#and i wish seeing other peoples stuff inspired me more but honestly most of the time it makes me feel even more hopeless

[astrxealis]

it is so weird being a mentor now ... ;O

( tags got really sentimental at the end WHEEZE beware if you check T___T )

[ravensking]

.

[lyomeii]

YANDERE DYLAN SEAN BLAITHE HEADCANON

-> warnings: yandere theme, manipulation, obsession, kidnapping and much more.

-> request by anon! Hello! I really like your theme and writing style and those little a/n notes makes me laugh sometimes! Can you do Dylan Sean blade Yandere Headcanons? (I tamed a tyrant and ran away)

-> a/n: got excited to do this one but a little short since it’s been a while since I read the manhwa, so I’ve to catch up. and don’t worry i am going to write for anastacius soon. and request still open btw.

-> honestly Dylan never expected to be obsessed fall in love with you, you were the heir of a baron and an obligation noble unlike many he already met. Maybe that’s why he got interest in you in the first place, you weren’t like the others, always finding the best on people and gentle to those who need.

-> talking with you is so relaxing, specially when he brought you to met his mother and his mentor. you were so happy to meet them and spend time knowing more of the two women. dylan won’t lie, as much he adores seeing you smile, he isn’t happy that he ain’t the one making you feel happy.

-> so dylan decides to bring you to live with him at his palace. your father couldn’t help, but accept his request, your old man is only a baron and dylan is a prince, so you left your home with a farewell and won’t seeing them for a while.

-> the new life with dylan is unique if you say. spending most of the time inside his palace, the gardens or with his mother. Mostly of it is good, you enjoy it and the palace is way bigger than your originally place, yet you feel something is out the place.

-> guards were always escorting you when dylan wasn’t around you, maids whispering to each others about your actions during the day and of course, you can’t leave the palace grounds, not with the many assassins that Dylan’s half siblings send to kill you, but you don’t know the last part until an incident happen.

-> during what you called a normal day, you went to the garden to collect flowers and gift it to dylan, however an assassin show up and almost killed you that day. thankfully, the many guards hiding in the shadows appeared and saved you from the shadowy figure then took you back to your bedroom.

-> dylan wasn’t happy about it. knowing that his siblings were stupid enough to send a threat to you, they will suffer when he become the next leader of his people. his mentor, lady charlize, use it as an inspiration to him to become better and stronger in he future, he has to protect you in any way and from anyone who dares to lay a finger on you.

-> and that’s what happened. when dylan took over the throne, killed his relatives and lost his mother, he made sure anyone would ever try to hurt you again. he made you his significant other, his soulmate and the only person who has the same power as him as you are now the emperor/empress/leader of the empire with him.

-> but the title only serve in the paper since he doesn’t allow you to work in the papers, show up alone in party or galas nor walk alone in the capital, you basically let you roam palace, all of them if you wish, but you won’t be able to walk away from the royal grounds by yourself, no matter you wish or beg him.

-> he hates when you cry for not letting you go out by yourself or when you ask them to visit your family. dylan wants to see you smile, but he can’t let you leave him in any occasion. maybe one day, he would let you go by yourself, but for now, you only leave if he is around.

-> then he asks you to stay in his office whatever he has to work, you don’t need to say anything or talk with him. dylan only needs to know that you are safe with him, at the same room as him. often, he will glance at you whatever when you are pay attention and gets a little red, knowing that now you are his and you won’t be able to escape him anytime soon.

@lyomeii stuff || don’t repost

[thatdeadaquarius]

Sobbing and crying just saw your post of us sounding like a Sim, and I am DYING.

What if it went the other way? They can understand us, but we can't understand them!

Us : hey so what the fuck is happening why tf am I in genshin impact

Them : OMG ASKSKSKSKS FEDERRRALL MEERKK TREEESO! (Omg it's the divine God I'm shittinh myself oml) or whatever idk)

Us: excuse me what the fuck did you just say about my mother? (US mishearing or maybe the words are randomized? Who knows)

Everyone just being confused and frustrated on why you can't understand them. Is it because they aren't worshipping you enough? Maybe some friendship level BS where obly those who are lvl 10 can understand u or smth? Who knows, certainly not the Creator.

I highkey am thinking about writing smth for this now but having it be for like each archons reaction or smthin but who knows. I just wanna see a bunch of divine beings confused outta their mind in like whatever cities square and it turning into a "holy game of charades"

Also happy early birthday ajdjdjkdkdkdk

I”M SO LATE SO THANK YOU FOR THE BDAY WISHES LMAO SORRY KARMA MY BELOVED

AHHHHH U INSPIRED ME BY THE ARCHONS HOLY GAME OF CHARADES-

AND OH NO LVL 10 ONLY FRIENDSHIP UNDERSTANDING-

(づ ￣ ³￣)づ here have a hug for your patience- sorry karma!! :')

LMAO this inuyasha gif- obviously everyone else guessing what ur doing and the 2 others r like ppl like Venti or Kaeya who r just fucking with ppl by joining you lol

OK BUT WHO DO U HAVE LVL 10 FRIENDSHIP?!

BC I GOT NOBODY 😭

ITS RLLY HARD TO DO OKAY-

I HAVE TO PUT ACTUAL EFFORT INTO THE FEW THAT ARE LEVEL 4-5 

ID BE SO FUCKED-

Oh no.

Oh god (you??) no.

What if you had the highest friendship with little d**ks like Scaramouche.

noooOOOOOO

He’d be like, “Eh, I don’t feel like translating today.” 💀

Also I’m rolling with the idea that 

perfect understanding = lvl 10,

Most words 7-9

Some words 5-6

Kinda ?? they get 2 words per sentence or smth 3-4

Basically nothing 1-2

◇

Anyway ornery bitches like Scara/Xiao/Alhaitham/Rosaria/Diluc (all for diff reasons like diluc/xiao would just be overwhelmed and dont like ppl that much lol, whereas haitham doesnt give a fuck lmao) would kinda suck to have as translators

OH NOT THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD JUST LIE ABOUT WHAT U SAID ON PURPOSE TO DECEIVE THE MASSES LIKE Heizou/Yae Miko/Kaeya/Venti 

They pull something like “oh well the god of gods said I could have the last slice of cake/an extra glass of wine hehe”

For different reasons these people would also be ROUGH translators: FISCHL OH NO- , Zhongli, Albedo (he simply would omit “unnecessary details”, cyno, ITTO PLEASE, Raiden (puppet) bc shed take stuff too far/too literally u would never be able to communicate jokes, Razor (im sorry bbyboy), Shenhe

THE CHARADDEEESSS

THE CHARADES OF THE GODS 

You may or may not get another title of a jokester god bc of these SILLY charades 💀

The people u have higher levels of friendship with giving hints LMAO

♤

“Uhhh….. Oh! Oh! Greatest Lord wishes to see a dance performance!” 

Nahida’s sweet voice rings out in Yujing Terrace, her tiny hand waving in the air like an elementary student who’s really excited to answer. …Which isn’t that far off honestly.

“Hmm, I disagree Buer, I believe the Hundun Emperor is saying they wish to take a bath perhaps. I am also attempting to use context, as it has been a long day for them.” Zhongli is in his classic “majestic thinking gentleman” pose, and you’d admire it more if it weren’t for the fact that they don’t seem to be getting what you’re saying.

You hadn’t yet found someone with a higher friendship level than 2 or 3 (hey, don’t blame yourself, you really have to put effort into friendship levels to get them anywhere and you were still busy screwing around in Sumeru when you got spirited away).

So needless to say, most people were getting “the, me, I, you, etc.” rather than the actual important keywords you needed them to, hence the godly charade game now.

