#all i want my art to do is start a conversation

[bamsara]

trod au ramble u can ignore

when i say slowburn in an enemies to friends to lovers for Trod I mean slowburn. 300k before Narinder even openly admits he cares for the Lamb, and Lamb actually opens up more than just a shield of positivity and another 100k of character growth, drama, complicated intricacies of grief and anger to communication. The Lamb has boundaries and sticks by them constantly in trod, they're not a pushover, but they don't blow up and react in explosive anger the same way that Narinder does and they are mistaken for soft by him for it, when it's him having to be the one who is constantly re-evaluating his priorities and his behavior because the lamb isn't taking shit from him, despite patience and love, and he's put in this position where he's allowing the grief and the hurt to keep hurting himself and the Lamb in the process, until he risks losing them and Narinder makes the active decision to work on himself. They HAD a healthy, wonderful friendship before, he cared for them. He still does. He wishes he didn't but god he still does.

but i dislike when characters do one change or have one realization and suddenly they're super nice. no I want them to be continuously complex. I want their bad habits and miscommunication to not instantly or quickly disappear, I want continuous effort from the wronger. do you hear me. CONTINUOUS EFFORT. that means a character fucking up again and again and relasping and changing and cursing and being like well he doesn't need to be any different because its not his fault then going back and being like. no. it was my fault. i am wronged and I am the wronger. i need complexities. Let us not forget the definition of 'enemy' in the enemies to friends to lovers here. if they start off soft then where is the growth. Where is the room for growth I want. Where is it.

they get to the processing of emotions they haven't allowed themselves to feel properly for centuries to take this friendship gone sour by betrayal, plagued by anger and hurt to something slowly blooming back into trust and care and soft until eventually its this healthy love of these uberly overpowered pair of gods

Trod bad end is when Narinder just speed runs the 'rehabilitation' part of the rehabilitation of death' and it circles back to him going feral in the head. Still an asshole? okay your lamb is gone. regret your pride and ego because the patient love you were afforded is gone forever and the last memory you gave them was not the love you could have given them but it will be the love that destroys mortality to get them back.

amnesia au Narinder is just happy to be here. no betrayal, no angst. eventually when his memory does return and he gets caught pretending he doesn't remember just so he can be sweet to them without his pride in the way will force a conversation that will essentially fix the horrific communication these two have. speedrun trod x2

Current Trod Narinder is a emo angsty bastard who's rightfully hurt at being imprisoned and (in his heart) betrayed by someone he trusted dearly (again) while Post-Trod Narinder is still a feral bastard but with truly un-constipated, true equal love for the Lamb that wears a wedding ring made of his own blood to the tune of 'i miss my wife tails' and got a praise kink

but if its not absolute hell getting to that point then WHAT IS THE POINT

and all these are mostly about Narinder but don't even get me started on the Lamb's issues. That sheep thang is hiding shit.

Except I can't talk about the Lamb's hiding issues Too Much yet unless you've been in my art streams and have seen some of my comics, then IYKYK but aaaaaaaaaaUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHG

[lazyjellyfish300]

Nanami Kento helping you with your daddy issues by spoiling you

CW: MINORS DNI, SMUT(cunnilingus, p in v, pregnancy and breeding mention, crying during sex) AFAB!READER, fluff, angst, daddy issues

A/N: all the things I wanna do today w him instead of being sad about my dad LOL

WC: 1k

---------

Nanami knows today is a difficult day for you. So he'll take your phone, change the TV channels, do whatever he can to treat it like any other day. Remove any triggers that might provoke painful memories on this holiday that unfortunately was far from celebratory. Rather, a day that reminded you that the first man who was supposed to love you was actually the first man to break your heart. 

First and foremost, a bouquet of your favorite flowers from him will be in the middle of the kitchen counter, freshly cut stems in a shimmery crystal vase with a handwritten card and spoken words of love murmured into the nape of your neck. 

If you love breakfast and brunch, he'll make reservations for that quaint yet upscale cafe you love, waking you bright and early with some passionate head then a peaceful wash in the shower, dressing you in a flowy sundress he picked out beforehand that matches his dress shirt, holding your hand with the other on the small of your back where a little bit of skin is exposed, goosebumps dotting your spine as he pulls you closer to his chest as he walks, occasionally leaving a little stray kiss in your hair as he casually shows you off. 

