#did a bit more editing and like this version better lmao

[seliipi]

all along, the answer was 「 you 」

[iraprince]

gonna show u guys a little opalescent highlight hack i threw together today

rainbow gradient above your main figure (i usually have all my main figure folders/layers in one big folder, so i can clip gradient maps + adjustments to it!). liquify tool to push the colors around a bit. STAY WITH ME I KNOW IT LOOKS STUPID RN I'M GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS

THEN: set it to add/glow (or the equivalent in ur drawing program), lower the opacity a bit, and apply a layer mask. then u can edit the mask with whatever tools you like to create rainbow highlights!!

in this case i'm mostly using the lasso fill tool to chip out little facets, but i've also done some soft airbrushing to bring in larger rainbow swirls in some areas. it's pretty subtle here, but you can see it better when i remove the gradient map that's above everything, since below i'm working in greyscale:

more granular rambling beneath the cut!

u could also just do this with a brush that has color jitter, but what i like about using layer masks for highlight/shading layers is how simple and reversible it makes everything. i can use whatever brushes i want, and erasing/redoing things is super low stakes, which is great when i often approach this stuff with a super trial-and-error approach.

example: have u ever thrown a gradient w multiple colors over an entire piece, set it to multiply etc, and then tried to erase it away to carve out shadows/highlights? it's super frustrating, bc it looks really good, but if u erase something and then change ur mind later, u basically would have to like. recreate the gradient in the area u want to cover up again. that's how i used to do things before figuring out layer masks!! but masking basically creates a version of this with INFINITE undo bc u can erase/re-place the base layer whenever u want.

anyway, back to rambling about this specific method:

i actually have TWO of these layers on this piece (one with the liquified swirls shown above, and another that's just a normal concentric circle gradient with much broader stripes) so i can vary the highlights easily as needed.

since i've basically hidden the rainbow pattern from myself, the colors in each brushstroke i make will kind of be a surprise, which isn't always great -- but easily fixable! for example, if i carve out a highlight and it turns out the rainbow pattern in that area is way too stripey, i can just switch from editing the mask to editing the main layer and blur that spot a bit.

also, this isn't a full explanation of the overall transparency effect in these screencaps! there's other layer stuff happening below the rainbow highlights, but the short version is i have all this character's body parts in different folders, each with their own lineart and background fill, and then the fill opacity is lowered and there's multiply layers clipped to that -- blah blah it's a whole thing. maybe i'll have a whole rundown on this on patreon later. uhhh i think that's it tho! i hope u get something useful out of this extremely specific thing i did lmao

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Commonly asked questions

How do I submit songs? Submissions are currently closed. When it opens up again, I'll post a message here stating rules and which specific info I require. If you don't supply that info along with the song, your message will be deleted.

I submitted a song when we were allowed. When will it appear? :) There's waaay over two thousand songs in my askbox. 😅 And I'm very slow at posting submitted songs because it takes an oddly more amount of time and energy than you'd think, that's why it's easier for me to go with the songs I already have. Please have a bit more patience, hopefully it'll be posted soon enough! 💖

I don't like the genres posted recently. 🤷‍♀️ I mean, you can tell me what genres there's a lack of and I'll try put more effort into adding more of them.

I don't like the poll options. 🤷‍♀️

Will there be an "Indifferent" option? No. People bitched and very rudely demanded it when the blog was new and it left a very sour taste. Also we're 250+ songs in, it's kinda meh to add it now, but I definitely understand why you want it because some songs are really hard to define if you feel anything at all about them. (also you know people would just click indifferent to see the results instead of listening to the song lol) If I were to ever add more options, it would be love/hate.

How do I vote on a song if I feel indifferent about it? Indifferent = don't like it ig. 🤷‍♀️ Remember, I'm not asking you if you LOVE!!!!!! the song, or if you want to buy it. Liking can be as good as only a "meh, it's ok / decent enough to run in the background". Disliking can be being indifferent instead of outright hating it, when it's so neutral to you that it doesn't give you any positive feelings. It is only a minute long clip that I'm asking you to form an opinion about after all; you can change your mind either way when you hear the full version. Sometimes songs have to grow on you!

How do you pick the songs used in the polls? Mostly like this:

I have a huge mp3 hoarding archive so the submitted songs are easier for me to pick if they're already in my possession. 😅 Songs that aren't in my collection (tagged as #new to admin :D lol. sometimes i search out songs specifically for the poll that are tagged this as well) requires a bit more effort to download/listen to/edit but i have discovered a couple of great new gems so don't think i don't appreciate them!

How do I search for a specific artist/song that you've posted? All artists are tagged a day or so after the song reveal. Don't forget to use the hashtag symbol when searching or tumblr will give you all sorts of odd results!!!! (or none at all, lol) Please also remember that tumblr finds simple easy tasks extremely difficult, so only search for an artist with the easiest type of spelling, like #beyonce instead of #beyoncé. All artists and songs are added to the Complete Song List once their showdown poll is finished, for a quick search of what's been posted.

The audio quality is too poor for my taste!! 😡 sad </3

This is just for you. 💖

Why are all the songs of such vast variating quality? ....i mean, you didn't think I've bought all the tens of thousands of songs in my music library, did you...? Pirating songs gives you variations of quality, hell even my own cd rips have variations. It's easier to get better quality files now than it was back in the days, kiddos, so yeah some songs in the archives needs to be updated with new files. I have some very ancient mp3's that are in really low sound, that i've instead downloaded newer versions of in better quality for the polls but y'all still give me shit about it because the artist have remastered the track to unrecognition or whatever so there's just no pleasing some people i guess lmao. 😂

Do you like all the songs you've posted? No, lol. All the songs that are in my archive are songs I've at least liked enough once upon a time to save them, even if I'm not actively listening to them much anymore. Everything tagged as #new to admin :D are new songs to me that I may or may not like, regardless if they're submitted or if I've scouted them out myself only for the polls. :) Songs that I hate so much that I can't stand them are very few, and I won't waste time on adding them!

Did you change the song in the poll?? No. Maybe you clicked on the wrong one if I posted them too close together or maybe (most likely) tumblr has screwed something up for you. Some songs don't even show at times because it's tumblr being tumblr, just wait it out for a few minutes and tumblr will eventually remember to play the audio. So far there's only one song that I had to re-upload because tumblr killed the file. I can change the clip to better audio or to another part of the same song, but I never replace it to a different one once it's out there for you to vote on, I don't see the point of doing that.

Why are some polls audio files and other video files? Again: tumblr being tumblr. They won't allow some songs to be uploaded as audio, but using them in videos is ok. I hate the audio-as-video format and it requires even more effort from me so I'm not doing it on purpose. :)

I don't remember if I've heard this song before or not. If you know you've heard it, like if you're a fan or a hater or the song has been constantly played on the radio, you know it. (this is why the phrasing has been changed again in the latest polls) If you don't remember it, or just vaguely, or just a specific tiny part used in a meme/tiktok video, choose first time. The only thing that matters is the yes or no, knowing it or not is just an added fun but don't take it too seriously. :) Look at it sort of like "old fan/casual listener/hater vs new listener".

The part of the song that you posted SUCKS!!!! You should have just posted this one specific famous part for people to vote yes! "don't post the actual song in this song poll" ...................................like, no. not gonna post just the meme-bits or the drops or the whatever. Yeah i saw all the comments how you all clicked dislike on "Out of Touch" because you voted before you got to the chorus 😂 That's an honest opinion about the song lol, because a song is more than just a catchy chorus or a big drop. But yeah, sometimes one verse of a song would've maybe been better to post instead of that other verse, I'm with you on that.

I queued this song to see what it is but it's still stated as being Anonymous for me! Reblogs, drafts and queues will only show you what's there at the time, like a screenshot. It won't update automatically. All your reblogs, drafts and queued posts from when the poll is active will only show up as Anonymous songs. Always go back to the original post to see the song reveal. If the info isn't there, then give me a day or two to update the post because most likely things are too busy irl. 💖

I voted wrong/voted before I recognized the song! Will you change my vote? No, I'm not recounting anything wth. 😅

I'm embarrassed. I like the song but I don't want others to know that I do. I promise you that nobody but you can see how you've voted. Not me or your mutuals. Only you see what you've voted on. It's ok to like bad songs, and it's ok to like good songs by bad people. Don't let others shame you for that.

