mukur0writes-blog - Tumblr blog

[mukur0writes-blog]

Buy these pattern…texture…thingies I made and use em for backgrounds, or your ocs clothes, or whatever else ya wanna use em for! They’re yours! 

(These are low - res photos, once purchased you’ll receive a scanned in high - res version)

(From top to bottom, right to left): 

1# - $10

2# - $10

3# - $10

4# - $10

5# - $10

6# - $10

[mukur0writes-blog]

[mukur0writes-blog]

youve all really fucked up with this weird hyper focus on pride flags i just saw a young kid ask if it was appropriation to wear the rainbow flag if they’re pan… and i keep seeing kids being scared asking if “they’re allowed” to go to pride as if there’s guards asking people what their sexuality is at pride… can we stop the fear mongering and misinformation it’s irresponsible

[mukur0writes-blog]

in 1994 when green day first became famous, they invited pansy division, an openly gay punk band, to open for them for the entire dookie tour knowing full well the responses would be mixed. in 2016/2017, on their revolution radio tour, green day chose only female led punk bands to open for them to help create recognition for these artists in a male dominated scene. this band has always been using their voices for the right reasons and i love them so much for that.

[mukur0writes-blog]

so on the dash is a post going around that says that, bad people don’t try to get better. if you’re trying to improve then you’re good. and it kind of shocked me for a sec like, people have to hear that? that’s not just basic knowledge? 

and that made a lot of shit click. 

there are a lot of protagonists i’ve read about that...well, they may grow, but they certainly aren’t trying. they aren’t making a conscious effort to become a better person. they aren’t trying to be aware of their flaws and work on them. and not every “good person” (a term i use loosely) has to spend the entirety of their life in self-criticism and righteousness, i’m not trying to say that at all. but a lot of stories suffer in presenting a protag as wonderful and trying their best when they don’t actually ever do any self-evaluation and are never anything but defensive--and in the narrative, justified for whatever they did that they’re defending. 

i’ve noticed in fan communities that a good deal of the people who latch onto protagonists (especially shounen protagonists) tend to be assholes. this is by no means a blanket rule, but i’ve learned that if someone roleplays and relates with almost 100% shounen protags, they’re probably going to be self-interested to a painful extent. inconsiderate, rigid expectations, accept no criticism but offer tons, bad bad listeners, etc. and suddenly it makes sense.

some people see protags with an assumption that they’re beyond reproach. that because they’re “good,” they don’t have to continue growing. and apply that idea to themselves. a basic assumption is that they latch onto these characters in search of that specifically. 

needing to grow doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough now, it means that the human experience involves constant learning and adaptation. the only “not good enough” is refusing to improve. not to say every “good guy” in a story needs to have that awareness and be able to articulate that, but people with truly decent intentions will have a basic drive to be a better person than they already are. 

[mukur0writes-blog]

original character snippets

for pride month!

Schadenfreude, alias Snow White gnc male, he/him, gay ambiguous central/southeast asian and european mix fantasy high seas setting Schadenfreude was originally an oc based on the One Piece universe. he’s in his early twenties and has a very smooth, sensual attitude and method of interaction. he was born a mer, a highly coveted race of people too deep beneath the sea to often capture, but in the depths of his wisdom and curiosity he went too far and was lost and forced to try to stow beneath a ship. obviously this didn’t go well. Schadenfreude was summarily snatched up and long story short was auctioned as a belonging and spent several years as a valuable “pet.” skipping all the nitty gritty, he had the opportunity to take a great risk to both spite his buyer and potentially gain power that allowed him to find freedom again, and when he took it he lost his tail in return for that power. Schadenfreude ended up with the ability to create potions of his choosing, poisoning or medicating as he wills, and he is a very ruthless trickster with that skill. is the apple a cure or a killer? guess you have to bite it to find out! have his page.