If you love picnics, he'll pack one with all your favorite things you like to eat in the summertime along with a blanket and maybe some books or art supplies so you can do some watercolor painting or quiet reading. Or you'll just lay with your head in his lap with your full belly while he traces little shapes on your cheek, lowly humming while wispy clouds hang above you. Later, going on a peaceful, scenic drive in the country with no destination and endless,  deep conversation. 

If you like to go out, then he'll take you to one of the more upscale restaurants in town with an outdoor patio or waterfront, buying you as many fancy drinks as you'd like, holding your hand across the table. 

"Of course you can get an appetizer and dessert, darling. Whatever you feel in the mood for, you tell me, okay?"

And he'll take you shopping. Even though Kento normally would sweat at the sight of letting you go crazy with his credit card, this occasion is a special one, spoiling you with clothes and stuffed animals and rings, or maybe some of your favorite treats from the candy shop and whatever your little heart desires. He's just there to swipe his card and make his darling happy.

 "Sure you don't want that necklace, honey?" He murmurs as his lips lightly brush behind your ear.

"Think it'd look much prettier on you than the mannequin." 

And who are you to say no to that? 

Or, if you prefer lazy days, then the entire day will be spent between the sheets and under the covers in Kento's huge bed, his strong body wrapped around you, absentmindedly stroking your shoulder, while you listen to the steady thrummings of his heart, smothering you in endless cuddles. 

"M' hungry Ken..." 

"Yeah, angel? Okay, let me make us some coffee and breakfast sandwiches. No, no, darling...just me. You just lay there, alright?" 

You sigh as you roll over, Kento smirking as he pulls the fluffy comforter over your chin, admiring how adorable you look all curled up. You feel guilty he's doing so much for you, but if you really want to help, 

"How about you choose a movie for us to watch dear?"as he slides you the remote. "Pick anything you want while I handle breakfast, okay?" 

And so you lay in his bed still in your pajamas, flipping through your options as the delicious, cozy, inviting aroma of fresh brewing coffee and piping hot breakfast starts to fill the air.

And later, after you're nice and full he'll take naps with you laying on his chest until you wake up sometime randomly in the middle of the afternoon. No timeline either of you are running on, only thing to do is get lost in a world of soft pillows, messy hair, comfy pajamas, rich coffee, and each other. 

If you wake up horny all you have to do is ask and Kento's more than happy to make you cum on his cock or his tongue as many times as you need. 

His strong hands gripping your plush thighs, groaning and leaning back for a better look with a cheeky smirk on his face at his eager baby who wants to take charge of things and ride him so badly just to say thank you for all the special attention he's given you, before the alluring sight of your bouncing tits is just too damn hard to resist and he's harshly pounding his thick cock into you from below, giving his sweetheart all the dirty loving you're so hungry for. 

But after fucking you like a whore he'll go back to making love, spending lingering, seemingly mind numbing moments between your thighs, molding and swirling and flicking his tongue against the velvet of your walls and hearing all of your soft pretty moans you're so sweetly making, 

"Fffuck...  all for me, darling?" 

Drowning in your bewitching nectar that runs down his pretty face in sinful streaks, fondling your beautiful breasts with tender caress and not a single inch of your warm skin un-etched in loving kisses he lays on you from head to toe. 

Slowly taking his time, pumping you so full and perfectly and deep with his cock you can't help but cry. He holds you and whispers adoring words against your skin, chasing both your highs with cooing words of praise, silk tawny of his enchanting eyes pulling you in as he affectionately nuzzles the tip of his nose against yours. 

No, Nanami can't make all the pain go away, but, for damn certain he'll spend the whole day in this bed loving you, giving all of himself over to you. 

Now that you're dating him, Father's Day is all about you, until the day you're ready and he'll gladly fill you up with his cum whenever you wanna make him a daddy, giving you as many cute, chubby, babies as you'll let him because all self control goes out the window when he lays eyes on your pretty breasts full of milk and your belly full of his babies. 

