#art is so relaxing... not taxing at all.

[kayleerowena]

i'm having a sale over on my inprnt shop! you get cool spooky prints at a huge discount, i get enough money to pay rent after i pay my taxes, we both win!

🫀 discount code for easy copy-pasting: JDENTM 🫀

reblogs & boosts are super appreciated! if there's any art of mine that isn't up there in print form that you'd like a print of, let me know! thanks so much!

[vitaminseetarot]

PAC: Random Messages You May Need 🌈🎆⛅

Sup, y'all. I'm finally back for another pick a card reading. I really apologize if folks have not heard from me over the past month, I meant to get this reading (among other things) out a while ago. I have not been able to touch tarot for the past few weeks. Life has been… topsy turvy, to say the least. Heh heh. [sweating profusely]

I meant to have another game out and to have paid readings available by now--that is still part of the plan. What was meant for June will be in July. So this blog might go from 0 to 100 mph real soon, to move along with plans as intended!

I was loosely inspired by the Baker pride flag from 1978 for this group selection. These piles are pretty nondescript: each one contains a random message that may resonate with you. Pick based on whichever color of the Prism Oracle speaks to you most, and feel free to choose more than one. Take only what resonates.

Pile 1 - Strength (Red) Pile 2 - Happiness (Orange) Pile 3 - Illumination (Yellow) Pile 4 - Movement (Green) Pile 5 - Flow (Turquoise) Pile 6 - Trust (Blue) Pile 7 - Intuition (Violet) Pile 8 - Love (Pink)

Pile 1 - Strength (Red)

10 of Swords, Insight

You've been asked by the universe to put up with a lot, especially recently. You're reaching a finish line of a very long and brutal marathon. There have been too many times where you questioned whether or not to throw in the towel. If you have, you may also have questioned whether or not it was the correct choice. Sometimes, things don't work out, and it's better to move on. It can be difficult to hold everything up when one thing after another seems to fall apart at the seams, but either way you're being reminded of the light at the end of this long and turbulent tunnel.

Collect yourself, pick up what pieces you can. Time has shifted everything, but the essentials still stand. Gather the wisdom you have learned from this ordeal. There is still beauty to be found in the decay, glittering gems in the rough.

Maybe you don't want to get stronger. Healing may feel like a better option than grinding for difficult experience points. Give yourself the rest and repair you need. Let go of only that which is keeping you from starting again, but you don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. You've gained so much wisdom and strength, this trial wasn't without gain. Treasure it and begin anew.

Pile 2 - Happiness (Orange)

2 of Swords, Clarity

Whatever answers you seek are coming to you. Or perhaps they've already arrived; open your eyes and see for yourself. You may be wondering which path will satisfy you more. The process of reconciling this could take forever unless you lean on your gut here. This can't be decided based on intellect alone, for you could get stuck mulling it over for days. Imagining all the different possible outcomes could be taxing for your brain, so narrow it down. Eliminate the weakest links and home in on what excites you. It should feel like an "aha, yes!"

If you cannot see the answer right away, go within to the realm of imagination. Feel your way through. Visualize not just with sight but with yearning. Does the light of the sun make you feel hopeful? Does the cool rain make you feel relaxed? Would an art class expand your capacity to imagine many things, or would taking a science class?

The X mark in 2 of Swords is like a railroad crossing sign. Redirect that train of thought into brighter and more positive avenues of expression. Say "what if" as if you can't wait for something to happen. "What if I saw a shooting star tonight? What if my cute neighbor asked me out?" Let the future shine its beacon for you. It will all make sense in due time.

Pile 3 - Illumination (Yellow)

Ace of Cups, Reconciliation

Have you been staying up way too late trying to figure everything out? Please give yourself a brain curfew: no problem solving or saving the day after 10 pm! I'm getting that you may tend to ruminate on the same strong emotions. For some I'm getting that there is a crush here. There's inconsistent text messaging. I know it's easy to get too nervous about their reply, but try to wait until at least the next day to hear back. They may need time to formulate their words right. They may not even see your message straight away. Take it all in stride and sleep on it; if they want to reach out to you, then they eventually will.

For others in this pile, you may be going through a rough patch with another person right now and could be wondering how things will pan out. Give them time to respond, they could still be processing it. Stay on the more positive end of things with the idea that things will work themselves out. I feel like if you can manage this in a relaxed and non hurried way, the knot will untangle easily. The coffee in the Ace of Cups is very hot, so give it a chance to cool.

There is opportunity in your near future to make up for something that went awry due to a miscommunication error. You may get a chance to make up for a test, appointment, or an interview. You will receive grace for any mishaps. Remember that tomorrow won't necessarily be the same as today, so cherish both the good you have now along with the good that soon awaits you.

Pile 4 - Movement (Green)

IX Hermit, Devotion

Looks like things are progressing faster than you even thought they would. You may be blinking your eyes in partial disbelief: could this ball really be rolling? Indeed, thanks to your efforts, goals are being met and results are more evident by the day. You eschewed a lot of distractions to make this work, so give yourself a pat on the back for the level of commitment you put into it. Some of you in this pile may have just graduated, if so then congratulations! But try not to get too comfortable with your laurels, for you have a long road ahead of you in whatever you do next. This one completion is the start of many.

Does that thrill you? If so, wonderful! On the other hand, some of you may be feeling uncertain about continuing. You may be reviewing your options to see if this really is worth pursuing. Something that requires a lot of dedication and focus on it to the exclusion of all else… yeah, I can see how that can get tiring after a long time. There are folks who can get their Master's right after their Bachelor's, or have another child right after the first, but people can also happily move on to what feels more right for them instead.

It's okay to stop and assess your tracks if necessary. Taking time off is not the same as quitting. It's not losing motivation, it's recovering it. This is your passion and your discipline, not anyone else's. If you need to give other parts of your life more room to breathe, then do so with the confidence that your great work will wait for you.

Pile 5 - Flow (Turquoise)

4 of Wands, Hospitality

Have you been stuck with something for a while? There's a strong sense of a blockage that is being eroded away over time. This process can be sped up by allowing the ice to thaw a little more. "Break the ice." You may be wanting to open up and spend more quality time with other people but don't know how. Or you could be faced with meeting new people and being nervous about interacting with them. Even more so if they're roommates. A few people in this pile could be moving or have just moved. This is a chance to ease up and get to know new people.

This blockage could be a result of the past and of anxiety. The sound of a turning doorknob just jumpscared me as I typed the last sentence. You may benefit from learning about social anxiety and how to manage it. It's not an overnight job for you to fix this, though, but to just be aware of it and not allow it to get in the way of positive change in your life.

If you're struggling to figure out how to deal with meeting new people, I would suggest looking up videos or how-tos on social interaction, especially if a certain etiquette is required for an event. Learn about conversation starters and fun things you could do together like hosting a game night. Practice makes perfect, and over time the blockage will melt into the stream.

Pile 6 - Trust (Blue)

3 of Swords, Conversion

You have a very soft and tender outlook on life, which makes it all the more painful when reality doesn't conform to such a compassionate vision. It doesn't always try to respond to vulnerability in appropriate ways. Much of the time, this isn't from natural events as much as it stems from the ways in which people can treat one another cruelly. You've had some toxic people in your life who have put you through the wringer and attempted to squeeze every ounce of kindness they could from you. Making light of this pain to them only resulted in further deflection and antagonism on their part. The only outcome was to salvage whatever you could and pray for the best.

It is not your job to change their closed minded perspectives. They're on their own, here. Do not concern yourself with their messy inner world and lose any more of your energy. Also, do not attempt to regain what energy has been lost through bargaining either, as much as it hurts to press onward without looking back. You will recover, but you have to move on first and prioritize what you deeply care about most (you included).

There will come a time when your heart will be healed so you can see the brighter side of human connection again. All the beauty that your gentle soul is seeking is still there, shrouded by layers of protective petals that will one day bloom again and your life will truly flourish. For now, this is a time to give yourself all the comfort you can.

Pile 7 - Intuition (Violet)

XII Hanged Man, Spring

I get the feeling that you've been waiting quite a while for some good results to come in. This could either be from something that you started back in the spring, or are waiting to see results which may come around springtime. It is a season of flowers, so you may be waiting for this thing to blossom--that is, to be fully presentable to the public in some way. To have something to show for the time you put in. Like "hey, this is what I've been working on, this came from the seeds I planted." It could be growing in a direction unlike what you're used to, leaving you wondering how it could succeed in such unusual and burdensome conditions.

Lean on your inner guidance when it comes to the right timing. I don't believe that you're currently in a space where you need to push so hard for the best results. You can let things move at their own pace. Over tending to anything can end up in just as much trouble as neglect. There's only so much you can do before you have to let the flower do the growing and blooming for itself.

It's not always easy to sit in the place of uncertainty with the idea that doing more will provide more. But sometimes less is more. What you're creating is coming to fruition and may even turn out better than you expected. Trust in both the knowledge you've earned over time from learning lessons, as well as your natural intuition, to help you decide when it's time to take action.

Pile 8 - Love (Pink)

7 of Swords, Gossip

Let your heart lead the way here, not your worries over what others will think. Sure, you may end up with some people talking about you, but opportunities will keep passing by if you wait for everyone else to catch up to you. Leaning too much on everyone else's perspectives will only distort the vision you have for your own life journey. We all have unique journeys to go on, but unconditional kindness remains at the center of the Love card, the one thing that brings us together. Following life from a heart centered place may result in having others glance over and whisper, but that shouldn't distract you.

There is a rather delicate message here about dealing with friendships, colleagues, or possibly even family. You may have a tricky situation between several other people right now who have beef not with you but with each other. They may be coming to you to air their grievances and ask for advice.

If you care about both of these people, then it's best to approach this issue as diplomatically and impartially as possible and avoid feeding into the conflict. What would an enlightened mindset do in this situation? How would you want the other person to behave if they were in your shoes? Come from a place of pure compassion. They may choose to make amends or not, it's up to them. If their butting heads is bringing you down, it's always okay to step back and take a break. You are not responsible for what's going on in their heart, only your own, so protect yours well.

This reading has not been evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or infection. Please ask your physician before going online.

2024, @VitaminseeTarot ™

[windydrawallday]

[A Different Type Of Hunt]

[...] “Well then,” he capitulated, “if you won't interrupt, I'll allow your presence for the time being on this hunt,” he said, before he thought about the other a little longer, and spoke up cautiously: “Unless you wish to compete for the ‘bounty’?” “Is there anything to be gained from it?” came an immediate ask, which made him relax as he almost let out a snicker. “Nothing but personal satisfaction.” […] “It's almost cute how much you want me gone, Prowl.” “After all this, you better hope you won't find me straight up adorable,” Prowl shot back with irritation, making sure to cause the branch he was holding to hit the hunter straight in his stupid face, even if he had to jump up to reach one at the adequate height.

