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Very much appreciated. 

*headdesks as the heater turns on and blows my papers out of their neat stack*

study buddies of good luck for all yall wrappin up the semester/school year

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!here

(that’s what I was supposed to do, right? *flops on bed*)

THAT’S RIGHT! A promised art raffle for some… football thing, but also I just reached 2000+ followers here! I’m so grateful for your support and hopefully you get to enjoy my work in the future :^D

NOW THE RULES:

- 2 winners will be choosen

- Only one entry per person

- Must be follower from this blog

- Reblog commenting !here. Replies on this post don’t count

- If the winner/s don’t contact me in 24 hours, I’ll choose another winner/s

- Good luck!

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This makes me hopeful for the future. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! And I’ll take that tagging thing to heart because you pointed out a couple tags I wouldn’t have ever thought to use. 

Your blog is one of many Splatoon blogs that I admire and follow, and it's people like you who've inspired me to create and write stories for squid kids of my own! Thing is, I don't understand how you get your characters known. I'm not aiming for fame - just acknowledgement, because I love my squids and I want to share them with others. Do you have any tips for someone just getting on their feet?

OH GOSH THAT’S SO SWEET!!! ;0; WELL, If it makes you feel better- know that I was TOTALLY in a position similar to yours- I was frustrated because I didn’t understand how people could get so MUCH DANG RECOGNITION!!! (I still kinda feel that way ;v; but I think I’m doing better!!!) I think a few tips for gaining some traction in any fandom space would probably be- Use tagging wisely!! Only the first five tags show up in searches, so be sure to tag it with the good stuff!! (Aka; nintendo, splatoon, artists on tumblr, inkling oc, ETC!!!) Don’t be afraid to ask for some promos!! It’s okay!! It’s also okay to reblog some stuff of other splat fans here and there if you’re okay with it- and overall- draw a lot!!! I suppose my final note would be- the uphill to recognition is hard, and it’s pretty frustrating! But if you’re committed enough to it, with hard work, socializing with other people in the fanbase (aka following people, reblogging/liking art, etc.) than you can probably find the patience to wait for your popularity to come to you!

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Well, now that “Diaries of a Hope Squid” is underway, I can reveal who these two are. These squiddy siblings are moving to Inkopolis on the verge of Splatoon 2! You could probably tell by their clothes that they’re from out of town, though. Drake is the older of the two. Hope’s just tall. Genetics are funny like that. 

Check out “Diaries of a Hope Squid” here!

(I’ll give a cookie to whoever figures out what piece of game character artwork they’re more or less spoofing here.)

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Introducing my newest project! This one’s been in the works for several months, and I’m finally at the point of getting it uploaded! Those squid doodles? They lead up to this. The story begins under the cut. 

     The call to adventure can take many forms – the cries of a damsel in distress, the roaring of a wicked monster, the sobs of someone miles from home. For a young Inkling, it’s the sound of the B train to Inkopolis speeding on the tracks as she leaves home for the first time. The three-hour ride from Ikayaki County was nearing its end. The buildings flying by increased in number and size every few minutes, and with them, her excitement. A sunbeam struck her in the eye as the train turned a corner and she put a hand to the window to shield her vision.

     “Hope, you’re gonna leave a handprint,” said her brother, not even looking up from the travel guide on his phone.

     “Then I’ll just squin—oh, wait, nope, I’m good now.” Hope removed her hand from the glass. “Y’know, you ought to be looking out here instead of on your phone. This is a lot more interesting.” She squeaked with a grin as they passed a huge warehouse with its roof adorned by colorful flags bearing SquidForce logos.

     He glanced up at her. “I’m reviewing Mom’s instructions. Inkopolis is huge and it’s just the two of us against it. The last thing I want to do is get lost.”

     “Mom and Dad wouldn’t have let us go alone if they didn’t have faith in us. Come on, Drake.”

     Drake sighed and put his phone down, straightening his glasses. He knew what his sister said was true, but it was still unnerving to be so far from home. He’d been out of town before, sure, though that was to debate camp. His week-long, one-hour-away experiences were nothing compared to now. Even more daunting was the notion that he wasn’t ever really going back. It felt dreamlike, and the motion-blurred landscape out the window wasn’t helping him convince himself that this was happening. He didn’t want to believe that their dad hadn’t gotten the job at Ancho-V Games, however. A shiver shot down his back.

     “Let’s go over it again,” he started. Hope rolled her eyes, smirking. “We’ll be arriving in the southwest station where Aunt Lucille should be waiting. If she’s not on our platform, we go down two. Failing that, we head into downtown and go to… hold on.” He drew his phone again.

     Hope turned to the window while he checked, but they went into a tunnel. She huffed softly and leaned back into her seat. Her brother’s phone locked with a click, signaling her to resume eye contact, but not without adjusting her tentacles. She loved their emerald color, though she had a love-hate relationship with their length.

     “Café Cardamari. If we end up going there, we call Aunt Lucille when we leave and when we arrive.”