Even though the first man in your life failed you, he'll make goddamn sure he's the last.

-----

@1-900-venusluvs @thatone-writer

[velvetfoxgames]

Following the MBTI stuff, for fun, here are some gathered quotes about knowing if the types are into you.

Alexei INTJ

"Ever the observer, they’ll want to know and engage in your likes and dislikes, dreams and goals, and more. They might even use this to help inform how they interact with you and what they do for and with you, often putting your interests above their own."

"Once they know, they’ll use that information to put a smile on your face. In many cases, their gestures might be small and subtle, but this isn’t something that they’ll do for just anybody."

“Sadly for me, I fit perfectly into the stereotype of INTJs being romantic disasters. The art of subtle flirting is unknown to and lost on me. I generally try finding events we would mutually be interested and asking the other if they wish to go see it. Basically, just asking them to hang out one-on-one, without explicitly asking them out on a date.”

"INTJs aren’t normally very physical. So if they do allow hugs or are otherwise willing to be touchy-feely, it means that they trust you a lot — especially if they’re the ones to initiate the physical contact"

Brooklyn ENTJ

"If an ENTJ has been unusually direct, taking the initiative to engage you in stimulating conversations, you may have just received an unmistakable sign an ENTJ likes you."

"The planning and strategic aspect of giving meaningful gifts and memorable moments are something an ENTJ will relish doing for the people they care deeply for. And while you may not even realize that they knew all the little things that would make you happy or have meaning for you, they would’ve carefully attended to this in the days and weeks beforehand.  

"When we are genuinely interested, our Sensing (Se) function draws us to focus intensely on you, making you the center of our universe."

"Compromise is something that isn’t necessarily often done. Still, when it is, you can be assured that ENTJ values you and your relationship – your happiness being more critical than their routine or goals will manifest in them changing plans, compromising, or finding a different way to make it work. This is a definite sign of their affection for you."

Leo ESFP

"We love to turn our full, sparkly attention on someone we're into!"

"If they are interested in you only as a crush, they can act more freely around you: smiles, giggles and, possibly, superficial conversations. But if they really like you romantically, then they’ll become a little shy." / "We get nervous when we are close to someone we like a lot. We can even become awkward."

"Of course consistency is a very good sign. ESFP are very independent and soon lose interest in someone. It’s easy for them to have a crush, but they fall in love with much more difficulty. Consistency means ESFP likes you a lot in 99% of cases."

"A rule of thumb for us: if you have to ask "does an ESFP like me?" The answer is probably no lol. Se Fi isn't exactly known for its subtlety. How this manifests for me is i will want to spend all my time around a person. I'll invite them places, I'll go places i know they'll be, offer to help them with stuff they're doing, and I'll pay extra attention to them in a group setting."

Milo INTP

"An unexpected warmth, heightened intellectual curiosity towards you, and unusual social efforts. Bear in mind, these cues may be subtle and sporadic."

"INTP pretends they dislike you. This is not so much a visible sign but rather a confounding and self-sabotaging defense mechanism INTP deploys, probably out of fear of rejection."

"We usually keep conversations lighthearted and cordial. However, if we start rambling about the latest conspiracy theory, that crossword clue we’re stumped on, or the documentary that tickled our brains—watch out, you may be in crush (or at least close friend) territory."

"INTPs have an uncanny talent for remembering an entire backlog of information about someone's past or preferences. When INTPs are in their feelings, they'll randomly bring those details up in conversations. Our crush becomes a fun trivia game we’re invested in exploring further."

Rory INFJ

"They might hand you a book, saying, 'I knew you'd love this,' even if you've never expressed your literary preferences to them"

"Have you noticed a fleeting touch, a seemingly awkward gesture emanating from your INFJ companion? Perhaps, a light brush of the hand that seemed unintentional but was, in fact, meticulously premeditated?"

"Something that INFJs are highly fond of doing, is showing someone that they like them by little reminders through music and art. If they create a playlist or share a song with you, they want you to know that they are thinking of you or that a specific song reminds them of you."