➡️[Keep Reading the Full Story HERE]⬅️

My art entry (and first year participating) for the @tf-bigbang ! And because this was a "Mini-Reverse" version, I took the opportunity of illustrating a very BIG COMPLEX picture of my fav TFA rascals of course 🐦🦡💚

🌟 And I matched with @ivycorp as a writer pal! She did such an AWESOMESAUCE job portraying them in this dynamic! Practically a 1:1 of how I see them personally: lots of funny, endearing, bantering, and even somber moments plus a delightful of descriptions that's like taking a sip of a tropical drink 🍹

✨ Please, give it a read! Or if you know someone who likes this pairing, recommend it! We tried to make something that can be enjoyed by many without the need to support them as a pairing and I think this will be one of the few SFW fics on AO3 of them LMAO that was a plus goal achieved.

Under the cut, I'll keep babbling about my piece because... this had quite THE journey of a process for me, enjoy!

If you think the final thing looks already complicated: watch again, here is the ORIGINAL PLAN...

I usually don't render this refined because I don't use textured-pattern-ready brushes but work stroke by stroke on the canvas like an old oil painting. Most of the time I render all in one layer (or merge various layers at the end). So it ends quite taxing, but so rewarding to look at!

It got quite the amount of rearranging and redrawing of scenes to fit better in each place, so that was another factor that burned me up slowly, I guess...

Sadly, I didn't take into account how much time these took, and because I'm not the same person from years ago with free time to sit down and focus for more than 3 hs on a pic (these usually demand between 6 to 8 hs of attention without counting extra corrections) I ended cutting down half the planed scenes :')

But hey! Probably I'll go back to them and finish them to set everything how originally was supposed to be. But for now, I'll take a good rest (my wrists are still trembling a bit) and bask in the beauty of my pal's work too... and bless the admins of the event FOR BEING SO PATIENT WITH ME orz

Thank you, from the moon and back! 🌙💖

[ratcate]

I'm here to admit that I may have developed a hyper fixation on your OCs (especially on Zerion and Sir. Valentine) so can you perhaps tell us more about them? (And other OCS)

oh hey!! great selection of characters. Makes me really happy you wanting to know more about them! I love them a lot, but Sir Valentine more, as Zerion's personality and setting is pretty nebulous still. info about them both under read more!

Zerion is some sort of cartoony super villain, heavily inspired in the night of the bald mountain monster interpretation from Fantasia(disney)

(art from 2020)

I think he's a very strong dark mage or something. Right now I have him reduced to a joke. A cartoony villain living his slice of life, but always awaiting action, the smallest spark chaos, to join in, in a world where nothing ever happens. He has his sidekick, Vampina (I think that was her name). A vampire chick who lives in the moment and is Zerion's servant, as long as he provides him with some blood every now and then

(2023)

(2021)

she almost never pulls off that relaxed smile from her face, her brain usually has no thoughts more than "can i eath this?" "I can eat this" Both of them are pretty evil. I remember once i tried to sketch out a first chapter, where they had a visit of income tax department agents, coming to remind Zerion he hadn't paid his taxes, and both Zerion and Vampina made a whole intricate plan on how to get rid of them and torture them, to show the government they're not to be fucked with. Though, all their scare tactics were just confusing, failed magic tricks for the men, now tied to apparent non functioning electric chairs, looking at each other through their sunglasses, stoic faces, while confused to what Zerion is yapping about in his villain monologue, while Vampina eats a stale bread in the BG. ---------------------------------------------------------

I don't have much about Sir Valentine either, but I certainly have drawn him more. For now, His name is Sir Cannon Valentine, but we'll get to that in a bit.

(both from 2020)

This is the first art ever I made of him, and that's a lot of his vibe. (2019)

This MAN, is some warrior who died in his armor but is back by some whack magic, and he's impatient, easily irritated, screams instead of talking, and I've always imagined having him a strong accent. He's here to fight and go headfirst into everything bc he really cannot die.

As of 2024, Sir Valentine is Sir Cannon Valentine (you can still call him the first version), BECAUSE, besides him being reborn and inmortal, angry and ready to fucking obliterate anything in his way, now his body works as a canonball

He went through my manic episode of redesigning many of my characters, after getting a taste of Pizza tower's cartoony characters, and became this. Much more functional, easily drawn, flowy. he just works, i can animate him in a snap of fingers. Still consistenly working to improve his design even more.

I will probs change the story, but this guy is resucitated as a last resort for a war between kingdoms, as a mistake, bc they wanted to revive some other guy, but got mistaken and went to his thomb. This guy revived him, after a ritualistic dance and some lightning

and then he is like "oh wait I fucked up", and Valentine is like "TOO LATE BITCH I'M FREE!!" and blasts away from him, as a cannonball, fueled by his own fire and methane gas from the catacombs he is in lol. This story is very not much constructed, but I love Sir Valentine a lot, and the characters I can surround him with. I see him falling for a bourgeoisie woman, or a princess even, bc all my stories need the romance, I'm nothing without the romance. I am also thinking of including another character of mine, Sayen, as the daughter of this death guy

Sayen previously appeared as a participant in a nsfw comic in my twt alt account lol. I love her and her design very much.

[blueberri-bois]

Warlord's Concubinus

Part 1 | Part 2

When you saved a sleeping man from a burning building; you certainly didn't expect this outcome.

Dressed up in a seemingly very luxurious deep sea green yukata with a pale peach peony pattern made of fine silks; you were laid out on the man's futon. By dressed up, I mean that after he had taken you back to Azuchi Castle, you were whisked away into another room where they bathed, beautified, and clothed you. It was strange, given that you were a man in all this. Truthfully, you've never felt this pampered in your life and while it certainly does feel nice you're a bit nervous about what your new role entails.

As you remember it, Oda Nobunaga, the man whom you saved from that burning building had expressed his gratitude for you by offering to have you be trained by the many teachers at his disposal in the art of war. He expressed that he would be happy to have you fight with him on the battlefield as a fellow soldier. You, however, were not built for something as physically taxing as combat, nor did you have any interest in it; the bloodshed seemed unnecessary as you preferred to solve issues with words instead of violence and you told him as such.

He was amused by your response but thought on it for a while and suggested that you either become his servant or enter into a concubinage under him. To you, both alternatives were pretty similar but one was just slightly better than the other and the only reason that you're even considering these options is because the warlord didn't seem like he'd be letting you go any time soon.

Thus, you chose the role of a concubinus.

Why? Well, a concubine's/nus' job isn't simply to please their lord sensually; they are also entertainers. Being adept in many different things like games, playing instruments, singing, dancing and even painting, but that's only a handful of things. The true job is to entertain. A concubine/us is also treated quite nicely compared to a soldier and a servant and they have servants of their own.

Not that you'd ever like the idea of waiting on someone hand and foot or following their whims without the ability to say no anyway; that's why being a servant was swiftly crossed off the list. You weren't exactly the subservient type either.

So here you were, relaxing on the futon of a man you quite literally just met 5 hours ago; waiting for him to get out of whatever meeting that he started when he got back to the castle. And though you were starting to become impatient, you were also becoming drowsy from the low lighting of the small candle-lit paper lamp that sat on the tea table across the room and the surprisingly soft futon underneath you.

Resting your head on one of the pillows; you let your heavy lids begin to shut. The quiet sound of the door sliding open was unable to coax you into glancing its way; nor the husky chuckle that followed shortly after.

It seems that he's returned you thought as you drifted off to sleep.

This work has some serious divergence from canon. This is most likely going to become a series instead of just a random oneshot, but that depends tbh.

[lime-ether]

Why the , fuck are you blocking your fans? They just repost artists that are Russians, and it’s not their fault that their Putin attacked you

I didn't want to write something like this on this blog but damn. I wanted to close this topic once and for all. There's quite a lot of text here but I'm just tired of being called guilty for the fact that I'm still alive

Ahem, The most important

Don't talk to me in Russian. Do I understand it? Unfortunately, Yes. But I don't want to see it here in my safe space. There is UKR/ENG in my description for a reason.

Maybe when you come to this blog, you think that I am a friendly creator who treats everything neutrally, but no.

If you repost, draw, promote any content in Russian or Russian projects - go away, I'm not happy for you here.

Imbeciles who have never experienced real thought and learn about the world solely through fandom love to tell you wrong with the certainty of a gnat. They relax in their armchairs, scroll through TikTok, think poverty means not owning a house, maybe an iPad, and maybe check one article a day on Twitter/ X — only if it's about pop culture. Then they slide in a news of someone who survived the bombing, acting like they're the moral police. If you know nothing and your understanding is woefully shallow, at least try to resist the urge to write all kinds of nonsense

"bUt wHy cAn't I tAlK aNd sPrEaD fUnNy rUs mEmEs" or "LANGUAGE CAN'T HARM YOU" of course. but the people who use it have killed my neighbors, my parents friends, my uncle, Friends and EVEN A NIECE WHO WAS NOT EVEN A YEAR OLD and many more than just my family.

destroyed other people's houses and my plans for the future

They wish death on each of us every day and the saddest thing is that I grew up with this I don't remember what it was like to live without war, do you think it was three years? 10 years? No. It was practically always like that

So you know they organized the Holocaust–Or famine , made 'fraternal' wars between Ukrainians, simply KILLED OUR NATION EVERY TIME, but we manage to resurrect ourselves almost every time, And every time they try to break us again. It's not just Putin who comes and kills everyone, it's a whole nation that steals, kills and erases important things from history, it's a nation that comes and steals and abuses and steals our children, or do a crimes to women or men.

The most big thing

I hate when westerns joke about 'soviet'

But what I hate most is when they hypocritically repost pro-Palestinian posts and are completely calm about Russians who post what a good day they are having after bombing another residential area

If you are a western that somehow supports Russians and reposts their work, arts, animation, game's, Creation

you are a bad person for me, I'm disappointed in you, get out of here, And don't you dare come back here.

Because Is it THAT HARD for you to at least try to understand what other people might be feeling? It's so hard to check that the person you follow pays taxes and continues to support the nightmare?

[tmntkiseki]

The very long post where I talk about all the stuff I like from each of TMNT 2003's three art styles (and nitpick at the stuff I don't)

Seasons 1 - 5

When most people think of TMNT 2003's art style, they are thinking of the first five seasons. The dark muted colors, the heavily muscled designs of the turtles, the dynamic lighting effects that change depending on the location, time of day, and the weather. But what is it about the style from the first five seasons that is just so damn tasty?