Noah, alias Mister Bunny genderfuck, ze/zir, ??? something really gay ??? indigenous coded (darker than in faceclaim) urban fantasy dystopian setting

Noah is a technomancer hacktivist with an electric thumb. ze takes a special pleasure in hacking into the semi-tyrannical, militaristic government’s mainframes and signing it with a simple unicode picture of a rabbit. raised surrounded by the indignities of the lower class and the discarded, and with the value of resistance, Noah quickly proved a prodigy in technomancy and soon after ze entered college ze erased all zir personal records and disappeared to start making some progress. ze is disorganised but prepared for everything, right down to having removed an eye to replace it with a cybernetic jammer that allows zir to better visualise cyberspace (by connecting it directly to an optic nerve). please make zir do zir dishes. also, zir best friend/college flame went on to rise into the most elite special force for the king. rip. have zir page.

Charun, please call him Ward agender, he/him, demi??/pan latine  modern urban fantasy setting

Ward is a demon. he works at McDonald’s. no, really–he didn’t do well in hell, he’s, like, kind of a wimp. a big wimp. have mercy. he’s really good at running. he’s a burger flipper, not a fighter, he’s skittish but sweet, he just wants to live his life and enjoy twinkies. he didn’t do well in demon school, really didn’t get along well with the infernal sisters, ran from the other demon kids. he hides his horns and managed to run from hell before being assigned a position and has found a nice, humble little job at a McDonald’s and is happy to be a damn good employee when he isn’t running from any suspicious flash of light in case of an avenging angel stopping by. a perk of being a demon is telekinesis, by the way, but considering he doesn’t want anyone to know he isn’t human, he only uses it in self-defense (while sprinting in the other direction. this boy got nikes). have his page.

Eli Alexander Tchaikovsky cis male, he/him, bispec white-passing, unknown specifics modern urban fantasy setting

cliche time! Eli was found as an infant by a policeman who was allowed to name him as he entered the wonderful US foster system. while a delightful child, Eli struggled with tantrums and constant hunger growing up which evolved to rage blackouts on a hair-trigger temper. he was bounced home to home for years until, as a preteen, a hippy dippy foster mother put him on a strict diet of no red meat…and it actually fucking worked. he stopped having blackouts. when he cut out all meat, his temper got better. being an all or nothing little bitch, Eli went full vegan with gusto and found himself much happier, if still constantly starving. at 18 he struck out on his own and got a nice car and started hopping cities, drifting town to town, exhausting every vaguely interesting low-education job in the area before moving on. he’s a good worker who can do just about anything handed to him, but he struggles with social anxiety and general interaction and gets bored very easily, which keeps him moving and never putting down roots, and that’s when something doesn’t happen that makes him lose his temper and get fired and/or shamed out of a job. he doesn’t know he’s actually just a werewolf who’s accidentally kept himself from transforming by abstaining from red meat and adrenaline. at least he won’t be hungry anymore! have his page.

Fujihashi Yoshiyama, aka Fumino gnc male?, he/they, gay (demi??) yamato japanese setting very versatile

the concept follows along the geisha schools of Japan (no, Memoirs doesn’t count, and they’re not prostitutes), but for boy children. children are sold to the schools in order to become their charges and the children are raised in the artistic lifestyle of the flowers, the name for graduates and practicing artists of the tradition. Fumino was a petulant child who went from hardcore rebellion to hardcore perfectionism and has grown into a highly skilled but insecure flower student, trying to balance every possible form of artistry with social success and to find a sponsor to purchase Fumino’s contract to serve as personal flower (a position involving acting as their artist and raising their status). have their page. 

[mukur0writes-blog]

Tag your OC who treats murder like a casual hobby.

You know the one.

[mukur0writes-blog]

[mukur0writes-blog]

25 Q’s (tag)

Thank you to @leapwriter for the tag!!!

1. Is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

Yes. I have this one super in-depth concept that will require...well, a shitton of research. I’m talking binders full. It’s highly political and involves an outrageous amount of extrapolation and speculation based on history and real-world politics and foreign policy as well as past relations and state’s relations and...long story short, Tennessee secedes from the U.S. as they threatened to do a few years ago under the Obama Administration. the U.S. responds with high tariffs to this new “independent country” and rip, Tennessee, which is not self-sufficient in any shape or form, goes to hell. It would follow several characters and examine “illegal immigration,” wealth and poverty, the nature of activism, and the consequence of conservative backlash.

