#design is still INCREDIBLY wip haha

[fujoshistringgummy]

it came from outer space!

[narukoibito]

The other boy who lived

Thanks for asking! I answered earlier here, and here is another snippet from AU!Harry's Yule Ball (I have no idea if there'd be any reason to share in the actually storyline haha):

Harry grinned at the prettiest girl in his year on his arm. He and Ron had really done well for themselves — considering he also had the prettiest girl from their year on his arm. They were, after all, twins.  Of course, Parvati and Padma couldn’t really hold a candle to Fleur Delacour, but she was part Veela and a Tri-Wizard champion. And Cho Chang certainly was pretty and a great Quidditch player (Harry certainly had noticed her when he was playing against the Ravenclaw team last year), but she had already been asked by Cedric Diggory, the lucky handsome git. “Oh here they come!” Parvati gripped his arm tightly, her gold bracelets digging into him in her excitement. Harry craned his neck toward the Great Hall doors, which swung open. First came Fleur, looking stunning in robes of silver-gray satin, accompanied by the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain. Soon followed Krum, with a pretty brunette in periwinkle robes by his side.  “Why, that’s Hermione!” Padma cried in disbelief.  Harry and Ron looked at each other in surprise, Harry with raised eyebrows and Ron with his jaw dropped open. This was Hermione was the bossiest know-it-all? Ron’s gaze seem to follow Hermione as Harry wistfully watched the next couple, Cedric and Cho, who made a very handsome couple indeed. Harry wondered momentarily what it would be like to be a champion who could woo whatever girl he wanted. “Oi,” Harry grimaced when Ron’s elbow dug into his side. He looked up at his friend, who seemed to be turning several shades of red. He followed his gaze only for his jaw to drop.  There was Neville Longbottom with an incredibly pretty girl — prettier than Parvati! — on his arm. With her fiery red hair was braided in some floaty up-do, with some shinny curls framing her face.  “That’s my little sister!” Ron scowled. Harry blinked several times, but couldn’t quite shake how dazed he felt. When had Ron’s little sister stop looking so…little? Ginny spotted Ron and Harry in the crowd and gave them an impish smile before she and Neville joined the other champions at their designated table.  “Harry?” Parvati frowned at him. “Oh, uh, yeah,” Harry said, nudging Ron.  They hurried back to their table with Dean, Seamus, and their dates. Harry couldn’t help but glance back. When he caught a glimpse of Neville and Ginny laughing, he felt a strange twinge. He turned back to his classmates, absently the spot in his chest. 

I figured AU!Harry wouldn't be so clueless about pretty girls without all those dark wizards in the way, but that doesn't mean he isn't still a bit oblivious to a certain redhead.

Feel free to send me asks on any of my WIPs!

[sakarrie-creates]

Quick sketch dump! I’ve been jumping head first into comics and all sorts of stuff lately only to realize that I still hadn’t drawn most of the characters. After a lot of resistance, I finally decided I needed to figure out how to draw these guys before continuing. Style and quality are definitely still wips, but this way I should be able to have a little more consistency when working on my comics so the characters don’t look different in EVERY PANEL (looking at you beloS). I’m excited to share more art of these guys in the future! The numbers are more for my own sake, but they correspond with the order I drew the shots of each character in. I was mostly drawing the characters multiple times as practice for their many designs and such, but on some of them you can very much see the difference between the first and last haha. By the way, for anyone interested, @fandomtrumpshate bidding period is open until March 5th! I highly recommend you check it out if you’re interested in any sort of fan content because the prices are impossible to beat and all proceeds go straight to a donation of the bidder’s choosing.  I’m offering both art and fic this year for The Owl House, Carmen Sandiego, Supernatural, and Merlin. Bidding starts at $5 so if you’re interested, check out my offers here. There’s plenty of other incredible creators contributing their talents to the event as well, so feel free to browse around the other listings too! Note: Please don’t repost any of my art without explicit permission and full credit. Likes and reblogs are always welcome and appreciated though. ;)

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Thank you (again) to @fangirlwriting-stories for the tag!!! I love these :D

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

61!  

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

573,015

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Only Sanders Sides at the moment - I usually only really write for one fandom at a time, haha. Though technically hell's belles too? Because of the crossover?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

I hate that I wrote for the bnha fandom - my lovely tss fics have been entirely outshined (if you go and find these fics I will personally steal every left sock you own.).

These are all My Hero Fics, please go give my TSS fics some kudos and love before I cry.

5 -Cuddles at Midnight, with 529

4 - Objective : Initiate Hitoshi Shinso, with 566

3 - The Adopt A Hero Foundation, with 852

2 -New Beginnings, with 3187

1 - Not Cut Out For Heroics, with 7851.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I do! I always try to, at least on all my SaSi fics, I don't really respond to comments on the bnha fics anymore unless someone says something particularly interesting because I can't stand to look at them.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't write angsty endings, really :/ please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think I've ever written anything with a particularly sad ending?

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Also pretty hard to choose because theres so many dndjkxkdd dnjdjxsk possibly 'Across Land and Water'?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have only got hate comments like a couple of times and every time they were really fucking pathetic. So... Take that as you will, lol.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don't, but I'd really like to, if I can ever work myself up to it haha. There's not enough monsterfucking in the tss fandom when there's more than enough opportunities.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't usually write crossovers, In my brain I don't see the point in rewriting the story of one thing but with the characters of another?

But! I love fandom fusions, which I guess is a subcategory of crossover? Which is just, when I add the characters of one fandom into the setting of the other, keeping the original's storyline and characters the same.

I've only actually written one of these - my hell's belles crossover/fusion! Which I love very much!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of, haha, I have found some of my art on Pinterest though.

(where the fudgecakes is question 12??)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've written a few things with @viola-halogen , none of them have ever seen the light of day lol (as far as I remember?), but they were all incredibly fun. I also used to rewrite angsty fic endings (with permission from the authors) with two other people who were both very awesome. Those are still on wattpad somewhere.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Honestly don't have one? Not an all time favourite. It always depends on what fandom I'm in? So currently it's Prinxiety, or Roceit, or Anaroceit. When I was in the bnha fandom it was tododeku. Etc.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Most of them?