Interviews with Peter Laird reveal that in terms of the turtles' appearances for the 2003 series, while he doesn't dislike the 1987 turtles, he did find them too cutesy for his liking and described their designs as being "puffy" and "kind of inflatable." The way the 2003 turtles were designed with heavy, well-defined builds was to firmly establish them as ass-kicking superheroes capable of inhuman feats of strength and agility in combat. This is even reflected in the choice to give them white slits for eyes like their Mirage comic book counterparts, which further emphasizes just how serious and intimidating these versions of the beloved characters are meant to be.

One of the things that really does stick out with me with the turtles is the use of "shade with black." Ever since I started learning how to draw in middle school, I've always been told to never shade with black; it looks flat, the colors aren't as deep, your art will suffer for it, etc. But for TMNT 2003, the choice to shade with black is actually of benefit to the series. People love TMNT 2003 for arguably being the darkest and grittiest animated incarnation of the TMNT with a lot of scenes that REALLY pushed the limit of what was okay to show on children's television, and color choice does so much to set the tone of the kind of story you're telling. I especially love it when the shading is used to emphasize expression, like when the turtles are angry or scowling. (Pictured: Raphael during "Meet Casey Jones.")

While on the topic of shading; it's amazing how dynamic the lighting is for this series. As I mentioned earlier, depending on whether a scene takes place indoors, outdoors, underground, underwater, during the daytime, during night, in the rain, etc. the lighting changes to reflect whatever situation the characters find themselves in, whether they're in a hard fought battle with the Shredder or just relaxing in the lair. Lighting for scenes is further affected by things like monitors, candles, street lamps, and other things, and it really brings out both the characters and the environments. (Though I can imagine it was incredibly taxing on the animators, who didn't have access to the same technology that's available now.)

Obviously if I had to nitpick, one of the biggest shortcomings of the 2003 series primary art style is the fact that there isn't a lot to differentiate the turtles from each other physically. If you take away their colored headbands and weapons, the only thing you have to tell them apart is their skin colors; Leonardo is forest green, Raphael is a deep emerald green, Donatello is olive green, and Michelangelo is myrtle green. Without those differing skin tones, there really is nothing setting the brothers apart from each other other than their headbands and weapons (something that the Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer did fix to an extent.)

And this is definitely a "me" thing, but to an extent, I do find the way their builds are drawn is a bit too... bulky? I know they're mutants, that cartoon/comic book style is all about exaggeration of physical features, and that the whole point of giving them these well-defined muscles was to make them appear powerful and athletic, but I dunno man. When I think of ninjas, the first things I think of are "speedy" and "acrobatic," followed by "strong," and while you obviously need a considerable amount of muscle to wield the weapons and perform the stunts that they do, there is a point where too much muscle does ruin the idea that that these turtles are just as fast as they are strong. But, again, it's a "me" thing and I'm pretty sure there are a LOT of people who would disagree with me on this.

Fast Forward

I mentioned in my last post that, believe it or not, I actually do prefer the overall art style for Fast Forward. Why? There are certainly arguments to be made about why Fast Forward's art style is inferior to the first five seasons; for instance, the lighting isn't nearly as dynamic, the designs are simpler and not as detailed, and the overall color palette is far more saturated. So why do I like it so much?

Well, simple: It ultimately boils down to personal preference.

Given my minor ramble about how I don't like how bulky the builds were for the first five seasons, Fast Forward is (to me) an improvement in terms of how the turtles are portrayed in terms of physical appearance. They still undeniably have a lot of muscle to them, but it looks a lot more natural and I can believe they are as fast and agile as they are strong. Fast Forward was also the season where they attempted to individualize the turtles' physical appearances a little more, and while there could have been a bit more effort in that regard (like keeping the missing chunk in Leo's shell from seasons 4 and 5; seriously, why is that gone?), I think they succeeded. Donatello is the tallest and slimmest, Raphael has the most muscle and broadest shoulders, Michelangelo is the shortest, Leonardo is a nice middle ground, etc.

I also really, really love the designs for turtles' gear this season. A lot of people have mentioned how good the turtles look in black/dark colors, and they really do look more like proper ninja this season, albeit future-themed. The praise I have for the designs extends to the supporting cast and villains as well; the future setting, with all its aliens and technology, offers so much in the way of creative potential, and characters like Cody, Darius, Bishop, the Dark Turtles, and many more all have very appealing designs despite being simpler than the earlier seasons.

However, for all that I love about Fast Forward's art style, there are two aspects to it that I have a massive love-hate relationship with.

First off: The shape of the turtles' heads. They are basically pentagons/hexagons this season depending on the angle they're drawn from and this actually isn't the worst thing if you're learning how to draw the 03 turtles? Because visualizing their heads as pentagons/hexagons is actually very helpful when trying to draw them as they appear in earlier seasons. However, in the context of Fast Forward, the more geometric shapes of the turtles' heads is almost too simple and does make them a little... dopey looking at times. Which becomes even more confusing as to why they went with such basic shapes for their heads when some of the official Fast Forward art uses a much rounder style for the heads that looks SO MUCH better in comparison.

The other aspect to Fast Forward's art style that I have a love-hate relationship with is the overall color palette, which was a consequence of the season going for a lighter, more humorous tone when compared to earlier seasons. It's funny because normally I absolutely love bright, vibrant colors and it doesn't actually look bad knowing Fast Forward's tone, but given I'm one of the people who does not like how different the writing is from previous seasons and how much it affected both the storytelling and characters, obviously I want my Fast Forward turtles with darker, more muted colors. (Though keep the glowy bits. I love my glowy bits.)

Back to the Sewer

And now we get to probably the only art style from this series that I do somewhat dislike.

So, let's talk about something that was originally an issue for me, and is an issue for a lot of people who watched this season: the fact that the turtles' eyes are visible through their masks. Obviously, after six seasons of the turtles only having white slits for eyes, this change is pretty jarring and back when I first started watching Back to the Sewer, I was not happy about it either, especially with just how cutesy the eyes are (and normally I'm the biggest fan of cute; one of my favorite "junk food" anime is Acchi Kocchi, for crying out loud.)

But after actually watching Back to the Sewer, two things happened: first, I got used to the turtles having their eyes visible, and eventually I realized that this is actually to the turtles benefit. The turtles are arguably at their most expressive in Back to the Sewer, and the eyes further help individualize the turtles; Leonardo and Raphael both have smaller, more angular eyes, while Donatello and Michelangelo have rounder eyes (likely to make them look more youthful compared to their older brothers.)

I still don't totally like the 03 turtles having eyes, but again, that's probably because we literally spent six seasons with just white slits and when compared to the changes Fast Forward made to the show's art style, the ones in Back to the Sewer are even more extreme and it just feels very unnecessary. (Based on early concept art of Leonardo for the season, it looks like they were trying to mimic the style of the 2007 movie, which would explain the eyes, as well as changes to Splinter's design and April getting completely redesigned.)

THAT SAID, they did go all out with the turtles' attire for Back to the Sewer. Stuff like the cybernaut armor, the stealth suits, the goofy fantasy garb from the MMORPG they end up playing, and the tuxes they wear at April and Casey's wedding are all incredibly appealing and while, again, I don't like the lighter tone of this season, they probably wouldn't have been able to put the turtles in these outfits had it still been dark and gritty like seasons 1 - 5 (I have seen quite a bit of fanart of Donny in his Sorcerer outfit and that makes me a lot happier than you realize, haha.)

Sadly, my compliments to Back to the Sewer do end there and it's probably for the best that I end this post here anyway since it's 3:15 in the morning and I'm falling asleep at my keyboard. (I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and see just how many typos I made.)

Thank you for listening to me ramble about my TMNT 03 art opinions and have a good day/night!

[daintev]

I'M BACK WITH MORE MTCPT!!!

I've lost track of time and can't remember the last time I posted mtcpt stuff, it's been nearly two weeks, maybe??

Anyway, I've seen a lot of people discovering the original version of My Two Cents Plus Tax so I wanted to draw their old designs again :D

Sanders, buddy, you're fantastic man but that old haircut....

Anyway, I've had this silly little head cannon that Jock & Sanders have this thing together of sharing and listening to music with each other. So, it was fun to think they've been doing that since the early days of working with each other.

I can't stop putting characters in sweet, nice and relaxed scenarios. I'm a sucker for feel-good stuff, so naturally, I keep putting my favourite characters in these blissful, quiet moments

There's no particular idea I had when drawing this, I kinda realised I've never drawn or at least not for a while, drawn someone holding a cat. It was fun thinking about how each of them would interact with a cat, I think Jock would be a big fan of cats: I think Jock wasn't close with a lot of people growing up so he'd probably befriend the local street cats.

I NEED YOU ALL TO HEAR ME OUT!! This was a very rushed sketch of an idea I had. Okay okay so the three-legged race chapter is the last chapter of the comic for those of you who don't know, and I was thinking about how it'd end.

To be honest I've got no clue how it'd end, HOWEVER! I'm betting near the end: we'll see Sanders smile. NOW it's VERY unlikely this could happen and this is just me making predictions for the hell of it, but it's just a fun idea I wanted to explore a little. Whether he smiles or it's a different expression, I just think it'd be super hype. AGAIN this is just for fun, I don't know if or entirely think it will befit the story. If it does then great! but this is me messing around for enjoyment :]

Ending it on a small note: just some random sketches :D

I'm still working on my mini mtcpt project, I've been putting it off for a while (procrastination strikes again!) and my first semester just finished so I've yet to get around to finishing it.

As always I appreciate the support shown to my art, it genuinely means the world to me as a silly teen artist drawing these silly little characters <3

[bittersweetcreep]

Luna runs into civillan Damian again

Author's Note: This is part 2 of my Talia Al Ghul and Red Luna post, but you can read this as a standalone.

Part 1 here

A nice breeze rustled the tree's leaves, and sitting underneath that very tree was Luna. She was spending her free time sketching away in her sketchbook. Art was a nice way for her to relax and let her guard down. It can be so taxing to be constantly aware of her surroundings, It's nice to let go of that need to be ready for an incoming attack. That's the reason why she didn't sense a presence coming towards her. She didn't sense them sitting on the grass next to her, she didn't feel their stare.

Feeling a hand tuck her hair behind her ear was the moment she realized someone was there. Turning her head, she was met with Damian Al Ghul. He had this look of confidence and was wearing a devilish smile when he spoke his voice was filled with fondness as he greeted her. "Hello Luna."

