#btmotley

[fictionandtheatre]

Hello!

Indeed I do follow you on tumblr! I didn’t think you remembered, I’m on here so infrequently these days. I’m honored.

Anyway! I would like to start this exchange by saying that I adore your writing. It has been a real treat reading your latest story! In the chapter you just posted, you talked about plotting the kidnapping plot. How did you prepare that? Did you look for sources of inspiration or do you just wait for your own ideas?

I’d also like to ask about POV switching. Do you ever get stuck because a detail you want to include can’t be expressed by a certain character? Like, you’re loving this thought that Spock has, but, blast it, you’re writing from Jim’s POV so you can’t use it. Has that ever happened?

Here’s hoping this finds you in good spirits!

Best Wishes. BT/Robyn

Hello!! Haha, yes, I remembered ur username after seeing it both here and ao3. Thanks for all these great questions! My answers got kinda long, so I've put a read more. Also, for other followers, the story in question is Trial By Fire - a pon farr, ace Spock fic.

The kidnapping plot started as a random thought. I was part way into writing the pon farr scenes, and thought "ooh what if Jim gets kidnapped afterward by logic extremists? That would be fun!" But I wanted to have some background behind it, rather than just having a random kidnapping. So, thinking about how to justify this kidnapping, I built up the entire Admiral Sevrin plotline, Jabilo and Uhura sections, etc. Kinda wild how that one thought is responsible for like half the fic lol.

As for how I come up with the ideas in general, it's a combo of my own thoughts, and inspiration from Trek and other stories. I was really interested in the logic extremists when they appeared in Discovery season 1, and I always thought they would make a great villain for a fic! I hadn't seen them used very much either, and I do like to explore the underused elements of canon. I also find that I get a lot of my ideas from reading other works and thinking, "wait, they should do this thing instead" or "but what about...!" and then I just write from that place. Building from a preexisting concept can be super helpful to diving into the writing, I find - which is probably why fanfic works for me.

For POV switching, I'm not sure if that exact problem has come up. But I definitely have written scenes from a character's point of view, and found they didn't go anywhere or felt really bland. That happened during the "chasing after Sepel in the tunnels" section of Trial. I wrote that scene originally from Jabilo's POV, but it just didn't work. I needed Spock's angst to really move the emotions of the scene along - and Sepel's fanaticism too. Switching perspective can be a handy trick tho! It's helped me break writer's block a couple times.

Thanks again for these questions! I love ranting about my own writing lol. Feel free to ask any more that come up! :)

[faelapis]

btmotley replied to your post: i might start a youtube channel… 

That would be great. Commentors on YT can be so mean and entitled, though. They are here on tumblr, too, yeah…I just hope it’s a good experience.

that’s kinda the dilemma i face? 

on youtube, you need to develop some kind of persona. even if it’s your honest thoughts, it ought to be entertaining. people enjoy confidence, they enjoy seeing their fighter enter the arena With Logic As Their Blade(tm)... and there is a bit of honesty in that. 

the problem comes when they claim to be “as objective as possible”. there’s both a “taste” and “knowledge” aspect to media criticism, and if someone actually acquires such knowledge, they tend to realize that their preferences are born out of their own context and desires. not “objectivity”. at that point, they can make a good argument WITHOUT relying on that platitude. 

if not funny, i want to be self-aware. i’ve made my script, but i’m trying to figure out how to frame it. i’ve got one-liners in my 1st draft like “it’s a good thing i’m here, cause i’m right about everything, so i’ll tell you how to feel about SU”. this is clearly very tongue-in-cheek, but it kinda taps into a genuine parody of both myself and that kind of youtuber.

i’d enjoy venting my frustrations about the dangerously high youtube room temperature... but can i do that, while making it clear that it’s both directed outwards and inwards, because no one is as “objective” as these people claim to be? and... would it be cathartic to anyone but me? should i take them down a peg by parodying that self-righteous persona, while revealing myself as emotional, biased, and vulnerable (as literally everyone is)? or should i just keep the tone i’m already singing here? 

no matter how you slice is, youtube is a very different medium from tumblr... i know what my arguments are, but i haven’t figured out how to frame myself yet.

[anti-capitalistlesbianwitch]

What happened with Laci Green? She was super cool for a while and then lots of people were mad at her like a year ago or so. I never found out what happened exactly. It was something about her hanging out with anti-feminist YouTubers?

Apparently, she started hanging out with alt-righters and got ‘red pilled.” She accused people of having problems with misogynistic/transphobic comments as being in a bubble and unwilling to hear differing opinions, and she also started attacking trans activists.