How do I vote on this cover/remix that was posted instead of the original? If you feel like this version is close to the original that you like, vote yes. If you don't feel like this version does the original song justice, vote no, even if it hurts.

This song that I don't know samples another song that I do know. How do I vote? I don't consider samples being used as being the same song, so pick first time. Unlike covers/remixes, the original song that has been sampled might show up at a later time, if it hasn't already been on here before.

How does so many people not know this song!!? Everyone is not your age/not from your country and your experience is not universal. 🤷‍♀️ That being said, I too get wtf-moments sometimes because some songs really do get wacky results, so, yeah 😂

Have you ever thought about-- Yes.

I demand you give me a rickroll!!!!!! Ask things nicely instead of demanding things from me. (This is the most common demand I've gotten, sigh. Thanks to those of you who have at least asked nicely and/or with a sense of humour!)

Please do a rickroll? It's already been posted in a bonus poll. It might show up in a "real" poll in years from now if this poll blog is still active but as of now it was added to a tumblr meme post where it was better suited.

I'm gonna ignore that submissions are closed and send you song suggestions anyway!!!! They will be deleted because they're not asked for atm. Unless you're the artist. Exceptions can be made in that case. :)

This poll blog doesn't respect my requirement to know who the artists are before I listen to their songs because of my need - that is very important that everyone else needs to acknowledge and follow - to know if a person is of a good moral standing according to my own views!! 😡 There's other poll blogs better suited for you. Not everything online has to be adjusted to fit *your* particular needs. 🤷‍♀️ (YES i've actually gotten this demand way too often. Sigh.)

Why was my reblog hidden from the notes where I spew hatred over an artist?! You are censoring me!!!! Did you mention the artist by name, or other obvious spoilers? Don't post spoilers. 🤷‍♀️

You hid this other comment I made with no spoilers!!!!! Sometimes comments show in dashboard mode but not in app mode and vice versa, or not even in the notifications. Haven't we already established that tumblr finds easy stuff extremely difficult? Also, sometimes you and I don't share an opinion of what a spoiler means. To all of you who have claimed an artist's name isn't a spoiler, yeah it's kind of a big one. As for the artist mentioning their own name or the song title in the song, you only hear that once you listen to the clip. Knowing it before even clicking to play the music is a spoiler.

Why have you turned off replies? I want to say things without reblogging!! I mean 🤷‍♀️ I'm sure you know why. Replies and anons have been turned off from the very beginning. The few times replies actually have been turned on, it's been stated as such and been very temporarily, like when we've discussed music in some post.

Turn on anon!!! I'm to shy to say thing off-anon! I mostly reply to things privately, or this blog would be nothing but q&a. Anons are off for a reason. Abuse and death threats are to be associated with the sender's account for all to see. I'm always nice to nice people so there's no need to worry about sending me questions or tagging me in things. :) 💖

I demand you to-- Pay me. :)

Shut up and take the abuse thrown at you personally because you're just a poll blog! You are aware that the poll blogs on tumblr aren't actually run by bots, right? Don't be an obnoxious twat. (and ughh yes, this too has been said to me several times. Sigh.)

I want you to add this song I want RIGHT NOW and/or i WANT these other options added now! Rich people can always break all the rules, just like irl. Just give me the $$$$ 😘

I don't like this song because I don't understand the language. Please only post English songs. Ok well, I mean, you can always learn other languages. 🤷‍♀️ Just like how I learned English.

If anyone feels targeted by these last questions without me meaning to, I'm sorry. These actually are the most common questions and comments and demands I've gotten in my askbox. Especially when the blog was new and people Demanded Their Rights to have me adjust everything to suit them. Don't feel like you can't state your thoughts in reblogs or in messages because as long as you're not being rude to me, my attitude on some answers isn't targeted at you, only at them. 💖 Remember to just have fun with the polls and hopefully you and/or your mutuals discover new music!

[cabinet-man-colors]

my first ever animatic- and its gay lawyers. you know how it is.

siblings of mine who will see this! maybe dont watch yet? i know you guys havent seen the full trilogy and i dont wanna spoil it for you- i know i showed aloe the sketch version but thats bc i forgor and it also wasnt super legible so its fine probably.

uhhh spoliers for phoenix wright, ace attorney trilogy (including the last case of the third game. so be warned!!!)

a little bit of info about the process below, i guess?

this project was a bitch to work on, and yet i somehow made it in less than a month. i drew a rough draft on paper (ft: chibi phoenix and edgeworth lmao) before moving it into clip studio, where i dont have the ability to animate for more than a few seconds, so i drew each picture seperately, with 4 frames per layer, then slapped it into an editing software and cropped it so it was just one frame visible, then slowly matched the frames to the lyrics.

and then i decided "actually i wanna refine this more" and went back into clip studio and refined the sketches a lot more. and then i decided to color it. and that took a while. and then i had to replace each frame in my already edited version (that hadnt been exported yet thank goodness) and then i added subtitles.

this sucked to make but im like. okay with how it turned out tbh. im proud of it i think. i did get better at drawing these two nerds so- thats a plus! they change throughout the animatic because i made this over the course of a few days, and i changed how i was drawing them midway through, but i didnt wanna redraw them for some scenes, so the two frames before the last one look a lil wonky and the last frame doesnt match them at all but like its fine! i had fun and thats what matters.

i did it poorly but i did it. and thats what matters.

[mvshr00m-1]

Future!Leonardo and Future!Donatello ref sheets!

These took way too long, so please interact and reblog lol

Alongside the two character sheets (which shows two front face versions, one in full gear and one that's more casual. And also some other stuff around them, like Leo's sword & arm and also Tello's tech bow and battle shell)

I did also do a lil height comparison thing cause I can, tello would be a little taller than Leo. Prove me other wise.

Some design things to point out:

For the most part Navy's (F!Leo) design is pretty similar to his canon design in the movie, except for some of the marking being moved or added, and of course I edited some of his clothes to fit better with my style.

But since Tello (F!don) doesn't have a canon design, I was able to get a bit more creative with him!

Aka i used Navy as a base, but gave Tello both arms, made his trousers longer (and purple of course), and edited the belt thing to fit his design more.

I also gave Tello two plastron cuts on one side (like in my og design), but inside of having the other side of his plastron have just a cracked off piece or having it covered with a metal plate, I just made it look like it got filled in with a plastron like filler.

He does have the same arm gloves like Navy (minus the bandages).

Of course since Tello is THE science lad, I have him a lab coat with the Donnie tech logo on his upper arms, and made it pretty long cause that would look cool af.

I did end up making a proper battle shell design that is a mix of all his other battle shells that he used when he was younger! It having holes on the side where his metal hands come out, and the purple part being able to open up and inside would be some mechanism that can look like his little jet pack thing, which he would make with his mystic, attaching it to his physical battle shell

He also has a more detailed upgraded arm gauntlet thing.

And he does actually have purple chin marks (which aren't visible due to his metal plate chin implant), and also has little purple marking under his eyes. Both resembling the markings Navy has!

In my og design for Tello he had a different style of leg prosethics, but I ended up changing it since it was hard to draw, and the idea of Tello saying fxxk you to the kranng and using their robot legs as a prosthetic just speaks Donatello lmao

Tello also has very similar goggles to his past self, but the metal being much darker and stronger. And of course its been upgraded too.

Finally both Navy and Tello have bright yellow eyes... One, cause it's cool as fuck. Two, cause I would say present Leo and Donnie would have brown eyes, but due to the radiation and apocalyptic environment their eyes would get a lot brighter and would glow in the dark a little. Small cool concept I have.