2. What work of yours, if any, are you embarrassed about existing?

Anything written before 2013. Some after.

3. What order do you write in? Front of book to back? Chronological? Favorite scenes first? Something else?

So far I’ve always written front to back, as it would be read, but lately I’ve been considering going more freeform and doing scene by scene, but that requires a solid outline and I have never in my life been able to outline with any actual success.

4. Favorite character you’ve written?

Depends on the day and who I’m currently working on. fan characters, Mukuro forever.

5. Character you were most surprised to end up writing?

this is probably more relevant to canon characters that I’ve picked up for fanworks, tbh. like...Genos of OPM? I never would have expected. Colonnello of KHR? wtf

6. Something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

there’s some shit I wish I’d refined in the current OPM fanfic, Androgen Blues, but I’m not gonna go back and heavy edit published chapters before even updating lmao. 

7. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

I don’t share my online works with people irl, period, ever. but I’m okay telling people that I write I guess. people ask hobbies and like, that’s the biggest one so I can’t exactly hide it

8. Favorite genre to write

depends on the day. I love horror and speculative fiction. spec fic is where my heart truly lies, but horror is damn good, too. admittedly I have a lot of practice writing erotica, too. 

9. What, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

pinterest boards because I’m a fucking pleb. I like to read manga a lot and sometimes I get lucky and get bright ideas and inspo. music is a huge one. xkito and SuicideSheep are so important to my writing.

10. Write in silence or with background music? Alone or with others?

this depends 100% on the day. some days I just need some goddamn quiet, some days I have to plug into some music to write. some days I’m too noise sensitive to listen even if I wanted to.

11. What aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

I mean, I started writing when I was like 10, so...I sure hope all of it. lmao. technique, narrative, maturity, prose, readability, variation, style, character building, world building, audience awareness, relationships, dynamics, tone, pacing, planning...

12. Your weaknesses as an author?

i’m so fucking ADD. i’ve never finished a project with more than four chapters or forty pages so far. and I used to have a million ideas a day and go back and forth constantly but after I got into fanworks i started channeling that all into RP threads and shit and now i feel pretty bereft of ideas? i need to get creative again and start thinking in originality instead of au’s and stuff.

13. Your strengths as an author?

i like to think it’s characterisation. character depth and interest and relatability. character variety and dynamic. 

14. Do you make playlists for your work?

not so far. i have playlists for writing in general, but not for specific wips

15. Why did you start writing?

it seemed cool i guess? i wanted to join in with people. i was a humongous daydreamer and realised i could write it down.

16. Are there any characters who haunt you?

my own characters?

I mean...the oc’s from when I was a stupid 13yo struggling with undiagnosed ptsd? those definitely haunt me.

the vampire knight next gen oc’s. those...those will never go away.

17. If you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

this sounds dramatic but I don’t do those...talk to your younger self things. I can’t go back there. maybe in 20 years. 

18. Were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? What were they?

god. so many...

early on, Maximum Ride. and Wheel of Time. talk about conflict. Garth Nix was in there somewhere.

as time went on, Anne Rice really had a hand in my style and storytelling and interests maturing. Oscar Wilde further refined it and encouraged me to start looking at human theory and experiment with writing. 

Kyoko Mori really really dug into me in early high school. I’m sure her books have had a very profound impact on my writing.

my brain is totally blipping on more but I’m sure there’s a ton. before my ADD made reading a big issue, I read abt an average-size book a day. sometimes 1000 pages. i was one of those kids.

19. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timelines, ect.?

well organised bulletin points on a wordpad or something. seriously. i’m not...super in depth with organisation and notes and stuff. when i start working with full-on 100% original worldbuilding i’ll have to start using scrivener’s more in depth functions.