     “Go to some café downtown? I’m down for that, but,” she paused to stifle a laugh, “aren’t you afraid of getting lost?” She barely finished her sentence before he rebutted.

     “It’s in Inkopolis Plaza, near the Tower. I doubt we can miss it.” He continued, trying to talk himself out of his nervousness, but there was nothing he could do to hold Hope’s attention now as she spied the light at the end of the tunnel. The light grew and grew. Her heart raced as they reached the exit, the world briefly bathed in white. When the color returned, Hope smiled a big, toothy smile and held in her happy screams, putting both her hands on the glass with total abandon.

     “Drake!” But he kept talking. She called for him once more with feeling, unwilling to turn around and miss a moment of the ride. Getting no response, she blindly grabbed at his collar and pulled him to the rectangular portal displaying their future. “Shut up and look!” His struggle was but momentary as the horizon struck him with awe.

     Downtown Inkopolis stood before them, skyscrapers and winding roads and ramps as far as they could see. Panes of one-way glass glittered like stars. Signs affixed every which way were festive and busy, promising a neon light show after sundown. As the train drew closer, smaller structures and storefronts of every imaginable hue came into view; bright banners and awnings dotted the scene as well as scattered graffiti. The City of Color lived up to its name. Once the train descended to near-ground level, they could see anemones and urchins and many, many Inklings – not to mention all the jellyfish, half of which were probably tourists. The streets were bustling more with people than vehicles by a long shot. In that way, it reminded them of home. They couldn’t tell if people were carrying umbrellas like most people back home did at these speeds, though.

     Cruising into another bend, the PA sounded. “Attention, passengers. We will be arriving in Downtown Inkopolis Square shortly.”

     Hope and Drake bolted upright and looked each other in the eye. “That’s our stop,” he muttered.

     “That’s our stop!” she echoed, jumping in her seat. “We’re gonna be fresh, turf-warrin’ squids before we even know it!”

     “Then what are you waiting for? Get your stuff together; I can see the station from here!”

     They scrambled for their bags and suitcases. Since they were going to be living with their aunt for a couple months, they had to bring more than a week’s worth of clothes, their electronics, and etcetera. It wasn’t everything, of course, but enough to make their temporary quarters feel like their own. Four bags apiece: a backpack, a shoulder satchel, a rolling suitcase, and a regular suitcase. Drake’s looked like anybody else’s, but Hope’s were decorated with stickers. They were a real hassle to get together what with the narrow isle, and especially with Hope’s long tentacles getting in the way. She whined in pain as Drake accidentally squished one between her seat and one of his suitcases.

     “For once, I envy your super-short tentacles…” she admitted as she pulled away from her brother’s luggage.

     By the time they’d gotten themselves together, the train had well and done reached its destination. Inklings were filing off the train nonchalantly all stuck in a line at the back two doors. Hope, too excited to be proper, made a mad dash for the door next to the driver. She asked him if they could go out the front, to which Drake tried to restrain her and apologize, but the driver was an older man with kind eyes who simply chuckled and said he could let it slide just this once. The door opened with a whir and a hiss, and light and sound flooded in.

     From the ground, Inkopolis’s grandeur was overwhelming. Sun flared off glass, bouncing to and fro as though competing with waves from the many speakers pumping out the latest pop songs. Large monitors played lively ads with voices indistinguishable amongst those of the mingling population surrounding the station. And the people, they were nothing like the folks back in Ikayaki. They all wore brands a town without Turf Wars would never see, and no, no one carried umbrellas, not that they would need them – there was plenty of shelter from heat and rain.

     The siblings stepped away from the train, out into the crowded platform. Hope waved goodbye to the driver as the door slid closed.

     “Would you just look at this place!” She twirled, laughing giddily. Drake reprimanded her for a) letting go of her luggage for even a second, and b) hitting him with her tentacles. He forced her things back into her hands and steadied her.

     “We’re looking for Aunt Lucille now.” With that, he nudged Hope in the direction he was walking.

     They didn’t get two steps, though. A voice called behind them, masked somewhat by quick, pronounced footfall. “Then you’re looking the wrong way!”

     Hope pivoted on her heel (hitting her brother again), met with the sight of an Inkling woman with bobbed yellow tentacles wearing a dull cardigan and a patterned neon skirt; she’d recognize that look anywhere. The woman ran towards them, dodging and sidestepping passersby, an arm raised high.

     “Auntie Luce!”

     Hope and Drake turned and made a dash for her, all three of them coming together in a tackle-hug. They nearly went down, but Drake managed to prop them up with his rolling suitcase long enough to stand. Lucille put her hands to their shoulders, getting a good look at the niece and nephew she hadn’t seen in person for two years.

     “My stars; Hope, Drake, you’ve really grown!” She noticed Hope’s tentacles brushing her leg. “…really.”

     Drake turned a proper smile for the first time since they left. “It’s like she has neon kelp on her head. You wouldn’t even think she was related to us spear squids.”