"More than anything, they expressed a deep desire to connect emotionally with someone they like. They will be more emotionally open, express more of their deeper longings, and become more vulnerable with you if they like you. If they’re not into you, they will probably keep these things closer to the chest and appear slightly more guarded."

Tobias ESTP

"ESTPs aren’t typically mysterious about wanting to impress you. They’ll lift heavy objects, crack the funniest jokes (winking at you afterwards), and challenge competitors to arm-wrestling matches just to show you their power or wit."

"ESTPs get a major thrill from seeing you laugh. Whether they’re impersonating cartoon characters saying over-the-top sexy lines, pranking someone (think Jim Halpert from The Office) or making silly faces at you during a serious board meeting, they’ll find some way to trigger your funny bone."

"These types are all about amping up the current experience and making it memorable and intense. Sometimes this means taking you on the steepest roller coaster in town or playfully stroking your hair while they whisper something in your ear. "

"ESTPs can grow impatient with the emotional ramblings of people they’re not especially close to. But if they care about you romantically, they WANT to know how you feel. In fact, they will put themselves on the line emotionally and try as hard as possible to express their feelings to you."

[yukidragon]

Sunshine in Hell Height Headcanons

It's June 15, which as many of you know from this official profile, that it's Sunny Day Jack's birthday today!

You might also know that it's [Redacted]'s birthday thanks to this ominous picture Sauce shared last year on this day. Funny how these two totally distinct characters share a birthday isn't it? 🤔

Anyway, I was hoping to have written something for this year to celebrate, but like last year my spoons are way too few and far between. I was also hoping to do something self-indulgent for my own birthday, but same lack of spoons halted me there too.

So, until I can stock up on more metaphorical utensils to help me do the stuff I feel like doing, I'm going to celebrate by rambling a little bit about some headcanon details.

Sunshine in Hell differs from the game demos in a number of ways, and one of them is Jack's height. As you might've seen from the profile link, Jack is canonically 6'2", but in my personal headcanon continuity, I decided to make the gentle giant quite a bit taller than that. Because it amuses me, and I struggle with imagining Jack as shorter than Cove Holden.

When deciding how tall to make Jack in my stories, I also decided to do a height chart for him and a few other characters as well. It helps to better imagine characters interacting when you can see how tall they are compared to others.

Yes, I threw in a few extra love interests to the mix, as well as a couple other MCs. I was curious to see how tall Alice would be compared to these her sisters, and I had to throw in their love interests as well.

As an aside, it tickles me that even after I made Jack significantly taller, he's shorter than Bo's horny "Feed Me" form.

For those of you that need the conversion from centimeters to feet and inches, or have trouble reading the image, I'll write them down for easy reference.

Alice: 162 cm / 5'4"

Jack: 198 cm / 6'6"

Shaun: 178 cm / 5'10"

Nick: 173 cm / 5'8"

Ian: 170 cm / 5'7"

Bo: 180 cm / 5'11"

Barbie: 184 cm / 6'0"

Bo "Feed Me" form: 216 cm / 7'1"

Elias: 185 cm / 6'1"

Coraline: 172 cm / 5'8"

As you can see, Shaun, Nick, and Ian stuck with the canon heights in their profiles. It's just Jack who got a height increase because it's what I imagined his height to be from the start, and Sunshine in Hell is basically my headcanons that diverge from the game's canon, so I do what I want. It's also fun to imagine scary yandere Jack towering over every single one of the love interests. It adds to the intimidation factor too despite his gentle giant persona.

Bo and Elias don't have canon heights like the SDJ love interests, so I mostly just did whatever felt right to me for them. Bo's regular height was influenced by the mafia AU picture Sauce drew. It served as a very good height comparison chart all on its own. As you can see, Bo is just tall enough to reach Jack's smile if you don't count the ears and poofy hair.

All credit to the awesome Sauce for their lovely art of course and for feeding my headcanons. As always, I want to link to the SnaccPop Patreon as gratitude for being cool with me using their art in my posts. If you're a a free or paying member, consider checking out an important survey that went up to help guide the team in their future endeavors.

Bo looks so short compared to Jack, doesn't he? In my headcanon land, it's just a matter of perspective, and next to other people Bo is pretty darn tall. Though he's just one teeny tiny inch shorter than his puppy.

