#but I'm proud of myself for finishing at a reasonable time :D

[swindle-comic]

Hi hello, I'm Lolly!! :D It's very nice to see you again. I say that because my posts on this blog have gone from semi-frequent to rare to nonexistent in the last year or so. That's because I haven't really touched Swindle in quite a while. Though the last page of chapter 4 was only posted a few days ago, I finished writing the script for it in late 2021 and have since stepped back to focus on other things that provide mental enrichment.

I love this comic very much. I am insanely proud of it. Of myself and of Artsy. We've created something that is so fun and ridiculous. I think it is one of the most well crafted projects I've ever gotten to participate in. On all levels except physical I am placing it on my fridge for everybody to look at.

In all honestly, I haven't really been paying that much attention to this comic since the chapter 4 pages started rolling out. So I haven't really noticed that there is still a large consistent amount of readers interacting with it. I was surprised by the likes, the comments, the follower count, the art, the fics, the investment in general. It's all so cool, it made me really happy!!!

Thank you for all the support and patience and engagement!!!

Anyway, this comic being my pride and joy is the exact reason that it will be taking a rest for a while. I'm a perfectionist when it comes to building scenes and writing engaging and flowing dialogue and consistent characterization and BLAH. I want those ducks jumping off the pages. That is my goal. As a result, this comic takes an explosive amount of energy and commitment to write. Energy and commitment that I simply do not have to spare during this time. And I have no idea when I will.

So. It is time for Swindle to sleep for a while. It is time for Tybernation.

But wow!!! 4 chapters and 100 pages!!! That is super impressive I think!!!! So even if it takes a while for the story to resume, there's always plenty to revisit.

Anyway, that's all. Thank you for reading, I really appreciate it. Mwah mwah mwah <333

[uva124]

INTRODUCING THE MOST MANIPULATIVE KING IN HISTORY , MAGNIFICO!!! 🎇🎇🎇🎇(I hate him but he deserves a redesign lol).

For those who see this post for the first time, I introduce myself, Hi :D! I'm Aled and this is a collaboration with @ animación , author of the rewrite of Wish that is on her profile (read it, the story it's soooo good) and I am in charge of drawing the redesigns of her story.

Now, coming back to the main thing, I will show how we got to this result :)

FACIAL FEATURES AND HAIR:

-Honestly, I never thought that getting used to drawing Magnifico would be so difficult lmao, how in most of my procedures to make the designs, I start with sketches and studying the structure of the character's face, this was a little difficult because I'm not that I'm used to drawing people over 20, but with a few practices I was able to figure out how to draw him :D

(I also did digital internships, but I didn't save most of them because I forgot lmao)

COLOR PALETTE:

-Don't think that I chose a palette of yellow and gold colors just because I thought it was pretty (well, that's also another reason), what happened is that when I was searching through conceptual arts, I found some designs by Magnifico where They used a blue and yellow color palette

I did a quick search and found this:

-Tell me this doesn't remind you of Magnifico, then yes, that's why I chose a yellow color palette, also adding a golden tone to give it a royal vibe.

-I also applied this in the design of Queen Amaya, in the publication of her design I explained why I added details of a dark blue color in her costume and Magnifico's costumes

ATTIRE:

-From the beginning I always wanted to modify Magnifico's cape by adding a rose as a brooch, and searching through the conceptual arts I found quite a few interesting models, so it can be said that I combined everything I liked and that's how I got the cape for Magnifico, Also adding other details that occurred to me.

-The author sent me several ideas for Magnifico (thank you by the way :D), one of them was associating Magnifico with the sun, I really liked the idea and that is why there are so many symbols of the sun in his suit, plus these It reminded me how in so many cultures the Sun is worshiped, just as the kingdom of roses worships Magnifico, there are also other reasons why the sun fits with Magnifico but I already mentioned that in the publication of Amaya's redesign.

-The truth is, I only drew the other details improvised, this time I just got carried away, but hey! The outfit didn't look bad at all :)

-Another important part of Magnifico's costume is the "M" on his badge, but in fact it is not an M 😅, it is the sign of Scorpio ♏, this idea was from Anny Mation

-So yeah, I had to add the Scorpio symbol yes or yes, at first I thought about adding it to the back of the cape but I wasn't convinced by the idea, but then I thought: "Wait, why don't I add the sign on the gold plate ? that would look elegant."

FINAL COMMENTS:

-I'm proud of how this turned out, I feel like it does justice to a villain that commemorates 100 years of Disney :)

-Also, I think that those who have already seen the other redesigns know which character is next, right 👀✨? For Aster, I don't know how long it will take me to draw him, since the boy is literally a walking animation studio lmao.

That would be all for now, until next time :D!

[zarla-s]

How do you decide when to use Spamtons little speech quirk and what to have him say? Your writing for him feels so natural!

Spamton’s speech pattern is surprisingly tricky! It has a lot of weird little things to it, haha. I’m glad you think I’m doing a good job though. :D Generally I try to keep in mind a few things for him...

Spamton misspells things a lot, but not always in the same way (with exceptions). He also likes substituting numbers for letters, usually in words that get caught in a spam filter to try to get around it but not always. ( [[Amazed at thi5 amazing transformation?]],  NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING AB04T! ,  SOMEONE LEFT [There] SOULS, [Lyeing Around......] ,  YOU FILLED YOUR [Inventorium] WITH [Half-Pr1ce Sallamy],  AND THE [Number on theB4ck]!,  [Unforgettable D3als] ,  [Pr3mIUm luxjerry w4tch] )

When Spamton takes over the narration or influences it, he still misspells things. (CONGRULATIONS YOU ARE THE 100th VISITOR!!! )

Spamton is bad at tenses and mixes them up a lot. This is one of the most endearing things to me for some reason, haha.  ( I'M SO [Proud] OF YOU, I COULD [Killed] YOU! ,  I HAVE [Becomed] NEO. ,  MY ESTEEM CUSTOMER, THAT GUY [Steal my look]!! OKAY, MAYBE HE [Steal]ed BACK WHAT I TOOK FROM HIM, WE WILL ALSO [Divorced] )

He messes up pluralization or grammar related to it at times. ( HOTSINGLE, 100 CUSTOMER, AN [Valuable Item])

He actually swears a fair amount but it’s usually censored. ( YOU'RE [$!$!] RIGHT! , DEALS SO GOOD I'LL [$!$$] MYSELF!,  [$!?!] THE PRESSES! )

His capitalization in his bracket words/phrases is inconsistent and he spells things wrong in them at times as well. He usually capitalizes the first word though. ( [[A LimiTed Time Only!]] , [[Designed BY The Classics]],  [[ Sucbscrube ]] ,  THEN [[WHY]] GO TO A DUMPSTER!!! , YOU'VE GOT THE [[LIGHT.]] , [ succumb to the worm ],  SO HAVE I GOT A DEAL THAT'S [sweet Sunday creme] TO ANY SELF RESPECTING [Ball Nut]! , [fluffey] ,  [Pracitce]).