The Strange, Sad Case Of Laci Green — Feminist Hero Turned Anti-Feminist Defender

[jigokuhana]

Hi! I absolutely love your lineart on those pictures you just posted (Baby Steven grabbing the Pearls' noses) and wanted to check your FAQ for your settings...but I don't see one? Boo. Do you not have one (because that's valid) or is Tumblr being dumb and hiding the link or something?

oh! thank you~

and nah i have one, i just don’t have enough link buttons on my tumblr theme to put it anywhere X_X but it does exist!

http://jigokuhana.tumblr.com/faq

i don’t have the exact brush settings listed though, since i kinda flip-flop between brushes all the time & hardly ever stick w/ one setting for them.

[modestmondays]

I don’t know about Steven realizing anything. Lapis tried to suffocate him and his best friend and broke his dad’s leg. Those things didn’t give him pause at all. Why would how she treated Peridot make Steven realize that Lapis hurts people? Because of numbers? Not to be rude to you, ModestMondays, I'm just feeling pessimistic about it.

There’s nothing special about what Lapis did this time. That’s exactly the problem, actually.

What I’m hoping is different this time, is Steven. He’s had a lot of time to learn and grow as a person since Ocean Gem, or even since Alone at Sea. And he’s developing a more nuanced moral view of the world, especially when it comes to Rose Quartz. Even episodes like Rocknaldo show his development.

If he can apply those lessons to Lapis, then he can hold her accountable for the ways she keeps hurting people, even though he understands what’s driving her to do it.

Or maybe Lapis will realize that on her own, and force Steven to acknowledge it? I don’t know. I hope the show tackles it in some fashion, though. They need to. Letting Lapis get away with everything would send an awful (and frankly, unacceptable) message to the audience.

[reafu]

btmotley replied to your post “btmotley replied to your photo: While hunting for...”

How'd you get to do this?

Well the owner of the channel was looking to get a graphic designer/artist for his videos and he liked my school/graphic design work, along with my general art, so he asked if I was interested in working with him.  It also helps that we’re friends in real life :P!

[starline]

Hi! This may be a silly question, but I love the texture of the lineart for Rubi Whipple! May I ask that brush you're using for it?

It’s one of Kyle’s Inkbox Brushes from his Megapack set! Amazing Cartoon Nib #2! 

[hinoart]

thank you so much to everyone!!! i didn’t ignore all the messages i got, i wanted to answer them properly (esp when i’m not at work or when i’m in the right frame of mind). thank you so much for understanding and all the kind and encouraging words ;; i didn’t want pity since i just wanted to explain (it made me feel a lot better after doing so), but i didn’t expect to get so many messages! thank you again ;; i feel a lot better after getting these messages, talking to friends about my problem, and accepting it as part of life and moving on.... it seems like a small thing, but losing one of the things i can do/have that makes me happy is just...like jumping into a blackhole. ahhahaha

i hope you guys have a great weekend! love you all! <333

@veraverorum ahh hello! ofc I remembered ; v ; <333 no worries! i will wait ahhhh! thank you so much q 3 q please tag me or message me about it! i am really excited to read it when it’s done aaaahhhh <3333 and thank you for the kind words ;; /chu

@crybaby-alois thank you so much!! ;; <3333 i will try!

@king-joestar ah thank you!! T____T i do...kinda miss my ocs...i’m gonna try drawing them soon! thank you <333

@vrexie thank you so much! q____q/ i will try and not get affected so easily hhh

@goldiepoppy aaaah i didn’t expect to get a message from you poppy hhahaa but thank you ; 3 ; <3 (gosh yes it is!!! ahh i also didn’t know you were into M.E hahahah ILIKE YOU EVEN MORE POPPY)

@thefrostedglass aaah hello love!!! Q_Q/ aaaah don’t worry, i know you’r enot into ovw and i’m grateful you stuck with me ;; <333 (yeah i finally played ME after i talked to you a bit about it a looong time ago haha) thank you again ;3;

@kawaiihetaliana thank you so much!! ;_______; i changed my mind so i won’t be making another art blog haha thank you for sticking around <33333

@heavybomb i will try!!! hahahaha i just got used to drawing ovw (took months to get used to drawing them in my style) so now i’m really nervous drawing mass effect because they were basically based off real people and it makes me sweat aah;;; but i will try!!

@blackdragonflower thank you so much for believing in me ;__________; ahhh <3333

@btmotley thank you for liking my art in general ;; it really means a lot to me a;lkdsflk; <333 i mean i don’t play ovw but i do love the characters... i just felt like shit on my own and that was my fault--but i will try to move on!

@pixiepunch thank you!!! T____T <3333 i will try harder!!