As you “hold” something, you throw your hands up in the air, still keeping your hands wrapped around nothing. You think if somebody told you last week that you’d be playing charades with the archons in Genshin Impact so you could actually communicate with them… well you don’t know what you would have done. Maybe just gave them a really awkward laugh.

“Oh! Are you asking for a weapon? Akitsu Mikami, my emperor, we or our nations will surely provide protection from any harm that might befall you. Hm, I suppose we should offer something anyway… I wouldn’t want to displease them…” Ei mutters to herself, having taken over her puppet once more for the occasion.

She and Buer, still retaining their authority status, had asked for the area to be cleared in order to try and get closer to communicating with the Divine First, or you.

“Ha! What idiot would try to hurt the All-Parent in their home, unless they wish to get thrown?” Venti cheekily says, as you don’t understand him, but judging by Zhongli’s clenched jaw, Ei’s sigh, and Nahida’s giggle, you can guess.

You give your own sad sigh… it’s already been 3 hours. 😭

How hard is charades for 4 archons??

Well… apparently very hard.

You put your face in your hands, and you hear the (retired) archons start to debate something, you can tell it’s getting a little passive-aggressive between Venti and Zhongli by their tone alone. 

…Okay, now it’s just aggressive.

The archons eventually give their attention back to you so you can go back to your charades lol

You tried opening your mouth and closing it, very obvious, they can’t go wrong. 

…Turns out they can. 

Somehow you find yourself with a hot tea brewed by the geo archon. 

(Venti attempted to offer you Dandelion Wine, or Osmanthus Wine even, and only god, well you now, knows where he pulled them from. Ei swatted his head, he looked so offended, and his cheeks were all puffed up, heh.)

Giving up, you just try to motion for them to stay still, your hands gesturing like trying to calm a wild animal.

They give you questioning looks, and you begin to walk off, they all seem to immediately start discussing something with each other. All of the gods look very conflicted, and after a minute of you getting further away (yes, you’re almost home free, Xiangling here you come! ) Nahida skips to catch up with you.

She gives you a beaming smile, and you can’t bring yourself to not return it. She's so much cuter in real life, even the official art didn't do her justice.

You make your way towards the restaurant, finally.

And apparently you’re happier than you thought to smell the savory scents flowing out of the kitchen because your stomach growls loudly.

You’re too hungry to even attempt to stop it, no one will care, except Nahida’s eyes go wide. She begins to sputter, and flail her hands desperately trying to charade an apology at you.

…you were just trying to tell them you were hungry. 💀

☆

Ask box open again! :] 🎊

Pspspspspssubliminalmessagingyouwillsendthatdeadaquariusanaskpssppspspspspssss

✨️Hope you guys got smth out of this rough draft✨️ ♡

:D hope u guys have had a good weekend!

My senior art exhibit is april 6th so wish me luck and prayers (from any religion im not picky pls)

Safe Travels,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[shardkn1ght]

Now that we're entering into 2024, I'm asking some artists and writers that I follow:

1) What is the one piece you're most proud of from this past year?

2) What are some pieces that you would have liked more people to see? If you can include links, I'd love to go check them out!

3) What were your top three favorite pieces (art, comics, fics, etc) that someone else has made this past year?

(As always, no pressure to respond! Feel free to just ignore, or let me know if you'd rather I not send you these kinds of asks in the future.)

My favourite peice this year would have to be my mm raph

I freaking love this piece. I actually entered it into a competition. So hopefully it does well!

A piece I wish more people saw? Honestly my Bruce x Hueso post. It’s such a dumb ship. But I love them.

Ok top posts by other creators!

Honestly @cuddlebugmonster s comic needy is in number one spot. That comic actually made me cry. So you can’t really top that.

@kathaynesart comic replica is a big inspiration for me. Kat is such a sweet person. And one of the first “big creators” who ever interacted with me. ( yes I remember lol. I’m still just a fan)

And tbh all my moots do absolutely amazing stuff. If I had time to tag everyone I would.

[lythea-creation]

The Price Of Family - Draco Malfoy x sister reader

summary: (f/n) isn't exactly a perfect heir to the Malfoy family. How will Draco deal with his sister sticking out?

warnings: reference to abuse

word count: 944

Author's note: Feel free to check out my Masterlists and make requests. No reposting please! Reblogging, comments and requests are always appreciated <3 If you like the story/my writing, please don't be shy to say it via comments or asks! It takes you a few seconds and might make my day. It's the best appreciation you can show to a writer you like.

Requested? Yes

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

Being a Malfoy was not coming naturally to me.

For starters I despised the whole pureblood supremacy shit. Not even talking about the dark lord.

At school I was an outcast. Most Slytherins stayed away from me due to my beliefs which I did not hesitate to declare. A lot of other students avoided me because of my brother.

Luna was one of the only people I truly came along with. Maybe because she was the odd one out as well. I loved that about her though. She was true to herself and never questioned being herself. It was inspiring honestly.

But there were also somerismatic and cunning twins who I liked to hang around with. It was always fun to be with Fred and George and they did not care about my family. They saw me and not just my name.

Draco and I used to come along well when we were younger and life easier. But he preferred impressing our father over me nowadays and we were drifting apart the more time passed.

The year was over sooner than I had wished for.

I was sitting in a train compartment with Luna and Neville, enjoying our conversation. At the same time I could not help but dread the end of this ride. The summer break was the worst time of the year for me.

So I hesitated to say goodbye to my friends to join the family reunion that was already taking place at the gate.

Our parents were delighted to see Draco. They were all smiling and talking. Sometimes I wondered if I should just not return home one day to improve all our lives. But that would feel like running away and everything inside of me was clenching at the thought of giving up when it was getting hard.

Reluctantly I stepped over to my family who actually greeted me properly.

Our mother let us talk about our school year the whole way home. But as soon as we arrived I escaped into my room.

I unpacked my stuff immediately to get it done quickly. But that did not work out as I was interrupted by Draco bursting into my room.

“I've wanted to talk to you for a long time now”, he proclaimed.

“You can't just come into my room like that”, I noted.

“Of course I can and I just did”, he insisted. “The Weasley twins? Seriously? Do you want to ruin our reputation for good?”

“Just get out”, I shot back.

“I won't. You may not care about our family, but I do. I wasn't exactly excited when you started hanging out with that Ravenclaw weirdo, but this is a different level. Why do you keep interacting with blood traitors?”, he ranted.

“This is stupid”, I mumbled, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“The future of our family is a joke to you? When did all of that even happen? You used to hang around the right people”, he recalled.

“Oh, you mean your friends? Our rather the kids of our parents' friends? They're narrow-minded and total jerks”, I stated.

“What did you just say?” He growled, getting dangerously close.

“Drop the act, Draco! I'm not scared of you”, I enlightened him.

“You should be”, he warned me.

“You're weak, Draco. Always have been. You only do what everyone around is expecting you to do”, I proposed.

My brother clenched his fist before snapping his fingers and that way calling one of our house elves. “Go and get my father”, he ordered.

“That's another thing. You all treat the house elves like shit. I just don't get it. They're doing so much for us. A little appreciation and kindness isn't too much to ask for”, I remarked.

“What is going on here?”, our father questioned.

“(f/n)'s going insane. She's spending all her time with blood traitors and wants us to treat the house elves better”, Draco revealed.

“Is that so?”, father reassured.

I gulped. Honestly I was slightly scared of him because he was always afraid our family honor may be at risk.

“It is”, I confirmed.

“Alright then. I've given you enough time to redeem yourself. It's time for you to learn the hard way”, he announced.

“What do you mean?”, I inquired anxiously.

“You're going to spend the summer with your aunt. Maybe she can put you back on the right path”, he considered.