His capitalization in general is kind of all over the place. ( LIGHT nER! HEY-HE Y HEY!!!,  THat'll be 1997 KROMER.,  ENL4RGE Yourself,  I USED TO be A BIG SHOT. ,  I WOn'T FORCE YOU. ,  It's still DARK... SO DARK! )

He gets the verb in sentences wrong at times or has too many/too few words in a phrase.  ( HEAR THOSE [Balloons]???,  [Cool down with a]!!!,  [Wake up and the smell the] MY DEAD CARCASS!!! ) His grammar also gets wonky, especially with the tricky homophones like your/you’re or their/there/they’re. ( YOUR A BIGSHOT!! ,  WELL LET THIS BE A [Email] ,  SHOW OFF YOU'RE [Big Shot] )

He sometimes doesn’t finish a sentence at all, or leaves a blank space. ( BUY [KeyGen] FROM ME AT [The Low Low Price Of] ,  MEANWHILE I CAN [sneak out the back] AND, [Hurry now]!!! [Blink] AND YOU'LL MISS      !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ,  THAT'S WHY THEY'RE COMING TO [kill] ME RIGHT NOW. THEY'RE COMING TO ). Sometimes he just says one or two words or sentence fragments. (MONEY NO, KEYGEN) He likes repeating unfinished sentences as well, usually when he’s worked up about something. ( THE MEN INSIDE WOULD THE MEN INSIDE WOULD , I'LL GET SO. I'LL GET SO. )

He uses periods to emphasize certain parts of a sentence and sometimes he just leaves brackets or carets or other punctuation in his speech. ( YOU'RE  LIGHT neR< AREN'T YOU? , GO BACK. AND PUT. THE DISK. BACK. WHERE YOU GOT IT. ).

Sometimes he has spaces in the middle of words or in the wrong places ( DID YOU HAVE AN YMORE?,  I'M A SALESMAN   ,  ). Sometimes it’s just a mess in general ( DOESN;T IT?KID? ), and sometimes he likes to combine words ( [HonestMan] ,  [handsomeGuy] ).

My general approach to this is just to keep any typos I make while doing his dialogue lol.

He drops out of caps usually when he’s scared or thoughtful (not accounting for after his battle), and usually when he’s thinking about Mike.

A fair amount of his substitutions are vaguely threatening or allude to some kind of violence or suffering. He mentions death, dying, and screaming a lot, usually in unexpected contexts ( PRICES SO LOW, EVERYONE I KNOW IS [[Dead]]!!!,  VACATIONING IN [Burning acid] , NOW I'M THE [[It Burns! Ow! Stop! Help Me! It Burns!]] GUY! ).

Sometimes these threats are relevant warnings if you know what he’s up to ( TAKE THIS DEAL AND YOU WILL [[Die]]!! IT'S THAT GOOD!!!,  [Die Now] AND I'LL THROW IN [50] [Bullets] FOR FREE!,  THIS IS [One Purchase] YOU WILL [Regret] FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE! ). There’s always a sort of “off” vibe to him that makes him feel a little dangerous.

As an aside, Spamton talks about people beating him up a lot.

He likes turning phrases about refunds into non-refunds, haha ( [No Money Back Guaranttee] ). He’ll sometimes just admit outright he’s trying to scam you ( HOW'S AN INNOCENT GUY LIKE ME SUPPOSED TO [Rip People Off] , [What's yours is mine] AND [What's yours is mine]. ).

He’s extremely excited and shouting almost all the time, so he very rarely has only one exclamation point about anything. Usually it’s three but it can go higher. Just go ham on the exclamation points lol.

[[Hyperlink blocked.]]  is a tricky one. He does use it a lot, but the context for it is hard to pin down. Usually it relates to things like souls, what it is that’s controlling him or what it wants, or how exactly he wants to escape it. Other times it’s sort of privileged or secret information that would be caught by a filter and blocked, or it’s some scammy thing or another that’d be blocked for user safety. Usually it’s something that someone wouldn’t want the player to know.

He does use sales pitch, adspeak, or internet slang substitutions a lot, ( [Friend Request Accepted] , [[Anything You See On TV!]],  [[Workout-Ready Body]],  [Luxurious Basement Apartment] , [[Pass My Savings Onto You!]] )  but not all the time! A lot of his substitutions are single words, usually on an odd tangent to the original word or just unusual in general ( [Deep Abyss] , YOUR [[Ant-sized]] [[Rapidly-shrinking]] LIFE!! , [Wacky Stacks] , [Little Nipper], LIKE MANY [buzzing] AND [burning] CREATORS,  GET OUT YOUR CYBER [skin wallets] ).

Sometimes they’re just a normal word in the sentence ( YOU GOT [Guts] KID!! , [Part] OF MY BEAUTIFUL [Heart], LOOK IN MY [Eyes] LOOK IN MY [Nose] LOOK IN MY [Mouth] ).

I tend to think about his substitutions a bit like the Orz, where a substituted word has alternate or deeper meaning than you’d think BECAUSE it was substituted. By [LIGHT], did Spamton literally mean light, or does light have another connotation to it he’s adding that’s not clear? I like thinking of the substitutions adding a potential multiple meaning layers to a word, haha. Maybe he can’t help it, or maybe that particular word is hinting at something more...

He can say full sentences without any substitutions in them, but they’re rare ( WHAT ARE THESE STRINGS!? ,  YOU'RE LEAVING!? WHAT ABOUT MY DISK!?!? , TOO MANY EXCESS VACATION DAYS?? TAKE A GOD DAMN VACATION STRAIGHT TO HELL, I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING I HAD! MY LIFE ADVICE! , BUT KRIS, IF YOU REFUSE. THAT'S YOUR CHOICE. I CAN'T FORCE YOU.). Interestingly, they often involve him saying he can’t force Kris to do something, something he says over and over and over. He seems very preoccupied with it.

[the-sky-queen]

One year since I redesigned my sona for tumblr purposes, so it's time to redesign again! Behold! ME :D

I LOVE IT SO MUCH IT CAME OUT SO GOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Design notes under the cut of you're interested!

As you guys saw in the history of my sona post, the wings have always been my favorite part of the design, but I didn't include them in version 3 and 4 whatever reason. But they're back now and I'm super proud of how they came out! And I also gave myself pointy ears because Estelle gave me pointy ears in her take on my sona and I thought they looked really cool.