@oricalcon ;___;!! <3333

@missangelicwitch will do thank you so much ;lakdsf;aldkj <333

@mistertiger ; v ; thank youuuu <3333

@imaginaricide thank you! :D

@element1414 thank you ;___; technically no one has complained about it, but my feelings about the situation was my own fault.... i’m just worried people will think that way, that’s all ;; thank you tho! i will try to come back into drawing on my own pace ; v ; <3

@mechformers thank you so much!!! ahhh /clutches heart/ ;; <3333333 i guess i got used to be a disappointment (too many times) so it because something so automatic even if no one has said anything...i will try harder! i feel a better now so that’s a start ; v ; thank you again!

@vaelore thank you! ;___;/

@sireinita ahhhh thank you dear!! i still remember you ;; thank you for still sticking around ahahhd;fakjsd <333333 (and also the past commissions u v u)

@anonymous401 ahh thank you!! idk why i felt that way to begin with..i have switched fandoms too many times...i guess....things just change a lot w/o even us knowing ^^;; but thank youuuuu

@schlissel aww thank you!!! i will do my best ; v ;9 <333

[ganymedesclock]

(1) Hey, Clockie! I have a question about the Blue Fusion theory. It's a nice theory and all--I don't know if I agree with it, but it brings up a lot of interesting things--and forgive me if you answered this before, but what about Blue Diamond's (the one presented as the legit BD on the show) utter and almost all-consuming grief over Pink Diamond? That couldn't possibly be fake, can it? But if it were a completely new fusion...

(2) ...how could she have such deep feelings about someone she didn't really interact with (probably)? Or maybe, is this grief genuine because the BD being presented is made up of the old Labradorite and a different Lapis that was loyal to Blue and is letting her grieve? Or something else entirely? Any thoughts on that?

My thinking at this point is that current Blue Diamond is not a new fixture.

I doubt just anybody could sidle into the position of Diamond, much less be a total dead ringer for the past Blue (if my theory is correct, outside of number of arms). And even if my theory is right, she’s clearly sure enough in her position that on rare occasions she will actually challenge Yellow.

I don’t think she’s faking her grief at all, and I do think she knew Pink personally and cared about her.

Roughly- I think a lot about the character of Lapis, and, how Lapis is very used to hiding and sneaking around. In particular, there’s been several times now where Garnet has split into Ruby and Sapphire specifically to sneak past an enemy who would identify Garnet in a heartbeat.

So I have the theory that Blue Diamond used very much those same tactics.

Lapis never says exactly why she came to Earth. My hunch is she was hunting Rose- either for revenge, or because something major was not adding up about Pink Diamond. After all, we see Lapis react very strongly to Steven’s shield (that he inherited from Rose) but Lapis also so far has not said a word about Rose Quartz or any of the Diamonds. To me that suggests a topic she’s avoiding in order to not implicate herself.

I think that Blue Diamond often split into her components, secretly- and Lapis would run off to be secret eyes and ears. With her maneuverability, and her unassuming appearance as “merely” a Lapis Lazuli, she could get away with that easily.

But someone would notice if Blue Diamond disappeared. Someone might need to urgently speak with their leader and panic if they couldn’t get hold of her. Yellow Diamond suggests the Diamonds need to be on call constantly and while that’s somewhat of Yellow’s workaholic nature showing, I think there’s a kernel of truth to it as well.

This is where I think the person currently acting as Blue comes in. I think that she was born, in a way, to be a Diamond in effigy.

When Blue disappears, she fills the gap. She acts as Blue Diamond. Seemingly, she can use at least some of Blue’s powers- something I’d wonder if it has anything to do with the idea that Diamonds can be evoked by proxy.

But this is the easy way that her present situation could have come about. Because, again- while we’re not sure why, Lapis was sneaking around alone on Earth. And again, if Lapis was so sure her partner was safe on Homeworld, that’d suggest she left her partner in a safe place.

So... Lapis would disappear, having everything neatly in order to hold over until her return. And then she... actually disappeared, and seemingly, something else befell her partner.

But now why would the double have such a strong relationship with Pink, you might ask? Well, factoring Rose Diamond theory briefly... Rose is fascinated by people. Given the Zoo, it’s fair to assume she always has been.

Rose could well have been someone interested in “fake” Blue for who she was. 

[galacticjonah]

@btmotley I’ll go ahead and answer this on this blog  because I’m the most active here and maybe others are interested in reading this?

First of all, I use Photoshop CS5 and a Wacom Intuos 3.

For my brushes, I use a lot of default ones in Photoshop and have an odd collection of ‘traditional’ sets with interesting textures. But I use the same ones for sketching and inking and only varey with the pressure sensitivity most of the time. 