[infernothechaosgod]

you know it truly amazes me how you can't do practicly anything on tiktok or search the thing you like without getting absolutley shat on

Like I'm feeling a little in the mood for rottmnt angst A lil bit of that kick in the gut, and I can't go 3 minutes without one of those made in 5 minutes max videos that's just background video and text over it Saying shit like "Yall need to stop with the rottmnt angst it's getting annoying" or "the rottmnt angst artist need to chill out" or even better "The rottmnt fandom needs to stop the angst it's just a show for kids"

First off, if angst isn't your thing, you can block it or just scroll pass it OR you know what if youre feeling like a little shit you can hate read it or whatever but keep the comments TO YOURSELF

Second off I checked what the content of most of these people is And it's always goddamn always those 10 second background videos with text over it

nothing more

I dare these people to even try to draw the shape of leo's head, or write out something more than 40 words I accualy dare them. do it.

Also the same goes for shipping over there

Let's say you see a legal completly normal ship you don't like Example let's say leo x usagi or raph x mona

What you wanna do is scroll or block it

NOT make up info to make others stop shipping it, I'm sick and tired of people non stop saying that usagi or mona are adults or that their entire characters are being love intrest in the fandom's eyes Because if you look at any of the fanfic's or fan content of those Yeah it's easy to find content where there love intrest's but it is hard to find content where there ONLY love intrest

People love mona so much for the fact that she's a badass warrior who loves her planet and people they often give her more backstory focused stories that explore how she would feel depending on where the writers story will go or already went, I have never seen anyone maker her just a typical love intrest (witch honestly suprised me)

Usagi? People have more free will with his interpretation's so he has many many diffrent faces backstories, personalities but often people make him focused on something in their stories, examples being, getting back home, protecting others, getting over something, fighting in battle nexus and exploring how it would be Etc. Etc. That mixed with being a love intrest

The only times when these two can be seen as just love intrest and nothing more is in

Edit's/tiktok content where everything is short af (and even then sometimes people give em backstories and their own lore it really amazes me sometimes lmao)

short (usualy) tagged as fluff without plot fics on ao3 (witch you can litellary tag out SO easily)

Little comics/some art pices That HAVE VERY STORT LIMITS

also this might suprise you it really might but DRAWING IS HARD AND TAKES ALOT OF TIME SAME GOES FOR MAKING THE IDEA UP

And when it comes to their ages we all know there not adults, littelary where did anyone mention mona being an aduly ever, and the only times when usagi and leo accualy interact is when there in similiar if not the same ages

(in 2003 usagi and leo are close friends and Both teens, in the early comics there both adults when they first meet, even in 1987 version there both shown to be close if not the same age, the ONLY TIME where leo and usagi have very diffrent ages is in 2012 and honestly i have a little theory on why specificly that version had them be you know that but that's for another post)

Seriously what the fuck is tiktok's problem with any form of fanon content? You want the fandom to die? It aint gonna happen, you either get used to some bad stuff existing there and there and ignoring it (reporting then ignoring it if it's really bad) OR you keep quiet OR you will get banned by alot of creators after crying in their comments, then cry when you can't find something they made anymore

Tiktok man, good for daydreaming to the sounds, looking at edits and for some art trends but litellary can't let anything else exist on there or else you'll explode

(Also I bet if some of the fanon angst made it to the accual show they would deepthroat that shit right up and call it writing of ceuntry)

[incyrayinc]

[EDIT: did some fine-tuning and made the main turnaround less rough. the images are bit bigger now, too!]

Behold! updates to the girlie!

You guys get the shrunk version because the the original file size is truly massive. I draw on a 150 x 100 CM canvas, and this ref took up nearly the entire thing! just the fullscale PNG is like, 12 GB in size. insanity.

I kind of put her through a blender a bit, but Fluorospar kind of means a lot to me now. I think working on her is helping me unpack some things, and inspire me a little bit to cope with my OCD a little better. and I have not even touched on the other half of that with the scary parts of her in here, really (she is just a tiny bit tinted blue and orange morally)

Also worth noting, by 'demon' I do not mean a spiritual demon, but rather, that's the most common name humanity gives to her species of Fucking Space Alien, due to their similarity to creatures of human myth [and OOC, it's because she represents how I feel what with all the trauma; like something categorically evil, but still trying so so hard to be good, because well it's trauma broski that's how they treat you lmao]. And it is indeed fitting, considering some of their species lore not touched on in this ref (their home planet is a defunct perfect horror).

Expect more on Fluorospar's species lore to come soon!

[nightfallgazer]

Wanted to show my Charlie redesign. All my thoughts on the canon design, my take on Charlie’s personality, and development of my redesign is under the cut.

By the Way: ❌🔥I do not support Vivzipop🔥❌and if you do not like fans redesigns, block the tag and scroll along.

Do not repost/edit/steal my art, thank you.

My handwriting sucks ass lmao. Anyway, green text is design elements I like and blue text is design elements I dislike.

For my redesign Charlie in her based form:

I tried to make her look older like she is her 30s, not in her 20s. Even though canon Charlie is over 100 years old.

Less red!! I made her suit brown because brown and red look amazing together.

Gave her puffy shirt sleeves because those are my weakness and I want to give her a little bit of theater kid energy.

Her still has her hooved feet but I sucked at drawing regular feet, let alone animal feet but they are there I promise.

She is still 6'5 and dislikes being called ' Charlottle'.

In her Partial Demon Form:

I like that her horns ripped through her skin in the show, I keep that. It looks cool as fuck.

Her eyes became a four-pointed star and her cheek marks become scribbles when she is angry.

My Charlie has more of official title: Charlie Morningstar, Princess of Pride Ring but will earn the title 'Princess of Hell' over time by unleashing her true potential, showcasing her raw power, and developing her leadership skills.

Her personality: Charlie is still a kindhearted person but is not a doormat. If you double crossed her, you are on her shit list, end of story. Do not take her kindness for weakness. Charlie is snarky but is very low key about it. She likes to make sly comments under her breath. Does not swear in front of strangers. She likes to keep a professional appearance but does swear around friends. The only swear words she uses are ass, damn, bitch but when she is upsets, she will throw out a fuck. She likes to go around in Pentagram City to learn and understand the lifestyles of sinners.

For my version of Charlie. I want her to stand out more, like she is a child of the first woman and a fallen angel, she is one of a kind. So here is some of her quirks:

When she is excited, she 'baas' like a goat.

Sticks out her tongue at random moments. You can be having a normal conversation with her, and she will stick out her tongue. You can ask why she did that, but she would shrug and respond, 'I have no idea what you are talking about'.

Goats like stay in groups and cuddle up together when sleeping [according to a quick search I did] When sleeping, Charlie likes to surround her with a lot of pillows, V [I going to give her a different name when redesigning her] does not mind this and finds it cute.

Charlie is a very light sleeper and is not the nicest person when she does not get enough sleep, so you better not try to open up that one of those cakes with the plastic dome lid in the middle of the night.

Devlopment of my redesign:

Canon Charlie's her face reminds of a Sonic character. I think because how big her eyes are and having a black nose. Maybe that is the Sonic fan in me talking lmao. I made the shape of her eyes smaller but still keeping that apple shaped to her eyes. I have no idea what I struggled with designing her hair. I should not try to redesign characters when I am tried.

For her outfit, I just searched up 'hotel manager uniform' and picked the first uniform I saw.

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

That Audacity live... I'm so tired of this bullshit. Why are women props to Hybe/Jungkook now? It's just fucking ridiculous. We barely saw the actress''s face, she had no lines, she literally just walked and sat and looked pretty and cold and aloof. Was she there to tell a story? To help sell the lyrics? Because that did not happen at all. Her being there untouchable and making Jungkook put on a show for her did not make Jungkook's performance more exciting or convey love or passion. SNTY and Seven are supposed to be passionate love songs so why is the female love interest always uninterested? Do they think unrequited love is more romantic? I mean, between the half-assed interactions with a faceless women he has no chemistry with and Jungkook's inability to act, instead of a normal performance we got Jungkook looking like a kid trying to impress an older woman who doesn't know he exists. He always looks so immature and young next to his "love interests", even when they're pretty much the same age. So, instead of being able to enjoy the performances I was annoyed by the "plot".