I'm honestly so sad I don't think I'll ever finish Crown Princes and Butterfly Wings. I'll probably never 'finish' my New Year's AU, and there's been so many wips sat in my doc for almost a year that I don't think I'll finish :(

16. What are your writing strengths?

This is so hard to answer, I'm having a bit of a 'i hate everything I'm doing' moment rn, cndjdksks - I love writing dialogue, and I love character design/backstory creation and AU worldbuilding.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Executing the plot I came with. Sticking to my fucking plans (the fics are always worse when I improvise xndjkdks)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I feel like it can be done well? And it's always cool - at least if the author provides some kind of translation so I can actually still follow the fic.

I don't do it personally because I don't know any other languages and feel like I'd probably offend someone if I Google translated it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Technically? Either the Rainbow Magic book series or this one mermaid kids book series I don't quite remember the name of. When I was really little. My first fanfic that I knew was fanfic was Aphmau.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Ribbons and Rainstorms, by a mile. Go read it if you haven't, I love it so much!!!!

Tagging: @viola-halogen (If you want to, just because I already tagged you in this post lol), , @naminethewriter, @edupunkn00b, @prodigal-explorer <3

[yandere-monoma]

I have a KYM fanart WIP I started before ch4, and I was using my own appearance headcanons in it. My strilondes are Black and non-albino, and in ch4 it’s a point that Rose and Dirk are naturally blonde (iirc it was already mentioned previously? But wasn’t a big point). What would you like me to do about it? Also yeah, humans aren’t known to have purple eyes either lol so they *could* technically be Black, non-albino, and naturally blonde

Also while typing this I realized a grave error I was making. For some reason I’ve always imagined Rose Strider to have purple hair (currently all my Roses have purple hair if the setting allows it; main beta Rose is currently pale lavender though, all the others more dark purple; not much thought, it just happened). But if she isn’t naturally blonde, she should have *bleached* hair. My Dave literally starts out with bleached hair and grows out his natural black hair on the meteor (not as in “natural=good, unnatural=bad”, as in “bleached is Dirk, Dave is not Dirk”).

And now I’m thinking about the “she should just be Dirk” from the note to the first chapter and thinking about making a new Rose Strider design (I did one aaaall the way back in 2017, iirc very close to me just getting into HS, and I still use it. Props to the 2017 me though for realizing very clearly that Rose would still have the triangle shades in 2009!!!), and just, incorporating so much Dirk into it. And thinking through her life and incorporating so much Dirk into it.

And now I’m thinking, for Dave it was fundamental to break out of the Dirkness instilled onto him, what will all that be for Rose, who is *actually much closer to Dirk*?

Oh oh and, since I’m here, I’ll put the things I’ve wanted to write in the ao3 comment here too, as much as it’ll work. I’m *so* fucking emotional over KYM. I found it accidentally (was looking for porn lol) and it has full force pulled me out of my Intermission hyperfixation I was miserable in and reactivated my investment into the Kids. AND THE STYLE. *Cal*. The commands. Screaming screaming screaming screaming.

Oh and. Question. Why is there no Gamzee’s color but both Dirk and Hal with Cal?

I do not think Rose Strider is entirely Dirk though, and I think Dirk raised by Bro would have been different from her too, including afab Dirk. Now I’m interested to think about that….

And the ch4 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I love Rose Strider. I love Rose Strider. I love Rose Strider. I love Rose Strider.

And I love Dave Egbert.

I also remember thinking a lot about SBURB and carapacians wrt the comment I’ve originally planned to write? But now I don’t think those thoughts are actually all that relevant and now I just want to sit and wait and read.

@_@ WHOA WHAT A SWEET ASK thank you!!!! mind blown seein this baby in my inbox today HAHA

god this got long i rly love rambling and i leap at any chance to do it about KYM so HAHHDFJKG

first of all KYM FANART!?!?!?!!! CRIES ACTUAL BLOOD OH THANK YOU 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

as for an answer to your question, hmm!!! i'm honestly honored to receive anything so i don't have many answers to that!! especially because my actual race hcs for the strilondes are.... incredibly fluid and they just appear to me as what's fun in that moment HAHADFJG sometimes they're white, sometimes they're mixed and/or white-passing, sometimes they're black, sometimes they're black and albino. i dont think their hair colors are an indication of their race at all, rather it's more just another cue to whatever mutations they received during the cloning process, like, no matter what color their skin comes out as, rose always tends to have white-ish hair while dirk is blond-ish to me.

so ig do whatever you'd like with that info!! it's hard to pick one option with that because i like them all HAHAFJG

(god i do love a lavender-haired rose though 😭 every rose fanart design i see is my favorite idk how people can just decide on one... thankfully for me tho im a writer and thus can just sort of vaguely dance away from ever having to choose LOL)

will say though, YEAH, the way she dresses is very dirk. her hair is styled exactly like dirk's, too. what she wears specifically, though, definitely depends, because.... well, cuz the thing with 'rose is dirk' is that, as you've pointed out (and as i'll go on about later), there's a difference between being dirk and being RAISED by dirk. especially a dirk who is bro. so it is just as likely that rose is wearing an outfit reminiscent to alpha dirk as it is that she's wearing a smaller version of bro's outfit as it is that she's just wearing jeans and a black t-shirt with some generically edgy bullshit on it. bro isn't as adamant to controlling his children's fashion tastes as some of his other things, the question is more... would rose be interested in branching out like that? or would she care more about copying him?

there's also a running joke with my friends that rose strider actually just dresses in playboy outfits all the time because bro is a porn-rotted pervert with a hentai addiction. so sometimes i just imagine her with shades, gelled hair and a sailor fuku. lmfao.

thinking about it, i think it'd be cute if rose had a shirt with just a black circle on it. or some of design based on the ouroboros, hmhmhm... decisions decisions thoughts thoughts...

And now I’m thinking, for Dave it was fundamental to break out of the Dirkness instilled onto him, what will all that be for Rose, who is *actually much closer to Dirk*?

it's fun watching everyone go insane going down the same mental paths i did whilst creating killswitch HAHAHJDFG... INDEED YES!!!!!!! you are absolutely right to say this... what does it mean for rose to go through the dave journey of breaking out of his brother's influence?

so what i'll say is this: KYM functions as a 'pre-canon' fic describing rose strider's backstory. if/when i get to continue on with the killswitch au, i will actually try and write down more of the details of their actual sburb session, where rose does get to go through a lot more of dave's actual plot points. dave starts off idolizing his brother before separation from him leads him to process his emotions about how he was raised. the same will happen for rose when she's in the game 🥰💖

I’m *so* fucking emotional over KYM. I found it accidentally (was looking for porn lol) and it has full force pulled me out of my Intermission hyperfixation I was miserable in and reactivated my investment into the Kids. AND THE STYLE. *Cal*. The commands. Screaming screaming screaming screaming.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOUUUUUU!!!! that means so much to me 😭 lmfao trying to find porn and accidentally getting obliterated is one of my fave things to experience on ao3. welcome back to loving our darling kids >:3 <3 and thank you for sharing your thoughts and your love!!! it makes it that much easier and that much more exciting to work on updates knowing i have people like you to write for 🥰💖💖💖 if you do get a chance to comment i cant wait to read them~ just the thought is super appreciated wah!