You bet your sweet bippy Barbie takes smug satisfaction in that one inch height superiority. Bo talks so big as a big bad alpha dog, but the puppy he's trying to dominate is just a bit bigger and badder than he ever expected.

Of course, Bo gets to turn it right back around on Barbie with his monster sized "Feed Me" form. Like werewolves that become huge compared to their human selves, when Bo's inner beast comes out to play, he adds on quite a lot of height and muscle. He towers over even Jack! Still, even when super sized, he's no match for Barbie.

As you can see, despite being the eldest child, Alice is shorter than her two younger sisters, especially Barbie! They got more of their dad's height genes, while Alice took more after their mom in that department. Barbie and Coraline are quite a bit taller than average, a fact that Barbie revels in, and Coraline can find a little awkward sometimes, especially during moments of weakness. It can be hard to help someone stand back up and walk when they're much taller than you are after all. It leads to some embarrassing moments for poor Coraline.

On that same note of surprisingly tall people with chronic illnesses, I thought it would be interesting if Elias would have been a very tall man if not for his illness. There's no canon height for him and he's floating with Jack and Bo in the Christmas picture, so it's hard to go with a comparative height. So, I went with what felt narratively interesting to me. With his legs being twisted, and him being hunched over with a cane, he probably appeared shorter than he actually was. It's hard to see his exact height with his lower half ghostly and indistinct as well. It's only when he actually bothers to give himself legs and stand with both feet planted firmly on the ground that he can show off just how tall he really is.

While I'm on the topic of height, I wonder if one of Ian's insecurities was his height. Some men have issues if they're shorter than their peers, and Ian is the shortest of the love interests. I can imagine it certainly didn't help if he was bullied for being short along with his general "nerdy" appearance back in school.

Still, Ian has nothing to complain about at the height he's at as a fully grown adult. Even if the other love interests are taller than he is, Ian is still above average for men in the US. He's just got the misfortune of being the shortest guy in a group of very tall people. At least he doesn't have to worry about taking the bottom spot in the height chart like Alice.

Yes, Alice is a bit self-conscious about being so short compared to her peers, even if technically she's also above average height for a woman in the US. She feels especially tiny when standing next to Jack.

Though, admittedly, Alice does find it very nice to feel tiny and delicate when Jack sweeps her up into his arms. It makes her feel less self-conscious about how chubby she is when her big strong giant of a boyfriend can carry her around so easily. Once she gets over the initial fear that he might drop her, she'll soon look forward to being whisked away by her silly clown.

Oh, and if you're wondering about Mary's height... I'm still debating if I want her to be around Alice's height or a little taller. She had the same eye color in both lives due to the eyes being windows to the soul, but there were other physical differences due to different parents introducing different genetics. I need to ruminate on that fine of detail more and see what feels more interesting to me narratively.

Though even if Mary was as tall as Barbie, she'll still be short enough for Joseph to sweep into her arms since he's just as much of a giant now as he was then. Not that it would stop him from trying even if his sunshine was bigger than him. Nothing will stop Joseph/Jack from showing his love for his sunshine!

I think I'll wrap things up on that fluffy note. I hope y'all enjoyed me going off on a headcanon ramble after such a long time. With any luck, I'll be able to get to answering some asks soon. Thanks for reading!

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

[mtkay13]

hi! I have a question, i dont quite understand why zhou zishu is drawn to wen kexing, would you be able to help me? Esp in the earlier chapters, i just get the vibe that he's annoyed with him and doesn't want the guy's company. Do you know when he starts having feelings for wkx or how it progressed? I know zzs is very composed and in pain due to the seven nails so maybe i missed it while being focused on the plot, or maybe the translation is confusing me