20. Do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

usually long sit-down sessions. that’s always the goal. but sometimes a little is all i can do. 

21. What do you think when you read over your older work?

how old? lmao, if it’s the shit I despise pre-2013 i can’t bring myself to read it. it’s fraught with “oh shit that’s trauma wow fuck me” -> dysphoria. then there’s just the weird ass feeling of not remembering stuff you know that you wrote. and shame. i’m bad at having to be perfect, thinking everyone is judging me, all that shit. even some stuff from last year i’ve read over in the last couple months and just cringed and curled up. i really need to rewrite it.

22. Are there subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

yyyyyyes. i mean there’s triggers for sure--like I could never ever write something involving syringes. i’d probably literally hurl. uh...abuse is a biggie. I can write it but it will mess with me, and there’s the tightrope of dealing with a victim who is probably glorifying the abuse to themselves while not glorifying it in a story, and like, i’m someone who’s been there and been addicted to that roller coaster so yeah, i totally could end up romanticising it without even knowing it (or because i couldn’t go into detail on it without that barrier). sometimes i think that varies by the day. i do write abuse but it’s usually venting more than anything to publish.

23. Any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

helped and hindered.

24. Have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

fuck hyperfocus, lmao

25. Copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of.

p...proud? of writing? surely you jest. no but the one i’m really proud of doesn’t really have any snippets that are interesting without context of the whole thing, sorry.

tagging @tofu-writes and @starcraftcd if you’re interested!

[mukur0writes-blog]

ATTENTION WRITERS

Google BetaBooks. Do it now. It’s the best damn thing EVER.

You just upload your manuscript, write out some questions for your beta readers to answer in each chapter, and invite readers to check out your book!

It’s SO easy!

You can even track your readers! It tells you when they last read, and what chapter they read!

Your beta readers can even highlight and react to the text!!!

There’s also this thing where you can search the website for available readers best suited for YOUR book!

Seriously guys, BetaBooks is the most useful website in the whole world when it comes to beta reading, and… IT’S FREE.

[mukur0writes-blog]

“It is a humiliating confession, but we are all of us made out of the same stuff. In Falstaff there is something of Hamlet, in Hamlet there is not a little of Falstaff. The fat knight has his moods of melancholy, and the young prince his moments of coarse humour. Where we differ from each other is purely in accidentals: in dress, manner, tone of voice, religious opinions, personal appearance, tricks of habit and the like. The more one analyses people, the more all reasons for analysis disappear. Sooner or later one comes to that dreadful universal thing called human nature.”

— Oscar Wilde compares two of William Shakespeare’s most famous characters, Falstaff and Hamlet, to help illustrate an underlying truth about human nature in his dialogue on The Decay of Lying, the first section of his 1891 work on aesthetic criticism simply titled Intentions.

[mukur0writes-blog]

I draw stuff, so I made an art blog. I like anime and video games and some other stuff. I know it’s June but it’s cold today, so I drew me with a scarf. And also my cat.

To get to know me, you can read my about or follow me on Twitter. Or you could ask me stuff.

I take OC requests.

[mukur0writes-blog]

It’s finally here! In honor of my first 100 followers, I will be giving away FIVE COPIES of Something’s Not Right to five very lucky winners!

Giveaway is free to enter; each like and reblog counts as an entry (no giveaway blogs, please) so feel free to reblog on personals and writeblrs alike! Just don’t go too wild; let’s not spam anybody…

rules:

be following me

add Something’s Not Right to your want-to-read (if you’ve got a goodreads)

interact with this post

note: i can only ship physical books throughout the continental us; if you’re not there, feel free to enter anyway! i’ll get you a digital copy.

tiers (by drawing):

first: special SNR soap, signed physical copy of SNR, digital copy of SNR, sketch of any SNR character they choose

second: same as first, minus the soap

third/fourth/fifth: same as second, minus the physical copies

The giveaway ends July 15th, so reblog now!

…and that’s it! Good luck, everyone!