Why is there no Gamzee’s color but both Dirk and Hal with Cal?

a lot of it is just a coincidence from that particular chapter that gamzee's influence isn't seen as much! my approach to lil cal is that he is an imperfect blend of every component he's made up of, and all of those components are souls constantly fighting for control. however, because of the nature of their personalities, some are able to be more in control than others.

'control' can also mean different things: it could mean that they get to control lil cal's dialogue (most of his dialogue is very reminiscent of caliborn), while others get to control what lil cal will focus on in the narrative (lil cal goin on about bro's RIPPLING BICEPS and PECS and how MAAAANLY he is was a reference both to caliborn's alpha male bullshit and also arquius/equius)

only one half of gamzee was sucked into lil cal which i think has done very weird things to how he's been integrated. in some way, this has put his ability to influence lil cal at a big disadvantage, especially when he's up against such huge personalities like caliborn or dirk/hal. i don't think he's as easy to spot and i think considering the nature of gamzee's personality, he's not exactly running to 'speak' or grab for control. he's just chilling. but his influence is there!!! especially when it comes to type of violence bro is encouraged to enact

AKA!!!!!

sometimes the violence that bro enacts is because of caliborn but more times than not it is actually because of gamzee. gamzee intensifies bro's capacity to love and the way that twists into extreme excessive violence. caliborn's violence is aggressive, necessary, quick and blunt, which gamzee's is more random, more encompassing and, most importantly, WAAAAY more sexual. gamzee is the reason why bro is so willing to take and utilize drugs despite the way that contradicts alpha dirk's resistence to them and the reason he is still more than capable of expressing affection towards rose. bro obsessively obsessively Obsessively adores his little sister and this is all because of gamzee's yandere ass and we will see more of that in chapters to come >:3

.... anyway, to actually answer that question: there was no gamzee color there in ch4 because gamzee did not choose (or have the ability) to speak there

I do not think Rose Strider is entirely Dirk though, and I think Dirk raised by Bro would have been different from her too, including afab Dirk. Now I’m interested to think about that….

true!!! she's not >:3 such is the fun of nature vs nurture. rose can never actually be dirk because she's rose. she can also never be dirk because she was not raised in the middle of an ocean or raised in fuckin 80s era texas.

but also she IS dirk because she says she is dirk and because bro/dirk says she is dirk and because she is a dirk who was raised by a dirk (except she's not a dirk raised by a dirk, she's a rose raised by a dirk).

rose strider does not WANT to be rose, she does not want to be her own person (dirk does not want her to be her own person), she can't handle being her own person, she wants to be her brother. she wants to replace her identity with his. that is not psychologically possible which is half of why she's as fucked up as she is HAHA. rose is not a perfect clone of dirk. even clones would develop their own personality. twins can have identical dna and will still have their own personalities. it all depends on the circumstances of their experiences, theres so much that can define what makes up a person and that's really what i'm trying to explore with rose. just a whole bunch of identity fuckery hajfhgdjg

also AFAB DIRK W/ BRO IS DEFINITELY VERY INTERESTING because i think the difference between dirk and the beta strilondes is that when faced with their parental issues, dave assimilates and rose plays along. dave didnt try and resist his training. rose, when under the mindset that her mother wanted to engage in psychological warfare with her, didnt roll her eyes and ignore it and she didnt do a thing to shut it down. she engaged in battle!! she retaliated with her own mind games!! she took her passive aggression and returned it, which is why, to me, rose would take everything bro threw at her and try and return it tenfold.

but dirk hrmrmrmrmmm.... seems more naturally rebellious? and when faced with his own bullshit he argues against it, even while he's lowkey folding under the pressure. i think, in my interpretation of a brodirk plotline, i would use haldirk as an inspiration. constant bickering and arguing and trying to either grab for the upperhand or deflect whatever blows he receives, all while slowly but surely going fucking INSANE under the surface until it EXPLODES.

and like, listen, i feel bad for any strider child of bro's HJKDFGSDFG but i think dirk would hurt me so much cuz he wouldnt rly allow himself to have an outlet (which is relatable to me so uGHGHGH i FEEL ITTT).... i think out of all the strider kids he'd have the worst time with physical self-harm to cope and ugh the worst dysphoria too because of the ways bro would torture him about it (and he would get some of the worst bro torture imo too because at least dave is passive enough to not warrant punishment yknow and at least rose is strongwilled enough to brute force her way through much of the insults she gets. i imagine dirk would be rly weak to bro's verbal abuse and that on top of the physical and sexual shit UGH POOR DIRK POOR ALL OF THEM HONESTLY)

I GOTTA STOP THERE IM NOT TRYNA MAKE NEW AUS HERE LMFAO 🤣😭🤣😭🤣

BUT YEAH IM GLAD YOU LOVE ROSE STRIDER AND DAVE EGBERT THEY ARE MY DARLINGS MY ANGELS MY CHILDREN MY PRIDE!!!!!! i would still love to read your sburb/carapacians thoughts tho if you're ever inclined to share them 🥰 but YEAH

THANK YOU FOR SUCH A GREAT ASK THO AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT it's great hearing from you 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[chromochaotic]

Heyooo @galateagalvanized, thanks for the tag! tbh I've always thought your writing is just incredible; but more than anything, I love seeing how much fun you get out of it! Also, lmao, our dark ff.net past

I went and started a new post because the og one was getting pretty lengthy. I'm tagging @appolojustice, @coconi, @umbreonix, @andstillthestars, and @thesolidolivinephenomenon, if any of y'all feel like it!

Fanfic Writer Interview! I'd be interested in doing something like this for fanart, too, since I sort of think of myself more as an artist. 😅

How many works do you have on AO3? 31

What’s your total AO3 word count? 105,278

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On AO3, 11 fandoms: luca, botw, hq!!, taz, dorohedoro, bnha, trc, critical role, oofuri, and snk. Does D&D OC fic count, too?