Hello there!!! I'm sorry for the time I took to reply, I've been quite busy lately and I am currently taking sort of a break from this fandom (I'm not done or anything haha, just focusing on other things atm.) Anyway! Since you sent two asks, I'm going to quote the other one as well here and reply to both at once! :) Here's your second ask:

i think i answered my own question, i saw the ask where you recommended a certain translation, and the translation is completely different from the one i read. In one, zhou zishu comes off as annoyed w wen kexing and i had a hard time figuring out why tf he was even bothering to meddle. In the other, he comes off as an inquisitive person who suspects more to the situation and to wen kexing, and he's drawn in. Not to sound like an idiot but i understand why there's so many translations of greek classics now. The word choice make the interpretation completely different. I wish i could learn mandarin and learn what the original work says. Random but do you know if it'll ever get an official translation? It has a TV show and all, wouldn't it be marketable to western audiences? Question by the same Anyonymous person

As you put it yourself, yeah, the translation and tone does a lot to indicate what ZZS sees in WKX. I feel like there has been a widely shared sentiment that ZZS is pretty much fed up with him for the better part of the book's first half, and while I think it's a front that he puts up indeed, I feel like the original version and some of the translations do a good job of showing how ZZS finds WKX very intriguing, likely very strong and quite handsome (haha). I like to feel like he started developing a crush quite early on in the book, already seduced by WKX's deep and suave voice in chapter 2. From then on, more and more details about him catch ZZS' interest--WKX's appearance, mystery, his strength and martial arts expertise, and of course the way they seem to profoundly understand each other. It seems to me like there's a big shift during the campfire scene where ZZS recognises WKX's sword technique as being Wen Ruyu, the two of them thus discussing WKX's ancestry and, following that, what it means to be a good or bad person. The connection feels so strong during that conversation that it seems very likely to me that they both started falling in love from then on. Overall, where the translation may play a big role in perceiving ZZS' attraction is how "human and lively" he may seem in some versions. His quirks and "humanness" come out stronger in the ones I have recommended (IMO at least) and thus comes off as much warmer and fun. Through that characterisation, the nuance of him expressing one thing (annoyance) but feeling another (interest) is easier to understand. So yeah, indeed, translation sure is something! Haha, and there are many stories of disagreements and re-interpretations of classics even within professional translators (because for how much I can sometime criticise some versions of TYK, it's important to reiterate that these are all fan translations provided by people kindly dedicating their time and ressources to translate for free--most of the time (cough)--and share for free as well.) Well, I can only wish for you to get to read it in mandarin one day, because it's really, really great (and mandarin is just a fascinating language altogether!!) As for the official translation... I'm not very optimistic. It seems like getting publishing rights is rather complicated to begin with, and on top of that, TYK is currently locked on jjwxc (the website where it was initially published) due to censorship, which I feel makes it even more difficult. Priest has expressed in a rather recent socmed post that she didn't want to edit TYK (whether to censor it or for publication) because it was too old, so it's quite possible that she just isn't interested in putting in the work for TYK to be officially published and translated. That being said, it's just my opinion/analysis of the situation, and I may very well be wrong! Anyway, many thanks for coming to me and trusting my opinion, and I wish you a wonderful day!! 💗💗💗

[sovonight]

I've been browsing your art, although I don't go there and I don't have much context, I'm consistently blown away by how you compose comics (plot aside, which is also amazing, the panelling is the one that really blew my mind). It's so creative and has a lot of variety, while remaining clear to read. If I may ask, but do you have any tips to keep oneself from being rather monotonous when panelling?

ahh thank you! i think the main tip i have is to know what you want each panel to show, and have a good handful of basic panel compositions at the ready to choose from

by "knowing what to show" i mean like, for each chunk of dialogue, i already have/had a visual in mind for the scene/characters when that line of dialogue is spoken. i know the emotion of the characters in the scene, and sometimes their pose/expression. when i sketch each panel out, i ask myself:

who/what should be visible here?

what's happening? what interaction is taking place? what poses are there?

what expressions are they wearing? should an expression be focused on, or hidden?

what is important for the viewer to see (or not see)?

where should i put everyone/everything in the scene, and what camera angle should i use, in order to ensure that all of the above is visible in the panel?