For hair, I decided I wanted to keep the bangs, even though I've grown out my irl bangs by now. Idk, I just really like how my sona looks with bangs! I also made the hair on the whole look a bit more scruffy and less perfect. To top it off I added a little ahoge thingy on top both because I thought it looked cute and because I can be SO obvious, so I thought it would fit. XD

Clothes have stayed pretty much the same, except for the shirt being a darker shade of purple. Purple is my favorite color, of course I had to emphasize it more! And of course I kept the gold feather necklace. :)

To finish it off, I redesigned my shoes! Mostly because I didn't wanna have to draw the laces the old design had. XD The coloring is a reference to the gold and white color scheme of the earliest versions (1 and 2) of my sona.

Overall, the old versions focused a lot on translating my irl appearance to the paper as closely as possible, whereas I just let myself have fun with this one! I took a lot of inspiration from older versions of my sona but I just did what I wanted! Again, I'm SO insanely happy with how this came out. I hope you all like it too!

[professorspork]

I hope this doesn’t come across as like a pushy “update pls” I promise that’s not how I mean it. I’m curious at what point you feel like a multi-chapter fic is ready to post? Do you write it in its entirety and then edit chapters in between updates, write and edit it in its entirety, write most of it and continue writing the rest between updates? I’m very curious about your process since you’ve been writing some monster word count fics

I really appreciate you asking!

The short version is that I've learned over time that what works best for me is completing a work in its entirety before I start posting; above all I like posting on a reliable schedule for my audience, and I simply do not write quickly enough (or coherently enough) to do that any other way. There are a lot of reasons for that and I WILL ELABORATE ON THEM AT LENGTH:

I have several multi-chapter WIPs from the Glee days-- when I was in college-- that I never finished because I'm a delicate hothouse flower when it comes to maintaining hyperfocus, and I found a new fandom to be in before I could complete them. Back then especially, I was much less disciplined about writing sequentially: I would write parts of the story wildly out of order, focusing on whatever interested me most at the time. That means my hard drive is a graveyard of unpublished content, which sucks-- not only did I never give my audience the resolutions they were looking for, but I never got to receive feedback on parts of the story I was really proud of. I found that really dispiriting.

Going to grad school for screenwriting really helped me focus on telling a story in order, because there is literally no other way to write a screenplay than one scene at a time; it's far too reliant on momentum and consistency to jump ahead to "the good bits" and come back. I also did several projects-- writing my multi-chap Frozen&Tangled polyamory epic for a friend's birthday; pre-writing all my 2015 Cartinelli Week one shots far in advance so I knew they'd be perfect come posting day-- where I had a deadline I wanted everything Done By, which got me in the habit of writing to completion before posting. It wasn't something I thought I was going to be capable of because I'm like Tinkerbell, Finn, I need applause to live feedback is incredibly motivating to me, but having the ability to go back and change things in chapter 2 if I realized they weren't adequately setting up what I wanted to do in chapter 5, or whatever, proved to be just as powerful a motivator in a different way-- it meant I could tell the stories RIGHT, if I took my time with them. I also learned to get at least one cheerleader I could leak snippets to as I went, so that I still got the dopamine hit of the feedback even though I'm ages away from posting for real.

I also found that, as a reader, I always really appreciated when authors could stick to an update schedule so I could look forward to new chapters like I would episodes of television. It's not a standard I expect from anyone, but it is something that makes me really happy-- and the two ways to do it are to either write fast enough that you're just constantly churning out new content (not an option for me, especially on the occasions when I'm actually employed and can only write on weekends) or to pre-write and then slow release. it gives me a feeling of... mastery, I guess? Like "hey everyone here's a gift I'm giving you," as opposed to writing and updating when I can, which makes me feel like I'm always chasing something (BEING chased by something?) and risking losing my audience/my own fickle concentration if I were to wait too long.

My "ONLY post after everything is done" rule is a new one, because I burned myself on rely on certain certainties, the last D/s epic I wrote (lmao can you tell this topic interests me). I worked on that for a year and was 132k in with no end in sight when I started posting, but I was part of a Kristanna discord at the time, and I wanted to seize the audience I had before it disappeared-- which is always the danger of movie fandoms, which never have as much staying power. I had hoped that because I had such a big buffer I could keep writing ahead of the updates as they came up from behind, but I tapped out at 172k when I finished the end of an arc. That kills me, because I have SO MUCH unreleased content for that story which will never see the light of day, because-- again-- I'd let temptation win and wrote ahead to The Juicy Bits instead of forcing myself to go in order.

So, two things I've learned:

Only ever outlining the juicy bits that come late in the game, instead of lovingly finessing their every word, is a great way to trick motivate myself into continuing to write in order so that I can GET to the juicy bits, full stop; if I don't exorcise them they keep haunting me and that helps me stick it out until the end

By holding stories back until they're complete, I give myself the ability to complete them because I'm able to dig myself out of holes I've written myself into. In the old days, if I got stuck because I realized the real root of my issue had come chapters earlier and that's why it's not working now, I'd just... be stuck at that wall, unable to move forward, and that would be that. The idea of going back and editing a published story for narrative content is mortifying to me and something I personally could never do, so-- this way I'm giving myself more tools and options, so that I can tell the story I want to tell and tell it right.

In terms of my actual process, I tend to work like this: my most productive time is when my ADHD meds are at full power, so in an ideal world I am writing new content from like 10am to 3pm or so, getting as far as I can in New Content. Evenings, when I'm no longer in Hyperfocus Productivity Mode, I'll go back and reread things-- sometimes chapters from much earlier-- both to entertain myself and to make edits and changes. Often, that's just moving words around here and there for cadence and flow; rarely, it's adding whole new moments or thoughts to the chapters. I try to write In Order as much as possible, getting chapters beta'd as they're completed. I'm a nitpicky perfectionist, so keeping a hold on my early chapters until everything is posted means I can change them over and over and over again without anyone knowing but me, which I love-- and those changes are getting made right down to the wire. even when the fic is "complete" and I'm "only posting" I'm still making edits; some of people's absolute favorite parts of Newsbees were added literally the night before, when it was the "get everything into AO3 and do the final pass for typos and formatting" stage. Like, Penny writing sudokus on the fly for Ruby at the hospital? Ruby thinking in Adam Font? Those were 11th hour strokes of genius.

So yeah-- that's a very long-winded way of saying that I've found writing to completion first not only makes me more likely to actually finish my WIPs, but it makes my WIPs BETTER because it gives me far, far more time with them. I know it's not something that works for everyone, but in terms of my own sense of like, duty and responsibility and goal-setting, it keeps me on track without risking Guilt completely paralyzing me-- which is what happens when I post as I go and then get interrupted.

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY RAMBLE.

[amitieos]

toa anniversary munday!