Dark past on ff.net and livejournal includes at least 5 more: hetalia, bleach, ironman, teen titans, and eyeshield 21.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The top one by far is still Benvenuto... lmao and I'm too embarrassed to even list the other 4, but they're all jm fics. snk was a dang huge fandom, huh

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

These days I do! In the past sometimes I got overwhelmed/didn't know what to say, but like Chel said, I think replying can encourage others to comment, and it can lead to fun conversations.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I was going to say none of them, but, well... A Filthy Lie ends (spoilers?? and nsfw/tw) with Percy realizing he can't handle Orthax's influence alone (after some preeeetty dubcon demon sex) and asking Keyleth for help. (and lmao if we're counting D&D OC fic, that one about Riley and Silas after the fey realm isn't as depraved or anything, but it's a bit more hopeless? if that makes sense)

Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I think the closest I've done for that recently would be AUs for D&D, haha, so that's probably more of a no.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not really, thankfully!

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do occasionally, haha—I'm still not super satisfied with how I write it, and pretty embarrassed by my older examples of it. As far as what kind, "fluff & smut" is a tag I seem to use a lot. lmao, these days if I write it, it's out of spite/not liking the current options on AO3

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think anyone ever translated Benven... Someone did print & bind it into a book with its own cover design, which was cool.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

I meeeeean... Riley and Silas will probably always be special, but OCs have an advantage, right? other than that, I'm not sure I can choose just one.

Whats a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Ah... I have a Luca idea with a vague outline, but things are so busy over the next few weeks, I'm worried I won't have a chance to give it a shot before I lose steam. :')

What are your writing strengths?

Maybe... emotional beats/fluff? If that counts? I love getting comments that use the word "heartwarming". Yeah, one thing that made my day recently was getting a message saying this person still goes back and rereads Benvenuto after all these years, because it's comforting and sweet for them.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Chaptered fics;; I've really lost my stamina when it comes to planning/executing anything more complex than like, 2-3 scenes MAX. ;n; Among many other things that I just don't have experience with

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Hmm. I agree with Chel—preserving the reader's experience is The Most Important part, so I think that either means giving enough context to make the meaning clear, or incorporating the translations in a natural way... Done right, that dialogue can really up the romance and intrigue in a story!! Little things like titles and one-word interjections can be nice and add a lot of character, but like... sparingly.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

wrote for?? was probably fruits basket self-insert messiness hahahaha. first posted works were for Bleach, I think.

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Ah... Either Grow, because I really love the concept behind it, or I wrote this 3 Times Silas Read to Riley + 1 Time She Read to Him story that captures some of my favorite things about them, haha. That +1 scene? My magnum opus for rilas fluff, right there.

[harbingers-appointed]

Sooo...

Here's some fanart of Flauros and my OC. 😀

(I hope I did Flauros' design justice... 😅)

Flauros: "Hey there cutie" *leans on her head*

Faie: "Would you please stop doing that?"

Flauros: "Sure, should I stab you instead?"

Faie: "... nope..."

(P.S. : The DK and Lucy ones are still WIP but shall be finished soon, hopefully... I really hate shading... And backgrounds xD)

"YES, I fucking LOVE this. Another awesome piece of fan art for my little collection (: "

"I definitely will lean on your head, gives you a purpose ya know? d; That or you can be my new portable knife holder, hehe"

[This is seriously incredible???:O I'm like ahhh !! Between the expressions on the two (super accurate with Flauros looking so cocky, haha! and Faie seeming miffed as all get out? hahaha!

You did such a great job on Flauros' outfit and the background!! ahhh, I'm totally obsessed!!

omg im so hyped to see more but don't rush or force yourself hhh<3]

[seekingseven]

1, 6, 8, and 14 for Tarshish?

Someone asked a question about Tarshish? I’m always shocked when people bring that fic up, haha! It’s one of my quieter, lower-attention WIPS (and honestly I’m okay with that, it’s nice to have a small story that only a few people read) and I get whiplash whenever someone mentions it. But I’m so glad you liked it enough to ask me about it! Now, to your questions! I will put this under a read-more cut as soon as I can get to a laptop ;_;

Based off of the fic ask meme

++++++++++++++++++ 

(1)  What inspired you to write the fic this way? 

   

Tarshish is a weird story. Each chapter takes place months apart, conflicts aren’t properly resolved, there’s more imagery than dialogue or action, and it’s very Wind-centric. The reason that this story is written so differently than a lot of my other stories (in my opinion, at least) is because it’s a character study of Wind. There isn’t really a plot to the story, it’s more of me exploring Wind’s role in the group and how he responds to the emotional exhaustion he must carry around at times, being the designated group optimist. 

(6) What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics? 

The reason why it’s written. I began writing it at a rather tough time, and the story became an almost fictional diary for me. It gave me a place to explore those emotions in a way that was sincere and constructive but still forced me to ask myself why I was feeling the way I did and if I needed an adjustment in my perspective. It’s one of the most raw stories I have ever written, and I hear my own voice when I read it. It’s almost an extension of myself, far more than my other works, I mean, and I have a peculiar affinity for this little story because of it. 

(8) Did any real people or events inspire any part of it? 

Absolutely. I had just finished rereading the book of Jonah when I started writing the story (as you could tell, if you picked up on the allusion in the title), and I couldn’t stop thinking how much I related to him -- Jonah, I mean. Even though Jonah was a terrible prophet in all respects, and a pretty bad guy all things considered, I knew I would have made the same mistake as him if I was in his position; running away from redemption because I was vengeful and afraid of things I didn’t understand. I began writing the story at a time of great emotional exhaustion for me, and I woke up every day feeling like I needed to pretend to be happy and sincere and sure-footed in where I was going. I projected those feelings of fear, loss of identity, and having to keep up the facade straight onto Wind, and used the framework of the book of Jonah to guide its trajectory.

(14) Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic? 

Yes yes yes and yes. 

Please, it’s okay to be tired. It’s okay to not know where you want to go, or who you want to be, or what you’re going to do with your life. 

Optimism isn’t a character trait, it’s an attitude. It’s a choice, and there are times where there isn’t a silver lining to the clouds. Sometimes you’ll just have to wait for the storm to pass. But in times like that, it’s incredibly important that you know who you are. 

Who are you? There are a lot of faucets of that question that I can’t answer, because I haven’t met the vast majority of you all. But I can say for sure that you are loved. Loved by the people who have supported you, by the people who have watched over, and, most importantly, the God who made you. Doesn’t matter what mistakes you’ve made. You are loved more than you can imagine. Please remember that. 