I could feel all color drain from my face. “You mean aunt Bellatrix? Are you serious? She's a maniac”, I reminded him.

“Don't talk about your family like that! Apparently I failed to teach you properly. Maybe I was too soft on you. I'm sure she won't be”, he assumed.

“No, you … you can't do that”, I protested.

Now I was scared to no end. Facing my father was one thing, but my aunt. That was a completely different story.

“I'm taking your wand in the meantime”, he decided.

My wand flew his way with a flick of his own before I could react.

“I'll contact Bellatrix immediately. You don't get to take anything with you. I'm sure she can provide you with the essentials. Draco, you will watch over your sister until your aunt arrives to make sure she doesn't do anything reckless”, he ordered.

“Yes, father”, Draco replied obediently, although he was looking a bit paler than before as well.

My mind was racing to find a way to get out. Suddenly I wished I had just run away after all.

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

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments or asks!

[starrjoy]

Hi! It's so great to see that you managed to build your blog back up! I just wanted to say that I adore your artwork and your Pandora AU Comic so much! It's honestly so inspiring to see such creativity and drive in the fandom. It's one of the things that made me just throw caution into the wind and reblog/tweet any cool sonic stuff. Being a few years off from 30 and seeing your comic made em realize that life is too short and I should enjoy what I want. Your comic also been really inspiring me to maybe try and attempt something with my own silly sonic ideas in the future. I wish you only the best in your art endeavors and also take good care of your health too! That's the most important part!!!

ahhhh thank you!!! i'm glad to have been that for you, i also used to be really shy about my interests <3 life is a lot more fun and awesome when you stop caring what other people think and just make stuff you think is cool :]

[neechees]

I searched through your blog to see if you've answered a question like this before - if you have I missed it so sorry if I'm making you repeat yourself ^^

Are there things you see in Indigenous characters in media that you wish were less common ? What about things you want to see more in Indigenous characters in media ?

I dont think I have actually so you're fine! :)

So this is just my opinion obvi & some ppl might not agree with everything below, but here are some tropes or really common devices I see in Indigenous characters I hate and/or would like to see less of:

Interracial relationships but ONLY White person/Native person. I don't think this should stop or not be portrayed at all, but at this point it feels like we have more interracial relationships featuring a white person than we actually do depicting relationships between even Native people with each other. ESPECIALLY NATIVE WOMEN PAIRED WITH A WHITE MAN. God I am so sick of it, please give us Native/poc & Native/Native relationships for once, I promise it happens irl

That trope where a White person joins a Native tribe & essentially becomes one of them. For similar reasons as above, and again I don't think this portrayal should stop 100% & it's not necessarily "bad", but I'd like to see more diversity or a different approach to it. It seems like most of these are inspired by historical accounts of this happening irl, but most aren't historical depictions of actual historical people, which I actually WOULD like to see (White or not) more of, instead of just fiction. Also just kinda seems like wish fulfillment with White audiences who have a fetishization of Native people sometimes. Maybe I also hate it so much since it very often goes in with the white savior narrative too

Native women being brutalized on screen, oh my god. Seeing this over & over as a Native woman is literally so retraumatizing. A lot of times it gets to torture porn or voyeuristic, & wasn't even necessary to begin with. I don't care if it's to show how "bad" things are for us, I know, show it some other way.

White ppl making shit off of our Spirits & legends. Just leave us alone. They never get it right.

Just a lot of Native tropes in general because they're overdone. The Noble savage? Indian burial ground? Booooring. Unoriginal. Lazy.

Things I want to see MORE of:

This is just me because I LOVE history, but more historical Native settings BUT, set during Pre-colonization & precolombus. So many historic films about us are during colonization & being persecuted, & I think this is why so many Native people hate films with ndns set in history (in addition to making it seem like we ONLY exist in the past, which is fair), & other than that, makes it seem like our history begins & ends with being colonized

More badass Native ladies. I wanna see Native women who are femme fatales, wrestlers, assassins, martial artists, warriors, gunslingers, athletes, the works. I wanna see untouchable, dangerous Native women.

More fantasy & horror stuff I'm begging, I'm on my knees

The list for what we should STOP seeing in Native characters is honestly shorter because of 1. how severely underrepresented we are, and 2. Where we DO have rep has a lot of tropes that are very very overdone & constantly reuses those tropes, (besides the much lesser known, obscure stuff made by us for us, which isn't as high in number by comparison) so like the list for what we SHOULD try is literally so big I'll just end it here

[tirsynni]

So the issue about the right to post criticism on people’s fics have come up again. Okay.

First off, the most obvious thing: unless the person asks for constructive criticism, be very wary about giving it. Again, please, keep in mind: this is fanfiction. This is a story typed out by a fan in their free time and posted online for others to enjoy. This isn’t a work that someone polished with the plan to publish for money. This is a fanwork posted by a fan for other fans to enjoy. Most writers I know don’t want constructive criticism. They want to engage with other fans with a medium they enjoy. “I really enjoyed this and I hope you do, too. Here’s an idea inspired by watching that scene.”

Of course, some writers do want constructive criticism. They ask right in their notes for it, which leads to my second point...

What are your credentials? When it comes to offering constructive criticism, are you confident in your skills to offer it? People tend to be, yeah... and then tell me what they would have written. “This is something I would personally enjoy and I wish you had written this instead.” “This does not match my headcanon of the character and you should have done this instead.” “You should have written the other character as the top.” None of this is constructive criticism. None of this is helping a writer improve. When these thoughts occur, instead of leaving them as a comment, consider writing the fic yourself! Seriously! Go for it! That’s the joy of fanfiction! You want to see something? You can write it yourself!

But really, what are your credentials? Do you know how to edit? Proofread? Did you take classes? Do you have a degree? In what? What’s your personal experience? Can I see your resume? Can you offer constructive criticism in a way which will improve that specific writer’s specific style? Can you help the writer tell the story they want to tell and not you? Because that is incredibly challenging. It’s easy as hell to tell someone what you would like to see in their story. It’s also the reason many writing circles and writing groups fail: too often it dissolves into “This is what I like, so you should change this” or “Well, such and such heard from such and such that this is really important for fiction.” That’s not how actual constructive criticism works. That’s not how you help a writer grow. 

“Well, if someone is writing and posting stuff online, then I have the right to criticize them.” Do you enjoy having so many free works at your fingertips? Would you like to see it happen in the future? Because while you’re free to criticize, that writer is free to stop writing. Writers don’t have to post. Writers can delete existing fics. Writers can and do give up because they are so excited to post their project online, only for multiple people to offer them “constructive criticism,” making them feel like shit, while many other people enjoy the fic but don’t bother telling the writer. 

“I have the right to tell the author what I like.” You also have the right to write your own fic. Which is probably going to be more productive?

“I have the right to tell the author their fic grosses me out.” Great. You also have the right to tell that to random people you meet in the street. Go for it. I personally value the concept of “don’t like, don’t read.” You did choose to deliberately read that fic, after all. That’s all on you. The author didn’t put a gun to your head and force you to read that work.

“I have the right to tell the author their errors.” Did they ask? Why are you so focused on the errors and not what you liked about the fic? I promise, if you tell authors what you enjoy about their fics, that will help them grow their skills far more than criticism. Getting positive feedback encourages fic writing, and practice helps the writer with those errors far more than random people on the internet.

At the end of the day, is your constructive criticism helping? And honestly, is that “constructive criticism” for the author or for you to feel proud about your awesomeness or for you to lift yourself up by belittling someone else? Before you gave the constructive criticism, did you ask the person? Did you value their opinion enough to verify that they wanted it in the first place? Fuck, did you even take the time to ask the person if they wanted a beta reader? Because if someone is happily posting their fic and they didn’t ask for help via a beta reader prior to posting, it might be because they’re more focused on the fanwork itself than grammar and the such, and that’s okay. If you can’t play around with fanfiction, with what can you play around? It’s fanfiction. No life or death seriousness to it!