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Nic

Pronouns: they/them

Birthday (no year): 14th July

Where are you from? What is your time zone? UK, GMT (or BST but don't get me started on daylight savings I'll explode)

How long is your roleplay experience? Does playing A Bug's Life on the playground when I was 5 count? If not, I started with rping HP characters with my friends when I was like 11-12 over MSN after school and whilst there have been breaks it's something I've always found myself coming back to.

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? As above, I made a couple of friends on (unrelated) forums and we all just thought it'd be fun.

How were you introduced to TOA? I thought I missed rp and looked for an FE based rp.

Do you have any pets? Yes, all hail Catcat the Great.

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Summer. I hate the heat and humiditiy but once there's no daylight the seasonal affective disorder bass boosts my chronic mental health issues and it's just a bad time really.

What is your IRL occupation? I've gone back to uni to study Law :)

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? I love reading, I'm fascinated by linguistics and astrophysics, enjoy DnD and playing video games in my spare time. I'm a particular sucker for the Sims franchise.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Recently I've been playing BG3, Stardew Valley, The Sims & Fields of Mistria but I'm a big fan of the Persona series and really, really excited about Dragon Age The Veilguard

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: I don't really play Pokemon much anymore but I'll just say Sylveon I guess

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! I met the fourth Doctor when I was 11 and he complemented my vocabulary lmao. I once got published in a poetry anthology with a poem about Shadow the Hedgehog and my parents we so proud of me.

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I think I saw a review on TV

What Fire Emblem games have you played? I've attempted to play every game except 1/2/3/5/11, although I've really wanted to play Thracia I just *need* some QoL updates and controls. I haven't finished every single one because of lost/deleted saves and stuff but I've watched playthroughs and read up on scripts on everything I haven't actually played myself.

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: My first was Fates but Jugdral, Magvel and 3 Houses are my favourite

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Elincia, Mercedes, Franz, Myrrh and ughhhh I can't choose between Chole/Yunaka/Sylvain so I'm cheating

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! I saw Ryoma in all that red armour and it grabbed my attention.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 Miss Mercedes if you're free Thursday night

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Chrom, originally be accident but now on purpose :D - Fates: My first was Takumi and I didn't know what an S support was and was very confused. Nowadays usually Kaze or Laslow if playing F!Corrin and Orochi, Nyx or Charlotte if playing M!Corrin. Niles for either. - Three Houses: Mercedes. She's still my go to ofc but I'm also fond of Dorothea, Dimitri and Sylvain. If I'm playing M!Byleth Yuri or Ingrid - Engage: Yunaka was my first and now it's either Yunaka, Diamant or Chloe. Or Mauvier maybe hahfsdgfsd

Favorite Fire Emblem class? I love Pegasus Knights!!!!!!!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? Probably a reluctant recruit who accidentally gets involved. Weirdly magic based armoured character.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) Either unaffiliated civilian or Blue Lions probably

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boons: Lance, Reason, Heavy Armour Banes: Bow, Faith Budding Talent: idk Axes or Flying?

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) No idea! Probably Elusia or Firene. The Solm heat would literally kill me.

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) TOA ;) (like Noah)

Current TOA muses: Elincia & Mercedes

Past TOA muses? A lot but most memorable to me are Sylvain and Julia, though I'm so excited to see Sylvain in good hands <3

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Elincia and I still have her.

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? White magic girlies though I'm trying to change things up.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Hm, I wish I felt I could write more of the male characters I enjoy effectively. In most other fandoms I've written in most of my muses have been men but it's just not so in FE. I'd also love to write a villain okay I once genuinely considered Hilda FE4 lmao

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I like writing dialogue and characters bonding but I'm starting to like more action oriented scenes too.

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? For Mercedes in particular I get excited to write her steel and strength, especially when it's combined with her gentleness rather than opposed to it.

Favorite TOA-related memories? Every thread I've writen with Elincia and Rua's Byleth <3

Present or past tense? I tend to default to present in TOA but usually past tense. I'm flexible though and will try and match my partner.

Normal size text, small text, no preference? I actually find small text easier to focus in on and read (I can find normal a bit too cluttered and it can send my eyes wandering lmao) but I'm perfectly happy to use normal text, it just takes me a bit longer to comb through.

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 I can't see a shake up happening soon but... Zephia or Chloe are probably forerunners. I've thought about Palla and Astrid too but I'm not sure if I can see the longevity. Also Neimi, Myrrh and Rodrigue have sparked.... ideas. For muses I've written before, Julia is the most likely but I think she's having a nice break right now :)

[mdhwrites]

Seelittle and Bron-nya

So with the next update (that I am vibrating about for several reasons) one of the upcoming things are these adorable little pillowcats that seem to be a mix of food and characters. These three are literally based on the starting trio of the game.

Someone else and I were joking about them and how Seele and Bronya would totally have ones of each other. I named Seele's Seelittle and they named them Bron-nya and I FUCKING CAN'T!

A couple of the silly things we came up with.

Bronya: What pillowcat? I have work to d-

Meow!

Not now Seelittle!

Seele: just finished brutally decapitating a man before holding out her hand for the pillowcat to land on it. Promptly puts it on her head before she heads off to her next job.

-

Bronya: Now Seelittle, this is a silver guards uniform. If you'll just put it o-no, no, stop! That's the third one you've torn to pieces.

Seele petting Bron-nya and relaxing: I feel proud and I don't know why.

-

Bronya: Seelittle does the strangest thing every day with bringing me transfer papers for some reason. It's not like I can transfer anywhere or the like.

Seele: sweating from having told the pillowcat about wanting to have an excuse to see Bronya more I have NO IDEA why they would do- Bron-nya hops up onto the table with a Silvermane guard badge and Bronya turns bright red about things she's told that pillowcat

Gepard in the distance: Where did my badge go!?

Both girls: Serval has it!

Serval with Servitty: Now, when I hit the power chord like this, you yell nya into the microphone and we'll make everyone scream!

That's all of them, at least for now. Felt like sharing something silly today. Like I said, I'm excited for the next update is already licking at the Simulated Universe out of excitement for another new mode to it and while I won't be pulling for any of the new 5 stars, I'm excited for when Kafka is available again because I was on a break from the game when she first came out and I'd like to have the DoT team juggernaut at least available to me. That and I am looking VERY respectfully at Black Swan so, you know, want to get that DoT strength going now. ^^;

Have a good day everyone and see you next tale!

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I might try and do a harder sales pitch for HSR later today since while I talked about it before, it was me being kind of critical of its storytelling (besides Jarilo 6, my beloved) and doing my normal reviewer thing. I would genuinely like to see my favorite time killer flourish though, especially since I think it's a genuinely good turn based RPG. Also, for anyone curious, no, I don't spend much on it. I have bought three battle passes and one of its five dollar month long things. For the amount of time it has helped me deal with, I think that's more than fair myself.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[cryptidsurveys]

Saturday, August 31st, 2024.

