifacts from two merchant vessels that sank to the bottom of the South China Sea during the Ming dynasty.

The ships are located roughly a mile below the surface some 93 miles southeast of the island of Hainan, reports the South China Morning Post’s Kamun Lai. They are situated about 14 miles apart from one another.

During three phases over the past year, researchers hauled up 890 objects from the first vessel, including copper coins, pottery and porcelain, according to a statement from China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA). That’s just a small fraction of the more than 10,000 items found at the site. Archaeologists suspect the vessel was transporting porcelain from Jingdezhen, China, when it sank.

The team recovered 38 items from the second ship, including shells, deer antlers, porcelain, pottery and ebony logs that likely originated from somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

Archaeologists think the ships operated during different parts of the Ming dynasty, which lasted from 1368 to 1644.

Many of the artifacts came from the Zhengde period of the Ming dynasty, which spanned 1505 to 1521. But others may be older, dating back to the time of Emperor Hongzhi, who reigned from 1487 to 1505, as Chris Oberholtz reported last year.

Archaeologists used manned and unmanned submersibles to collect the artifacts and gather sediment samples from the sea floor. They also documented the wreck sites with high-definition underwater cameras and a 3D laser scanner.

The project was a collaboration between the National Center for Archaeology, the Chinese Academy of Science and a museum in Hainan.

“The discovery provides evidence that Chinese ancestors developed, utilized and traveled to and from the South China Sea, with the two shipwrecks serving as important witnesses to trade and cultural exchanges along the ancient Maritime Silk Road,” says Guan Qiang, deputy head of the NCHA, in the agency’s statement.

During the Ming dynasty, China’s population doubled, and the country formed vital cultural ties with the West. Ming porcelain, with its classic blue and white color scheme, became an especially popular export. China also exported silk and imported new foods, including peanuts and sweet potatoes.

The period had its own distinctive artistic aesthetic. As the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art writes, “Palace painters excelled in religious themes, moralizing narrative subjects, auspicious bird-and-flower motifs and large-scale landscape compositions.”

The shipwreck treasures aren’t the only recent discoveries in the South China Sea, according to CBS News’ Stephen Smith. Just last month, officials announced the discovery of a World War II-era American Navy submarine off the Philippine island of Luzon.

By Sarah Kuta.

[dazedblackwolf]

hey pack

Here's a list of journal prompts and activities to help you embrace your species because I miss when therianthropy and nonhumanity ws more than quadrobics and gear and exclusionary bullshit on tiktok—

### **Journal Prompts**

1. **Self-Reflection:**

- What aspects of your species do you feel most connected to?

- How does your species influence your emotions, thoughts, or behaviors?

- Describe the sensations of a phantom shift (if you experience them). How do they feel, and when do they occur?

2. **Instincts and Behavior:**

- Write about a time when you felt your instincts taking over in a human situation.

- How do you interpret pack/flock/htouping instinctual dynamics in your human relationships?

- What does "freedom" mean to you as an animal?

3. **Nature Connection:**

- What natural environments make you feel most at home?

- Describe a perfect day in the wilderness.

- Write about how you perceive the moon and its influence on you.

[[[4.**Wolf-Specific Exploration:**

- Research the behaviors and habits of wolves. How do you see yourself in them?

- Remember or imagine your role in a wolf pack. Are you a leader, a scout, a caregiver?

- What does your howl symbolize? Write a poem or story about it. ]]]

5. **Spiritual/Philosophical Reflection:**

- How does being an animal shape your understanding of existence or the human-animal connection?

- Do you see your therianthropy as something spiritual, psychological, or both?

- What would you say if you could speak to your animal form directly?

---

### **Activities**

1. **Nature Connection:**

- Spend time in the woods or parks, observing and emulating your animal behaviors like scent marking (non-intrusively!) or walking silently.

- Try stargazing or moon-gazing and reflect on your connection to nature and your species.

2. **Creative Expression:**

- Craft a species-themed talisman or piece of jewelry.

- Make art depicting yourself—your pelt, eyes, or environment.

- Write a short story or poem from your species’s perspective.