Alright, the sermon’s over, haha! Sorry that I got a little intense there. Tarshish is just very close to my heart and I’m so glad to have the chance to gush about it. 

Here is a link to the story, if you’re interested!  

[maiji]

Process and wip images for A House That Holds Long Limbs (Part 8)

Previous process and wip documentation: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Parts 6 and 7

Read the pages here: Part 8 (full complete version will be linked from YYH North Bound master post)

I personally love exploring character dynamics and character interaction! It's definitely what I tend to focus on in comics and stories. Plus you get to draw lots of closeups of people's faces and have a lot of fun with expressions. And that's what Part 8 is full of.

IN THIS EDITION, after the usual script and thumbnails, I'll take a bit of time to talk about expressions and characterization (my thoughts on Raizen and Hokushin specifically, but also some general thoughts on how I approach writing characters and character interactions). More details of some of the panels from part 8 so you can see the faces better!

Script and thumbnails

(If you look closely at the top of pg 2, you can see the page behind was where I started drawing my random dream sequence hahahah)

It’s always kind of funny to look back at the script and see my rushed typing (or texting on my phone, since I’m often doing this on mobile...) - odd typos and dangling/incomplete thoughts like ”my blodd” (lol).

Part 8 was one of the first sequences conceived in the development of this story. As a result, the script and the thumbnails both line up very closely to the final, because I’d already been thinking about it for so long and playing the scene out repeatedly in my head. I had a very concrete sense of how I wanted to direct it, unlike many of the action sequences from previous parts. The main areas I struggled with were historical details (the karaginu was originally labelled “tarp” in the script as a placeholder until I decided what it would be), and the biggest pagination change was probably moving Raizen’s “Maybe you just didn’t take enough off lol!” to the previous page so that Hokushin’s (literal) punchline would be at the beginning of the next.

Expressions

I have a huuuuge soft spot for subtle expressions - the kind where just a bit of extra line or texture around the eyes or the mouth, plus the dialogue or context of the scene, adds nuance to an expression. Especially ones that otherwise can read as relatively neutral. Even a very simple expression that’s just dots for eyes and straight lines for the upper/lower lids and eyebrows can have a lot of variation in how you interpret them, simply based on context and slight adjustments. Here are some examples with Raizen, where his face is super basic:

A: pretending nothing is wrong, calmly answering question

B: pleased with self for being smart - clearly a happer expression than A

C: similar to A, chillaxing and answering question

D: no big smiling mouth so he looks more like he’s focused on intensely sniffing the air

E: same as B basically, but a bigger smile of “everything’s fine!” (when you read the text)

F: extra thickness for his upper lid gives the sense that he’s in the middle of his casual sexy/chivalrous how ya doin’ expression

G: ... which changes in this panel to be more a realization (“oh shit I’m on fire”)

Actually, Raizen and Hokushin are both pretty difficult face types for me, being more “mature” looking male faces with stronger features/jawlines and narrower eyes. Hokushin especially has been challenging because his design has really low eyebrows which result in a default glare. Togashi still manages to make him fairly expressive and not look like he's glowering all the time. With my more limited art skill and lack of confidence, I tend to soften his expressions by really laying on the top line of his eye (this sounds like I'm putting mascara on him or something lmao), and also adjusting the size of his pupils (within reason or it starts to look even less like how I draw him normally, which is a big problem since his shaved head is a defining aspect of his series character design so he already looks pretty different). Here are some comparisons of his face - bearing in mind I had to keep his eyes wide open because of the seals in the story:   

A: crying/relief

B: this one here is supposed to be a bit miserable/self-loathing because he really didn’t think Raizen was going to look for him

C: shock, unexpected

D: thinking + “ugh plan B”

E: worried/apologetic and then “OOF/URK”

F and G: a progression to show the differences in rendering the eye. First is a bit angry because he’s realizing where all the blood for the seals came from, then he notices Raizen’s hands, and G is that example of softened expression (more lines on the top eye, larger pupil) to show how bad he feels about Raizen’s injury. 

One last thought on expressions. They can easily lose their nuance when inking (the slightest shift to a line can change the expression completely), and especially for someone like me who has unsteady hands it can be a bit of a nightmare. The nice thing about ballpoints is that they can retain a bit of the pencil sketch quality, which helped me freak out less when inking the last page with Hokushin’s glare. Here’s a comparison of the progress:

Though this particular expression isn’t that subtle, you can still see some differences as the drawing gets built up. When the pencil lines are gone and the drawing gets rendered in bw only, a lot of shading is lost. The messy lines can be interpreted more flexibly by your brain since they’re less defined and you haven’t “committed”, so the final version looks and feels less expressive. (This is why a lot of artists prefer their sketches to the finished piece, myself included...) Characterization This will get very specific to this comic, obviously, but hopefully my approach (and biases haha) will come through. With something like a fancomic, there are obviously existing expectations around the characters, but the benefit of working with these guys is that they’re not as prominent in the story or the fandom, so I feel more comfortable playing around and filling in the gaps. (This is probably why I like minor characters so much.)