Who’s the first person you talk to via text in the morning? I don't text anyone first thing in the morning. There are times when I think about texting Ollie, but then I remember they're an hour behind and I don't want to accidentally wake them up and interfere with their sleep/work schedule. Better to save it for the afternoons/evenings.

Was that person your significant other? No. Ollie is my best friend. Also, I just want to brag about them a bit. They're a writer, an artist, and possess extensive knowledge regarding everything zombie-related, and they were recently on the Zombie Book Club podcast (link here). I haven't finished the full episode yet, but it's hilarious so far. It's one thing to witness their wit in firsthand conversation, but it's another thing entirely to hear them play off of the input of other people. They're so well-spoken and funny and I'm so proud of them! I really do think they could have their own successful podcast if they wanted to.

Does it take a lot for you to cry, or does it happen easily? Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. Like, sometimes I feel strong and nothing gets to me too much, but then there are times when I feel really down on myself, overwhelmed, exhausted, etc, and I'll cry over things that I ordinarily wouldn't.

What was the last reason you cried? I've already talked about it. If you missed it, then you missed it. ;D

What’s hurting you right now? A (perhaps unjustified) feeling of giving more than I get. Part of it is my fault for putting myself in that situation in the first place (people-pleaser/over-giver tendencies here). Another part is attributing the actions of one or two people to "everyone," when in reality most people appreciate everything I do. It's probably 10% reality and 90% mindset.

Do you have someone who you can tell anything? My dad and my therapist.

What’s the one thing you regret more than anything? I'm not sure.

Do you remember important dates? Usually.

Do you like vanilla? Yeah.

Do people who judge bother you a lot? I think everyone judges to some extent. Sometimes it bothers me if it's something I'm sensitive about, but I can usually recognize that and let it go. It's when people judge constantly over every little thing or just nitpick someone to death that it becomes tiresome. That's when I have to grit my teeth and really ask myself if saying something retaliatory is worth the repercussions.

What about arrogance? It's not pleasant.

Do you tan easy? I have no idea. I don't even attempt to tan.

Do you have two of the same pair of pants? I don't.

Do you know anyone with Type 1 Diabetes? No.

Are you familiar with John Mayer? Yeah.

Do you have a lot of pictures of you and your friends? No.

What did you have for dinner last night? My usual sandwich and mixed veggies.

Do you own anything with the Playboy Bunny on it? I don't.

Where is the last beach you went to? I went to a beach in Ocean City, NJ when I was a teenager.

Have you ever been rock climbing? Yeah.

Do you own a bean bag chair? I do, but my kitties are mainly the ones who use it now.

Are you allergic to anything? What? Not that I'm aware of.

Would you be willing to be examined for medical research? Maybe after my death, but probably not while I'm still alive.

Where is your phone? On my pillow.

What is two feet from your right arm? A digital thermometer. It's 72*F and the humidity is 60%.

Do you own any vinyl records? I don't.

Are you the one in a group to talk a lot or do you listen? It depends on the group. Among certain people at the animal shelter, I'm starting to open up and do a lot more talking.

Have you ever touched a caterpillar? Yeah.

Do you enjoy staying at hotels? I loved it when I was younger, but now it's not so enjoyable. I'd much rather be in the comfort and familiarity of my own home.

Have you ever met someone famous. Who? Do tell! No.

When’s the last time you did something you knew was wrong? Hmmm.

Is there a guy/girl that knows everything or mostly everything about you? Yeah.

Who was the last person you cried in front of? Either my dad or Iris (in that case, I think I was more teary-eyed than actually crying, though).

What is one thing you would love to see happen today? Today is almost over. I'm going to finish this up, listen to some YouTube for a bit, get a small snack, and then get ready for bed.

Have you kissed any friends on your Facebook? N/a.

What’s irritating you right now? Nothing right this second.

Who else is in the room with you? Esther and Karenna, two of my kitties. Last I checked, Lacy was curled up in the armchair in the family room.

Could you go out in public looking like you do now? I mean, I could. But would I? Naw.

Do you think age matters in relationships? There are definitely times when it matters.

Can you recall the last time you really liked someone a lot? It's been years, but yeah, ofc I can still recall it.

[vellaphoria]

Hi! For the writer's ask game: 25, 27, and 29 :) Also, I reread Midnight Elegy recently and it's even better then I remembered!

Hello!! :D as;lkdjfa;skldjls I'm glad you enjoyed it enough to reread it! I had such a good time writing that one. Thank you for the incredibly kind words! <3

Answers below the cut:

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on? Gethsemane in Winter, probably For context, at one point I wrote a DickTim Earth-3 series because there was a very specific interpretation of the concept that I desperately wanted to read but that didn't exist. So I set out to write it myself, knowing that it probably wouldn't get too much attention, given the number of (accurate) warning tags I slapped on it. I worked hard on it and am proud of the result, but there's still a bit of wistfulness about it because of the nature of incredibly niche things.

Though if anyone is curious enough to look at the part of the map labeled here be dragons, then the series is A Fact or a Weapon, which comes from a wonderfully haunting (and apt, for the fic) line from the poem "We are Hard" by Margaret Atwood:

A truth should exist, it should not be used like this. If I love you

is that a fact or a weapon?

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

My most favorite part is writing descriptions! I tend to be a visual thinker, so I spend a fair amount of time thinking about where things are in a scene, how they would look, and how to describe things in a way that builds the sort of atmosphere I'm going for.

My least favorite part is writing transitions between scenes. I tend to over-write them and draw things out that aren't important to the plot (one reason why everything I write spirals out of control lol). Sometimes it's hard for me to know when it's best to put a scene break in vs. when to do an actual transition via text.

29. What’s your revision or editing process like?

I tend to go chapter by chapter for multi-chapter fics. My first goal is to get the thing written, so I try not to commit to serious revisions unless there's some sort of overarching problem with what I've got.

Revisions start once I have a mostly finished rough draft of a chapter. At that point, I read through it to make sure that I'm not missing anything and then send it to my beta reader so that they can give me a general vibe check (i.e. does it make sense, does it flow right, is the tone consistent/does it work for the fic, spelling and grammar, etc.). They also do a lot of cheerleading which really gets me through a lot of the tougher parts of writing <3 After I have the beta-approved version, I do another pass through for spelling and grammar and probably tweak some things. If it's a chapter, then it probably sits for a bit while I work on other parts of the fic. If it's a oneshot, then I format it for Ao3 and finalize the title and tags that I'm using before posting.