What the fuck was even Seven? Not taking about the woman, but the camera work??? My head was spinning, what a headache. Also, the dancers humping the floor is hands down the most embarrassing and pathetic move in any BTS choreo. My dad pointed it out the other day when we watched JK's NY stage.

Jungkook looked great in the second outfit, but it was hard to care when he again sang the Jack Harlow version of 3D. I got Closer to You, which is my favorite b-side in Golden, but also had to endure more of JK being clearly head over heels for the woman. When he circled her on the table with his hand stretched out towards her back lmao? She just stood there like a statue unaware so Jungkook looked like a creep. My god, this is terrible execution. Hybe wants to sell boyfriend JK so much, but with zero commitment so Armys can put themselves in the woman's shoes and no one is too upset with seeing Jungkook with a woman. They are literally using women as props. Except So-hee, they never have a personality, facial expressions, or lines. Hybe does not pass the Bechdel test. It doesn't make Jungkook look good or immature. He literally has never looked like he was in love or in lust with anyone. If anything, he either looks like a creep or like a looser (don't like that word but don't know how else to express it). I laughed when Jungkook put down the mic on the woman's table lmao.

Side-note, the female dancers were so much better than dudes. I liked the Closer to You choreo, and the outfits were so cute!, though the end with Jungkook was a bit messy. It reminded me of Save Me choreo actually.

Anyway, I love Closer to You and the little choreo at the end, but the whole performance just left me so cold. There was no personality, heart, or warmth to it, which is hilarious since the woman being there was, arguably, to sell the romance of it all. The autotuned vocals, the unnecessary cuts and edits because of the "plot", the lack of singing (yes, I'm again complaining about this), and how empty and desolate the sets were... I didn't feel Jungkook's passion. I felt like he was just pretending to be someone else - again, selling boyfriend JK for the masses. Whenever I complain about using women as props with JK, my mom just says, unsurprised "they always put women in MVs for no reason, you know sex sells"... Like, yeah, but BTS used to be our escape from that bullshit...

[autisticbee]

Just saw your newest posts about Dan Vs so would you mind sharing those I need my daily dose

Of Dan Vs thoughts? Sure. Here's some random thoughts & hcs. got a little long oops (I can't remember how to do read more on mobile...)

- Mr. Mumbles is immortal. why? Who knows, but it's a silly cartoon so I get to hc the cute kitty as immortal, alright?

- I've seen ppl joke about dan vs """cancel culture""" but the thing is, I think he'd be all for it. I think he'd find it funny. I mean the dude has his own version of a call out list.

- Dan has hypermobility (1. He mentioned having a double jointed thumb 2. I have hypermobility and I say so)

- Chris is pansexual but doesn't realize it until later in life, he honestly had just not thought about it too hard & had only had a few relationships prior to getting married kinda young, all with women, until something leads to him realizing his feelings for Dan are not entirely platonic & it's just like. Oh.

- Dan on the other hand is pretty openly bisexual, he has a preference for men(projecting 🤪) but has (... slightly) better luck with women (men are more likely to want to kill him)

- something, that's not a life or death situation that gets magically reset, prompts Elise to tell Chris the truth about her job. because I hate the fucking person can't tell their partner they're a spy/agent/superhero/what the fuck ever trope it Feels Bad Scoob and Chris has expressed sometimes feeling a lack of communication between them in the show which ):

- speaking of Elise finds out Chris is part bear but in like the most casual way possible

Elise: I'm thinking of making Chris see a doctor, he gets sluggish and strangely irritable during winter months which makes me wonder if he might have seasonal depression.

Dan: nah, that's just the bear part of his DNA

Elise: the. the what.

- Dan and Elise both have C-PTSD (I don't think I have to explain why Dan does, Elise's is from basically being trained as a child soldier & just that she's likely experienced many traumatic things during her job), Elise copes with it mildly better than Dan but she's mostly just better at putting up a front of normality

- also Dan is obviously autistic. he's undiagnosed and doesn't realize until he's in his 20s or 30s. The discovery of noise cancelling headphones make his life a little bit easier

- Chris is also neurodivergent in some way but I haven't narrowed down the flavor yet 😭

- Dan is a trans man this is fact in my head I won't accept anything else, I have like tried to work out timelines and shit just to make it all fit within canon(yes I know most ppl just go screw canon but I just like making things work within it, I'm weird like that). I can't decide if he's had top surgery(post-job at the chicken place, hence the funny note about it) or he just naturally had a small chest and testeorone "masculinized"(for lack of a better word) it somewhat (cause I did prior to going on multiple medications that I could sometimes pass as having a flat chest). He doesn't want bottom surgery cause he doesn't see the point (slightly nsfw: "until they can give me synthetic semen and a prostate I'm not interested"). again mostly projecting there lmao

EDIT: in case this wasn't clear, I mean he sees no point in it for himself, not that he thinks nobody should have bottom surgery

- Dan is a closeted romantic. This is hinted at in canon imo, the thing with the anger management lady is clearly a metaphor for wanting more than a fling. Dan seems to take his romantic attraction to people very seriously, like with Hortence despite not interacting with her much. also his face when Honey kissed him. he's just secretly a big sap who wants to be loved

- Dan is a catboy in spirit. I say in spirit because he has no idea what a catboy is but he's just sooo kitty cat coded. knocks things off tables when annoyed. plays with toilet paper. claws and bites. I hc he meows as a stim with Mr. Mumbles sometimes. Also he hisses at people.

- I know what Chris said in the family cruise ep but I like to think Chris does actually think of Dan as family, mayhaps the holding out the hand scene was a acceptance or realisation of that, maybe that's what the thing he was going to say but forgot towards the end was. this isn't even really a buddyshipping thing it's just that me personally if my best friend didn't consider me family I'd want to jump off a cliff(/j) so I can't handle the thought (seriously though what was Chris going to say. It haunts me.)

- I'll end this on a fuzzy feelings self indulgent headcanon. Dan, Chris and Elise(+ Mr. Mumbles) become a weird little family of ther own. Dan and Elise are like frenemies, who share the same partner, but also deep down they care for each other. platonic love/hate relationship <3

[saphushia]

H-hey um hi, I was uh, well I was just wondering how you did that cool character list cuz I wanted to make one for myself but I'm just like new here n stuff so I was wondering if you could tell me how you did it also your art is funny as shit and I love the style

i'm assuming you mean the character/oc page on my blog? it's a modified version of this page theme by @macfustythemes. you're going to need to know a little bit of html/be willing to do some trial and error in order to use it (more if you wanna actually tweak the layout), so i'd recommend downloading brackets, which is a code editing program that will make things way easier. you'll probably have to send a ticket to support asking them to enable javascript on your blog, as the code is dependent on javascript for its filtering. (it's off by default to prevent ppl from running malicious scripts. in my experience there was very little fuss getting it turned on, just ask nicely)

you can change your theme by either going to your blog and clicking the palette icon that should show up along the top right, or by going to your settings -> select blog on the sidebar -> second option down is 'edit theme.' if you look for themes anywhere but tumblr's inbuilt theme garden, the steps to install them is 'there will be a link to a site that has the entire html code for the theme, copy it and paste it in the right spot in the theme editor' if you want to change the theme of your whole blog there's an option at the very top of the customization sidebar that says 'edit html,' delete everything that's there and then paste the new code to change the theme for the whole blog.

to add a page, scroll all the way to the bottom of the customization sidebar and hit 'add page'. when you're making a new page you can either use a standard layout, which will basically look like a post on your blog (like my tags page), or a custom layout, which will allow you to edit/paste html to change the entire page (like my characters page). if you're using a page theme you will need to copy paste the code you get from the theme source.

if you're looking for either full blog themes or other page themes, i'd recommend browsing @theme-hunter instead of the inbuilt tumblr theme browser. way better imo. here is specifically character page themes, and they also have some tutorials and guides for changing themes/basic html tweaks, though some seem a bit outdated.

also, the talk of html is probably scary if you aren't familiar with it, but i promise it's not that hard. tweaking tumblr themes is actually how i've picked up enough html knowledge to code simple web pages from scratch lmao

[myonmukyuu]

Art Summary: 2022

It's that time of year again! This makes my 9th year of art summaries... Kind of insane to think about.