Generally when someone leaves me constructive criticism, it isn’t constructive. It is that person telling me what they would have written in my shoes. You doing that isn’t going to make me write it. Hell, if people keep it up, writers might not write anything at all.

It’s very popular now to call writers greedy when they want positive comments or engagement with their fanworks. It’s also popular to defend the right to criticize the author when giving a comment. I would really prefer for these people to just write their own fic. Write what they want to see in the world. Maybe it’ll balance out all of the writers not writing because they’re getting hesitant about posting their works or feel too discouraged to even write in the first place.

[tlou-reid]

The Show Must Go On - Stick Season

♡ DISCLAIMER: this story deals with heavy, dark, and triggering themes. warnings will be included on each chapter. this story is 18+, minors do not interact. (also i can not guaranteed my timeline is exactly right but i am doing my best)

♡ DISCLAIMER: i am incapable of writing songs so reader's music will all be from noah kahan's stick season. songs used in each chapter will be linked at the beginning, and the character is inspired by the story he creates throughout the album.

♡ WARNINGS: alcohol consumption, takes place in a bar, jesse and ellie get drunk, ellie being a Simp

♡ fem!musician!reader x ellie williams (eventually)

❥ prologue ❥ next part

“Come on, Ellie,” Joel rushed her out the door, lightly pushing her back, “I thought you’d be excited for this.” It was Ellie’s 18th birthday, something she’d been looking forward to since they can came to Jackson. And honestly, Joel was excited too. While there was no official set of laws, it was general knowledge that you had to be 18 to be able to go into the Tipsy Bison and have a drink. Joel was excited to see Ellie in this kind of environment, and he couldn’t wait to embarrass her in front of everyone.

“Dina and Jesse are gonna meet us there, right?” Ellie asked, making sure she’d get to spend her birthday with her best friends. Joel nodded yes, and they continued their trek to the bar.

The saloon-esque doors opened and Dina and Jesse’s hands shot in a wave to Joel and Ellie almost immediately. Sitting along with them was Tommy and Maria. Ellie smiled at her found family and raced over to them. Joel could only chuckle as he followed behind. A few other people were there, acquaintances of the groups. They all cheered for Ellie, wishing her a collective happy birthday.

It wasn’t until she reached her friends when Ellie noticed the music. She followed the sound to the small stage set up in the very back of the bar, where her eyes on landed on you. She paused for a second to listen. This wasn’t one of the songs she’d ever heard on the radio, or even had on cassette to listen to. You went into the next verse and she stopped to listen to the words you were singing.

“So I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad, that I could cancel out the darkness I’ve inherited from dad.” She noticed how beautiful you looked with your eyes closed and a slight smile on your face as you continued your song, “No, I am no longer funny, cause I miss the way you laugh. Once called me forever now you still can’t call me back.”

You and Ellie made eye contact as your eyes opened for the chorus. The strums of your guitar after each line made Ellie smile, and, much to your amusement, she was nodding her head along. “And I love Vermont but it’s the season of the sticks and I saw your mom, but she forgot that I existed…”. Joel tapped her shoulder, making her reluctantly take her attention off of you. Behind her back, Dina was smirking at Ellie’s reaction to the singer.

“So what are we drinking?” Joel asked, excited to give her what he thought was her first drink. “Hamblen whiskey,” Ellie answered with a proud smile on her face. “How the hell do you know what that is?” Joel asked as he waved the bartender over. Ellie just answered with another smile, before turning to her friends.

“Who is that?” Ellie asked, gesturing to where you were finishing up your song on the stage. Jesse told her your name, and explained how you sang here on Fridays, and how often Seth complained about it. “It brings more people in, so he puts up with it.” Jesse finished with. “Why have I never seen her before?” Ellie inquired.

“You guys kinda run on opposite schedules, like with patrol and stuff.” Jesse explained. “And she kinda keeps to herself. She writes music, the songs she sings are hers. Her and Michael are good friends, they’re patrol partners most of the time.” Dina added on while Joel passed Ellie her drink. It was definitely not the whiskey she asked for, but it was alright.

“Thank you guys! See you next week!” You announced as you pulled your guitar off your shoulders. Ellie couldn’t help but watch as you rested it on a stand, presumably for you to grab when you leave. Much to her surprise, you started making your way towards her and her group. Her eyes raced up and down your body, unabashedly checking you out as you came over.

“I heard it was your birthday,” you smiled at her, “why don’t you let me buy you a shot to celebrate?” Ellie was dumbfounded. She was sure her mouth was hanging open, as if she been approached by a celebrity. She could feel her cheeks warming at your words, already forming a little crush in her own mind. You let out a chuckle when she nodded. “C’mon then,” you reached out towards her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer to the bar. Dina and Jesse let out a laugh when you two walked a few steps away. Ellie turned and glared at them over her shoulder.

“I’ve, uh, I’ve never seen you around here,” Ellie started as you flagged down the bartender. “I’m Ellie, I’ve only lived in Jackson for a few years now.” She was proud of herself, the way she could form an introduction. You introduced yourself, telling her your name. “I sing here every week, you’ve never come in before. I would’ve noticed a pretty girl like you.” Once again, she was at a loss for words. When your attention turned away from her to tell the bartender what you wanted for the shots, she took the opportunity to check you out again.

Ellie couldn’t deny how attracted she was to you already. Up close she could see every detail that was hidden from her when you were on the stage. She could see the necklace that dangled from the way you leant over the bar, the small freckles that spread across your cheeks, the chipped paint on your fingernails that shined in the light as you waved to the bartender. She was so enthralled by you, she didn’t even have the chance to wonder how you got nail polish in a literal apocalypse. All of your little details had her memorized all the way through. She could feel her head getting lighter, her heart beating fast, her pussy getting wetter, and her fingers tapping harder against her thigh.

“Yeah, I just turned 18, Joel said I had to wait to come hang out here.” You laughed as you handed her the shot. “So this is your first shot?” You asked. She nodded. “Okay, let’s get to it then.” She nodded again, watching you and following your actions as she took her first shot. Her face winced up at the taste. “What is this?” She asked, reaching for the drink Joel had given her. “I don’t know, I asked the bartender for the nastiest shit they have. It’s a rite of passage.” You laughed and she flipped you off, very quickly, from behind her glass.

“You didn’t even react!” Ellie squealed, still trying to recover from the taste. She wasn’t sure if it was the nastiness of the alcohol that raised her voice two octaves, or if it was how close you were standing to her. “Oh,” you laughed, “I don’t drink. I told him to put a little bit of water in my shot glass.” Ellie’s mouth dropped, “that’s not fair!” You laughed, the sound filling her chest with warmth.

“It looks like the party’s over here!” Jesse yelled, slurring his words a bit. His arms wre thrown around yours and Ellie’s shoulders, as Dina laughed behind him. Ellie rolled her eyes at his interruption. “Ellie, this is y/n. Y/n, Ellie’s been checking you out since we came in!” Jesse drunkenly rambled. Ellie’s face was heating up again as your gaze turned to hers. “Is that so?” You asked with a smirk gracing your beautiful face. Ellie couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or turned on. “Well, the feeling is mutual.” You said with a wink, before pushing Jesse’s arm off of your shoulder, “I’ll see you guys around, I’ve gotta get the stage cleaned up before the bartenders shift switches. Happy birthday, Ellie.”