Normal is used for sketches and almost every everyday kinda artwork I do. 

Stylized is used for more ‘comic’ style stuff like my beach kid portraits or that newest Merle comic.

Painting is used for colouring things, backgrounds, clothing and sometimes skin!

My inking style is quite messy. I rarely ever make sketch layers, but I just go and draw and then clean up the sketch by alternating between white and black rather than erase the ‘faulty’ stuff - I like the kind of more natural look that I get from it. I use that the most in my painted pictures. 

Sometimes I also just go at it with pressure sensitivity turned off completely to get a more inked kinda style, so no gradients and just full black. My brush strokes are rather short, I’m trying to improve that. 

Time is really hard for me to pin down, it depends a lot on the setting. Sometimes I’m very fast, taking around 4h for a fully coloured piece, sometimes I’m very slow and have to take breaks! Overall I’d say though, I’m a rather swift artist. Basic character sketches and designs are mostly done in like 30 minutes on a good day! 

Thank you for being interested in my work process, I hope I could explain a few things - please go ahead and ask more if you want to! 

[fictionandtheatre]

Oh wow! I actually didn’t expect such a quick reply! Thank you!

Angst is pretty great. Fun to write, good to read. There’s a reason that melodrama is so popular the world over.

Season One of Disco was some good stuff. It actually made me care about the Mirror Universe, for instance. Sorry, TOS and every franchise installment until Disco. Couldn’t exactly tell you the difference, though.

“Building from a preexisting concept can be super helpful to diving into the writing, I find - which is probably why fanfic works for me.” YES. Yes, exactly! Sometimes I feel bad about it—I too like exploiting underused/underexplained concepts for worldbuilding, and I worry if I do too much, but dangit, it’s so much fun and much easier than completely original stuff. So I get it entirely.

Okay! Actual writing question: an actual outline or fly by the seat of your pants and a few notes you have on your phone? Preference? INQUIRING MINDS.

Best Wishes, BT/Robyn

Yeah that's the beauty of fanfic - you can just do whatever the heck you want.

In general, I don't write outlines. All of the fics I've written, except for Trial, haven't had an outline. I just have the ideas in my head. Sometimes if I'm stuck on scene, I might have outlined what I wanted, but nothing too formal. For Trial however, I had to use an outline because it was so long and complex. I wrote it over a period of a couple years as well, so without the outline I would be lost. I did write the first half of the fic without an outline however, so I guess my method is just keep typin' lol.

[jigokuhana]

Hi! I love your art and has been following for a little while. Would you mind answering a question or two? Have you ever, say, gotten bored of a sketch/illustration as you’re doing it? If so, how do you push through working on it? I tend to give up, which I know is getting me nowhere.

First off, I’m so glad you like my work~! ^v^

And second...I sadly don’t think I’ll be much help in this regard, as I have the same problem. I can’t tell you how many unfinished pieces I have just lying around on my laptop. X_X

Though I admit...it’s a bit easier to deal w/ when I’m drawing a comic or something along those lines. When that happens (usually because I’m stuck on where I wanna take the comic) I either listen to music I think will inspire some images to pop in my head, or I’ll even get up and try to silently act out how I think I want scenes to go. XD

That’s all I really have in terms of advice for this kinda thing, though. Sorry I couldn’t be more help to you. T^T Hopefully you’ll find some ways to help motivate yourself to finish your art, or get better advice on how to do so.

[gemkids]

@btmotley replied to your post “how tall is the big zircon compared to just a single gem zircon? :0”

"Depends on the reason for fusion"? Really? I don't remember that at all. Do you remember when she said that?

i can’t find it but it’s mentioned on the wikia and makes sense (see: malachite)

[reafu]

btmotley replied to your photo: While hunting for a job, like a good little...

Oooh that’s what this was!

Yeah! I still can't believe I was asked and did it within a week :O!

[fictionandtheatre]

📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓📓 ...you...you only have to say one. If you want.

Lol, I definitely do not have enough fic ideas for all those books, so one it will be - though I appreciate the enthusiasm!!

I always am thinking about my Kirk/Spock/Uhura polyculre QPR fic that I want to write. Basically it would be that Spock starts a relationship with both of them and they're like "oh, of course, if you want a second partner other than me, I'll support you <3". And Spock is like, "thank u, but also.....wouldn't u like to date each other?" Ensue chaos. From there it would be a whole thing of Kirk and Uhura navigating what their relationship might be, while also loving and being loved by Spock. Ultimately, they're a perfect fit for each other, and they all become the power trio of my dreams. It's all very feelings-y and not very plot based, but that's why I love it! Just let the lovely people love each other!!!