Choosing to be polite, she signed back to him °Al Ghul. What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you this time around?° moving his fingers, he began to stroke her cheek. He seemed to be admiring her. "Don't worry your pretty little head, I'm not here to kill anyone. I'm not even an Al Ghul at the moment." She noticed he used the words 'at the moment', so he must be staying with his father at the moment but will return to Talia. Now that Luna thinks about it, who is Damian's father? After all, Talia wouldn't just procreate with anyone. It's probably best she doesn't know.

°If you're not here on a job, then why are you here?° Resting an elbow on his knee, Damian was once again wearing that devilish smile while he spoke. "I'm here for you, I wanted to spend time with the Red Luna who bested the heir of the League of Assassins and Talia Al Ghul herself." Picking himself up off the ground, he extended his hand for Luna to take. "What do you say, Luna? Will you do me the honor of showing you a good time?"

There was a moment of silence between them before Luna responded °As long as nobody gets killed, I don't see the harm.° putting her art supplies and sketchbook in her messenger bag, Luna took Damian's hand. Once being pulled to her feet, she signed one more thing before they left. °Don't make me regret this.° bring her hand up to his lips he reassured her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

He took her to a large warehouse like building that had the words Palette Paradise on it. The building was surprisingly walking distance from the park they were at. Once inside the building, they were greeted by a receptionist who opened a door for them. Damian offered his hand, giving Luna a reassuring smile. Deciding to trust him, she took his hand as he guided her inside.

The door closed shut behind them, leaving them in a pitch-black room. This put Luna on edge, but then the room lit up with millions of floating lights. Blue, pink, and yellow covered the sky around them. It truly was a beautiful sight, one where Luna couldn't look away from. Damian couldn't look away either, but it wasn't the lights that had his attention it was Luna.

Her eyes shined even brighter than those lights, and she had the biggest smile on her face. She was radiating pure joy and wonder as she stared up in awe at all of the colors in the sky. Damian swears he was falling for her all over again.

Entering the next room, they were greeted by the sound of birds chirping with a sunny sky. It had this peaceful atmosphere to it, but a sudden struck of lighting broke that atmosphere. The loud sound startled Luna, causing her to jump back into Damian's arms. Then dark and stormy clouds started to surround them both with low lighting coming from under their feet in an ashy purple tone. It suddenly started to rain too but for some reason she wasn't getting wet.

The sudden sound of laughter coming from Damian snapped the girl out of her surprise and shocked. Twirling her around, he placed his hand around her waist while clasping her other hand in his. "Follow my lead." They began to dance while staring into each others eyes. For some reason, Damian staring at her with his dominating gaze is making her feel shy, and her cheeks seem to be heating up too. Why is she feeling like this? And why is her heart racing? Can he hear the pounding her heart is making?

After exploring the other rooms, they left Palette Paradise. Damian wanted to treat her to something sweet, saying he had a place in mind. What Luna didn't know was that he was treating her to Puff Perfection, a high-end bakery that's known for their luxury desserts only the rich can afford. Tugging the back of the teen's shirt to get his attention, she informed the boy of the cost of this place °Not here, this place's desserts are costly. I know other places that are much more affordable.°

Placing a hand on her head, Damian gave a reassuring smile. "There's no need to worry about prices. You can trust me to treat you to something sweet." Trusting his words, she (with some apprehension) stepped inside of Puff Perfection. They were immediately escorted to a private table on the balcony and were given a shared menu that's filled with nothing but desserts.

Luna planned to get something cheap, but seeing all of the mouth-watering desserts that thought was thrown out the window fast and her sweet tooth took over her. There were so many tasty desserts with so many flavors. How can she choose one when her sweet tooth is telling her to eat them all. "Hey Luna, look right here." Damian pointed his finger to something called The Sweetheart Special. Reading it, the special comes with a triangular raspberry and rose essence cake covered in a pink ombré buttercream, a pink ombré macaron tower with rose Italian buttercream and hibiscus rose chocolate ganache and a rose milk tea latte.

"You wanna get that?" Giving him a thusiastic nod (which is just her nodding her head up and down super fast) Damain calls their waiter over and told them,"We'll be getting The Sweetheart Special." Luna was surprised to see the waiter back so soon as they didn't even wait for a full minute, but that thought was long gone when he served them their drinks and desserts.

Picking up her fork, she took a slice of cake into her mouth and let out a satisfied moan. Luna swore when she took that bite she bit into a slice of sweet berry paradise. Wanting to share this little slice of heaven, she took a portion of her cake and held her fork out for Damian to take. He leaned over and took a bite off of her fork.

Luna took a sip of her rose milk tea. When placing her cup back on the table, she was met with the sight of a macaron. Pressing the cookie to her lips, she took the hint and bit into the macaron. Damian took what's left of the cookie into his mouth. They took their time eating the rest of their desserts and continued feeding each other while making menial chatter.

"So you're telling me you don't have a TV or a laptop, but you have a flip phone that can only call people?"

°And a apple iPod.°

"You should come over to my place sometime. I could show you a few TV shows you might like or even a movie."

°We'll see°

Luna looked over the balcony to see the sky painted in an orange hue and the sun setting far off in the distance. This is usually the time she would be heading home to get ready, but the thought of her time with Damian coming to an end saddened her. There was a selfish part of her that wanted to skip her vigilante duties to stay with Damian a little longer, but she knew she couldn't.

°I should be going, I have something that can't be left unchecked.°

"I understand. My father is expecting me soon anyway."

Getting up from their sets, they walked past many rows of empty booths. Now that Luna thought about it, the whole place was empty when they first walked in, and the Palette Paradise was too. It didn't make sense with a place like Puff Perfection she expected the place to be jam-packed, but there wasn't a single customer in sight. Deciding not to dwell on it, she continued to follow Damain past the receptionists desk (she chose not to say anything when he didn't go to pay them) and towards the entrance were he held the door open for her to go through.

°You made today a real dream, makes me wish i could stay with you and never wake up°

"Luna." he said her name in a breathy tone as he looked at her with all the love and passion he held for her. With one hand, she continued to sign while the other reached for her phone. °We should do this again sometime. Do you mind if I get your number? I would like to schedule our next meet-up. °

Taking the flip phone from her hand, Damian started to put in his contacts. "I was thinking of taking you to the glass pebble beach to do some swimming, maybe take you jet skiing too." Finished typing in his number, the raven-haired teen handed her phone back to her °I don't have a swimsuit° she looked at her phone to see his number with the name 'Your Personal Demon❤️‍🔥' attached to it. "Don't worry, we can stop and get you one on the way there. My treat."

°Ok, then I hope to see you soon.° leaning forward, Luna placed her lips on Damian's, catching him by surprise. Pulling away, he was met with her gentle smile. Giving him a small wave, she turned around and started making the journey to her house. Leaving behind a lovestruck Damian.

Bonus Sense

Walking through the mansion's doors was a glowing Damian who had this dreamy expression on his face. He was practically floating off the ground as he made his way to his room without a care in the world. He even passed Dick without so much as giving him a glance, which freaked out the ravenette as he's never had an interaction with the kid without hostility. With a million questions Dick headed off to the man who always had the answers.

Rushing to the billionaire's office, he slammed the doors open and screamed, "Bruce! Something's wrong with the hellspawn!" Looking up from his paperwork, said man responded to the raven-haired male in a calm tone."In what way is something's wrong with Damian?" "I walked past him without being threatened, insulted, or being stabbed, and he had this weird look on his face that Damian would NEVER be caught dead wearing by anyone, let alone ME."

Looking back to his paperwork, he responded to Dick "Well Luna does have that effect on him." This confused the circus boy."I know that much, but he was out as Damian, not Robin." With a dismissive tone, the affluent man answered him. "And now she knows Damian Wayne." Running a hand through his hair Dick let out a frustrated groan. "What did he do this time?"

Without missing a beat, he asked his question, "He took her on a date, and from what you're saying, it went well." "I guess that explains why he's acting like a Disney princess, and let me guess he used the Wayne's name for this date of his?" There was a small pause before he answered with a simple "Yes." Bruce looked up to see Dick making a face. "And you allowed this because?" Letting out a deep sigh, he started explaining himself "Talia for lack for a better word 'persuaded' me and Damian promise to in his words 'play nice with the mediocre villains and your non-biological son'."

"Hmm.... for how long?" The billionaire rubbed his temples to ease the incoming headache. "Originally, he proposed 2 weeks -" "Go figure." Bruce gave a stern glare. Dick chose to shut his mouth and let the man continue. "I propose 6 weeks with the addition of providing all the resources needed for more dates with Luna." Dick cocked his head to the side. "And if he went back on his word, you'll pull back all of those resources?" "Exactly, and I have a feeling these dates with Luna will keep him on his best behavior."

[jerzwriter]

If the cap fits...

I don't care where you live; you must have heard me scream when I opened this treasure from @/artbyainna this morning! Agh! Look at my babies! I already had a commission planned for them when I created Trystan's Holiday Recap, where we learned about Carolina's gift. It was @lilyoffandoms who said, "I need the art of this, STAT!" and I wrote Ainna and said, "We need to make an adjustment." lol I hope the CoP fans out there love this half as much as I do, because that would be a whole lot. There's a little drabble below to accompany this.

Book: Crimes of Passion Pairing: Trystan Thorne x Carolina Rose (F!MC) Words: 740 Rating: Teen Summary: Carolina has a little surprise for her prince, but how will he take it?

@choicesjanuary2024 - Day 12 - Transformation (because Trystan has certainly undergone one.)

Crimes of Passion Masterlist | My Main Masterlist

It was early evening, the sun was just beginning to set, and Trystan was anxious to put the work day behind him. He was shoving folders into his desk and about to lock the drawers when Carolina sauntered in. If there was one thing that could distract him, no matter what he was doing, she was it. His eyes lingered over her with every step, the puppy-dog look on his face so unbecoming for a Drakovian royal, but there was no use fighting it; he had long since given in. But there was something different about her today. She appeared less tense, relaxed even. The gleam in her eye and the devious little smile tugging at her lips told him one thing for sure: she was up to something.

She plopped down on the chair before him, crossing her legs and placing a brown paper shopping bag on the desk before meeting his eyes with a playful yet seductive stare. Trystan couldn't keep a straight face any longer.

“All right, what are you up to?”

“Me,” she responded coyly, holding her hands in mock horror. “What on earth suggests that I’m up to something, Detective Thorne?”

“That smile, that tone, that deliciously playful look in your eyes... what are you doing, Carolina Rose?”

“Well,” she pulled the bag to her lap. “I may have gotten you an early Christmas present.”

Trystan’s face fell. “No. You can’t give me anything yet! I don't have anything to give you.”

“I don’t need anything,” she smiled. “Besides, I know I’m helpless at stopping you from spoiling me as the month progresses.”

“You’re learning,” he smirked. “So, what’s in the bag?”