And just as quickly as you’d shown up, you were gone. Ellie turned to socialize with her group, letting everyone wish her happy birthday and buy her a few drinks. Her eyes kept drifting to the stage, where you were organizing everything on it, and putting your guitar into its case. She was unaware of the way your eyes drifted to her, checking her out as well.

“Jesse,” Ellie slurred later in the night. Jesse was half-conscious, drunkenly stooped over a table in the bar. Most of the people had left, leaving a few stragglers and Ellie’s group. Dina was the most sober, taking care of everyone. Tommy and Maria had retired home, calling it a night. Joel was sat in the corner, sipping on a drink and keeping an eye on the kids. “I need a favor.” Ellie finished. Jesse let out a disgruntled groan, not excited about the sound of her voice in his ear. “I need to be put on patrol with y/n. You gotta be a wingman here.” Jesse let out another groan, one that seemed to be of agreement.

Later in the night, as Joel helped Ellie stumble into her bed, all she could think about was you. She’d never had such a crush on someone who was relatively a stranger. She’d never been approached by anyone, let alone someone who was so confident and seemed to be interested in her. All she could do as she passed out from the amount of alcohol in her system, was hope and pray that Jesse would remember the agreement he’d made. All she wanted to do was see you again.

Unfortunately, that didn’t last long for Ellie. In the morning, her focus was entirely on the pounding headache and upset stomach she was nursing. This was her first hangover, so she laid around most of the day. Until Dina came knocking on her door. “Els,” Dina shouted, making Ellie groan, “come on, let’s go get the kids all set up.”

Ellie had totally forgotten she was movie duty tonight, taking care of the children and setting up the film with Dina. With a groan, she got up to open the door. Dina yelled out something along the lines of, “you’re not even dressed!”, but Ellie was too focused on shushing her to really understand what she said. Ellie got herself together as quickly as possible before heading to the community center to set the movie and snacks up.

When she passed the stables, she saw your figure emerging. You guys held eye contact for a second, and you brought your hand up to wave at her. Ellie’s cheeks flushed a shade of pink as she smiled and waved back. Dina chuckled from next to her. “You like her? For real?” Dina asked, not in a teasing tone. She was asking if Ellie liked her, or if she was just attracted to her. “I don’t really know her.” Ellie answered, ever the mysterious type. “But you want to?” Dina didn’t miss the rosy blush that reappeared on Ellie’s cheek, despite her silence following the question.

Luckily for the girls, Jesse had shown up and started getting things together. Dina helped seat the kids as Ellie went to set up the film. Soon, everything was running smoothly, and the three were standing in the back of room. “Jesse,” Ellie whispered, leaning into his side, “do you remember the deal we made yesterday?” Jesse’s eyebrows furrowed, answering her question without saying anything. “The girl, the uh, the singer from last night,” Ellie nervously started. What if he made fun of her for asking? What if he ran off and told her that she asked for this favor?

“Could you maybe, uhm, set us up on patrol together?” She finished. Jesse’s face broke out in a smile, “yeah, of course. I’m a great wingman. It’ll just be a while, the schedule’s made for like two weeks or something. You’ll have to go on a night patrol, since that was she does. You think Joel will let you?”

Ellie didn’t know how to say, ‘I don’t really give a damn what Joel has to say about it, I’m going on that fucking patrol’ without sounding like an asshole. Instead she said, “yeah, I’ll make it work. Just make it happen for me.”

The night passed and Ellie made sure to follow-up with Jesse almost everyday until he confirmed that they were scheduled together for 15 days out. Ellie marked the date in her journal, outlining it with little hearts.

[reel-fear]

Honestly, every single time the whole 'poppy playtime is a bendy rip-off' stuff ever shows up I find it all extremely unconvincing and silly.

For one thing, rip-off usually is meant to imply that it's a cheap lazy copy of a better more polished thing, and uh. Sorry but even from chapter 1? Poppy Playtime is a better game than Bendy, it has a simple but understandable story, the game manages to be thrilling, creepy, and very intense at times... I mean that Huggy chase in the vents ALONE puts it way above Batim for me.

I mean BATDR had the most slow stupid chase I've ever seen [and every other encounter with the ink demon is text telling u he's there and then a timer goes down and u get jumpscared] and batim's chases were either silly or just not nearly as theatric or terrifying as that.

When making the vent sequence I mean not only is it absolutely horrifying to realize how fast Huggy is in there but also it's so theatric and cool? The fact that you round a corner after thinking you escaped only to see a terrifying animation of that thing crawling toward you is awesome! I wish Bendy had stuff like that!

And all the stuff it shares with Bendy are generic things Bendy ripped from other horror games/media anyways. I'm not saying Poppy Playtime isn't inspired by Bendy I for sure think it is but Bendy is such a generic story that somehow fails to do tropes 100 other horror games have done any comparison only makes Poppy Playtime look better.

"It has employees being sacrificed for their company" That is not a concept Bendy invented, literally look at any of the sci-fi horror series Bendy is very inspired by. This is literally a twist in the original Alien.

"It has a scary woman forcing you to do tasks for her" Once again, not a concept Bendy invented, a scary mysterious person forcing you to do fetch-quests is a concept found in tons of horror media. And at least Poppy Playtime gave you a chase with her and let you defeat her, look at poor malice. She's barely on screen for more than 10 minutes before she gets stabbed.

"It has a cult worshipping the monster" This is something tons of horror games and media have done too. I mean In The Tall Grass has a guy who worships a giant magical rock in the middle of a grass maze, Bioshock [which Bendy has only been taking more and more direct inspiration from while failing to grab any of the compelling parts] also had a lot of themes of religion and cult-ish behavior, almost every horror media franchise has at one point done a cult thing.

Bendy couldn't even come up with a reason Sammy worships the ink demon, the best motivation we've ever gotten is just that 'he's crazzyyyy the ink made him insaneeee'. Who is the cheap rip-off here?

At least Poppy Playtime gave their cultist a motive for worshipping the monster + a proper boss fight that feels intense and looks awesome! Bendy didn't even let you kill Malice [she got stabbed in front of you and then just collapsed on the floor how thrilling] meanwhile you get to kill three of the villains in Poppy Playtime and the gameplay and action in those scenes have only gotten better as the game went on.

I mean Sammy walks into a room and goes "AAA SCARY I'M BEING MURDERED" then later shows up and for NO REASON sees a normal human man and assumes it's the ink demon before once again someone else kills him for you. In Poppy Playtime you defeat Catnap as he floods the world with this horrible nightmare-inducing gas that intensifies the color palette and his design. Fight off versions of him that are illusions that you need your flare gun for, then watch in a wonderful animation as he mistakes the monster for his savior before getting killed by it, in a brutal way I might add, which game are we accusing of being cheap, lazy garbage again?

I just find this argument to be people who Really Really need to find a reason to hate Poppy Playtime which I think is silly. The devs being weird, shady people is already enough reason to dislike the game, you don't need to invent reasons why secretly every part of the game is malicious or bad. But esp when I see Bendy fans saying they don't support Poppy Playtime or dislike it bc of its devs or even saying its cringe ummmm.

I have bad news about the fact Bendy's devs are worse and it took not one, but TWO over an hour long videos to cover it all. Plus the Bendy games are just the worse games in every aspect, if I could sell my batim copy for a copy of Poppy Playtime I wouldn't hesitate at all.

Saying this as a bendy fan, we have no right to be super judgy towards Poppy Playtime. If Poppy Playtime is embarrassing cringe, Bendy is too and is way more embarrassing of an interest. We shouldn't spread misinformation just because we all want to hate Poppy Playtime, you can dislike Poppy Playtime without making up a bunch of nonsense to justify it.

Honestly seeing people just blatantly be unfairly mean to Poppy Playtime only makes its critics look worse and makes it hard to take any backlash to the games seriously. Because surprise surprise if you spread misinformation to make a point people will quickly stop listening to Anything you have to say bc they won't trust you're telling the truth anymore.