It's been a very eventful year and I have a lot to say. Extended art performance review under the cut 👌 (3k words lmao)

Previous: 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021

ABOUT THE COMIC:

So! What happened this year? Well, my book happened. I'm not sure if anything else happened ahfhasjkdkasf

See, I actually cheated this art summary a tiny bit. Usually I use the upload date of the art to place it in the summary. But if I did that for this year, there would be at least 4 blank spots. That's why February, April and May all feature different pages of the same comic (CH 9).

I really did spend the first half of the year finishing my comic. I only released 2 chapters too (the finale and the epilogue). In March I took a week and a half off to work on a short for Ayumu's birthday, but otherwise slaved all the way until June for the webcomic.

Then I spent July and August doing all of the redrawing and edits required for a physical release. Those who have a copy of my book might already know but the first two chapters have been redrawn. I also had to go through the entire comic, fixing it so that it could actually be printed (because the webcomic version definitely can't be printed as it is.) It was super time-consuming. Like, I can't even begin to describe. Moving forward I'll try to draw every comic so that it's printable from the beginning so I don't have to deal with reformatting ever again...

I'm pretty sure it was in August that I had the first copy of the book done. Then the preordering period opened in Septemeber... and now we're here! People are just now starting to receive their books. Sorry it took so long guys ;w;

I'm very happy though... Depending on who you ask, 100 sales might not be a lot, but it's a lot to me. To think that so many people would spend the money to buy this kind of product is just so surprising to me... It's expensive and all of the content is already available to read for free!!! So it's really surprising and I'm so incredibly grateful. That's why I went through the trouble of creating that golden special print for everyone! It was quite a bit of money out of my pocket, but I really wanted to show my appreciation.

As a side note, the 100 sales were really exhausting to pack. My body was sore in November because of it LMAO

So I'd say this year was great for my comic! Both its webcomic finale and its physical release. But this summary isn't meant to be about my comic, it's supposed to be about my art and me as an artist.

ABOUT MY ART:

So how did my art go this year?

Looking back I feel nothing but exhaustion. I know I'm happy to have my comic released but, my body and mind is still very very tired. I feel like I took at least 2-3 weeks off or more from work throughout the year to keep the comic on track. It's just a huge undertaking.

What I'm getting at is I feel a tired and... a little disappointed. But don't get me wrong, I don't feel regret! It's just that... well every artist draws for their own reasons. For me, I love getting my ideas and stories out there. So I guess I felt creatively-starved spending about half a year polishing and releasing an already-complete product. Also technically starved - you don't really see much improvement if all you're doing is cleaning up art. I didn't really have a lot of time to draw because of the physical release so I often felt like I wasn't doing enough.

And honestly that's my main sentiment. While I feel happy and satisfied with releasing the book, another part of me feels like she didn't do enough.

In terms of technical skill, I definitely saw improvement this year. It's like something clicked in me and I had a better understanding of atmospheric lighting. CH 9 and the epilogue are probably some of my favourite bits of colouring I've ever done. I just love how it turned out. In CH 9, the gradual setting of the sun to create this orange/pink/purple colour palette was so fun to implement. And in the Epilogue, this blue/green/yellow rainy day came out perfectly. It was a rainy day, but unlike CH 7, it wasn't a dreary downpour but something more hopeful instead. I have a love for creating atmosphere and especially through colour. And I think I did well there.

In the realm of black/white, I also feel lots of improvement! I'm becoming more confident with monochrome and am starting to push it further. I'm not satisfied with my skill level, but I think it's promising. I may be more confident with creating tone through colour, but I'm sure I can do the same without it!

This year I also did quite a bit of painting. I really love how the October and November artworks came out. Honestly it was around this point in the year, I had the most time to output works as the only comic work I had to do was purely admin (until I started packaging things in November). I could go into technical depth, but this post is long enough. Just know that I'm happy with the little leaps my colouring skills made.

GOALS FOR 2022:

For my art summaries, I've been doing a performance review styled thing where I create goals for the upcoming year. Let's take a look at what goals I wrote for 2022 and how I went with them.

“I want to finish my comic series”

Passed with flying colours! I think the comic release was a success. This goal is a little cheap of a goal though, since I don't think I'd let myself live it down if I gave up.

“I also want to continue to try things that are outside of my comfort zone. I want to see myself try things like different angles/perspectives and more complex backgrounds.”

Now this goal... I think I made progress here. I'm not sure if people noticed but I did definitely try to slip in different angles here and there. I'm particularly good at them... but I'm trying! And I think that's the least I can do. You won't get good at something if you don't try after all. That being said, I should push backgrounds more... I rarely do them 😅

"I want to do more illustrations/quick drawings on top of my comic work."

My comic work was suffocating a lot of the time. But I did try to draw on top of it. I haven't really talked about it, nor shown anyone, but I started learning copic markers this year (borrowed my friend's set!). So in the background I've been doing 30-60 minute traditional art exercises. I'm not terribly diligent, but diligent enough that I already think it's made an impact on my art. See, I'm only doing monochrome copic markers (I'm not confident enough to do colour just yet). I'm pretty sure doing monochrome markers has helped me with my manga skills 😂. I have a better understanding of tones and values because of it! Isn't that kind of amazing? Come to think of it, it's linked to the next goals.

"I want to learn to paint."

"I want to learn to draw faster."

While I still have a long way to go, somehow my marker exercises have helped me with these too. The understanding of tones/values has made an impact on coloured work and painting as well. And because I'm doing shorter pieces, my speed has increased a tiny bit. I'm sure if I keep at it, I can continue to develop better habits!

"I want to draft more quickly and be smarter about it."

Now this goal is something I have just been trying to mentally direct myself to. It's working... a little bit. I still need to try harder.

See, I think my drafting process is really slow and inefficient. This results in me spending too much time drawing a comic because I've drafted like 5 extraneous pages. If I wanna increase my output and lower my workload, I have to learn to be more clever with how I compose each page. I think I got a tiny bit better. Need to work harder on that for sure (it's quite hard to just "learn" though...)

MOVING FORWARD:

With the past year in mind, how do I want 2023 to go? To be honest, I still feel so exhausted because of 2022, I definitely need some time to recover, so let's not go too crazy next year.

But before I create my next goals, I wanted to talk about where I want to go in general - the grand scheme of things. Like I mentioned, I feel a lot of disappointment, like I wasn't doing enough. Which is contradictory because I also feel like I did too much with how exhausted I am... But the source of that disappointment is really tied in with how I feel about my art skill on a technical level.

I'm nearing a whole decade of hobby artist experience. And I don't feel like my art shows it. While there are things that I am better at, there's so much that I struggle with.

I want to become better. I want to improve.

It's hard to explain but I feel like I'm not doing the best I can for the stories I want to tell if I don't keep pushing and learning. And I love what I make, so I want to do those stories justice.

So it's really important to me that I keep trying to improve.

In the long term, I think my dream is to be like a pro-manga artist. Please don't make fun of me LMFAO. But there's more to it. See, I don't actually want to be a pro artist. I never want to compromise my creative vision for the sake of pandering to an audience. I sincerely think I wouldn't be able to succeed without doing that so I'm content with drawing as a hobby. A programmer as my day job and a manga artist by night...

I want to be as skilled as a pro some day though.

To be honest, I think the distance is so great that it's basically impossible. So my true goal is a little lower than that.

My true long-term goal is to be... a little comparable to a pro.

And I don't think I'm at that point. And I don't want to use "being a hobbyist" as an excuse to allow myself to remain like this.

I think it's terrifying actually. Where I'm at with my art.

I'm really happy people enjoy it, and don't get me wrong - I love my own work. I love drawing. But I think it's important to be critical of it - if I want to be able to reach my goals.