In the case of Raizen and Hokushin, we know these two have a close relationship and history only through assumption and insinuation. We never see them interacting directly in the series at all. Actually, we don't see Raizen interact with anyone except Yusuke in non-flashback sequences (aside from the kudakusushi. In the anime, more scenes were added with his estranged friends, mostly their fond memories of him beating them up lmao). But it's very clear that they're extremely important to each other. Hokushin obviously speaks of his king in an exceedingly respectful fashion. Meanwhile, Hokushin is actually the last name Raizen says before he dies - his second last line, to Yusuke, is "Take care of Hokushin and the others" - or in my Taiwanese edition, "I leave Hokushin and the others to you". (Lol “the others”. Also I need to draw a comic about this at some point.) Despite this zero actual interaction, it's still extremely easy to imagine it because their characters are so clearly defined. In fact, they're both such consistent archetypes with enough particular quirks that they practically write themselves. So it wasn't difficult to extrapolate and imagine much younger versions of them, and how they may have interacted if they had only just met, which is the foundation of North Bound. Archetypes and stereotypes walk a fine line together, but they do serve as really useful building blocks for sketching characters quickly. This is why I really enjoy symbolic systems like astrology (or some of the the modern incarnations - personality assessment frameworks) because of all the character sketching it helps you do really quickly. Astrology in particular because, without even caring about birth dates or charts or whether astrology is "real" or not, the basic idea of a sign and its bucket of traits and symbols is simply a great resource when you want fleshed out character archetypes to build off of. I talked a bit about this in my Lenormand post, but I think of zodiac signs as one of the many games humans have developed in our attempts to categorize our world into recognizable patterns, and since we've been at it for thousands of years, there's a wealth of reference material, scenarios, analyses not only of the individual archetypes, but for all sorts of combinations and relationships. Some of it very well-thought out, and some of it just lots of fun to read. For my purposes, applying this to North Bound, Raizen is basically a Leo. He's dramatic, positive, powerful, passionate, a straight-shooter. Not only does he embody its main traits, he's literally a king (or eventually one in this story, I guess). And he even has a mane, for crying out loud. Meanwhile, Hokushin is a solid depiction of a quintessential Virgo - hardworking, practical, analytical, stoic, kind - and literally the loyal servant that typifies the Virgo paradigm. The Leo/Virgo duo is a classic partnership, and at the point where we meet them in the series, the relationship we can see has stabilized to exactly that. At the same time, there's tons of potential for a hilarious dynamic as well, especially imagining how they got to that point. (If you wanna have a laugh, look up some analyses of Leo and Virgo relationships and you'll see what I mean.) His freakouts next to Raizen's "hahhaa everything's fine!" carry most of the humour (similar to how his freakout at Yusuke's vandalism of the rurimaru stones carried a ton of the humour in that episode lol). Obviously there are other things that further finetune their characters so that they're more than bland cookie cutter personalities (Raizen's deep thinking about the future of the Demon World, for example, and Hokushin's sense of humour and appreciation/enjoyment of fighting), but in broad brushstrokes, these archetypes work incredibly well, and make it so easy to come up with scenarios and write interaction to the point that I'm now ridiculously behind in actually turning them into comics ahhhhh...

[the-madame21]

Diabolik Lovers: Mafia AU

So in my delirious, fever-state, I started  daydreaming about my stories and somehow or another I ended up thinking of Reiji sliding his beautiful silk shirt off his shoulders, only to reveal a massive tattoo. And then I was like holy shit I need this. Because they’d still be the sick twisted bastards that they are, but they’d be human. And somehow that gets me all tingly lol. Also I’m just kind of a slut for yakuza and the whole secret tattoo shit. Rather than a church sacrifice, the heroine/Yui could just have been sold off to like combine territories or pay off a debt or something. So here we go, in no particular order, based on my google research, the kind of tattoo each character would have:

Kanato: A giant blue Koi facing up on his back. They represent reproduction and are seen as masculine. Kois were believed to be the only fish that could swim against this rapid that was like a “Dragon Gate” kind of thing and the kois that made it past this point returned as dragons.  

Subaru: An Oni Mask. Idk I just feel like it suits him. They’re evil yet they ward off bad spirits and stuff. I think it fits that duality in him he’s always struggling with. These ogre things are also known for punishing injustice so there ya go. 

Reiji: A white snake, along his shoulders. Snakes represent medicine and strength, which I think suits him well. They also serve to protect the bad results of certain decision. As the family mediator I think that fits him perfectly. They also mark good health and wisdom, despite the snake’s stubborn nature.

Ayato: The Phoenix. I didn’t even know this was an option when it came to traditional yakuza tattoos, but immediately Ayato came to mind. Obviously its a signal of rebirth and a renewal of oneself, which I think suits Ayato really well since he’s constantly trying to become the best, to improve, no matter the method. 

Laito: A geisha, surrounded by cherry blossoms all along his back. Geishas represent fertility and good fortune, plus they’re beautiful so I think Laito would go for it. Cherry Blossoms represent the whole “life is short but beautiful” type of thing and I think it’s a good ironic sort of thing for Laito to have permanently etched onto his skin. 

Shu: Chrysanthemum and a tiger, taking up his entire back. Chrysanthemums represent the imperial family or emperor, so I think Beatrix would’ve already solidified this design before he really had a say in the matter.  Then we have the Tiger, which is strength, courage, and protection, and you can’t ever really go wrong with that. 

Karlheinz: And incredibly massive, green descending dragon that goes down his whole back and maybe even parts of his shoulders. His design would definitely be the most beautiful by far. Descending dragons are the older ones, and the idea is that they’re returning to earth after having received their training in heaven. Nothing says Karlheinz more than that lol. Apparently they’re supposed to do good deeds for humankind, and I think in Karlheinz’s head he’d definitely think he’s doing some good in the world lol. 

Heroine/Yui: After the initiation ritual, I think she’d be marked with some beautiufl water and lotus designs. Water represents change, which would be good since she’s joining a new family, and the lotus is a sort of spiritual awakening type of thing, which I feel she’d sort of go through since she’s adjusting to this new lifestyle or whatever. The lotus slowly makes its way up from the bottom of the pond in order to bloom, which I think could definitely represent the heroine’s struggles. 

I might add more headcanons later on. I’m really liking this haha. I’m thinking I’ll write up a short drabble sometime soon. One more project to add to my endless wips Xp But I think it’ll definitely happen because I can’t get that image of Reiji out of my head and I kinda really want Kanato holding a gun to someone’s head *melts* Omg and the sake ceremony thing hnggggg. I’ll get on it. Fear not. 

[gosatsuvns]

Weekly Update #176 - A Look Back At 2017 & A Look Ahead At 2018

Tomorrow's the last day of 2017. With that in mind I have decided that, rather than postpone it until the 1st or even wait until next Saturday, I will use today's blog post to take a look back at 2017 and give you an idea as to what you can expect from us in 2018.

So, without further ado, let's see what we have managed to accomplish throughout this past year!

Unfortunately, this year, we don't have anything as big as the release of SHINRAI - Broken Beyond Despair to look back on. Nevertheless, there are a number of things I'm rather proud of.

At the beginning of the year, I was mostly working on SHINRAI's sequel, Withering Without Hope, updating the sprites for recurring characters like Raiko, Nobara and Henjin, for example. I generally worked on a lot of basic things in order to lay the foundation for our next game. Like the story and setting, planning the layout of the new location and starting to work on its design. If you have read one of our more recent blog posts, you might already know that the events of WWH will take place at the Ginmaku Movie Theater. I'm planning to finish the first background of the game as soon as possible so that you can have an actual first look at it.