there's a lot of ways to answer those questions, but because i draw a lot of the same scenarios (often just 2 people talking), i have a go-to panel composition that i just modify slightly for each panel, which is "1 character closer to camera & 1 character further from camera"

i like to angle the camera like this just for a sense of depth because it's more dynamic than them being equidistant from the camera (although i do that too, if the pose calls for it or if i want the panel to feel flat/matter-of-fact on purpose). this angle also lets you swing the camera around during an exchange so that the conversation feels less static

you can extend this setup to 3 characters (or more):

and just within this basic setup, you can edit proportions & reframe to draw focus where you want it:

panels don't just live in a vacuum though, so where i can, i like to work with the page as a whole. with all of these elements (text, bubbles, art, panel frames) to arrange on a page, i kind of treat it as putting together a collage.

when i start a new page my first step is to add the dialogue to the page & split the text up into bite-sized chunks. then i move the text around the page, visualizing roughly how much space i want to allocate for each portion of text, and start to arrange the dialogue bubbles. i'll think about which text chunks are part of the same line of dialogue & how i want to connect them (should they stay near each other, or is there a panel change?), and about if there are any interruptions (where text bubbles need to overlap) or dialogue running off-page (where i'll need to find or create an edge to hide text runoff with). at this step i'm already thinking about composition of the page as a whole, bc the placement & portioning of the text affects the composition just as much as the art does

then i start doing rough sketches--like this rough, so that i can easily & quickly scrap and redo sketches if i change my mind. (this is kind of like my thumbnailing step, but i do them at full size bc i prefer to have the correct page proportions & text bubble sizes for the page before i start sketching)

for panel-first comics (like this or this) i set up my panels first according to my space estimates from earlier, then draw my sketches for those panels. tbh i've found that i don't really like going panel-first, bc i feel like it stifles my panel shapes & arrangements and keeps everything very rectangular and rigid, and i really have to think and make a conscious effort to make things more dynamic or organic

for art-first comics (like this or this) i'll do a sketch for each chunk of text, and let the sketch sprawl over as much space as it needs to (aka, not trying to confine it to a panel shape or anything; at this point i literally don't have any panel guides onscreen at all). i do each sketch on its own layer, and i generally keep my previous sketches up as i go so i remember my progression, but i'll also start to hide layers if i'm running out of room. after i finish all my sketches for the page, i unhide all my sketch layers, and move my sketches around the page to see how they flow & fit together. finding similar curves and tangents and natural cut-offs that i can use to connect 2 sketches is how i get the panel-less look, and for sketches that really need a clear line of demarcation to separate them from everything else, i'll draw a panel around them

after all that, i have my sketch for the page as a whole. if i feel a need to, i'll move the text around some more until i like how it looks & flows with my art, or i'll redo a sketch or two if a couple consecutive panels look repetitive. and that's pretty much it!

[starsteemer]

Thinking I don't want to post art anymore

[july-19th-club]

i think the funniest neal relationship is when he's dating sara because 90% of it is 'we both like to be dressed to the nines at all hours of the day and night, we should fuck about it' and the instant they have any disagreement whatsoever they're like oh right our expensive and impractical taste in clothing is the only thing we have in common

[blujaydoodles]

Zhartook catches Melliwyk clearly intending to stay up working for the second night in a row, and drops the full name trying to convince her not to overextend herself. It definitely got her attention-- it's an impressive feat, for one thing-- but to what extent she allows herself to be convinced remains to be seen. After all, she still didn't go to bed that night...

[duckzz]

self-care is stargazing with your found family after going through a bunch of traumatic events <3

based on the last chapter of this absolute masterpiece

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[punk-raphaelite]

I hate being misinterpreted 🫠

[one-sexy-fucking-toucan]

Sometimes girlies will feel many emotions

[pasta-human]

If you need to vent, I'd like to offer this post as a safe space to vent in the tags (or reblogs if you're brave enough) about whatever you feel like. Even if you just wanna infodump about something you like. Or your day just sucked. Whatever you want.

[cluescorner]

There's no feeling stranger than knowing that something is bad but liking it anyways. Not in a 'it's so bad it's good' way. Because that implies that it has become good. I'm talking like this thing is just kinda bad in the normal ways things are bad, but i like it anyways.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

FYI artists and writers: some info regarding tumblr's new "third-party sharing" (aka selling your content to OpenAI and Midjourney)

You may have already seen the post by @staff regarding third-party sharing and how to opt out. You may have also already seen various news articles discussing the matter.

