#hard work but it pays off

[fexarii]

I kinda went crazy with this brush from a brushpack and uhm yeah. Toyrune posting. Might be my magnum opus for now. I still gotta finish the document for this fan chapter cuz it's very dear to me but the askbox is open if u have any questions/want a summary of the plot :]

This is one of the scenes in the latter half of the story, Spam and PB are traversing a mirror room full of tricks....

[inkskinned]

the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.

three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.

two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.

their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.

one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.

i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.

i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.

and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?

you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.

a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.

someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.

[free-my-mindd]

[2jihiir0]

Eddie’s bedroom.

The world didn’t end, he graduated and his room is still as messy as ever ♡

[timetodiverge]

Like mother, like daughter

...HE TRAINED HER WELL. HE IS A PROUD MAMA.

[ganonfan1995]

Burnt out

[egberts]

living room is painted and the new curtains are 🥹

[shvkespearc]

so LOL my new job completely fucked me over and scammed me by telling me i'd work 20 hours a week immediately, then saying they won't have proper availability for a few more weeks, now saying they can barely give me hours at all, IF ANY, for the foreseeable future.

well my life goes on and continues to include expenses even as i try to apply for new jobs

in the meantime well my poetry books are still for sale!

you can get them for as little as 1 dollar or customize the amount to anything! PLEASE THEYRE NOT BAD- (INSERT REVIEWS HERE) the site is perfectly safe to buy from and v easy!

[twilight-deviant]

Watcher fans sure are entitled and a little insane, ngl. "No one is going to sign up for your service! We're all poor! You've made the worst decision, and you'll be back in no time!" Saying this directly to the creators really reminds you of how low the respect for people you don't personally know has gone. I miss the forth wall between creator and audience.

I get and fully understand not having the money to support them, but... Watcher does have fans with money. A lot of them actually. They have merch sales. Their live tour sells out most venues. They have thousands of supporters on Patreon, where the cheapest tier is $5. They're able to gauge the rough finances of their staunchest supporters; that's how they landed on the subscription price. Yes, this move will reduce their viewership in sheer numbers, but to say all of their fans are broke and none will follow/support is factually incorrect.

It may not be a decision everyone agrees with, but severing the limitations of advertisers and youtube in favor of artistic freedom is a good thing. Yes, even if it comes with a loss of revenue. They understand that risk.

Also, I'm begging people to stop treating this like "another Netflix" or something and instead look at it as, "I am supporting a creator I like, similar to Patreon." They literally said in the video that they don't care if you share accounts. Get five friends, and you'll pay $1/mo.

I hate feeling compelled to rant in favor of their decision because I have my own reservations about whether it's the best move. However, I know it's not a choice they made lightly, and I like to think they understand that they'll need to branch out like crazy to entice subscribers.

[darlingod]

Jude in QoN, “And by the time the party ebbs, when I pass courtiers, they all bow to me. Every last one.”

Jude and the entire fandom:

[frostedpuffs]

I STILL HAVE MY PAW BADGES

[breelynnxoxoxo]

BUSINESS CASUAL 💋💋💋

[maria-ruta]

A couple of my friends worked really hard on this project, please check it out!

Fantastic animation and designs!✨

fair warning though - the main theme is sad

[scarapanna]

To be honest, I ponder about Vanilla's prospects for redemption. Presently, the outlook appears bleak as Shadow Milk gradually recovers while mentally tormenting PV. It's a bit uncertain for me whether this coexistence can endure indefinitely. Now the situation to me looks like there is absolutely no hope that it will be possible to get rid of SM. Is Vanilla simply prolonging the inevitable or is there a glimmer of hope for eventual freedom?

Ooh I adore this question!!

In terms of redemption, Pure Vanilla has gotten the chance to try and get to know more about his counterpart, but he doubts it would be possible as Shadow Milk's too far gone in terms of corruption. And certainly is not letting go of his ideals.

The situation is pretty bad but hope is there, the deal has some perks outside of the loss of freedom, mostly revolving on Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla not being able to damage eachother.

The beast needed a disguise to keep up appearences, while the other wanted to have the possibility of going outside of the void he'd otherwise be confined to. Thus, Shadow Milk can't break or injure Pure Vanilla..at least not until his plan succeeds. This due to injuries reflecting on himself as well, and any unusual change in the ancient would signal that something is going on to anyone that knows him well.

What Vanilla had originally in mind was protecting others even if he was going to take a burden, so he's pretty much stalling while trying to contact the others without notice.

There is still hope, but finding a way to get Shadow Milk out that doesn't involve killing/sealing away the other too is going to be difficult.

[campwillowpeak]

Sobbing I'm so happy this is the first time since at least May that I've gone into the new month not in the red,

I've even been able to catch up on all the payments I'd fallen behind on, I'm actually for the most part caught up, it's not CWP related but I'm so fucking stoked I wanted to share with you guys TToTT

[ladybugsimblr]

Bailey Keep-a-bag Richards