     “Well, she’s her own special kind of squid. Remind me what that was again?” Lucille knew and knew well already, but she always got a kick out of how proudly she declared it.

     Hope put her hands on her hips, straightened up, and straightened again after giggling. “I’m a hope squid!”

     “That’s right you are! And don’t you listen to your brother, he has no right to say you look like kelp when he’s rose pink.” He let out a cry of fake-offended protest. The girls poked and prodded him until he laughed, having to adjust his glasses after shaking their hands off. “Alright, alright, let’s get a move on. You two have a lot ahead of you and I don’t think anyone here wants to wait.”

     And so they began the trek to the parking garage, talking and telling stories, unaware of what the universe had planned.

NEXT: Coming soon!

FIRST: You’re here!

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Not the final product!

So, heheh, funny story, technology hates me and then my memory sucked, ahaha... I had to ink this thing twice, then the scanner failed and I had to switch printers, then my tablet decalibrated, and then I forgot to save the lineart copy and I can’t recover it. Screw the lineart, here’s the flat color. I’ll get to the final color when I’m done flipping all the tables in my house.

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Literally doing that as I reblog this post.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who hums the Luigi's Mansion theme out of nowhere

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Take a good look, because that’s probably the most of me you’re ever going to see on the internet! Yeah, my dad took a stealth pic of me and got a laugh out of how it looks like I’m trying to talk to Luigi and get him to step into the room.

I went to Dave & Buster’s with my dad for this past Father’s Day. We played a lot of games (Skeeball cheats, I swear), though I have to say that Luigi’s Mansion Arcade took the cake. My dad is honestly kind of hopeless when it comes to games, but because I’m an analytical geek who can figure out a game by watching it, I was able to walk him through it. Made it all the way to the second-to-last room of the Old Clockworks before our card stopped working. Oddly enough, the reader claims we didn’t use any credits every time we tagged back in... eh, I’ll take it. (It’s probably just glitchy; I won’t feel cheated if it’s depleted next time. We played for half an hour.)

The game is so charming. I love how the Poltergust itself is your controller! You hold it like Luigi does, and you move it the same way to match his animations in Dark Moon. And then there’s how the controller rumbles and makes sound as you suck up ghosts and treasures. And how you hear Luigi and E. Gadd talking. It’s pretty cool how much detail they put into it. 

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Went to a local nursery last weekend. My mom ended up bringing home exotic bromeliads, but I just wanted a little pot of Pikmin flowers. 

If you didn’t know, “Pikmin Flower” is the appropriate name for that plant. It’s commercially known nowadays as (Ornamental) Bacopa, Latin name Sutera cordata. This specific plant was bred at Nintendo’s request to commemorate the release of Pikmin. They flower most of the year and can withstand desert heat (not drought, though), but they can’t handle frost or pots that can’t drain. Guess they’re related to Red Pikmin specifically. 

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y8eqGA9g7Q)

ORIGINAL SOURCE: http://lazorchef.tumblr.com/post/127102069272/this-train-was-built-without-brakes-steel-woomys

Oh dear… now it’s woomys…I fear the worse has come… OH GOD NO

Boy Inkling: GaoGaiKingTheGreatVA

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This train was built without brakes.  Steel woomys on polished rails.

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Oh, what do we have here? Who are these two squid kids?

Okay, so the Reala sketch wasn’t the only thing killing me. Four hands, man. Ouch. I spent ten minutes modeling their poses in the hallway mirror. And yet this was still the lesser of two evils...

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*me whenever I start a project*

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The next Journey of Dreams livetexting session. Looks like my friend joined the anti-Helen club. 

Maybe this can tide over all 10 of my followers until I get my sketch of Reala done enough for a progress post...

BONUS:

(I can’t size the last two down? The heck...)

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I GOT INTO ASO!!!

I just logged in and saw that the Try Outs thread was lit up. The moderator was the last to post. I was so scared. 

And then I had a shiny new “Writer” badge on my profile and access to the hidden threads. He said that aside from a few editing things, my work was “excellent,” that “[I] have a lot of skill and heart,” and that he “couldn’t say no to this.” 

He couldn’t say no. 

THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE

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RELEASE THE KRAKEN

we’reくコ:彡 entering squid territory

 くコ:彡                                                                       くコ:彡                              くコ:彡  くコ:彡                                                        くコ:彡                           くコ:彡 くコ:彡

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also i wish we could be friends but it feels like i'm too gay for this fandom sometimes ha ha, it's a shame you seem nice.

…too gay for a fandom? How does that even work? I mean, I’ve heard there are some fandoms that live on shipping and stuff and others that could care less, but what does being gay have to do with being in a fandom? Or is there some cultural cue I’m missing here? (…or I am being me and taking it too literally?)

And that’s nice of you to say, Anon. Stay tuned for more NiGHTS content, because you can bet your lucky star it’s coming in spades over this summer, and remember that my ask box is always open for questions and comments.