She gleefully stuck her hand in and held out a black baseball cap... not the dark navy of the Yankee caps he had become so familiar with... and this one had white lettering; he took it in his hand to read.

“Armchair detective... armchair detective? What does this mean?”

With a little giggle, more fitting for a schoolgirl than the hardened detective she had become, Carolina began to explain.

“Have you heard the term armchair quarterback? It means someone who watches football, insisting they know better than the coach on the field. They bark orders at the coach and scream as if they're the coach, all from the comfort of their couch with a bag of Cheetos at their side.”

“I’m familiar with the term, dear,” he replied sarcastically. “But what is an armchair det...” his mouth hung open as realization set in. “Are you saying I’m an armchair detective?”

“Well,” she teased. “You’ve had some success, I’ll give you that, but you are still very much a newb.”

“So... I’m the armchair detective?” he was bordering on insulted, but Carolina just shrugged playfully.

“I mean, if the cap fits....”

“So then, what does that make you?”

“Funny you should ask that,” she grinned, reaching into the bag to retrieve one more item. Flipping her long golden brown hair back, she placed a cap on her head, carefully tucking any loose tendrils within. Trystan leaned closer to see what hers said, and in a matching font, it declared: Detective.

“Detective?” he asked.

“Well, that’s what it says on my tax form.”

Unable to keep a straight face, she doubled over in a fit of giggles.

“I am deeply hurt,” he scolded with the tone of a man who had been destined to be king.

“You know I'm joking, baby. But come on let's take a selfie! Our friends will love this!"

“I think not.”

“Come on! Where is your sense of humor?”

“Oh, I have no problem with the selfie. I don't even have a problem with your pale attempt at humor... but there is no way I am messing up my crowning glory by wearing that cap.”

To drive his point home, he flipped his head back, running his hands through his luxurious locks, as Carolina looked on with amusement. 

“You are such a diva!”

“I am,” he declared proudly, rolling his chair over to hers and pulling her into a tender kiss. “But I’m your diva.”

“And don’t you forget it!”

“Never!” he smiled smugly, pulling his phone from his pocket.

“What are you doing?” Carolina asked.

“Ordering us t-shirts.”

“T-shirts? What kind?”

“His and hers... mine will say Diva... you, my love, are an Armchair Diva.”

“Hey,” she said with a laugh, "if the shirt fits..."

@choicesficwriterscreations

Tagging others separately.

[sciderman]

it feels quite poetic to read about how you prefer writing the blog over drawing it. you put so much effort into the art, and you've built your entire career around art, but it feels like your passion lies on the side of literature. i'm kind of going through the reverse, where i'm pursuing a higher education in writing but have recently wondered if i should've done animation instead because i love it so damn much.

i dunno. life is weird.

heh! it is a funny old world - i mean, i've always loved writing, and i actually have been writing long before i got into drawing. i used to write short stories as a kid. like a little freak. what kid is into writing. but i was. but the only person who was ever interested to read my stories was my dad. you know, if a kid hands a page of words at you what are you gonna do with it. my dad thought i was awesome, though. i think he was extra proud because he's a writer too. thought his little one was following in his footsteps. i fancied myself a little novelist. but you know. it was hard to get people to want to read my stories.

there was another kid that was good at drawing that got all the attention. and i said. "well. i could do that." and so then i started drawing. i started making comics, really. i took my stories and drew them out, and suddenly people got interested in my stories.

everyone is so alice-coded. you know.

i made comics. i rarely drew without there being a story and dialogue attached to it. i filled sketchbooks upon sketchbooks with comics. it wasn't really art for art's sake - it wasn't because i wanted to get good at drawing - not really, it was a vessel for my jokes and for my stories. so no matter how crude the illustrations were, it was fine as long as i got the joke or story across. i think you might notice that with my comics still - they're not very polished and i don't labour a lot of time over the art, i don't really care to render everything perfect - i like things loose and quick and imperfect. i'm not very precious. as long as it gets the story across.

so it's funny, really - i started drawing because i wanted to spotlight my writing and get people to read it. i just have to spoon feed it to people, is all. sweeten the deal with pretty pictures. then people will read. so i never left writing. never, never. it was kind of always at the heart of everything i did. i guess i pursued animation because it was a marriage of a lot of things i was interested in. writing, storytelling, drawing - and acting. i was a stupid little theatre kid. and to be a good animator, or any kind of visual storyteller, i think - you need to be a good actor. and you need a good sense of humor. if you don't have those things, you'll be a rotten animator, i think.

i think i'm still in the place where writing was my first love, and i enjoy it the most - but, still in the place where - when there aren't pictures attached, you don't get people's attention. and i love attention.

for a time i really thought i should quit animation and pursue a career in screenplay writing - but, i don't... really know how to go about it. and i'd definitely miss art. i really really love things like character design and visual development and visual storytelling far too much to restrict myself to writing exclusively. but - i don't know, in my free time, when i'm not on the clock, well - writing is more laid back, and more relaxing. less taxing. so i enjoy doing it more. in my free time.

(it may also be because writing isn't a huge part of my day job, so it feels more like an escape. that's why i don't really animate at all when i'm not getting paid for it. i don't do animation for fun. i have fun doing it, sure, but i won't do it unless i'm cutting a check from it. because i don't have the energy for it otherwise. if i'm not making money, i want to do something relaxing, that doesn't feel like work. and that's writing.)

[eatmangoesnekkid]

Two of my favorite chapters in "The Melody of Love" body of work and book series are called "The Money Drop" and "Make it Rain." These chapters open with me speaking about the love I have for some aspects of stripping culture. Even though I haven't been to a strip club in ages, decades, I specifically talk about wisdom I gleaned about "the money drop," where the stripper/dancer is high up on the pole and suddenly drops all the way down to the ground without warning and may do a split if she can touch the ground and is flexible enough. The rush of sensation, endorphins, thrill, and stimulation that move through my body when I do my little soft lightweight version of "the money drop" is everything juicy and phat to me. I also love when strippers "make it rain" as well--and the accentuation of the pure INNOCENCE and undeniable power in the geometry of an undulating female body and how it inspires the flow of excitement in others, women and men, everyone watching. While I don't know anything at all about making money in strip clubs, I do know a thing or two about love, regenerating the female body, and building one's wealth template. I want to teach women how to make money, to understand the money system that we live and participate in, and wealth consciousness, so that you can grow your bank in magical and practical ways. The chapters "The Money Drop" and "Make it Rain" give clarity and direction. Many pole dancers try to separate themselves from strippers. Not me. No ma'am! If anything, I bow to strippers for it is wasn't for them, I would not have any interest in pole dancing at all. Bougie pole dancers are like "oh I'm an athlete and I don't want to jiggle my ass too much." And yes pole dancing is absolutely an athletic AND SEXY art that strength-trains the body, I also give credit where credit is due to women strippers, some of the most resilient people on the planet. Like, I really do bow to ya'll (like on bended knee) when I meet a stripper, the most recent one in my hot yoga class. I was overjoyed that she felt safe and comfortable enough to be honest with me, a stranger, as we were showering and getting dressed. Due to social stigma, shame (and the accompanying perversions and weird sexual obsession) and lack of respect, most sex workers have to stay anonymous and private in their everyday lives. Because i listen to my body I took a long break on my books. I was starting to tax my body and stress out as I am so close to finishing and super excited but my body was like "NOOOO! Please stop!" so I closed my computer, turned on my record player, and just relaxed and let myself be. But next Thursday, I'm back on that writing curating horse, giddy up baby... and finalizing these two chapters. -India Ame'ye, Author, Pictured, The Pole Portal Descend From Heaven

[armoreddragon]

how did you first get into making this stuff? do you enjoy it?

There's a lot of possible answers here.

For a couple years after college, I worked at a laser engraving and cutting shop. Leather was a material we knew we could cut, but nobody ever asked for it, so I looked up some basic info and put together some masks as demo pieces. Then I got fired for unrelated reasons, but decided to keep going with the masks on my own. A decade later, I’m still going.

I've always enjoyed making things. The focused calm of working a craft, the challenge of finding the problems that need solving, followed by the satisfaction of holding in your hands something that hadn't exited before. It’s hard to beat that feeling. If you haven’t done it for a while, I highly recommend making a habit of it.

Sometime in college I realized that if I kept making things just for myself, I would eventually run out of both space in my closet and money in my bank account. So I took the best photos I could of what I had, and started posting it up on Etsy.

In high school ceramics class, I had an idea to try and make a flexible dragon skin out of little bits of clay, all glazed differently. I had no idea how to do this. A friend of mine was like "Yo it sounds like you want to look up how to make chainmail for that." She was right.

I work in architecture by day, and the decision to do that was unrelated but definitely related to my crafting obsession. Designing a kitchen, a café, a house, takes months or years of work, most of which is tedious details like picking tile patterns or looking up exactly what order to layer different sealant tapes to make sure the walls are watertight. Designing a crafting project gives me a creative outlet that is immediate. I can sit down for an afternoon and take an idea from a sketch on trace paper, to a final mask formed up out of leather. There's an excitement to that. A reminder that, yes, I can make cool stuff quickly, without needing to sink two years into a project.

For a while I worked to teach myself to draw. I managed to get pretty decent at sketching from life, with a moderate understanding of anatomy and perspective. I liked art, so I thought I wanted to make art. But I struggled with it. If I was drawing something from my imagination, no matter how well I managed to put the lines down on the paper, I would ultimately look at it and just be sad that it didn't exist in the real world. So eventually I gave up on the drawing part, and focused on the part I seemed to actually care about.

I can't envision a version of myself that doesn't make things. I think on some fundamental level, I measure my worth as a person based on what I put forth into the world. I don't know what else to do.

When you decide to turn a hobby into a business, it of course takes some of the delight away. It's no longer something you do when you want to relax and have some fun. It becomes an obligation, to make and ship orders on time, to pack up your stuff and bring it to craft fairs, to track your expenses and file your taxes, to stay on top of the constantly changing social media landscape. But it also lights a fire under your ass. You can't just keep making the same thing you made three years ago–you have to keep making new stuff, keep improving your techniques, keep reaching for new ideas that have never been made before. You lose some of the joy, but you gain a lot of satisfaction.

All through my childhood I filled my closet with little handicrafts kits, that I got as gifts or that caught my eye when following my dad to the art store. Calligraphy, wood carving, weaving looms, boondoggles, spirographs, knitting, crochet, fancy nautical knots, sculpey, and more that I can't remember. After all those different things, I’m so glad that I found a couple specific crafts that really grabbed me, that take enough work to develop expertise, that have expansive enough applications and possibilities, that I could devote a decade or more of my time to focusing on them.