[wasyago]

hi! this is the bunch-a-questions anon. this wont be an ask ask. thank you for answering! it really gives me so much insight about tools and processes, i really enjoy seeing/reading how different artists have different ways in approaching creation of art. it’s all so interesting to me

and oooh i know what you mean about looking at a lot of different artists! it’s inspiration!! i find those things to be amazing too, it’s so cool. it’s like “this spot is inspired by an artist” “this artist draws this like this, so i wanted to try” “i think the way an artist drew this was neat and i wanted to try an implement it” it reminds me of that one post how we, as people, are a mosiac of other people and i believe it to be the same for how artists are too with their art

i feel inspired by the way you draw….. everything!!! it gets me pumped to try and replicate the way you do some things. like the shapes you create, the colors you choose, the way your lineart seems to be so flowy, how dynamic everything feels and how different each drawing you create is from one another (i saw you reblog that meme of like “why shouldnt i draw characters from the waist up and that is SO me, but it’s shoulders up” because drawing full bodies makes mh drawings feel so stiff, i need to practice more!!), the poses of the characters. just.. every aspect of your art is so, so, so nice!!

the way you draw, in all your styles, it’s definitely one of the ones that is such a good scratch to my brain. it gets me all giddy and happy! i’m not sure if i’ll get into jwri, mostly because my attention span will not let me be able sit and focus on listening before i get distracted and miss context on parts, BUT i still go to your blog almost every day just so i can see your art, no matter what it is, no matter who the characters are because it’s always so so good and i love taking it in. (will eat your art if i could, i am so serious)

this was a long one but yeah! i just wanted to let you know how awesome i see your art is! and how i also think youre a cool person, you seem like such a good peep to hang out it! might be weird to say but if you were a blorbo, you would be one of the most blorbiest blorbos to blorbo ever

hope youre having a good day!!

OH THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE KIND WORDS THIS IS SOOOOO

your explanation of taking inspiration from other artists was so poetic and beautiful! truly inspiring in itself

its okay if you can't get into jrwi, i get it! i didn't think i would get into it as well and after binging all the episodes i honestly forgot why i even started listening in the first place. remembered recently tho! it was because i was going a little crazy while making the picrew and needed some actual talking in the background instead of just music. so, if you ever decide to give it a try, or listen to something else equally as lengthy, try to busy your hands with something that doesn't require a lot of thinking! it helps me at least! worked both with jrwi and tma. it's like, doing something monotonous (knitting, sorting files, cleaning the house, etc) can be incredibly boring if i sit in silence and let my mind wonder. alternatively, listening to something long or watching a long movie can be incredibly boring as well because i struggle to pay attention to the same thing for two hours. but combining these is really good, because it keeps both my mind and hands busy, but not overwhelmingly so!

and ough ough ough thank you again for such heartwarming message! im so happy to hear that you feel inspired by my art, and i wish you good luck in your own art journey!!!!!!! remember to have fun and listen to yourself and do things that you find interesting and that you enjoy! don't force yourself to draw stuff you don't like! all art is personal and individual, so don't be afraid to make things "you"! you don't have to do clean line, you don't have to do lines at all, you don't have to do coloring or shading, if you don't like it! and if you do like it or are excited to try, you should go for it! don't be afraid to change and grow but don't force yourself into it!

also don't foget to stretch before drawing its very important!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pray4byron]

the following post contains mentions of eating issues and other various mental health problems. reader discretion is advised. you’ve been warned.

this has been a post that has just been waiting to happen.

i think it’s been very clear that my interest in requests has been slowly going downhill. i can’t help but be filled with guilt with each passing that day that asks sit in my draft or inbox, that were sent weeks ago.

i’m sorry to let you all down, especially after you’ve given me so much. but after gaining nearly a thousand followers in 2 months, the numbers catch up to ya eventually.

my policy with writing has always been “write requests first, eat later. the people don’t wanna be kept waiting.” i would lose sleep for requests, i wouldn’t eat for requests, and honestly it’s gotten to the point where i can’t do it anymore, the fatigue (and numbers) have gotten to me tbh.

i don’t wanna leave this blog, i love you guys, and the people i’ve met and the friends i’ve made. but after watching most of my mutuals and idols leave the hazbin fanfic community, i can’t help but wish to do the same, especially as those are the people who inspired me to write in the first place.

so i’m not, i’m not leaving, but i am going on a hiatus, a proper one this time, not some petty few day break. i don’t know when i’ll be back, but it’s safe to say i won’t be working on requests or any of my drafts, but i’ll still post here and answer non-request related asks!

however, in the meantime, i will be more active on my projects and voice acting stuff. so if you wish to consistently hear more from me and about my works, go to @miosmiked — i will soon be making a public announcement but my project in the works, and announce my voice cast/make a proper ‘trailer’ for it.

again, tysm for all the love and support i’ve gotten from each and every 700 and something of you guys XD i love you all so much you have no idea, this blog pulled me out of a very dark place in my life, so i thoroughly thank all of you, especially my mutuals who were always there for me.

again, this isn’t a goodbye, just a “see you later” i hope you guys follow me into my voice acting works, but if not, i understand, and thank you for supporting me here. i’m sure i’ll be back and writing again in enough time, but until then,

signing off,

noemi ❦

[pangolin-404]

Im honestly really worried for ranboo. Most people that get this big on the internet either get desensitized to stuff and become a bit of an asshole (or a full asshole) or get destroyed because of how much they care. Ranboo seems to be heading towards the second category and I wish for them to be okay

[post]

I really have no idea where I see Ranboo going from here. There are plenty of big creators who do good (Jacksepticeye's Thankmas, MCC charity events) and to me, the Particles for Palestine event was like that. A big creator utilizing their platform to raise awareness and charity. I... genuinely I don't see how people are so upset with Ranboo over . what? Not doing more? Not coming out with in-depth, nuanced reactions to global events? When they probably knew as much as you or I did.

Yes he broke promises, he is not a guiltless victim; he kept playing TLOU2 even after told of its inspiration, he didn't do as much charity as he said he would, and it's good he's acknowledging that, but this visceral reaction to him runs deeper than that, it looks like? I feel like he should stop raising peoples' expectations and over-promising; he's one guy, he's young.

I know it's probably mostly in Twitter--in the Tumblr tags, the worst I saw was a couple people calling them spineless (sorry Ranboo, but good lird, he is a little bit spineless for not telling people to stop idolizing him). But I can't wrap my head around the logic behind people going after his ankles.

Now, I personally can't think of anyone fitting the "get destroyed" option you claim has happened, Anon. So I'll be honest I think it's a little bit overdramatic, but I agree with you in that I'm also worried for Ranboo.

I worry that a whole nonprofit will be too much for them. That is a whole organization, and even if they have others working with them, that is a lifelong commitment. This is something he cannot back out of (or he will be making another empty promise) or give to someone else to handle (he said he would be active in it).

Ranboo has Generation Loss/Chronicle 0, White Noise, The Sorry Boys (if that still exists. please it's been months,), his usual streams and YouTube videos, and his own personal life and self to tend to. Genuinely, I worry a whole entire nonprofit organization that intends to address very heavy topics will break the camel's back. I don't know what that will look like, but I doubt it'd be great for his mental health and anxiety (and I worry talking too much about that, lest I get parasocial, if I haven't already!).

(I'll be honest, I don't expect the organization to go anywhere past its first few months of existence; if it does, it will be without their major role in it, or they'd be stretched too thin. I feel bad for saying that.)

All due respect to him, of course, but he is a variety gamer on twitch dot teevee, and I do not understand why people demand more and more charity and apology from him when his job is to play video games and make people laugh.