There's also a secret step where sometimes I don't like what I have, so I tear it up and recycle the parts into other things lol (questions are from this list)

[mangopit]

20 Writer Questions

ty @littlefirefox for the tag!! nice seeing the other folks you tagged too, fandom runs deep fr haha <3

1. Total number of AO3 works?

34! i haven't uploaded in so long ouurgh

2. Total AO3 word count?

103,336 :o

3. Fandoms I’ve written in?

oh boy, tons. and im too shy to talk abt a lot of them on my main blog lol, but throughout my life i've written for a lot of youtubers, bbc sherlock, rotbtd, atla, tlok, american idol, some disney shows, an anime, live streamers, musicians...

4. Top 5 Fics by Kudos

dhjdjhs again im too shy to list em directly, they're all rpf >:'D # of kudos: 519, 377, 341, 314, 305

5. Do I️ respond to Comments?

yes, i try to reply to all of them! tho i need to look at my inbox and check that i haven't missed any recent ones :')

6. What has the angstiest ending?

hmmMm on ao3 i have a drabble that ends in perceived unrequited love but i think my actual angstiest published story ends with 2 former best friends finally choosing to part ways. offline, i have stories that end in major character death 😬

7. What has the happiest ending?

oh! a delightful question! i think the one where the soulmates figure their shit out and finally confess their feelings for each other feels like the most triumphant ending that i can remember writing :)

8. Have I️ received hate?

not for my writing. i've received unwarranted constructive criticism before tho.

9. Do I️ write smut? And what kind?

yes sometimes but i've never posted it online 👁👁 and idk "what kind" means... gay i guess???? loll

10. Do I️ write crossovers?

yes! i don't think i've posted anything online but rise of the brave tangled dragons is one of my longest loves.

11. Have I️ ever had a fic stolen?

not that i know of 😳

12. Have I️ ever had a fic translated?

no but i would be honored if anyone offered! :')

13. Have I️ ever co-written a fic?

i've initiated "finish the fic"s before, but i've never co-written a fic in the traditional sense.

14. What is my all-time favorite ship?

OH hmmm idk if i have one. maybe sh****** just bc of how long and intense my obsession was for it lol

15. A WIP I️’ll never finish?

i have a bbc sherlock fic that was well-received but i just can't imagine finishing it bc my writing has changed so much, i never had a direction for the story, and i don't really like how i wrote the characters.

16. Writing Strengths?

i'm good at eavesdropping on imaginary conversations between people who exist solely in my head so i think im good at whipping out dialogue, lol. i also pride myself on writing realistic, complex emotions and digging into the deeper, more hidden thoughts of characters.

17. Writing Weaknesses?

i think i get so excited about writing my favorite bits i have planned that i rush the pacing of my stories or i force plotpoints that don't make too much sense and can probably be cut. i've been trying to combat that by indulging in the first draft—letting myself write all the exciting, wild ideas i have first before revising and fine-tuning the story to my standards!

18. Do I️ like foreign language dialogue?

yes? no opinion? i don't think i understand this question.

19. First Fandom I️ wrote for?

i think it was american idol >:)

20. Favorite fic Ive written?

wahhh like lynn i find it super hard to choose bc my writing is such a reflection of my interests and general mindset at the time! plus i still love my most busted writing bc i have such a warm appreciation for who i was and how i've improved. buuuuut for whatever reason i'm very proud of this one friends to lovers fic on my ao3 that's set during the wintertime~ i think i was able to get the pacing just right, emotionally and plotwise, and everything just makes sense, and the ending is so satisfying. it's a very solid fic for when i wrote it, and i am very happy to write a simply solid fic :)

thanks again lynn for the tag!! tagging: @farklelucas @26velociraptors if you want + any other ficwriters who would like to do this! (lol gretchen i can't even remember if you post on ao3 ermm)

[scrollll]

For the fiction writing ask meme: 11, 36, 51, and 78!

I am so utterly shocked by this ask, ahhhh, okay, okay, hold on!

11: Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around?

I'm an extremely lazy person, but if jumping from scene to scene was a sport, you'd see me in Paris at the Olympics this year😅

Many stories start with a few snippets of random scenes, plot twists or even final moments in my head, but even when I have an idea, I often start jumping while writing the story. It helps a lot, but sometimes I end up at point F, then look back to point A (where I should be) and wonder just how the hell I'm supposed to get from A to F in a half-logic way.

36: What fic are you proudest of?

There's more than one story I'm incredibly proud of.... ahhhh, can't decide with my Playboy fics, both have a very special place in my heart♡ From another fandom, I'm going to go for one of my VegasPete fics where I gave Pete plenty of guns, enough reasons to kill an entire cartel, and let every thug in the story know why no one should mess with this couple (unhinged, protective badass mf Pete with equally protective and unhinged Vegas) Manhunt still needs one last chapter and I'm working on it, though I'm having a hard time coming up with a worthy ending for it....

51: Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

Tbh, not very much, I think. Often I start writing because I really want to see a specific trope or portrayal of a character that doesn't exist yet or doesn't exist enough for my "reader heart", so I just write it myself. If I find someone else who loves similar tropes along the way, all the better :D (But there are also some tropes that I love reading but can't write myself atm, so I'm very glad for all the creativity and talent in the fandoms♡)

78: What motivates you during the writing process?

Comments. (Pardon my following little monologue: really, I LOVE THE PLAYBOYY AO3 READERS! I have gotten some of the most spectacular, insightful, beautiful and amazing commentary from them that makes my day better every time I reread it, which happens A LOT. They don't know just what perfect people they are, and I don't think they'll ever realize how much I love their brilliant minds and ideas!!!)

Comments keep my spirit alive, especially because I often start uploading before I've even finished writing the story. When I'm writing just for me: music. I love song recs and new lyrics that get the little gears going in my head. And last but not least: Spite.

Once a friend told me not to write such a drunk-ass story so I completly normal screached "WATCH ME!" and finished that whole thing in one night.

Thank you so much for the ask<3 I wish you lots of motivation and inspiration for your works! (And I am very excited for your playboyy wips!)