I’d been interested in the furry fandom ever since little fantasy reading teenager me tried looking for stories where the dragons were the main characters, and I found people online who were doing just that. There’s a powerful do-it-yourself attitude that’s baked into the core of the fandom: The world isn’t giving us the art that we want, so we’re going to make it ourselves. I keep having ideas for things that I want, that don’t exist yet. If I want them to exist, I have to be the one to make them.

My dad was a photographer, and I spent many childhood afternoons with him in his darkroom in the basement, delightedly washing negatives, turning them gently over in their canisters of chemicals, sitting still in the dark as Dad unspooled the sensitive film, squinting in the red light as the projected images magically re-emerged on the clean white paper. What could be more amazing, more normal, more right, than having your own little space to work such magic for yourself.

In about 2008 or 9 I ordered my first batch of metal scales, with the idea of trying to make a dragon tail in time for Halloween. It took probably a couple weeks to figure out how to make it, and within a week I had thought of how to do it better and disassembled the entire thing. By the 3rd or 4th time I'd rebuilt it, I thought that it was probably good enough that I wouldn't feel embarrassed to post it online and see if someone might want to buy it.

Of course I love working on these things I make. But I don't think that's exactly why I make them.

[hwaightme]

Your fan, San (part 2)

(part 1) (your fan ml)

💬 pairing: san x interpreter!reader 💬 genre: romance, fluff, mutual pining, drama 💬 summary: a bulletpoint-style wordstream of what it would be like if san was stanning you 💬 wordcount: 4.5k 💬 warnings/tags: language, conflict, two shy dorks, homie sabotage?, misunderstandings, love above all, touring, busy life, reader is a pro linguist, we stan simpteez, unedited oop- 💬 taglist: @acciocriativity, @doom-fics, @layzfeelit @jcngh0-hq @black--awsum @honey-lemon-goose @i-luvsang @jackinmyarea , @izuijin @justhere4kpop 💬 a/n: Hello there <3 here is PART 2 of YOUR FAN SAN!! Hopeless romantic? Check. Chaotic? Check... and the FINALE is coming soon??? ;~; P.S. that uni life do be getting wild so apologies if I'll be haphazardly uploading or if trains of thought are derailed~

'The Beauty of Falling in Love - a collection of short stories, poems and musings'

That was the title of the book you had to translate. And if you were not a (fully) sappy and sentimental mess before, you sure as hell were now. Because each little chapter, be it an anonymous recollection of favourite moments with a loved one, or a vignette dedicated to someone special, was some of the most heartwarming work you have ever read.

Each piece sounded so personal, so real, that you found yourself spending more time than usual on this commission. You had made an agreement with the client that they would be sending chapters out one by one, and prior to receiving one, you would send back a completed translation.

It was an easy enough arrangement, and was not too taxing when it came to your personal time. You could ruin your sleep schedule to your heart's content by watching dramas that you had missed whilst on tour, could make late night trips to the convenience store because you did not want to be caught in the businessperson rush, could catch up with people who you had inadvertently ghosted because of work and inability to find words when you wanted to.

Outside of your preferred mode of relaxation, you kept in touch with some of the members of ATEEZ, thanks to a group chat that San had created and 'simply had to add you' - at least that was how he had advertised it. The group chat consisted of him, you, Wooyoung, Yunho and Yeosang, who to you seemed like a random pick, since you did not interact with neither Yunho nor Yeosang as much.

But over a very short period of time this had changed for the better, and you had grown very comfortable, attached even, to the chaotic quartet. If anything this it was a top up vaccine for being able to keep up with the ATEEZ chaos - otherwise you would be familiarising yourself with it again for tour, as if it was the first day of work.

Little did you know, you were talking with the Operation ring leaders + Yeosang who was in it for the gossip, and to control the fire... in the way he wished. It was more or less a regular conversation, aside from San occasionally panicking and running up to one of the guys for advice.

"Yeo why did you write 'AMOGUS'?"

"Don't question me. This is art- ah see, Y/N sent the prayer hands emoji, she agrees." Yeosang responded, pointing at his phone screen.

"I feel like you guys are six parallel universes ahead of me and I don't like it."

"Make that ten, you boomer."

"This is an ancient meme you are quoting Yeo~" Wooyoung joined in, trying to poke fun at his friend.

"Say that again, the king of social boomers? Are you salty that I did not put hyung after AMOGUS because it's old?"

"What even is this chat-" Mingi, who was observing from his position lying across three dining chairs, threw the question out into the air.

"It is us trying to force San to dm Y/N by pushing them together like two dolls." Wooyoung, slightly irritated, explained.

"Man, you really are done." Mingi responded, chuckling

"I don't know, am I? San is breaking up with me so I am going through all stages of grief."

"Double u tee eff?" San raised an eyebrow and stared at Wooyoung, phone loose in his hands.

"How far along is she?"

"She isn't pregnant dude."

"Ugh you know what I mean."

"Like... a third of the way?"

"Damn you guys are slow as shit. We planned for this to take how long? You even have the confession already written up for the last chapter, this is kind of ridiculous. You know what, hold up."

Wooyoung tackled San, and thanks to the surprise nature of the attack, got the perfect opportunity to grab his friend's phone. After securing 'the bag', Wooyoung strode off to the other side of the room, clicking away, while San attempted to stand up, shouting.

Yunho seemed to have caught onto what the other was about to do, as he launched himself at the shorter man sat on the sofa and splayed himself right over like a blanket.

"No hard feelings bro this is necessary."

As San way trying to battle his way out, but was further restrained by Yeosang who had finally stopped taking photos, Wooyoung giggled deviously and locked the phone again, sauntering back with a devilish grin and handing it to San.

"It is done. You can thank me later."

"What did you do?"

"Something that you should have done like... a year ago."

"DID YOU TEXT HER?"

"Yeah. And don't worry, nothing Woo-style, you grilled me enough times for me to remember her preferences. Plus, I know how to text like you."

"And when did that come in handy?"

"Uh... I have to go water my fish BYEEE~" Wooyoung quickly departed from the living room sprinting back to the dorm, while San remained in shock, swiping at the screen to reveal the message that his friend had sent on his behalf.

Damn. It really was just like him.

The text came to you as a surprise. Though you have had some conversations over private message before, most of them had been in some way work related. Not San messaging you out of the blue to ask how you were and that you should catch up.

With the group chat all but abandoned, you happily launched into texting San. There was never any pressure for a phone call, which you greatly appreciated, and there was no specific guidelines that either of you enforced - without a care you double, triple, quadruple texted, abruptly disappeared only to reappear with a link or a photo... main things was that together, you kept your conversation alive and thriving.

You would have never, not in a million years, imagined yourself getting this close to San, or anyone with a celebrity status for that matter. Simply because you felt like they would need and deserve more than you could offer socially. You were all about human connection and uniting minds, but when it came to your own personal preferences, you would much rather write out your thoughts in astonishing detail and hit send, than say the same things out loud and to somebody in person.

And yet, contrary to your assumptions and what you could only say had been prejudice on your part, San was supportive of you and of your choices, saying he could 'imagine your voice well enough anyways'. He steered clear of pushing you to communicate in a style that was not yours; though you did enjoy hearing his voice, and would be lying if you said he was not a charmer, you could not bring yourself to reciprocate that approach. It was too overwhelming to do during the time that you had allocated for yourself as your regenerative state. And San made your heart melt by showing that he got that, without you having to tear yourself apart and explain.

To him it had been fairly easy to figure out that you were a text over call kind of person, and was something that he had advertised to the Operation Love Language squad. Given your notes app being packed, post it notes sometimes threatening to pour out of your bag, and him spotting you willingly sitting far away from any groups so you could watch something, earphones in, all pointed to that conclusion. And San found that he liked it more than he would have guessed.

Each text was like a memory, and an expression not only of something that they wanted to blurt out, but more often than not of a considered, weighed out opinion, even if it was onomatopoeia or a string of emojis. He would have never been able to get to know you like he did over text, and get so close to you that you were now happily discussing with him your own worries, and passions, and dreams, not just responding to his stream of musings and questions.

It was through one of these extensive texting sessions that you had revealed to San your endeavors as a freelance translator, and gushed about the commission you were working on.

This made San's thumbs freeze midway through typing. Carried away and impatient, he had tried to strike on all fronts, and now that he was in continuous communication with you, he regretted it. Deeply. Except he did not yet know just how risky the decision to parade as someone he was not could be.

After the first time you had mentioned your side work, he had begun to get progressively more quiet. Bit by bit. Until his responses to you turned almost into a conversation with a wall. You were unable to figure out just what had gotten into San, what had changed?

You turned to the work you were meant to translate as a distraction, expecting that the client would have shared the new chapter with you already... but no such thing.

Instead, there was an order cancellation, and a short apology.

What did you do wrong?

What happened?

Was there something that had not been quite right?

You looked over your already completed translations - you were searching for anything to suggest a reason for cancellation. The words appeared blurry, fading into one big mush. It was all terrible... wasn't it?

Who were you kidding you were probably rusty after not working with fiction for so long, and for not focusing hard enough. You had stopped paying attention to the craft. Who even were you? And interpreter, a translator, or a fraud?

You looked at the cancellation email again, knowing full well that it was pointless to try and reach the customer - they might have blocked you for all you knew. This hurt. This really hurt.

You saw that San had responded to your messages, again in a weirdly cheery tone, asking you how you are and what you have been up to? San would understand... right? San would listen to you...?

So you did something that you yourself did not expect, and pressed on the call button. He picked up on the first ring.

He sounded nervous, and almost tearful as you bared all and talked him through what had just happened. You needed him. He was the only one who had understood your language.

When you told him that you were probably over reacting and just humiliating yourself by being 'so deep in sad mode' over a whole lot of nothing, he instantly was there to catch you and call you out. He emphasised the importance of your work, of the beautiful job you had done so far... but then halted, unsure of how to proceed.

This left you confused. He then picked his words in a strangely careful manner, and almost beginning to side with the customer, saying how maybe it was for the better, and that now at least you could relax and find another project...

"San. This is really unlike you. What is up with that personality switch?"

"What do you mean Y/N? It's nothing-"

"I have an ear for speech, San, if there is anyone who could be a bullshit filter, it is me."

Silence.

More silence.

You were about to call out to him again, when you hear a muffled, barely there whisper:

"I'm sorry..."

You were sent reeling. What did he mean? Why was he sorry?

"I... it was me. Y/N. I am sorry. I really did not mean it to turn out that way I-"

"Okay first of all, why?"

"I..."

"Second of all, whilst I am grateful for your support and stuff, it does make me uncomfortable."