But here's a little further clarity re some questions I had, and you may too. Caveat: Not all of this is on official tumblr pages, so it's possible things may change.

(1) "I heard they already have access to my data and it doesn't really matter if I opt out"

From the 404 article:

A new FAQ section we reviewed is titled “What happens when you opt out?” states “If you opt out from the start, we will block crawlers from accessing your content by adding your site on a disallowed list. If you change your mind later, we also plan to update any partners about people who newly opt-out and ask that their content be removed from past sources and future training.”

So please, go click that opt-out button.

(2) Some future user: "I've been away from tumblr for months, and I just heard about all this. I didn't opt out before, so does it make a difference anymore?"

Another internal document shows that, on February 23, an employee asked in a staff-only thread, “Do we have assurances that if a user opts out of their data being shared with third parties that our existing data partners will be notified of such a change and remove their data?” Andrew Spittle, Automattic’s head of AI replied: “We will notify existing partners on a regular basis about anyone who's opted out since the last time we provided a list. I want this to be an ongoing process where we regularly advocate for past content to be excluded based on current preferences. We will ask that content be deleted and removed from any future training runs. I believe partners will honor this based on our conversations with them to this point. I don't think they gain much overall by retaining it.”

It should make a difference! Go click that button.

(3) "I opted out, but my art posts have been reblogged by so many people, and I don't know if they all opted out. What does that mean for my stuff?"

This answer is actually on the support page for the toggle:

This option will prevent your blog's content, even when reblogged, from being shared with our licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models.

And some further clarification by the COO and a product manager:

zingring: A couple people from work have reached out to let me know that yes, it applies to reblogs of "don't scrape" content. If you opt out, your content is opted out, even in reblog form. cyle: yep, for reblogs, we're taking it so far as "if anybody in the reblog trail has opted out, all of the content in that reblog will be opted out", when a reblog could be scraped/shared.

So not only your reblogged posts, but anyone who contributed in a reblog (such as posts where someone has been inspired to draw fanart of the OP) will presumably be protected by your opt-out. (A good reason to opt out even if you yourself are not a creator.)

Furthermore, if you the OP were offline and didn't know about the opt-out, if someone contributed to a reblog and they are opted out, then your original work is also protected. (Which makes it very tempting to contribute "scrapeable content" now whenever I reblog from an abandoned/disused blog...)

(4) "What about deleted blogs? They can't opt out!"

I was told by someone (not official) that he read "deleted blogs are all opted-out by default". However, he didn't recall the source, and I can't find it, so I can't guarantee that info. If I get more details - like if/when tumblr puts up that FAQ as reported in the 404 article - I will add it here as soon as I can.

Edit, tumblr has updated their help page for the option to opt-out of third-party sharing! It now states:

The content which will not be shared with our licensed network of content and research partners, including those that train AI models, includes: • Posts and reblogs of posts from blogs who have enabled the "Prevent third-party sharing" option. • Posts and reblogs of posts from deleted blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from password-protected blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from explicit blogs. • Posts and reblogs of posts from suspended/deactivated blogs. • Private posts. • Drafts. • Messages. • Asks and submissions which have not been publicly posted. • Post+ subscriber-only posts. • Explicit posts.

So no need to worry about your old deleted blogs that still have reblogs floating around. *\o/*

But for your existing blogs, please use the opt out option. And a reminder of how to opt out, under the cut:

The opt-out toggle is in Blog Settings, and please note you need to do it for each one of your blogs / sideblogs.

On dashboard, the toggle is at https://www.tumblr.com/settings/blog/blogname [replace "blogname" as applicable] down by Visibility:

For mobile, you need the most recent update of the app. (Android version 33.4.1.100, iOs version 33.4.) Then go to your blog tab (the little person icon), and then the gear icon for Settings, then click Visibility.

Again, if you have a sideblog, go back to the blog tab, switch to it, and go to settings again. Repeat as necessary.

If you do not have access to the newest version of the app for whatever reason, you can also log into tumblr in your mobile browser. Same URL as per desktop above, same location.

Note you do not need to change settings in both desktop and the app, just one is fine.

I hope this helps!