[mukur0writes-blog]

if youre lgbtq+ take this quiz and see what color you got

i got #7fffd4 which is aquamarine !

[mukur0writes-blog]

Hello. Do you have any advice on how to promote yourself as an author via social media like writing blogs? I'm struggling greatly to keep myself active in any of these because I don't know what to share. My life isn't very interesting and any free time I have for writing I spend working on my novel so I also don't have any extra short stories to share like some guides tell me to do and I don't want to post many details about my novel before publishing it. Thanks in advance.

How to Promote Yourself as an Author via Social Media

1) First and Foremost, Don’t Overthink It.

I’m starting here, because this is a subject that can be very overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Some writers/authors seem to have limitless time to dedicate to social media, but most of us don’t, and that’s okay. It’s better to prioritize your writing, but there are things you can do to work social media into your routine. Also, don’t feel like everything you post has to be related to writing, your writing life, or some super interesting event or adventure. Content is content. It can be just about anything.2) Your Main Social Media Options, Just to Get Them Out there- Tumblr- Facebook- Twitter- Instagram- Pintrest- YouTube- Goodreads- Google Plus- Writer/Author Blog2) Get to Know Your FavoritesIt’s better to have good visibility on a few platforms than it is to spread yourself thin across all of them. Even if you set up accounts on all of them, you don’t have to be active on all of them. Focus on the ones that work best for you, even if it’s only two or three of them. I recommend choosing at least two, if not three, then dedicate a week to each one. Set up your account (if you haven’t already), find and follow other writers/authors, especially in your genre. (Hashtags are helpful for this. Google will provide lists of hashtags for writers/authors on each platform.) Try to spend ten to fifteen minutes a day on that week’s chosen platform. Make a post, then spend some time liking and commenting on the posts in your feed. This helps to build relationships with other writers. And don’t be bashful. Anyone who has a public writer/author page is hoping for likes and comments, even from people they don’t know yet.3) Choose a Primary Platform and Stick with ItAs the saying goes, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” The same is true of social media, so even once you’ve narrowed the field down to your favorite two or three platforms, you may want to choose one that you use daily, for ten to fifteen minutes per day. Then, try to dedicate a little time to the other two, maybe on the weekends.

4) What to Do About Content

It depends on the platform, obviously, but here are some ideas:

Re-Blogs/Re-Posts: - writing advice/tips- writing-related quotes- motivational quotes- book/reading related quotes- pictures that relate to what you write- pictures that inspire what you want to write- pictures that relate to reading/writing- posts from other writers/authors that are shareable- writing/reading related memes- aesthetics of your favorite books 

Original Posts:- personal writing-related anecdotes- writing tip/advice posts (share what you know!)- photos of your writing space/reading area- pictures of handwritten quotes or tips that you want to share- aesthetics of your WIP- photos of coffee, tea, stationery, books, pets, nature- your monthly goals- end of month review of which goals you completed and which you didn’tTags/Challenges/Questionnaires:- “tag” challenges are sort of like hashtag photo prompts. Search for an existing tag challenge or create your own and tag your followers to join you.- monthly photo challenges give you a prompt for each day. These can be related to books/reading, writing, both, or anything else.- prompt challenges inspire daily short poetry or micro fiction- you’ve seen questionanaires here and probably on facebook, too. Often you can find some geared toward reading and writing.Book Reviews, Movie Reviews, TV Show Reviews, Video Game Reviews- book reviews make for great content. It doesn’t have to be anything long and drawn out. Just a picture of the book, how many stars you give it, and a few things that you liked (or didn’t like) about it. - did you watch a movie over the weekend that you really enjoyed? Tell your followers about it in a spoiler-free review.- did you binge-watch a new TV show? Let others know about it with a spoiler-free review.- did you play a new computer, phone, or video game? Talk about it!Support Other Writers/Authors:- if a writer/author you admire or follow posts something you can help promote, do it! For example, maybe an indie author your friends with has just posted that their book is on sale this week. Sharing that can promote audience sharing between you and them, it gives you content for the day, and it’s awesome to support other writers/authors, especially indies.Arts, Crafts, DIY, Cooking, Adventures, and Other Hobbies- share your grandmother’s recipe for pumpkin pie- share a picture of the sweater you’re knitting along with your three favorite knitting tips and tricks.- share a picture of your bujo or planner layout for the month- share a picture of the cabinets you re-finished and talk about what the process was like.- share pictures and stories from the antiquing road trip you took over the weekend.- share a picture of the painting you’ve been working on.- share a picture of the room you cleaned out along with some de-cluttering tips- share a pretty picture of a flower you took on your afternoon walkSpend some time looking at the content of other writers/authors on the platform you want to focus on. This is a great way to see what’s most common, what you can mimic, and what you can jump in on.5) Set Up a Schedule