"I'm-"

"Thirdly, actually you know what focus on point number one."

When you did not hear an answer, you tried again: "Hello? I am waiting."

"I like you."

"...What?" you were left in shock.

You had suppressed your feelings for San in the deepest caverns of your soul out of the terror that it was bound to be unrequited, but here you were. Listening to that same man who had supported you from the beginning of your career to now (and exposing yet another ridiculous attempt at that), who had read your quirks and style and knew you better than most. Listening to him confess.

"I... how do I say this... it has been a while. A long while. I have been trying to approach you but... I was either too shy for it, or the attempts were just ridiculous. So we- so I came up with this idea, to try and tell you... this book right. The Beauty of Falling in Love. It is... it spoke to me. And I had planned to give it to you piece by piece until I could then reveal myself to you... but then we started talking outside of that and then I panicked and- yeah, I am... I am just so sorry, this is confusing as hell."

"Wait... wait wait... this is... so were you paying me to get me to like you? Was that what you were doing?"

"GOSH! NO! NO, DON'T MISUNDERSTAND!"

"Look. As much as I do like bringing joy to people through my work, this crosses a line. And it's not the fact that you ordered something from me - hell, support the artist right? It's the fact that you decided to be somebody else. You decided to conceal yourself to talk to me. Like you did not trust me. Even though you want me to like you.

I'll be returning the money to you shortly. M-kay? And... talk on stage, I guess."

Before San could respond, you ended the call sharply. No more phone calls. They were cursed, apparently.

With these thoughts, and a heavy heart, you departed for Japan.

---

"Maybe... just maybe if you had seen it through and not abandoned ship... your ship could have sailed?"

"Yunho just because it's your idea does not mean is good!" San retorted, having recounted the story to the members, gone into full crisis mode.

"Hello!? You agreed? I am just generating ideas here."

"I think we all blew this out of proportion and did not consider risks... at all." Mingi interjected, massaging his temples.

"You guys, I have an idea-" Wooyoung began, but was quickly cut off by San, who was already half way out of the door.

"You know what? I am done with the ideas. I will just do what I think is right."

---

You were conflicted. In a way, you had gotten what you wanted. A confession from your crush that you had been quietly keeping in the shadows. But at the same time, your anxiety spiked. Were you that unapproachable that San had to have twisted everything to get to you? Was your work more entertaining than you could ever be?

With these thoughts, and a heavy heart, you departed for Japan.

If your presence was not explicitly required at the venue, you would not go. Once an event ended, you would leave. If anything, you were acting just like any employee would.

You were trying to bury the conflicting feelings that you were experiencing. To an extent, you felt disrespected. Like you had been mistreated via the means of 'i am using your translation services so you should love me'. And it was one unpleasant thought.

So, you stuck to what you knew and were more or less confident in. Words that were not yours. ideas that were not yours. Feelings that were not yours.

In a matter of an hour after the first small event, however, you could not sulk in your room how you wanted, thanks to a random slip of paper being shoved under your door. You ran across the room and slammed it open in an attempt to catch the culprit, but there was no one in sight.

You gingerly picked up the papers, and read. It was unmistakable. It was the next chapter of the book, with an interesting translation on another sheet of paper, and an additional note.

"I am sorry, and I can only hope that you will read this and let me fight. <3 San"

As much as you were ready to forgive him then and there, you decided that you wanted to see just how far he was going to go.

The next morning - another letter had arrived. The next chapter, a translation, and another note.

During filming for a morning show, San had shot you numerous glances in an attempt to see whether you were even reading what he had been Amazon Priming to your room, but with a cheeky smile dancing on your lips, you let your fun continue.

Another package.

And another.

And another. Until, finally, the last chapter had arrived. At least that was what you thought right up until the evening of the same day. You had assumed that it was going to now be your turn to act, or at least to start talking again, but a loud knock jolted you out of your thoughts.

And another.

And another knock on the door. This man was an unstoppable force.

"I... I translated the last one. Well, tried to."

"But there were only eleven stories-"

"Nope, twelve. Here."

You saw a two pieces of paper appear from under the door, just like before. Except instead of the Korean page being a scan from the book, it was evidently a document that either San... or somebody else, had typed up, and then managed to print.

To be respectful, you attempted to read the Japanese, but soon enough gave up since the kanji somehow managed to look cursive, and instead took the Korean text in your hands.

You took a seat with your back against the door and knees almost flush against your chest, and began to read, your heart rate picking up pace as soon as you saw "Dear Y/N,".

It began as a little story. A re-telling of how both of you had met, and how you had come to own a little space in his heart, eventually leading to him simply giving it to you.

"Did you know that you look so beautiful in those moments when you don't think anyone is watching? The more I think about it, the more I feel like it has been what had drawn me in. How you typed and typed on your phone. If time allowed, I liked to try guessing whether you were going to switch the keyboard at some point or not. How you were and are in your element. And of course, how you are, simply, you."

He recalled the moments that you two had shared. The levels of pride and admiration he felt when he saw you being approached and congratulated by the fans, and when he could take a moment to just enjoy what you did.

San moved to explaining 'the plan' to you, and though you were ready to scold him then and there (especially since there was the door between you that made confrontation easier), you could not help but admit that the general notion (aside from making affection and crushing on someone a monetary exchange - better not put feels on Etsy) was heartwarming.

As it turned out, both of you were shy dorks who could not act on feelings. Admittedly, one of you was a LOUD shy dork and the other a 'language is life but still can't read between the lines' shy dork, but at least you made it here.

San was a nervous wreck, barely stopping himself from either pacing up and down the corridor or going into a meltdown and lying face down on the carpet. He already looked suspicious enough as is, just standing by a random hotel number like a vampire who had been refused entry.

Or perhaps more accurately, like a cat who had been shut out of the house and was now desperately trying to claw its way back in.

But that stress was quickly washed away when your form suddenly appeared before him, peeking out, drowning in an oversized hoodie. The papers were still clenched in your hand as you motioned for San to come in.

You waited until he was right in the middle of the room before closing the door. Part of you was afraid that he was going to nope out at any moment. You needed the reassurance. The confidence that was normally there when you were working. But every fiber of your being was screaming in protest, wanting simply to hide.

You observed him. He looked like he was barely breathing.

"I... really I am... so sorry... again... I know that it was so fooli-"

"私でもあなたのことが好きだ..." (I like you too)

"eXCUSEME?!"

"All this translating and you still can't process?" you joked, but began to pull on the drawstrings of your hoodie in an attempt to make your face disappear.

"ohHH NoONOOO I just want to hear you say it in every language that you know!!!" San exclaimed and in a matter of seconds was inches away, peeking at what was not yet concealed by the fluffy cotton.

As he leaned closer and closer, flustering you (and himself) in the process and took both of your hands in his, in the last leap of bravery you whispered:

"Well that, you'll have to earn, San. And I don't take traditional currency."

"You will never let that go."

"Never ever, Choi San, it's a core memory now."

"Well hey at least it means you are not letting go of me~"

"Oh the way you twist words..."

"Like you twist me around your finger, not to give you an ego trip or anything..."

"It's 'wrap'. The correct word is 'wrap' around a finger."

"Okay you know what how about I translate it to body language?" he puckered his lips, making you giggle.

"As long as I don't need to correct grammatical errors."

"Now now I'd say I'm fluent."

--

The habit of sliding notes under your door or passing them to you did not stop - it only got stronger and became an 'any location', Mission Impossible note transfer agreement.

It had become something of a game, muddling languages together and writing near-nonsense just to sit there almost crying, trying not to laugh.

Soon enough, the game spread to Wooyoung, who would on occasion intercept the messages and add in his own flair, and soon enough to a curious Yunho and Mingi, who then turned it into impromptu paper plane throwing tournaments.

Really, the only reason why Hongjoong did not intercept was because you managed to at least keep the messages under strict PG rating and had good aim - with a saving swoop you had managed to return one such airmail right into San's lap during a fan sign, leading ATINY to give you an additional "aimbot" title.

It did not matter what the schedule was, you left each other encouraging notes (and without the other knowing, stored them away in your luggage).

"Good luck being the first one to get hair and makeup done..."

"Good luck with the translation deal on the book <3" (after an entire evening of a pouting and pleading San, you had reached out to the editors of the romance book you had translated for him, and now were in very promising negotiations)

You raced ahead, in time with each other, creating your own language.

The extended time ATEEZ had spent in Japan was coming to an end, and in the blink of an eye, it was the final concert. The "closing remarks", the epilogue.

You were prepared to interpret in full, as always. One member down. Another... finally, it was only San left. The other members were looking at him expectantly, while some sent glances in your approximate direction.

You took Hongjoong's tranquility and him nudging San in the shoulder as a sign that no, you will not have to pretend he said something different and double speak it - whatever he was about to do was, apparently, captain certified.

At that moment, San pulled out a note from a pocket that you had no idea even existed. The action seemed to have the same effect on ATINY as they "oooohed" - Yunho fake whispered into the microphone that San was now a part-time magician, so these things were the norm.

You had your microphone at the ready. With bated breath, you waited for San to begin. And that, he did.

In Japanese.

Grammatically correct, coherent and well-delivered Japanese.

Even though some of the phrases were obviously not his style and word selection, leading you to imagine him poring over this text like he was writing the declaration of independence with the boys, it was him. It was his feeling. It was his message.

Your arm fell to your side with a thud, and you were grateful that your microphone had been turned off for the time being. You caught yourself gaping, and had to forcibly compose yourself to reveal only a soft smile, as you took the scene in.

San was not exactly trying to hide that he was paying special attention to a specific part of the arena, with his body turned almost completely in your direction and only a few glances off to the sides and at the note.

"...and I hope that we will always be together, as one, and share this world. sometimes there may be struggle, there may be darkness, but WE," he makes a grand gesture with his hand, as if highlighting the area in front of him, but really it was just to, again, symbolise that certain someone at the forefront of his mind, "will last, and be the light."

The crowd roared, and you could allow yourself to internally combust as you watched ATEEZ wave, bow and bid their farewells.

Some things did not need a translation to be understood, and some things were not up for interpretation.

Like how San sprinted to you as soon as he was out of public sight. How he swept you off your feet both literally and metaphorically.

How Jongho muttered 'get a room', but still smiled at both of you when he passed by.

How, upon your return to South Korea, he had practically made it his mission to dote on you, and any moment he got, show that you were together.

Matching plushies? Check.

Basically exposing you both on Late Night Dive (though there was not really anything to expose because the entire ordeal was almost a live streamed ATEEZ drama)? Check.

Happily chatting away with ATINY about love and about finding it, sending loving stares your way? Check.

This was the love language you shared. No hiding, no scheming. Two native speakers, who found each other in translation.