I think if people read this far, they might be thinking something like "but you're already so good!" or something to that effect. But I don't think it's true.

I think it's terrifying because there's so much I'm not good at. Comics are scary because they're an amalgamation of so many different skillsets. I possess some of these skills but there's just so many different ways that I feel that I'm lacking.

For instance, my art itself has such stiff lines. I'm not great at perspective. My art isn't dynamic. And this is just a few examples of stuff related to my illustration skills.

But comics are more than that.

There's the individual panel compositions that come together to create a unifying page composition. The visual flow - controlling how the reader scans the page. The storytelling skills - pacing, dialogue, story beats. The dialogue writing skills. The typesetting.

I think there's so many places I'm weak with and it's scary because it's difficult to just pick something to improve at when it feels like everything is wrong at once. It's so easy for me to pick up some manga from a shelf, flick through and think "this artist does x better than me, how can I learn from them?" but learning is hard and I'm not good at it so I'm just stuck with this awareness that I could be better.

But at the end of the day, I just have to pick a direction and go, right? I think that's all I can do and that's okay. It's just hard to shake the feeling of drowning in my own mediocrity.

Sorry I didn't mean to bring down the mood of this art summary.

I promise that at the end of the day that I love drawing. This is just my overly-critical side shining through. I don't have too much natural talent, just a very stubborn mind. I kind of need to be critical so I can push myself in the right direction. And I'm fairly happy with the way I've been pushing myself through these past years.

I'm not particularly fussed if my works receive a lot of traction or not because what's most important to me is the way I see my own work. My personal satisfaction.

And that's just tied with doing the best I can!

So with that in mind...

GOALS FOR 2023:

"Improve at atmospheric lighting"

This isn't particularly ambitious because it's something I'm already working on, but I know I can push lighting even further. So expect to see me experimenting more and more!

"Participate in a paid online course"

Now this is linked to my wall of text just now. I feel very overwhelmed so I think having an unbiased and experienced teacher's guidance could be valuable. I'm eyeing ones that include personalised feedback. The only concern is that it's hard to find the time for things like this when I work full-time.

Also it's a bit scary having a professional roast me, but I think it'd be good for me.

"Continue to practise traditionally"

This is linked to all of my technical art gripes. I think continuing to do traditional art exercises will help me with a lot of my weak points.

"Continue to be ambitious with art"

I don't mean ambition on a work-load level, but I want to continue to push out of my comfort-zone. Keep trying those weird angles and backgrounds, be more experimental!

"Start planning that next story"

I always have a billion different story ideas in my back pocket that I am itching to tell. I also don't wanna die of overwork though. So lets keep the bar low.

I have many great ideas, so I want to start outlining the next one! This is just a vague goal to remind myself to keep thinking ahead.

"Rest up."

I think this is the most important goal. Like I said I feel completely and utterly exhausted this year.

So I want Myon in 2023 to have more time for herself. Improve her health, catch up with her relationships, spend more time watching movies and playing video games.

Don't work too hard next year.

EXTRA REFLECTION:

I seriously don't know if anyone actually reads these reflections. I wonder what kind of person I come off across... (probably a try-hard 😂)

I wanted to talk about one more thing. It's not really linked to goals, just the future in general.

So I've been drawing for Nijigasaki for 2 years now. I think a lot of people are moving on from it though.

To be honest, I think that's okay. I'm kind of used to the people around me shifting into new interests. I think I'll still be with Niji for a long time to come. I just have a lot of large scale ideas and will probably stick with them unless something sweeps me off my feet.

I mean, even if my ideas take too long to actualise while I'm interested in Niji, I'm also open to converting things into original content. There are just so many stories to tell...

It makes me wonder why my readers enjoy my work and how they interact with it? Are people a fan of me? The ship/characters/fandom? Or the stories?

Probably some mix of the above. It's not terribly important why though.

I'm sorry that I'm not very good at keeping up with everyone's interests. I think the world moves too quickly and I draw too slow and I can barely keep up. But I'm a bit too stubborn with my own desires so I keep working on my own things without another thought. So maybe that apology is a bit empty eheh

But I hope people will continue to enjoy the stories that I make.

I should be less harsh on myself though. 9 years of art isn't something to just shrug off.

Anyways, before I keep rambling. Happy new year everyone. Let's keep working hard in 2023!

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

I think the dub for Like a Dragon and IW is actually overall very good, esp by English dub standards (Kaiji Tang in particular is pitch perfect as Ichiban, and I also think Tomizawa's English VA is ridiculously good at portraying him. Like idk how he pulled off sounding like English Tomizawa just as much as his seiyuu considering the seiyuu is also Tomi's face model lmao). But I dislike some of the localization changes and I think Yong Yea was severely miscast as Kiryu, and I especially hate the karaoke songs in English because you can hear the autotune way more than on the Japanese or Chinese tracks. And for some of them it doesn't seem necessary, like Zhao's VA is a very talented singer who can hit notes perfectly fine without the editing. It just fucks up the whole tone of the minigame when it's supposed to seem like you're enjoying karaoke irl with your friends yk?

That said, and SPOILERS FOR INFINITE WEALTH, but one of the primary antagonists is a white American named Bryce Fairchild and in the Japanese version, his character switches a lot between English and Japanese. And god bless and keep his seiyuu, but his English is SO bad and is easily the worst aspect of the Japanese dub. Any tension or characterization he has in Japanese is totally lost in English, and I get that his seiyuu as a non-native speaker knows where to emphasize things and how to emote in Japanese and not English. But GIRL...either cast a gaijin like the various NPCs you fight in Hawaii or, if you have to keep the same seiyuu, you have a native speaker say the lines, record them, and have him imitate the same intonation.

Like Bryce isn't that interesting of a villain to me either way, but his portrayal as this super serious character completely crumbles when you hear him and you're reminded that this man is supposed to be American. With nearly every other character who speaks both languages, they're Japanese and it makes sense that they'd have a strong accent. The only exception is Tomizawa who's never visited Japan and was born and raised in Hawaii, but he only speaks English in one scene so it isn't as jarring as characters like Bryce who speak it often.

I think that it could have worked better if you went the route they did with the cop character, where you have a seiyuu for the Japanese bits and have a second voice actor for the English version. It's more believable to have audiences hear an entirely different voice than it is to hear this man who is supposed to be an American have the strongest Japanese accent possible

[kazumiwrites-fanfiction]

Concert For You

SUMMARY: You overheard your boss/crush talking about how he loved you, so a concert made especially for him is the best way to tell him you feel the same way, right? WORD COUNT: 1.2k

WARNINGS: pure fluff, mutual pining, awkwardness, you singing in front of an audience.

A/N: Ahaha this is partly me writing this because I have a solo in May where I sing ‘Walking on Sunshine’ and I was thinking about how I should dance in the shower so uh- yeah- and then I was like “Why the heck not” so I added another 80′s song- lmao- anyways here’s song one and song two. A/N PART 2: Originally posted here.

© kazumiwrites - All rights reserved; please do not steal, edit, copy, repost (etc) my work without my express permission.

"I used to think maybe you love me, now baby I'm sure~" Your smile grew, swaying a bit as you sang into the mic, pointing at the audience. "And I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door~"

The audience was entranced by your voice, or your looks, or maybe they were just too drunk to know what was going on. Whatever it was, they all loved you.

You had done this on a whim, really; you had heard your crush, Chisaki, talking in a muttered voice about how he had a crush on you to... Who was it? One of his most trusted people. So, as a hint—if it could even count as one—you invited him to an impromptu concert.

The male in question was watching you, arms crossed over his chest. A faint flush was steadily growing on his cheeks, but he ignored it. He just watched you; you were in such a pretty outfit. He loved it, but he knew he shouldn't say anything about it, lest he get teased.

He was enjoying the 'concert', although he really didn't want to watch you with all the others... He wanted you to sing to him personally. Not that he'd ever admit it to you.

After you finished the song, you bowed, smiling brightly at the cheers and calls for an encore. You shook your head slightly, laughing a little as you walked off, trying to find the young leader of the Shie Hassaikai. He had to be here somewhere... You had invited him personally, and anyways, he'd have heard about this, since you had talked about it to quite a few members.