Over the past 1 1/2 months, I've gotten back into WWH again and I'm planning to continue working on it over the next few months as well... as opposed to pushing it aside almost completely like I did around April.

Why did I do that, you might wonder... Well, that's because I wanted to focus solely on GENBA no Kizuna, the other project we are currently working on and which we officially revealed in June along with its main cast.

Up until that point, I had referred to it as our "dinosaur project" and by now, you should know why that is (at least if you've kept up with our blog posts over the last six months).

GENBA takes place at the Kaseki Residence, home of a world-renowned paleontologist. As such, it features a dinosaur-themed interior, but this "dinosaur theme" is also seeping into character designs and other things, similar to how "Halloween" was the theme for BBD.

GENBA is going to be shorter, a bit more fast-paced and more gameplay-oriented than SHINRAI, featuring a lot more interactivity. With the police actively involved in the investigation, the story being told mostly through dialogue, as well as the ability to experience it through the eyes of multiple characters, it will certainly feel rather different from our previous VN.

Nevertheless, it is still a murder mystery and it does actually connect to SHINRAI in very important ways. A topic I've talked about not too long ago.

With our focus mainly lying on GENBA for most of the year, we naturally made quite some progress with it. By creating a whole bunch of assets ranging from backgrounds to sprites and even menus, the game's foundation is laid now as well, to the point that we're getting really close to the release of a first demo!

That's really what most of our energy went into this year. We did pull off a few other things too, though.

For instance, after all this time, we now have our own website, which we launched back in June along with the GENBA announcement. It still requires more work and I really want to finally expand the sections for GENBA and WWH as well as add some other things to it, but that will be one of my goals for early 2018.

Outside of that (after an eternal back and forth), we have also decided to launch a Patreon page, which we did back in September. Through this, we hope to get enough funds together to eventually hire more people for our tiny team. At the moment, however, it's main purpose is to help us with covering the costs of GENBA's soundtrack.

Now, you might wonder, what exactly you'll get in return for supporting us on Patreon. Well, here's a quick list of everything you currently get access to:

- 3 character design sketches for the suspects appearing in GENBA - design sketches for Kenji and Misaki, 2 of the new characters in WWH - 3 full-length BGM tracks for GENBA - a look at the full script of GENBA's prologue - the first part of WWH's prologue - a post featuring unused BBD art + talk about visual clues - higher resolution & alternate versions of seasonal artworks + a whole bunch of WIP-looks

Things patrons can look forward to in the coming weeks: the final suspect character for GENBA, WWH's first BGM track, the second part of its script and more character designs. You'll also be able to decide through a poll who will be featured in February's Valentine's artwork. And, last but not least, early access to our GENBA demo!

Patreon is really about getting to see things way ahead of everyone else and being able to influence the stuff we do by offering suggestions. Patrons will be able to help us prepare the demo for its public release, for example.

Another thing I want to use Patreon for, however, is to post more WIP-stuff and other things I've always been way too shy and embarrassed about to share publicly. One big other thing patrons can look forward to, for example, is a post about our very first VN project which never got released. I will talk a bit more about how we got started and share with you some very old assets to give you an actual look at our early work from way back in 2011.

So yeah, if you're curious about those kinds of things, please consider checking out our Patreon page. Your support would be greatly appreciated!

I'd actually like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who has supported us thus far, whether it'd be through Patreon or any other means.

Throughout this year, we had some incredible things happen. From something as simple as getting new reviews on Steam to even receiving fan mail, both digitally as well as physically. It still feels strange and very surreal to think that some people actually enjoyed SHINRAI that much. People have even asked about possible merchandise, which is kind of shocking to me. But I guess that will be something to look into in 2018.

One of the greatest compliments I have received this year, however, is that SHINRAI actually inspired others to go forth and make their own stories. That's quite touching to hear and... I dunno... like I said, it's surreal. Sometimes it's really difficult to believe that this isn't just a dream. Because these are the kinds of things I have dreamed about for the longest time. For a big chunk of my life, actually.

Really, I'm deeply grateful for all the support we have gotten. People going out of their way to leave us a good review or even send us a message simply to show their appreciation... things like that truly make me happy and I couldn't ask for more. And they certainly serve to fuel our passion. I hope that all of you will continue to stick with us until our next projects come out, no matter how long it will take!

Which I guess brings me to the final point: what's in store for 2018?

Well, like I said before, our main focus will lie on finishing that GENBA demo. It was already supposed to be released in late November, which didn't quite work out. And although not much is missing anymore, we didn't make too much progress on it in December. Which is mostly due to the fact that December is always a really busy month. Aside of a lot of RL stuff, we had to take care of the seasonal artworks and... I admittedly decided to rather devote myself to WWH, simply because I was in the right mood for it. And while I plan to continue work on WWH, I will definitely get back to that demo now, too.

When will GENBA be finished in its entirety? That's a good question. To be honest, I was hoping to release it in 2018, but it's always difficult to assess whether or not that will work out. I can't foresee what kind of hurdles we might stumble into or how long exactly certain tasks might take. That said, I still want to make it my goal to finish GENBA in 2018.

Please keep in mind though that whenever I set goals such as this (even the demo release for late November), it's more of a way to motivate myself rather than me making an actual promise. Might sound like a lame excuse, but... I know that, even if I don't manage to make the deadline, I will still do my best to actually meet it, resulting in more progress than I would achieve otherwise.

If I tell myself that releasing GENBA in 2018 is impossible, so I'll just say 2019... I will make a lot less progress on it, because I'll have that "there's still time"-feeling in the back of my mind. That's why I think it's always important to set personal goals and work towards them as hard as you can. Whether or not you actually manage to reach those goals doesn't really matter as much as the amount of progress you have made once their deadline hits.

Of course, those goals should still be somewhat realistic, so that you can actually feel as though they're perfectly possible to reach. There is no point in purposely setting completely unrealistic goals. That might actually be more detrimental to your work ethic than anything else. But finishing GENBA in 2018 seems doable to me, so I do want to work towards that. Just don't be mad at me please if it doesn't work out after all, haha.

Anyway, this is starting to get a tad too long, so I should finally wrap this up. I will talk more specifically about our January goals in next week's blog post. Until then, please take care and have a happy new year!

And once again, from both Natsu and myself: thank you so much for your interest in the things we do!

[comicteaparty]

July 18th-July 24th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from July 18th, 2020 to July 24th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

What makes you the happiest about being a creator?

carcarchu

getting fanart from people fills me with a certain kind of joy that can't be compared. this has never happened before but if someone told me that my comic inspired them or spoke to them i'd be over the moon

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Oh gosh, yes, fanart is such a beautiful thing.