[coldresolve]

tbh i didnt mean “not wanting to be criticized” i meant “not wanting to search up things and dive into stuff”. Rolling your head on the keyboard and relaxing while creating something is not the same by any means. I was also thinking more of visual art when i wrote that, since “art” is usually used in that sense these days. I do write and i do “research” (not like actual research articles tho) but i couldnt care less about political or any “other” interpretations. I know ur on the mindset of “all art is political” but nah. I just like creating. I dont even ever look ar politics. No news, no social media, nothing, i dont care, i dont interact, i dont listen. Not something that i care about. And im not the only one. And thats also fine. Art and creativity and the act of creation means different things to different people and noone can make a blanket statement with saying “its always political” or “it always has a »deeper« meaning”.

I also dont think “no deeper meaning” means its “shallow” or “lacks depth” (eventho this sounds contradictory), it just means that what might mean something to the artist, doesn’t necessarily mean anything for others and interpretating it in all kinds of ways is the viewers own opinions (also fine, but my point stays that it wasnt “meant” to be interpreted in any way other than how the artist meant it). Like idk how to explain this but just because you (or anyone) thinks about art in such a “deep” and “layered” way its not always like that. Not by far.

Woodworking is art. Pottery is art. Even architecture is art. All those art forms usually dont have any “statement”, or if they do, its not as common. Its relaxing and soothing to just… create. And im not saying “oh just start woodworking without any research”, that would most likely be a safety hazard. What im saying is not knowing about all these political bulshits and not CARING about them either doesnt make the art less valid?

I used these examples because writing and drawing is usually more “political” for a lot of people (including you I know) but for many people its just the same as a piece of pottery or wood statue they work on to relieve stress. And the way you talk about art/writing makes it seem like those people are “less than”. Because they dont do research, because they dont use themes or whatever all those things. No, you dont have to do all those if you just wanna create. Its gatekeepy af.

And tbf at least they are creating it themselves, even if it doesnt fit your standards. At least they arent using some ai. In these times we need to encourage people to create more than ever instead of gatekeeping art and writing and talking down to people who arent as sophisticated as you are.

Because your writing and art is insane but man that shits stressfull. I just want to relax and turn my brain off and create some art to soothe my nerves… not all this political implications lol

My opinion and i know you disagree but anyways. You said you like “criticism” so thougth i would share my thougths too.

hope you dont mind if i break it up by point. below the cut cause youve said a lot and i say a lot, ayy

you wanna have mindless fun and dont care if it comes at the cost of spreading harmful misinfo, bigotry or stereotypes, i got it. i read you loud and clear. im also criticizing you for it, which according to this, you shouldn't have a problem with

so when you said in the last ask that you don't care about 'pushing bad stereotypes', you meant visually...? are you drawing racist charicatures or sth lmao

you're right, i do think all art is political, but politics isnt just men in suits arguing about taxes yknow. a political ideology is a prescriptive worldview, that's it. broadly speaking, it's about how you see the relationship between the past/present/future, resources and power, who has them and who don't, and does that align with our ethics, etc. why things are the way they are and how they ought (/not) to be. how you see the world, other people and yourself necessarily shows up in self-expression, that is what self-expression is. it's inherent to art, and you can't get away from this by simply going 'not true' - what you're telling me here is just that you've decided you personally don't care. which is your right i suppose

just like i have a right to be able to think of this 'heres all the ways i'm extremely apolitical' section as you just declaring a privelege. lots of people - especially this site's userbase - don't get the luxury of being able to look away, because their existence itself is highly politisized. either you pay attention or they start sending you and your friends to camps, babey. deciding to be apolitical is a Very political act

you're not sticking fully to topic here. i never talked about depth, i talked about engaging with art uncritically, which are two different things. i do hold the former as an opinion but this is already long, send a different ask if you want me to get into it lol its mostly just me being a judgy bitch abt popular culture

to the relevant stuff, im just gonna reiterate that the themes you put in your work exist whether you want them to or not. death of the author, that whole thing. if you portray poverty in a way that suggests poor people are just being lazy, or that black people are violent, or that gay people are predatory, if you essentialize these traits in any given work, that is the statement that depiction makes, regardless of whether the artist actually believes it's true or not. that's just how biases work in fiction. it's not gonna stop existing because you stop paying attention to it.

funny you should mention woodworking - hi, im a cabinetmaker and i love talking about my craft. cool facts: scandinavian woodworking tends to use sustainable/local wood, minimalistic and semi-rustic designs with a focus on elegance and simplicity, and mostly uses natural finishes. american wwoodworking is a bit flamboyant and grand, frequently uses exotic woods for details, bulkier designs, with a focus on sturdiness and practicalty, and mostly uses glossy/shiny finishes. japanese woodworking is all about precision, subtlety and a world-famous tradition of the craft spanning back millenia, using wood from species that allow for chisel work with a precision that's down to the width of a human hair, occasionally stained with some nice colors (asia generally loves wood stain). ikea's woodworking uses cheap materials and cost-effective factory production, focuses on the mass marketability of their furniture, and has a legal team to deal with worker's rights abuses and forced labor cases. if you can read nothing about priorities and worldview into any of this, i don't know what to tell you. alas its true. your chair is indeed political

this doesn't mean you can't also use any chair to simply sit down in. these two aren't mutually exclusive.

pottery is the same. architecture is the same. in fact, tell any former soviet country that there's no politics in architecture lol they'll look at you weird

never said your art isn't valid or whatever, idek what that means in this context. i just said i can still criticize your racist charicatures regardless of how much mindless fun you had making them lol

(in case its not obvious i dont think youre making racist charicatures or all that shit, im going to the extremes to illustrate a point ykwim. im guessing you'd be fine with me critizising racism in fiction - in fact i don't actually believe you'd disagree with any of the things i've said if i'd framed it in terms of racism, or at least i hope not lol i dont know how far your take goes. im challenging a double standard ig)

"because they don't use themes" mhm, youre one of the ppl who dont know what a theme is, which ig is pretty valuable for context. art necessitates making decisions about what you portray and how you portray it. those decisions say something about your thought process, which your audience is able to draw conclusions about, or at least interpret from. art is a form of communication. if you create art, you are communicating. it means something. there is a message, usually more than one. that's what themes are. can be as benign as "damn hangovers kinda suck" or some grand statement about the nature of being human, doesn't matter. both of those things are themes

i don't think any person is "less than", i'm criticizing people's approach to art. person =/= person's approach to art. remember in my original post when i said that criticism is not the same as personal attacks? or cultural elitism?

im not particularly sophisticated, i just like abstraction cause im mentally ill lmfao. and i do want to encourage people to make art. i just also hate consumerist brainrot, so

its not that i cant relate to wanting to turn your brain off sometimes and just watch some sloppy horror movie or whatever, i do that too. but i also recognize that said sloppy horror movie can be criticized in seventy thousand different ways, and at least being aware of that instead of mindlessly consuming probably leads to a more wholistic appreciation of the art you create and engage with.

this is sliding into opinion territory like the sidenote in my last answer, so beware, but. if 'mindless fun' is the only way you engage with art, you're missing out, i'm sorry, Facts*. you're treating art like content to be consumed to distract you from the real world, not as something thats supposed to inspire or motivate or make you think about/understand things. it's reductive of what art has the potential to do, the ways it can help you grow. it takes effort to change your approach and i get that, but it gets easier once you've done it enough, and it is very worthwhile imo. just sayin'. im genuinely being an optimist about art here

*= opinion lol. but its a strong opinion which is basically the same as a fact**

**= irony

anyway i genuinely enjoy having these sorts of conversations just for the record. am able to disagree with someone without assuming they're a bad person or whatever. i understand if youre not interested in talking continuing but youve been fairly respectful or whatever so thats nice, love and peace✌️

[pr0udn3rd]

Ok wholesome rant time.

I love board games. Not like, Monopoly or Scrabble, no no. Nerd board games. Board games with intricately designed pieces and rulebooks thick enough to scare away the average person. And Wingspan designed by Elizabeth Hargrave is the best one.

Now, I am an autistic floof who would prefer conflict be avoided, so if you want to make kids cry with your capitalist greed and brutalist strategy go play Ticket to Ride. This game is not that. It is a chill beautiful refined game to put your pinkies out and enjoy a cup of tea with your friends. Imagine sunny days with poofy pretty clouds happy carefree vibes.

The game centers around birbs. You are a birb enthusiast and if that doesn’t hold true in your real life it will soon. Your goal is simple: score the most points. There are a myriad of ways to do this but they all revolve around hosting a sanctuary to birbs of all habitats, diet, size, etc. You play birbs by paying food and eggs. You get these resources by taking a turn to obtain them in a specific habitat. The more birbs you have in that habitat the more of that resource you get and you get to use those birbs powers, which are themed after the real life birb. It’s an engine building game but these rules aren’t really why this is the best game ever.

This game excels at providing a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart. Your competitors cannot impede your progress as everyone has their own sanctuary/board. They can only help you (ie birbs that let everyone get a resource.) Everyone can flourish, and in fact the more players the higher the average score.

But the piece de le resistance is the theming. The birbs are FUCKING GORGEOUS. I don’t mean they only picked birbs that look pretty, I mean the art on these cards makes me calm and happy. And each card has a fun fact at the bottom about that bird or it’s history. The whole game oozes charm and really just encapsulates the feeling when you see an animal and go “oh he’s just a silly little guy.”

The base game is North American birbs so pretty standard but the expansions really leaned into silly guy territory. Or maybe I’m just not educated enough to recognize foreign birbs as normal. The base game is very well constructed and a great stepping stone into slipping into the rabbit hole of expansions.

Because of this game, I have a new hobby. Birbs. I have a favorite birb. I watch birbs out my window. I know random birb facts. I can identify most birbs into a general category. It’s wonderful.

Look at this guy. This is a European Robin. My man does not have any worries. He is living under a rock. He doesn’t even know what a tax is! His entire existence is just round boi. Oh to be a birb like him on a snowy rock.

This guy, however. This is a Sri Lanka Frogmouth. He has committed at least 3 war crimes and he knows it and I love him anyways. He’s so ugly! I love him. He is also my favorite irl birb. So he gets 3 pictures.

This guy, the American Woodcock, is in base game and he gives “mom i frew up” vibes. He looks guilty and uncertain and HIS NAME IS A WOODCOCK.

I met these birbs through this game and I’m a happier person for it.

TL;DR if you like board games and want a good relaxing time and maybe a new birb obsession Wingspan is the game.

Below: card art

Also bonus the art is mostly male birbs for the foliage but they can lay eggs so this game is 95% trans birbs. Hell yeah.