(Fanfiction writing ask game)

[kenobster]

3, 18 and 29 please <3333

From AO3 Wrapped [Writers' Edition]

Thank you for the ask, anon! ^_^

#3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I hate to be a cliche of myself again, but Five Peggats Each. (And this includes all things I've ever written in my life actually :D). There's a few reasons for it, I think. One, it's like HUGELY within my comfort zone. The limited setting, the noncon, the tropes of the characters themselves. This is the type of story I have the most practice with, so it naturally comes easier and in better quality I think? Two, how, despite it being a comfort zone, I've used this fic as kind of a sandbox to experiment a lot of different writing techniques. For example, this is the most POVs I've ever written in a single fandom, let alone a single story (which usually stays around 1-2). For other examples, like, I've tried to be really mindful about metaphors/prose and how they can twist reality (like that time I spent like 8 hours researching in-universe Star Wars bands & instruments just so I could write one paragraph lmao)... or even how I recently tried to use second person POV to give the reader the same disassociation/discomfort/dysphoria that Anakin was feeling after regaining use of the Force. These experiments were all really hard to pull off, and I'm proud of myself for attempting them. And three, how I've allowed 5PE to be a project that can take as long as I want it to take to finish, so long as I do finish it. So on one hand, it's been a really good exercise in self-discipline & practice in maintaining my passion for the story, despite the constant barrage of shiny new plot bunnies. And on the other hand, the lack of a time pressure allows me to really spend time on the quality of every single line (excepting human mistakes & typos of course lmfao), while also not letting that perfectionism stand in the way of progress. It's really helped me become more confident in storycrafting from beginning to end, in a way I've never really felt in my old fandom or writing. On top of all that, it's the only fic that I can actually read after posting updates without feeling like it's exfoliating my entire body to do so lol. I actually enjoy reading it sometimes. So that's nice.

#18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Answered here. :)

#29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year

Really hard one omg. If I have to choose something I've already posted on ao3, then it'd probably be one of these three: (1) in Five Peggats Each, the passage I also described above regarding Anakin's fever as it relates to the jizz band & cantina in chapter 6; the passage I put in the fic summary for Every Shadow, but the full version of it as written in chapter 2, not the abridged version in the summary; and (3) the opening paragraph of What Dead Things See.

But but but imo -trembles with excitement (I've been dying to show this, folks, what a good opportunity)- none of those passages even hold a candle to this thing that poured out of my brain one sleepless night at 2am for some unposted/unfinished oneshot:

For a moment, when he was nine years old, Anakin thought himself to be a whore. In an effort to scrub the slave out of him, the temple healers had pumped him full of vaccines and medications and water and food. He'd been lying on a brand new bed in a brand new room and counting the speeders whose lights flashed across the wall. That's when the memory burned. If they want you for your strength, his anma said, then they won't squander a second of it. Your back will ache and your feet will throb before the very first sunset. But Anakin's back wasn't aching and his feet didn’t throb. If they want you for your mind, they'll test your skills and put you to work, and they'd tested him, yes, but not his ability to steer the yoke of a podracer at the drop of a pin, nor his ability to disassemble and reassemble any gadget known to sentient life. They'd only studied the gaps in his knowledge and he'd had none of the answers and he'd seen the pity in their gazes. And if they feed you, said his anma, if they let you rest in a bed and say they'll take care of you, then the first chance you get, you must run. As fast as you can, as hard as you can, even if they activate your bomb. Because some fates, my love, are worse than death. You must always be wise enough to know that.  And Anakin, well fed and well rested, hadn't wanted to run fast or run hard or detonate his bomb. Anakin hadn't wanted to escape this new place that sang of plenty and of love and of home. So he pushed himself to his feet and stumbled through the darkened shared quarters until he found his new master's bed. Clammy, feverish, and half-asleep, Anakin crawled under the covers and felt around for his master's trousers. Obi-Wan awoke in an instant.  That night, they found no rest at all—rather, hours of conversation while Anakin shivered on the couch huddled in afghans and quilts and comforters and tried to explain that, yes, he knew he was free and he knew he was safe and he knew all he had to say was a word and he'd be taken wherever else he wanted by whomever else he wanted and that, no, Obi-Wan had never said or done anything to suggest such a thing was wanted and that if he ever did going forward, Anakin would tell him straight away, and that, yes, he understood the difference between a master and a Master and that, no, he didn't need to use a different word—because Obi-Wan didn't yet know that there are some things you learn with your mind but other things you learn with your body, and that there's no actual function in the branding of a slave because the brand is already burnt into a slave's mind, as crisply and as permanently, as a molten pattern pressed to flesh. As he kneels before his Master, Anakin decides that Palpatine would have liked the gift of a nine-year-old groping beneath the bed sheets better. It would have saved them all a lot of time.

I will finish this one day... Have about 3 scenes written, and just need to write 1.5 scenes more. But the above part stands pretty well on its own so hopefully you all enjoyed! ^_^

[czenzo]

talk shop tuesday! i really really like your l&co skullyle flavoured modern au!! it hasn't left my mind since, your work is incredible at keeping dynamics from books and adapting them for this fic's setting! but is there something that you are especially proud of or wanted to talk about from this series?

oh tysm, I adore the Skullyle internet friends au and I'm so glad others do too – especially one of my favourite L&Co artists, wtf!!

I got a bit carried away with my answer, so I'll pop it under a read more:

one of my favourite parts of the series (and just writing Lucy and Skull in general, really) is the duo's banter. their silly humour comes quite naturally to me since it's similar to my own, so it feels like I'm putting a little bit of myself into the fics I write about them! it's why compliments on their dynamic/conversations bring a really big smile to my face.

I'm also quite proud of how I've reflected their canon relationship in this modern au; Lucy is still the only one who can hear/communicate with Skull, and she's still able to cut him off mid-sentence by hanging up on him in lieu of closing the jar's grille. in a way, Lucy's phone is the modern version of the skull jar! someone clocked this in the comments of Missed Call and it made me SO happy :D I'd hate to steal all the credit for the concept, though – Pretty Boy and the whole au was inspired by this post by @lucy-lockwood!

speaking of the phone: a lovely someone asked whether Skull actually intended to call Lucy at midnight for Reasons Unknown... no comment from me right now, but we may circle back to this when I write more for the series... 👀

I was also pretty chuffed with the formatting for Missed Call. I'd never really played around with ao3 html before so it took me quite some time to figure it out, but seeing the finished thing made it all feel worth it! seeing this part fully formatted made me laugh way more than it should've:

one last little thing: Lucy's icon is a vinyl of Nirvana live at Paradiso, Amsterdam. I spent a while looking for one that felt right; I knew I wanted it to be blue (for obvious reasons) and it had to be something I could see her listening to. it's nearly impossible to make out in the final fic but it's just a fun little detail :) and Skull's display name is blue because, well, that's a Lucy colour! and they're kind of made for each other.

ah, yes. soulmates.

this ended up so much longer than I anticipated, I'm so sorry uiesfbksfbeoasdbkj I really do love this au, if it wasn't already glaringly obvious. I'm looking forward to writing more of it – and thank you again for this lovely ask! <3

[astranite]

Fanfic self-rec!!

So a while ago I got tagged by @forest-falcon (im 99% sure), and I didn't get to it at the time, but I really wanted to do it! So here it is, very belatedly and based entirely off my memory of the post because I don't have the energy to conduct an archaelogical excavation of my blog as I can only hope I tagged it well.