For me personally, I just get so incredibly happy when readers just get it. Like, they pick up on a specific nuance or they know exactly what I intended with certain dialogue, or they notice a small detail. Or when they react exactly as I hoped they would.

That's what I live for.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

definitely friendart

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

hahaha

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

also just imagining future scenes to myself makes me smile and laugh

must look crazy to passerbys but i don't care

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I relate

#when you laugh aloud at something one of your characters said or did in your head

or #when you cry because of something that happened to your characters in your head

I don't need help, I swear

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

all i want out of this server is solidarity with others who burst out laughing in public because of something the people in our heads did

our imaginations are strong enough to entertain ourselves this much, how beautiful

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Who needs movies when you have I M A G I N A T I O N ?

Deo101 [Millennium]

Hm... A lot of things about being a creator make me really happy. For me though, I think that the biggest thing is that I'm finally doing something I've wanted to my whole life. It kind of feels very right that I'm telling stories this way, and that feeling of "I'm meant to be doing this and young me would explode out of pure joy to see where we are now" is incredible.

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

The best thing for me being a creator is that I’m creating something that can resonate with people. There’s a happiness in me being able to make my own world, a world where people can look at my characters and go “yeah, I know how that feels” or “that’s a mood.”

There’s something empowering about writing an emotional scene that touches you and finding out it touched others too. I think if I wrote a scene that made me cry and found out that it also made others cry....I would be very happy. Just the fact that they understood the sort of emotions I had in making it and also the message I want to send is enough for me.

eliushi [Keyspace]

That I can make anything happen! It’s a fun sandbox to explore narratives I’ve enjoyed or want to discover, a challenge to make something that connects with other people and something I do that’s part of my own personal healing journey It’s amazing what we can do, bringing something completely our own and different into the world

Jib {WIP haha}

For me, the best thing about it is the feeling of having something in front of you. What was once just ideas floating around your head is finally something that you can fully experience yourself and share with others! It can tell you so much about yourself and, if you’re really challenging yourself in the narrative, you can grow as a person. And the fact that other people might choose to also experience what you made is magical too! Just hearing what they think about it is amazing, I haven’t heard anything about something really moving somebody. But when that day comes, I know I’ll be just swimming in joy. I guess the short answer for me would be: seeing things come to fruition and the unique connection only found in shared stories

maxwestart

I have a story to tell and want to share it with others. But even if nobody else cared, I'd still draw comics

Feather J. Fern

That it's something that I can make. I struggle with the idea that I am not good enough to do something, but with my comic, when I finish a page, I always have a feeling of "I made something, I can do it". Also fanart makes me so warm on the inside.

AntiBunny

For me as a creator it's when I finally hear from someone who picked up my comic and isn't someone I know IRL. It's like "you actually read my work of your own free will, and I didn't have to guilt you into reading it just because we're friends?" It's validation for me that my work can reach someone I've never met before. Whether they love or hate it, I just enjoy hearing that someone's read my work and given it enough thought to form an opinion.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I like setting small goals for myself, page-wise, and I enjoy reaching or exceeding them. The story itself is mostly complete in my mind, so the real joy comes from physically inching my way through it. Every page I complete is a step closer to a smaller goal, and a larger goal as well. I love seeing people interact with it, but I get a particular joy looking back down at the mountain I’ve been climbing. I hope to reach the top someday.

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

I love connecting with others through creative stories. Of course, fanart is wonderful, I love the act of giving art and recieving art gifts. I agree with AntiBunny, is when people tell me they read my comic and give detailed thoughts on it. It hasn't reach this point yet but I like to read reader's theories on object symbolisms, events that they suspect will happen, whether it's intended or not.(edited)

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

What I really love about being a creator, is the joy of telling my own stories, to be able to be touched and laugh and get to do fun things around. I love the creative process of figuring things out, set out rules for yourself! And of course getting comments! Wayfinders have not gotten any fan creations yet, but when it does, I will be SO EXCITED! like someone loved it enough to spent time, doing anything?!!?! be it, playlists, moodboards, fanart, fanfics etc etc I love to be told that we do fun things with comic layout. Like the tought about in the future to be used as an example of cool ways to do things is a big goal that would make me so happy

maxwestart

Another reason I like making my comics? It is like what Lynn Johnston (For Better Or For Worse) said - you are in charge. You make the characters, create the world, decide what happens, etc.

YOU are in control!

rajmews

happiest thing about being a creator? For me it's just the act of making stuff. I can't guarantee if anyone will actually...see or like my stuff...but I really enjoy making it. And, when I do art as a job, and I get to help someone with absolutely no art ability make their dream a visual thing they can look at--that's a great feeling.

Miranda (Into the Swell)

I think it's seeing my ideas come to life. It's so frustrating when you can visualize something in your head but can't convey it to others, and when that works out it's just wonderful

AntiBunny

Indeed when you can bring a world to life that once lived in your own head is an amazing feeling.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

The act of creating... I think that brings me major contentment in my work. of course there's times i feel like "dang why this isn't coming together" it's the culmination of those experiences along having folks looking in my work and interacting with it matters to me

also I get stupid happy when i get nice comments so ye lmao

TaliePlume

What makes me the happiest about being a creator is sharing my culture and changing how people perceive it in a positive and creative way while still staying true to myself.

Desnik

What makes me happiest about being a creator is having something to talk about with other creatives

I don't have to sit on the sidelines being fannish, sometimes my peers like MY things too!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

yes

persephinnie

I have a question - are any of you afraid of posting your OCs in the risk of it getting stolen? or is this more of a thing in the past?

I feel like it used to be a big deal back then, but I'm not sure how much one would need to worry about this still.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Who would even want to steal my very unremarkable-looking characters? And this isn't a self-neg; my characters shine through their story, not through the easily stolen designs. (May want to take this to #general BTW)

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

hm. not really since past to present time I also made sure I had like watermarked and it's pretty much the only versions I had online tbh lmao

oh and yes

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

like the designs stolen?

i don't think my characters are remarkable looking enough to be stolen

even for the one or two interesting character designs i did, i don't really care if someone steals it?

oh oops this is creator babble. Should move to shop_talk

persephinnie

keii'ii - ack my apologies!

Deo101 [Millennium]

Where's the convo gonna go?

persephinnie

(#general!)