Well... Not like you were begging for his attention. He was your employer, and it was completely inappropriate to think of him this way... But whatever.

Still, where was he... You blinked as you ran in to someone, an apology falling from your lips as you glanced up into beautiful golden eyes. His eyes.

"Oh- Chisaki-san." You smiled a little at him, looking a bit uncertain for the first time this night. "Did you like the concert?"

The male nodded slightly. "Yeah... I did. I enjoyed it a lot." He smiled faintly, not that it would show through the mask. "I really liked listening to your voice. Not to mention you sang in English... That's impressive. Could you sing a bit more for me?"

Your eyes widened slightly before you nodded, smiling a little more. "Yes, of course! What would you like me to sing?" Your head tilted slightly to the side as you watched him.

He paused for a moment, thinking. "Well... Anything's fine."

You hummed softly, thinking for a moment before deciding on a song. Before you could speak, Chisaki grabbed your arm, tugging you out of the room. "...I want it to be more private, so I can hear you better," he mumbled, a weak excuse, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to be with you.

You blinked, eyes wide. You were seriously rethinking the song you had picked... But hey, too late now. And you knew the lyrics by heart.

You walked in to a room, blinking as you saw a bed. Was this... His room...? You felt your cheeks burn at the thought, but shook it off. You took out your phone, looking for a karaoke version of the song. "For the... background music," you told him when you felt his questioning look on you.

He sighed a little, sitting down on the bed and pretty much just staring at you as you found the song, playing on it and placing your phone down as you heard the first few notes play before you opened your mouth to sing.

"I could stay awake, just to hear you breathing..." You took in another breath, not really meeting his gaze. "Watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you're far away and dreaming..." You closed your eyes, knowing that your cheeks were growing redder as you sang.

Soon, you reached the chorus: "Don't want to close my eyes, I don't want to fall asleep!" Your eyes fluttered open, gaze meeting his unreadable expression. You smiled a little more, the perfect performer. "'Cause I'd miss you, babe, and I don't want to miss a thing..."

You finally finished the song, awkwardly shifting in place as you watched him, unsure on what to do now. It wasn't often that you got to sing in front of one singular person, especially not your boss/crush.

Chisaki, on the other hand, was frozen, eyes wide. Your voice... He was enamored with it. It was so nice... "Why'd you choose that song? I'm curious." Way more than just 'curious', honestly. Those were love songs, right? He had heard some of the other members of the Shie Hassaikai listening to them sometimes. Half of them wanted to fall in love with someone, or have their feelings reciprocated, or all that. A few months ago, he would've scoffed. But now... He knew how they felt. He wanted you to like him back.

You paused a little. "Well, it's because I like you, Chisaki-san..." You murmured with a small smile.

Like him? In what way? His breathing sped up ever so slightly as he watched you. "Like me? Really...?" He hated this feeling. He knew he would most likely get crushed if he got rejected... But still. He walked a bit closer. Usually, he'd be disgusted by being this close to someone... But honestly, if you were the person making him sick, it was better. He'd rather it be you than anyone else.

You stared at him, blinking slightly in surprise at how close he was. You felt your cheeks grow a bit warmer as you watched him. What was going on...

"Do you have a crush on me, perhaps...?" He murmured softly, gazing in to your soft eyes. You really were so pretty...

"Well... Would you be mad if I say... Yes...?" You murmured, almost a whisper.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise before he shook his head. "No... I'm happy, really." He smiled ever so slightly, relaxing. "I'm glad you like me..." A gloved hand moved to cup your cheek gently, smile growing as he watched you lean in to his touch.

"Mhm, same here..." You smiled even more, content. "But, isn't it a bit inappropriate to have you as my boss and my partner?"

Chisaki rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter. I'm the boss of this place anyways. Where would you even go if you weren't working, anyway?"

"Touché. I'd probably just stay with you full time, then."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly mind that..."

"I guess you wouldn't." You let out a laugh, shaking your head slightly.

He smiled a little more, relaxing as he pulled you to his neatly made bed, sitting down and resting his head on your shoulder. He was... Quite cuddly, which surprised you a bit. But, it was cute.

You gently ran a hand through his hair, humming a small tune as he snuggled in to you. A small smile grew on your lips, relaxing. He really was adorable.

Chisaki was satisfied. He had you, all to himself, and you were just staying with him, not going away. He let out a soft murmur at your touch, nuzzling in to you more. He really hoped you would stay with him forever... He didn't want you to go away, not ever.

[sydnycvwrtes]

congratulations on getting an agent! that’s amazing 🎉 do you mind sharing your querying journey (what was it all like? when you started, how many queries you sent, how many full requests, and other stats? things you expected about querying? things you didn’t expect? lessons you learned? etc?)? just whatever you feel like sharing 😊

Yes!

So tbh I feel like I both had an easier but longer journey. I didn't send too too many queries (in contrast to some folks) but I was querying for a long time. I started when I was 18 for reference, so I queried for almost four years exactly (3 years and 352 days lol) but I took long pauses to overhaul the novel between query batches based on any feed back I'd gotten. I sent queries in batches of 4-6 and didn't send more until I'd gotten responses from everyone from one batch.

So:

33 queries sent (I resent edited queries to the same agents 4 times which feels a little 🧍🏿‍♀️)

6 partial requests (quick bit of advice: different agents have different specific ways they want you submit. It might be annoying to reformat everything, but just do it)

4 full requests (and let me tell you, when I sent fulls to "famous" agents, I was waiting for upwards of half a year, which can also account for the time gap)

1 offer of rep (woohoo!!!!) from an agent I feel really understands my vision for the book, and will be a great representative for me when sub time comes. For revisions, I'm not having to change any plot points, just explain a little bit more stuff so they're not too grueling. Plus I write super fast and that helps lol.

I think querying for so long definitely toughened me up. I was really expecting for the first agent I queried, who I considered a dream agent at the time, to adore my book, sign me immediately, and offer no critiques before we went on sub for three seconds and scored a billion dollar deal (and I queried her TWICE because I was just that hooked up on it lmao). As you can see, that didn't happen. I got some rejections after months, and some after only a few hours. And at the begining? Oh they HURT. They hurt BAD.

And then you get another and another and another, and the sting lessens over time.

I became a lot better at being critical of myself, which I feel like is the most important skill in querying- understanding that you are going to have to make heavy edits, kill your darlings, and just overall refine you book in ways you didn't see before. Even the version I sent to the agent I signed with was far from perfect, and I'm making revisions. And that's okay. It's a step to getting published.

It... Was hard. I had a friend tell me it was just not the right time for my book and to shelve it. I think that hurt more than a rejection. But I knew I wanted to be an author, and I knew I wanted to tell these character's stories, so I just kept working. I rewrote my book more times than I can count since I started writing it at 15. It's just all a very long process, and you have to be patient, and you have to KNOW that this is what you want to do and you're going to do it.

Last weird little tidbits of advice:

I had one person read a very old copy of my book. I had no beta readers. I never hired an editor. Don't do what I did. Beta readers can help you so so much. If you can find someone willing, have them help you!!!

Query that agent! I almost didn't query my agent because they said they were a fan of beautiful prose, and I didn't think I had that. But, after mustering the courage, I finally did and look what happened. Just send the query!! The worst they can say is no!!

If you get personalized feedback from a rejection, that is still really helpful. My book is better now mostly because of my rejection feedback because it was all telling me the exact thing to work on. For me, the writing was fine, but I tended to under-explain things. I got that feedback.... A lot. And I was able to fix it and eventually get an agent (woo!)

(even though my revisions are still centered around explaining oops-)

Anyway, I hope this was helpful! I hope I was able to give you a pretty good picture of my querying time! It was... Definately something!