~very paraphrased~ rec five(?) of your works and why you are proud of them. Then tag x amount of people. (I think it was also for art not just writing?)

Probably the most chaotic way of answering this. Also turned into a bit of me reflecting and musing over my writing.

But in no particular order as I'm proud of them for different reasons :)

----

Blue Skies- tumblr Ao3 Scott and Bereznik with Gordon too. Very whumpy, then hurt/comforty. I am extremely proud of this one, like so so proud. There is a massive amount of emotion in it, written all in one go and I stayed up to 1 am to finish it. It is a lot about trauma and honestly a lot of putting feelings onto paper. But all the details, the parts I think i did a really good job of viscerally showing instead of telling, the blue skies theme. It's intense and there are many awful, painful things, but there is also hope. That's definitely a main theme of my writing: no matter what I put them through, they will come out of it and there will be hope again.

Bruised- tumblr Ao3 Earth and Sky. Hurt/comfort. Some Virgil worrying over Scott, a bit of classic Scott-angsting, then lots of brotherly affection between them. The end is very Soft. Everyone gets a hug and then to sleeeep.

Squid Hug- tumblr Ao3 FishTanky fluff with lots of cuddles. Makes a good comfort read, with a bit funny, a little silly, and a good dose of hurt/comfort leaning heavily to the comfort. Did I mention the hugs?

As Sure As The Stars- tumblr Ao3 trans Alan! A realisation of it, and a coming out. And Alan and John together stargazing and a conversation on the roof. I poured alot of growing up queer experiences into it for myself and it also seemed to resonate with others too.

Pride Paint And Rainbow Pins- tumblr Ao3 My first Thunderbirds fic and for Thunderpride too!! Its short, fluffy and sweet! Some artist!Virgil plus a few puns. (And I really wish I had all of those pride pins, because I made the designs of nearly all of them up and I love them). And the pride themes! It really makes me happy in itself. But as well for being my jumping off point in Thunderfam. It has many of my queer headcanons for everyone when I'd been too shy (and anxious about being welcome) to make them into my own post.

Bonus points to the numerous WIPS I am working on that are as yet unfinished but I am still very proud of and can't wait till I do!

The Blue Blanket Fic!! I can't not mention it! I'm working on turning it into a full fic, which the first part of is here. But look at what @edutainer2022 and I already wrote. There be feelings, there be Scott whump, there be the blue comfort blanket!

:D

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

I remember you saying once that you didn’t feel (paraphrasing) that your art schooling experience was very fulfilling, and I believe you used the word slapdash 🥺

Can you tell us about your artistic journey following that period? How did you get from unknowing to growing?

Ok, so first apologies because this is a long one.

After college I was so focused on surviving that I didn't really have the time, space, or money to focus on making art for a long time. A few months after school ended I was homeless and couchsurfing to avoid living in my car. Over the next 5 years or so I bounced around a lot. Moved across the country and back, ended up homeless again, worked three jobs at the same time to afford a place to live. In this period, the only really meaningful art that I made were a couple of commissions to paint garden sculptures for my friend's mom. Example:

Anyway, then moved to my current place almost 7 years ago. Still mostly didn't feel like I had the time, space, funds, or fucks to give to do art. Once I got the apartment to myself a couple of years later, I started to feel like I could breathe a little easier and started doing small creative projects like trying out tie-dyeing for the first time. It wasn't until after Covid hit (and I got it bad enough that I truly thought I might die alone in my apartment) and then I left my job that I really started painting for myself again. Once stores opened back up, I bought a bunch of cheap canvases and paints. I've never actually taken a class on acrylic painting (there was never one available during my school time) but it's the medium that works for me most often.

I did a couple of random projects when the mood struck and I had the spoons, the Camp Fuck You I'm a Wizard painting being the biggest example. But rarely worked on a single project for longer than a day or two before losing steam.

Meeting D was a creative catalyst for me. For the first time in over a decade I felt Good, I felt Inspired, because I felt Wanted. I jokingly (or not so jokingly) referred to him as my muse, because his enthusiasm and encouragement made it so easy to fall into more projects and try new things in my art and feel great about all of it. I created more pieces, and importantly more pieces that I was actually proud of, after meeting D than I have in the entire rest of my life combined.

But obviously that didn't work out. He's still an encouraging presence from time to time, but it's not the same. It's getting harder and harder to want to create, to feel inspired lately. I felt good about my last project, but it was a commission and that's probably the only reason I finished it. Most of the dregs of my creative energy currently go into making OF content to keep that small trickle of income coming in. If I weren't getting paid I probably wouldn't have the drive to do that any more either. Turns out intense, soul-sucking loneliness isn't good for the ol' creative flow. I don't know if I'm growing any more.

[sweet-star-sketches]

WIPs from June 27th and March 12th, 2023 I'm in one of those mind states where it takes me literal hours to make myself upload my WIPs, even though that's the entire point of this side blog :') Not that I dislike these, rather I received some bad (but unrelated) news today/yesterday and that always ramps up my insomnia. I'm up WAY too late again and my mood has been awful all day, so this was inevitable

It's been a while since I uploaded a completely new design for Starglass Zodiac (as in a completely new character rather than just a redesign of an already made one) and I'm not entirely sure why. Like the last one was over a year ago??? I still have way more to do so I'm not sure why I stopped for a while, even when I was still doing art for this project rather than switching to another. I have a massive folder of WIPs still so maybe I got decision paralysis or something, idk. These are far from done but I did come up with some cool new scenes with them so that's neat!

The less specific or more basic constellations are usually the most fun but also the most challenging to tackle, because it can be hard to make the concepts interesting if there's no pre-existing mythology associated with them, which is the case for both of these and many others. A lot of the constellations, even among the official 88 modern ones, boil down to an astronomer somewhere being like "put a [thing] in the sky" without anymore specificity or reason. Custos Messium is a defunct constellation to boot, but the idea of a "harvest keeper" gives me a lot of cool visuals to work with at least. I'm particularly proud of their sickle and scythe arms that form a C and M, respectively. Plus with the defunct constellations I get to design their symbols :D Not super happy with the bodies for either of these yet, but I like their heads so that's a good start. Horologium is inspired by those awesome looking astral clock towers with multiple faces, but with that in mind I want to make its body more tower-like. In the story, it's the constellation of the clock that was given artificial life after being lost and corrupted by void magic, so I want it to look like the pieces of the tower itself got transformed into this hulking beast over time. Overall I just want to have more non-sapient creatures inhabiting this world for variety's sake and to create bigger threats for the cast as stuff ramps up in later chapters. Defeating Horologium in particular is going to be quite the feat, but I am excited to finish writing/drawing that part of the comic at least!