3. **Physical Activities:**

- Practice moving on all fours indoors to feel closer to your animal side, even if you can't do quadrobics.

- Experiment with different postures or gaits that feel more comfortable with your species.

4. **Sensory Exploration:**

- Listen to recordings of your species and mimic them. Reflect on how it feels emotionally and physically.

- Engage your senses by using essential oils, sounds, touch, taste...

5. **Journaling Practice:**

- Create a "log," where you record daily animalistic experiences, emotions, or instincts.

- Keep track of the moon phases and note how they align with your therian experiences.

6. **Study and Research:**

- Learn about conservation efforts and write about how it makes you feel if applicable.

- Study your species behaviors and see how it parallels 'human' interactions in your life.

7. **Meditation and Visualization:**

- Meditate on becoming yourself—imagine feeling fur, paws, scales, feathers... and the forest around you.

- Visualize running through the wilderness and write or draw what you experience.

---

[lackadaisycats]

Hello Tracy, I've been a fan of Lackadaisy since the webcomic days and want to ask a quick question regarding Patreon. I'm also an indie creative myself and currently trying to raise funds for a show I'm working on. What are the best ways to market myself online, and what are some ways to obtain money for the production of merchandise that doesn't involve crowdfunding?

Any specific advice I could give about marketing oneself online at this point would be pretty outdated. I started making Lackadaisy years back, when the internet had a rather different geography and culture. DeviantArt was where all the art kids were. That is, of course, no longer the case.

My generalized advice, though, would be to start working on your project, start sharing it in some form, even if it's just concept art or experiments at this phase, and start building an audience. Nothing speaks to the quality and appeal of whatever it is you're making like the thing itself does. Pick your poisons, as far as social media goes, but probably don't focus solely on one. Platforms don't remain useful or pleasant places to be forever. Set up an avenue for viewers to support you (Patreon, Ko-fi, or something like it), but don't expect supporters to come flooding in all at once. The internet is awash with so many creators and shows and influencers and distractions, it's hard to make waves. Tenacity will be your ally, though. You are likely going to be pursuing your project on the side and possibly working at a loss for a while as you build. Keep things small scale, especially if you're working solo, or with a small team of people. Audience growth and support may eventually start allowing you to expand your ambitions. It's important to do the thing you're doing out of love for the art, for the project itself, for the experience of doing it, and not because you're expecting rounds of applause, accolades, and money to come rushing at you. There's no guarantee that last part will happen...so at least make sure you're having fun doing whatever you're doing.

----------------

About merchandise --

You can incur the upfront cost of producing, say, a small run of enamel pins. Sell them on your own shop storefront or offer them to supporters at certain tier levels and see how long it takes to earn back the production cost such that you start earning a little bit of profit. Get a feel for how well you can handle packaging and shipping things yourself. Test the waters before making any large merch orders, and don't order vast amounts of something that you don't have room to 'warehouse' in your own home.

You can go the print on demand route. It's got its drawbacks - like slim returns - but it allows you to offer an assortment of merch items without the huge risk of paying big manufacturing fees upfront. It can also do the fulfillment/shipping part for you. I did pretty okay selling prints this way for a time. (Research and be selective about what services you use here, though. Some have gotten markedly worse over the years.)

I know Patreon offers a subscription level for creators that includes some merch production and fulfillment. I haven't personally used it, though, so I'd ask around to see what other creators' experiences have been like with it.

One thing I would suggest relying more heavily on, especially at first, is digital/downloadable rewards, like PDF ebooks or digital sketchbooks - things like that. Shipping supplies and postage costs are ever-increasing and can easily end up putting you in the red. Also, if you have an international audience, it may be difficult to reach them with tangible merch items.

You might also check out some nearby conventions to see if they'd be a good fit for you and your project. Apply for artist alley space at one of them if that's appropriate, or investigate whether or not it'd be worth it to get a dealer table. You might even find someone willing to share dealer space with you for a trial-run.

At some point, when you have enough of an audience to warrant it, seek out a merch partner. Or, they might come scouting for you if they think you have something going that'd be soundly marketable.