I get why people want him to state his stances, to be assured he supports Palestine. To be vocal about a tragedy happening. I get why people expect a charity stream during pride month, or an eventual donation to somewhere to help during a disaster. What I do not understand is how this isn't enough for some people.

to quote something I said when talking to a friend about this: I think he should tweet "yall need to respect me as a regular everyday person and stop seeing me as a paragon" and delete twitter and turn off the internet in his house

[xjustonemoremiraclex]

rwrb thoughts from someone who hasn't read the book (yet)

The good/general thoughts:

pleasantly surprised by the acting! which I know sounds mean, but listen, I saw these guys in other things and I wasn't suuuper into them, so it was a nice surprise lol

THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE TWO again, pleasantly surprised by that lol they played off each other SO well

10/10 soundtrack, it definitely took inspiration from older rom-coms and I loved it <3

PS I really liked all the side characters! I wish we'd gotten to spend a little more time with some of them, but everyone was pretty great <3 also, all the women were awesome, and I am very gay and very in love <3

Ok, I really, REALLY liked how they showed the two of them texting each other, and the whole editing around it. It was pretty cute

I was living for all the latine songs at the new year's party, that was a nice touch

ok, when everyone was getting down at the party and alex and henry stayed up and stared at each other and time slowed down, I know it was supposed to be romantic, but I have to say it: it was also the funniest shit I've ever seen lol

henry at the party is giving both 'i have social anxiety and my only friend here is a social butterfly and keeps leaving to be with other people send help' and 'i thought you invited me here as a first date kind of thing but you're dancing and making out with other people and i'm feeling so betrayed rn :('

'christ you're as thick as it gets *kiss*' LMAO

Listen, I'm not usually into rom-coms (I say, like a liar), but I was pretty happy with the writing, in general. I laughed at all the funny parts, got emotional over all the dramatic ones and swooned at the romance bits. Great job, everyone

'I just can't afford for you to fall in love with me' LMAO babe, we're WAY past that. On both sides

ok, full disclosure: I don't really like sex scenes all that much (there's nothing wrong with them, I'm just very ace lol), so I usually just use my phone while they're happening, and while I did that a little bit here too, I was still paying attention, and honestly, they were pretty sweet. They did a good job. And, like, I have no idea why the film was R-rated lol you literally don't see anything

again, love the little montages that show the passing of time, while also showing they're keeping in touch and getting to know each other better and stuff. It makes the relationship between the two and the way it's developing feel a bit less rushed, which is nice

ZAHRA MY MOST BELOVED

YES PLEASE I WANT TO SEE THAT POWERPOINT PRESENTATION THANK YOU

KARAOKEEEE

alex giving an impassioned romantic speech to henry, about to confess his love: // henry:

'I didn't want to break his heart' - oh, honey, you already did :(

'to tell you that I love you, knowing that you wouldn't say it back' brb sobbing

NOT CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE 😭😭😭

'because when they write the history of my life, I want it to include you and my love for you' help i'm dying 😭😭😭😭😭😭

MIGUEL DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW IT WAS YOU please die in a fire <3

alex's speech was really good by the way 🥺

LOVESICK HOMOSEXUALS LMAO ZAHRA MY BELOVED

'baby' screaming crying throwing up jgdkfk

I FORGOT THE KING WAS STEPHEN FRY why is this so funny to me

SEQUEL WHEN

The... less good?/general questions:

Kinda wish there'd been a bit more enemies in my enemies-to-lovers film

'he just grabbed my hair in a way that made me understand the difference between rugby and footbal'' - please, I beg you, someone smarter than me - what the fuck does this mean 😭 ppl are LIVING for this quote and I'm like ??????

this is probably me being stupid and ignorant lol but why would alex's relationship cost his mum the election? like, from what I've seen, her government has been very pro-queer, that's not really a secret, so her son being queer and in a relationship with a man shouldn't lose her any voters..? the people who are against 'the queers' were not going to vote for her in the first place, soooo..? me is confused

honestly, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but... the king was not that bad? like, i'm not saying he's not kind of homphobic and kind of a dick lol but i get the impression that everything stems from the whole thing about sticking to tradition and public image and bla bla. Like, again, obviously, part of that involves homophobia, but I think that on a personal level, he... doesn't really care? Even at the end, he's like 'ok, are you absolutely sure about this, cause there's no going back. Yes? Really? Well, go off I guess *long-suffering sigh*'. Like, I got way more homophobic vibes from phillip than the king idk 🤷‍♀️ (I really hope I don't have to clarify that this only applies to the film, and not like, the real life crown lol)

Sooo, as I said, I haven't read the book yet, but I've seen some posts about it, and I think after watching the film I've realized that it's biggest flaw is that it's that - a film. It's a great film, don't get me wrong! And it's pretty obvious I really liked it. But damn, I'm a firm believer that book adaptations only work as series. They don't have to be super long or anything, but there is just no way to fit everything in a book in a two hour film. And yeah, when you're adapting something you have to make some changes, but Idk, it's kind of a shame that you lose so much (and even without reading the book, I can tell there's a lot of stuff missing). In any case, I can't talk too much about it until I read the book, but yeah 🤷‍♀️ It does seem like they did a good job, though - like, it genuinely can stand on its own really well, but I guess I'll have to find out for myself

Also, tagging @silassstingy bc I promised her my thoughts on the film and she might give me some interesting insights on some of the stuff I mentioned, cause she's a queen like that <3

[alicenpai]

🌟

anime north 2023 con report

finally posting this - thank you to everyone for a wonderful anime north!! \o/ this con prep season was the longest ive ever prepped for a con, and i think it was the busiest con for me ever. it makes me so happy to see people taking my art home!! 😭

so thank you for coming by anime north and chatting and supporting me! and thank you esp to the people who came by gifting their own merch?!??? - either fanart or ocs?! and im honored to see your beautiful ocs?!?? what the hell you guys are the GOAT thank you all 🥹🥹

it was so busy that i wish i had time to walk around & talk to other artists! i really wanted to get dango and onigiri at the delta too.. didnt really get time to eat so im sorry if you saw me shove 10 timbits in my mouth at the end of the con. yes i really did that .

throughout the con i kept saying "he just like me.. HE JUST LIKE ME FR!!!!!!!" every 5 seconds like an NPC. im sorry if you had to hear that more than once.

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i wasn't able to post my con catalogue for AN on tumblr and instagram... i was so busy.. dying... maybe if i do other cons this summer ill post something similar. i had a lot of new stuff this year so formatting it was rough haha. here it is! more thoughts under the cut (bc this report really is more for me, but maybe someone can find something useful)

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this is more for me honestly, so it will be really long. but i'm sharing it in case it may be helpful for others. i find that i'm always looking back at my old con reports, so typing out all of my thoughts are really useful to me. overall a great con, fellow artists and customers alike really inspire me to do better in my art.

comparisons to last year: (since i didn't end up making a con report last year!!!!!)

location: the artist alley layout was huge, and im really happy there are a lot more newcomers to the con scene. i know how much my first con experience meant to me, so i want others to join in on the fun! i don't know how the artist alley staff managed to fit so many artists in the building now! we got placed in a corner where there was a lot of breathing room, and a lot of traffic. i got lost a few times (didn't actually have time to walk around, but you know, it was to get in and out of the con centre and to the washroom/water station) because the amount of tables was overwhelming however, and the layout was super confusing. however i didn't feel as if there were any significant bottlenecks in traffic when i was taking some walk breaks.

commissions: last year it was still busy, but i still had some time to draw a handful of commissions. this year was a non stop barrage of customers! i think i may retire on the spot commissions at cons, just because ive always found it too stressful to draw right at the con, even if the traffic is slow. (and im lazy)

fandoms: last year i felt that it was... never so difficult to sell niche and old fandoms...? most people bought primarily 3 things from me at AN 2022, and not much else was touched. it was a struggle, and i even wondered if my art plateaued, if it wasn't good, if i should stop doing conventions altogether, at least for a little while. this year was so surprising with how much love there was for old and niche fandoms. two people from quebec came by and noticed the old fandoms and mentioned that if i was able to come to otakuthon, i should, people in mtl love nostalgia.. i'm gonna be honest otakuthon was pretty bad expenses-wise for me, but i heard it picked up since cons came back in 2022. it is a really beautiful city so mayhaps.. i will come for miss montreal.................