[greetings-humans]

introductory post (includes some interaction boundaries, more details on me (ao3 acc, etc) & a dni under the cut)

yeah it's about time I made one of those ig (disclaimer: I'll edit this, if/when the need comes)

so, hi! im deelay! you can call me dee, if you want! [btw if you know my irl name, not here you don't unless we're DM-ing]

gender is so weird and I'm okay with any and all pronouns (barring it/its)!

for details on what to use when talking to me or about me (like pronouns and gendered terms etc) you can go here

-currently in uni, studying to get an english degree (every new thing I learn about teaching makes me want to yell at some of the teachers I've known/had, did they even study in uni? did they even keep in touch with pedagogical studies?? definitely not, form what I can tell)

-im a young adult and that's like all imma say age-wise. however please take that into account when interacting with my blog! some of the reblogs/posts here might not be what I'd have been okay with seeing when I was like under 14 or something. so yknow. exercise some modicum of caution please.

-I'm technically a writer? like I write,,, supposedly lmao. like all the greats, the one thing I never seem to do is yknow write-

I write sometimes, let's say. and I'm also really interested in writing my own crime fiction novel one day. but that's for some day in the future lmao

~

-definitely a reader tho (yes ao3 and i are in a committed relationship)

-im also very very aroace, so like, blanket disclaimer, even if you might think I'm thirsting over a character, im really not and it makes me uncomfortable when others think so (and tell me that) so yeah lol

my interests and fandoms are. a lot. for example (and in no particular order):

DC (the bats, mostly)

the magnus archives (ive never listened to a podcast before and i just finished s3 as of June 2024)

riordanverse (pjo, hoo, magnus chase, a little bit toa, pjo show [which was very good, it just needs more screen time to fix up the pacing and add more depth in the appropriate moments])

fullmetal alchemist brotherhood! (i used to have roy on my pfp, he's my favorite character! i also wanna write a huge character analysis essay on him but uni responsibilities mean that's very slow going)

star wars (prequels, kotor, clone wars)

criminal minds (im at early s13 as of November 2023, so mind your spoilers humans) (ngl as of Jan 2024, this hyperfixation of mine is dying a slow and steady death but who knows there might a revival one day)

jujutsu kaisen! (I'm just about to finish s2 as of April 2024 but I know what's happening by the end of s2 and I've given up on the storyline so spoil away, I'll just ignore you and live my life in my fanfic sandbox:] )

yuri on ice is an old love of mine (ice adolescence😭😭 one day😭😭 oh one day😭😭 so that was a fucking joke, mappa count your days and also im stealing viktor you can't have him, im gonna write iceado WITHOUT YOU) (well imma write it with a friend but like most importantly WITHOUT MAPPA and I urge all creative yoi fans that think they wanna try doing their own version of iceado to go ahead and give it a go!)

sasaki to miyano (saw the anime and the movie and fuebdehhshahgdhe)

haikyuu!!(all caught up, manga and anime-wise! also patiently waiting for the movies that should've been a season but anyways they better not fuck this up too much-)

bungo stray dogs is also an old but semi revived interest of mine (im pretty much up to date with the manga, just haven't read all of the light novels)

tian guan ci fu / heaven official's blessing (as of June 2024, I've finished s2 and tgcf is amazing it's wonderful, I've started book 1 and am currently procrastinating on reading it)

there's like. so much more.

sooo muuuuch moooreeee

so I'll just let you figure the rest of it out

If you wanna see some of my thoughts without infinite scrolling, you can also search for the tag "deelay words".

Another tag of mine is "deelay's tbr" (which stands for "to be referenced") which you'll find at posts that really make me Think™ and that I want to keep in mind when I do anything creative with the characters involved.

When interacting with my blog, if you want to avoid spoilers at all costs, I suggest blocking the fandom tag because what you consider spoilers might not be what I consider spoilers if we're at different arcs of whatever that media is.

That said, I'd also appreciate it if you gave me a heads up on spoilers in any asks.

~

if you're here for any of my fics then well.

if you're here for pjo, um. those fics are truly discontinued/on indefinite hiatus. that hasn't changed. I have tentatively decided to attempt to reread some of the books, and I'm also watching the show, so if I get inspired enough and manage to plan out a decent fic out of Percy Jackson Revealed,,,, then maybe there shall be a fic. But!!! I have no idea what the ending is gonna be, and without an ending I'm doing nothing because the chances of me dropping the fic (again) would be higher than my anxiety during exam season (aka very very high)

if you're here for the man behind neal caffrey tho!! hi, there. I am working on that sequel, don't worry. it's just long (im at like 6k or so iirc? and im not even halfway through yet) and I'm also working on uni and this other writing project I have going on. feel free to send me an ask with any questions or comments or whatever.

unnamed grishaverse project: yeah so, I have a project going with my friend noel @fifteenth-entity, we're fixing the darkling! this fic will take place like around 50-100 years pre-alina, and will feature the darkling doing darkling things while that generation's most prominent grisha (aka a bunch of queers) also do things that may or may not affect the darkling. and his views. and personality. there may or may not be character development in the works. (there is, he gets better). this fic is canon divergent before canon even happens. the entire plot of shadow and bone will be eventually reworked. (also, no darklina, no darkling romance, in general, this boy needs to get mentally healthy without worrying about romance or sex okay) [for more info on this just search "unnamed grishaverse project", it's the tag I've used in like the only post about this. do feel free to send me an ask about this tho!!]

ice adolescence-esque fic: mappa fucked up majorly with canceling iceado and im supremely annoyed, mad, and upset. it just so happens that I was in the middle of my yoi renaissance era when the news came out so with my obsession going strong, I really wanted to try doing something with iceado. and then @athenov got roped in a la "be my coach co-conspirator/co-writer, viktor(ia)!"(notably with no drunken dry humping involved, I'm so proud of us). this is not going to be a very linear story, we're going around and about in different points in time. the first narrative follows viktor at 17ish deciding to try to ratify the quad flip and it includes some insight on his friends (who are OCs, im not sorry, his backstory is so barren, we had to!) and on how he ended up so alone by the time yoi was happening. the second narrative is post-yoi viktor coming back to russia ft yuuri, yuri & yakov. this is not a russian gov-positive fic. russian culture is very interesting and im sure some russians are wonderful people —diversity is a thing, after all— but to be perfectly clear, fuck the russian government and everyone supporting their actions. what they're doing is inhumane. [posts about this project will be tagged as "dee & athenov's yoi fic"!]

~

Another thing: If you have a genuine, not malicious or mean-spirited, question, feel free to send me an ask. Keep it chill, though! if you try to pick a fight i will delete the ask for the first time, but on strike 2, you're blocked.

i like to think that I'm open to discourse on some topics but not if you're starting out all aggressively cause if you're aggressive, I will be defensive (while privately having a panic attack) and we're not gonna get anywhere.

so. once again for the people in the back

If you're here to pick a fight with me then gtfo please.

I don't like fighting, it makes me anxious, so save us both the trouble and be as civil as you can be if you have a disagreement with me. don't forget to check my dni tho. I'm not gonna sit around having basic arguments about my rights to queerness as an aroace person or some stupid shit like that.

that said, unless I'm literally at your post saying shit you disagree with. don't come at me. literally block me. it's fine. I quite literally do not mind or care. like, if you saw my post or reblog and decided I suck then just block me will you?

~

Moreover, if you ever want fic recs for a fandom I'm in, you're definitely welcome to send me an ask! but if you don't feel like talking, anything I will ever tell you is straight from my ao3 bookmarks. sooo, feel free to hunt around those! [in case the link isn't working for you, my ao3 username is Justice_not_Revenge]

ao3 disclaimer: anything before 2021 is not necessarily something I claim. So like don't think I'm into this thing or that I'm passionate about this ship just because in 2019 I bookmarked 100 fics with it, people tend to grow and change so yeah.

some generic DNIs

if you're anti-lgbtq+ in any way (cmon im queer myself this one should be obvious)

racists, ableists, sexists/misogynists, incest shippers, pro-shippers, etc

if you support AI art or AIs stealing fic content (if you're the type to use other people's OCs in character.ai with no permission, then like go away)

literally anyone who thinks violating someone's concent is nice and fun and quirky

okay that's all! thank youuu-