Whether you focus on one platform or three, it can sometimes help to set up a posting schedule. For example:Monday - Blog post on author blogTuesday - Re-tweet two or three writing-related tweets on TwitterWednesday - Post a writing/book related photo on InstagramThursday - Re-blog writing tip on TumblrFriday - BreakSaturday - Twitter re-tweetsSunday - Instagram tag challengeThat’s just an example, of course. If you focus on one social media platform, it might look more like this…Facebook Posting Schedule:Monday - Re-post writing adviceTuesday - Post writing/reading related quoteWednesday - Share personal writing tipThursday - Link to interesting writing-related articleFriday - Book reviewSaturday - Picture from weekend adventureSunday - Break6) Social Media Management Apps

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, you may want to look into a social media management app like Hootsuite, Pagemodo, or Sprout Social. (There are many others, too.) These sometimes cost money, but they can be well worth it if you need help managing your social media presence. Ultimately, these allow you to plan out posts in advance, so instead of worrying about it every day, you take maybe an hour every week to pre-plug in all your tweets and other posts for the week. When you see writers/authors who seem to post on all social media every day, this is generally how they do it.7) Don’t Neglect your Writer/Author Blog

Last but not least, make sure you set up a writer/author blog and try to make a post in it at least once a month. Not only will this give you content you can share on the platforms you focus on, but it’s a great way to keep track of your writing journey and to keep your growing audience up-to-date with the latest news. Even just a short post to talk about your progress for the month and your goals for the next month is better than nothing.8) Try to Relax and Have Fun with It

It may take you a little while to establish a routine that you’re comfortable with, but it will happen eventually. Just remember not to overthink things and not to feel like you have to do everything. Like I said, it’s better to choose one platform and post on it every two or three days than it is to be sporadic on all the platforms. Just do the best you can, and it’ll all make sense in time. :)

[mukur0writes-blog]

“Romance, in Studio Ghibli films, is replaced by self-realization—and not only princesses or warriors achieve it. Most of its female leads are insecure adolescent girls, striving for independence, making their own paths in life and discovering their true selves. In Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), for example, a 13-year-old witch-in-training must leave home and live on her own for one year in order to become a real witch. The headstrong Kiki eagerly flies off on her broomstick, but soon loses her magic powers. “Without even thinking about it, I used to be able to fly,” she muses in one scene. “Now I’m trying to look inside myself and find out how I did it.” In Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), when a witch transforms Sophie into a 90-year-old woman, the self-conscious character sets out on a quest to break the curse. She climbs on board a floating fortress, befriends a fire demon, impersonates a witch and stops a war, but it is when she starts to feel confident in herself, and help others, that her wrinkles begin to fade.”

— Girlhood and Girl Power in Studio Ghibli Films by Zio Baritaux, 2017

[mukur0writes-blog]

Where to post original fiction? I’m between Wattpad (difficult to format, visually unappealing, hard to read for non-users / great community and likelihood of being noticed) vs. AO3 (no community / beautifully simple formatting, can be read when not logged in) currently, but if someone can find a ‘best of both worlds’ situation (besides posting on both) I’m all in!

Please reblog if you don’t have an answer; hopefully somebody will have strong opinions…