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and a separate section on the new merch i made:

the new sticker sheets i printed (one piece, baccano, breaking bad/better call saul) did so well! nts to add luffys scar bc apparently i forgot... ive seen this dumbass's face for hundreds of eps and yet i still forgot .

these are a far cry to the sticker sheets i designed in previous years. many sticker places restrict you on how many stickers you can place on a sheet due to spacing requirements... the more stickers you have + the closer they are, the higher the margin of error, which i understand is why many professional sticker printers have these restrictions in place.

the artists i worked with for my AN stickers are so genuinely nice and accommodating with my requests. I just went wild haha. the sheets with the most stickers are brba/bcs at 27 stickers and one piece at 32 stickers.

2021 (top) vs 2023 (bottom), the chara stickers on the new sheet are larger & 2x as many item stickers! the new design makes greater use of the space. my octopath 1 stickers are meant for planners but you could use it for anything!

in 2017 i could only realistically fit 6 ish stickers on a sheet (for vinyl, not cricut home printing) due to printing restrictions. these costed about $3.30 CAD per sheet from s/ticker/mule (not worth it for the price point AT ALL... but i wanted to try sheets for the first time)... and yes it's a tiny 4x7 as well. it was a hard sell for $7 in 2017. but im glad artists have been pricing them a bit higher + sheets have become much more customizable.

now on to charms:

i am so obsessed with this borderless charm look on the new charms... they look like candy... thank you guys for loving my new charms!! i tried out a new technique with designing charms. and im so happy with how they turned out. the charm manu was super accommodating and they are so much better than vograce who fucked up my order so bad in 2022 🤡👍

the soul eater charms from last year were kind of a precursor to this. last year i tried something a bit different than my usual with the transparent bgs, which require full bleed in the file setup, and that was already pretty new for me. i find that charm sales are usually pretty mid for me, so during the pandemic i took a soft break from making them, and i wanted to do research based on others' designs and really tried to improve my design sense. to me i want to design charms that aren't just a flat piece of artwork that gets printed, but something that utilizes the capabilities of the acrylic material it gets printed on 🤔

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fandoms/merch types i want to try next time i table:

more soul eater? it's one of my favourite animes and im very happy for the soul eater love this year. my partner kept selling out of her soul eater prints even though it was her first time tabling!

fma! ive been rereading AND rewatching it lately. it's one of my top 5 anime of all time so me drawing anything for it is a struggle, the bar is set so high. i never end up having the time or ideas to draw anything for it (and the aesthetics are very different from my usual taste)

shadows house has been one of my favorites recently!

dungeon meshi, the print i made was back in 2018 and i think it's time to retire it! it sold out at AN, thank you! with the way the story has developed in the last 5 years, i really want to draw something new for it if i can.

blue period needs more love!

golden kamuy.....

and many more.....

i also want to try mini prints maybe...

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administrative stuff:

next time before the con, i definitely need an organized chart i print out before the con so im not.. literally writing down each transaction... 🧍‍♀️

clamps...?

possibly new display? grids even with plastic panels are heavy... and they can be a pain to put up. this AN we had our neighbors and good friends @nappotuna & @stripeyworm helping us put the grids up, they did an absolute speedy banger job! but it might have taken way longer without 4 hands on the grid work.

if we had used tape to hold our prints up as well who knows how long it would have taken. we used magnets, apparently a lot of people were using them at TCAF. they were so easy to put up and adjustable. *jesse pinkman voice* MAGNETS, BITCH!!!!!!!

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merch i may shelve/do less of:

i really appreciate when artists talk about these kind of things behind the scenes... when products do well, when others dont, products w surprising responses, the factors that we think affect sales... the hard truth is that not everything sells, just bc the art is good =/= good sales, etc etc.

lately ive found it so fun to design sticker sheets over individual die cut stickers!! i understand now why some people only specialize in stickers!! it's also such a pain to stock individual characters and have greatly varying levels, bc of customer interest, and bc of how printing stickers works, you often get extras of random characters due to overflow 😭.. like at some point I had 7 jeannes and like only 1 of the other vnc charas bc the printer had so many extras and she's arguably less popular HDHFJSJHDJS anyways, i think i'll probably do less die cut individual stickers for my next con...

anything old that i only have 1 or a few copies left (meaning i won't reprint) i may not have for display anymore bc of space concerns... before my next con ill just post them on social media to have people claim them!

i may want to do less 3" charms in the future...? theyre a hard sell online prob bc i cant really do deals (i could but id have to be checking the stock every few hours which is not ideal), but they do a lot better in person due to deals.

it's been fun to try specialty products (I've tried scrunchies, stamps, pouches, microfiber cloths, coasters, enamel pins), but i... find they dont sell well for me... maybe my art doesnt have that wide mainstream nostalgic merch type appeal idk... maybe im just not good at designing or advertising them wahahaha. (specialty charms are still charms and i wouldn't necessary consider them a part of this)

my jojo buttons were really popular at anime north 2019 and fan expo 2019, but when the part 5 anime concluded, i noticed that interest for the interest completely moved on 😭 (or it's possible that everyone who was interested bought the buttons already?). part 6 anime didn't rejuvenate the same level of interest. it was a struggle to sell even more than a handful of these at each AN 2022 and 2023. right now they're taking up a lot of space in my con luggage that i'd prefer for newer, better art. i still love the art i did, but unfortunately, i think ill give them a go if i get into otakuthon (and maybe fanexpo too), then it'll be time to retire the jojo buttons. sometimes fandoms come and go so fast, and it's difficult to keep old merch around when they don't have any more interest and when they're occupying a lot of space.

my banana fish lollipop charms do not sell well, and i only sold 5 of them in a 3 year period, across cons and my shop. i created a bargain bin at AN, and it really helped me get rid of old things! unfortunately even in the bargain bin i could not sell a single one of the banana fish charms. maybe it's the art that's not appealing, the characters aren't recognizable, the price point for a lollipop charm was too high, i wasn't hitting the right audience, the market was slow around the time, even when it was included in my promo post... etc. these lollipops were my first time making specialty charms. unfortunately i think that's the last time making lollipop charms, and about time to recycle these charms, so that i have space for fresher and better art!

other thoughts moving on:

maybe go back to simplifying my art a lot more... if i keep making drawings like my great ace attorney tarot + zine, witch hat atelier print, and pandora hearts print, then id not only take 1 month per illustration, id also be destroying my arm 😭 i stopped stylizing my art in 2021 bc i found that my art was getting sloppy in 2020 + i was really struggling in life drawing in school. i needed to buckle down and be more conscientious when drawing poses, learning anatomy and structure... and bc getting back into anime in 2021 really helped me cope with the isolation of the lockdown, so that had a huge influence on my style. but bc of that i think it just took longer and longer to make illustrations and that's something i no longer really wish for.

i really like the period of my art in 2017 with a lot of my persona 4/5 art bc it still has structure even though it's simplified... and the style in my zelda icon... mayhaps experiment a bit more this summer if i can...