#having art based on my writing is the coolest thing ever

[twicearoundthebend]

Absolutely stunning gigolas art commission done by @memray !!!

Based on my fic - https://archiveofourown.org/works/52201411 :)

link to his comms >

[punkitt-is-here]

Read These Frequently Asked Questions Before You Send An Ask!

Patreon | Ko-Fi | Youtube

Heyo! I get a TON of asks each day, so I'm making this post so that folks know what's already been asked so my followers don't have to see the same stuff over and over, haha.

Hi! I'm Punkitt! I'm a game developer, artist, editor, director, and a bunch of other stuff! I'm working on an RPG called Astral Guard, a platformer called Susan Taxpayer, and I have a couple more fun projects in my pocket like Happup and Super Mario Death Row.

Did you know you look like weird al?

YES jesus fucking christ i get told this every day. if u send me a message in my inbox saying i look like weird al im killing you with like wizard spells and shit.

Why do you have so many hats? Do you know you have that many hats?

ye i like hats. :) free tumblr badges for one pea i like one piece and took as many as i could. free.

Where can I find your art/game development/horsecomix?

Great question! Everything I make that's my own and not a reblog is under "my posts", every bit of art I do is under "my art", any game development I do is under "gamedev", you can find all my MLP art under "mlp, my art" or "horsecomix" for the best stuff. I also have an "animations" tag and a "shitposts" tab. I also properly tag all my asks to be asks and write out the asker's name, so if you don't wanna see those just mute the ask tag.

Do you have a Patreon or a Ko-Fi?

I do have a ko-fi here! I also JUST launched a Patreon, which you can find here :)

What do you use for your art?

I use FireAlpaca and Paint.net for misc. effects!

What are you using to make your games?

I use FireAlpaca do make my assets! Astral Guard, Happup, and any other top-down RPG games I make are all made in RPGMaker 2003. Susan Taxpayer is made in SMBX2 Beta 4, a Mario fangame engine with lua support!

Why are you using a 2-decade-plus engine to make games?

It's fun!

Do you have a sideblog or something for your art?

Not right now! What you see is what you get. I do have a sideblog for Astral Guard though, if you want to follow that game specifically! @astral-guard

Can I make an OC based on your work? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!!! THATS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!! LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO!!!! I WANNA SEE!!!!

Can I do dubs/redraws of your comics? As long as you credit me! I get a ton of notifs each day, so if you wanna show me (and PLEASE i so do wanna see fun dubs and redraws!!!) tag me or DM me!

Can I use your art as a PFP? Sure! Just credit me somewhere. :D

Are you the one who trapped her coworkers in a room and made them listen to TF2 lore?

Yep! Everyone had a blast actually. :]

Did you make that comic where Fluttershy eats the weed brownie/Rainbow Dash has a male living space/someone has a cutie mark that says they'll kill Ronald Reagan?

Yep! That's me.

Where are you in MLP right now?

Currently just finished Season 7! Haven't watched the movie yet.

Have you watched Equestria Girls?

Yep! Thought it was super cute. I watched up to Rainbow Rocks and plan on watching more.

What's your opinion on MLP so far?

I love it! I think it's cute. I really don't agree that there was some sort of huge quality drop after season 2 or whatever.

What do you think of G5?

Not my style! I don't really like either animation types and it just seems like I'm not in the audience anymore. That's totally chill, but it just doesn't grab me!

Have you watched any other MLP stuff from previous generations?

Nope! But I did see a compilation called Minty Being Autistic for Six Minutes Straight that I loved. she's perfect.

Favorite pony?

Don't got one, I love all the Mane Six a LOT, but I'm particularly fond of Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity!

Favorite episode/season?

I'm so bad at picking favorites! But any season past Season 1 I have a blast with because I feel like it's just more my style. I don't have a favorite episode, but the most recent one I can remember LOVING is the one where Starlight bottles up her emotions because it was REALLY funny.

Do you like Pony.mov?

Nope! And stop saying my stuff reminds you of it, it's a lil annoying!

Have you watched the Mentally Advanced Series/Friendship is Witchcraft/Other fandom vids?

Probably not! My interaction with the MLP fandom prior to last year was pretty minimal, so I'm making my way through the show first!

What do you think of Fallout: Equestria?

I think it's super weird but really fun because of that. I've never properly read any of it but it's very fascinating to me.

Are you transgender?

Yep! I go by she/her, I'm a trans woman. Have been for many years, but I only recently came out online!

Are you a lesbian?

Nah, I'm bisexual!

Can I commission you?

Yeah! I only have my commissions available on my Ko-Fi at certain times though, so keep an eye out! I usually announce slots being open at least 12 hours beforehand. Slots are usually first come first serve, but we'll see.

Can I use your art as a Discord emote?

Yeah man i'm not scouring every discord on the planet to find stickers of my work. i think it owns if people take my stuff and make it stupid injoke emotes between friends that makes me very happy.

Can I send you an ask inquiring about gender dysphoria?

I feel like this is beyond my capabilities of advice! I'm actually very comfortable with my body and I have been for many years, so I don't know if I can give any good or helpful advice on that front. Apologies, but there are many resources out there where you can ask about those things if you look for them, like Discord channels!

Favorite Color?

I'm a sucker for blue!

Favorite coffee?

Can't drink coffee, my stomach is cringe.

Favorite tea?

I'm lame and can't drink most tea but I love this one orange-flavored tea a lot. I also LOVE ice tea.

Can I say you're horsegender/punkittgender/a little gender goblin void thing?

Well, I can't stop you, but I'm kind of beyond that phase now! I really am a boring ol' plain she/her girl, and I like it that way. It's not much, but it's honest gender.

What's your favorite game series?

Mother, Kingdom Hearts, Mario, and I USED to say Fallout, but I found out I'm really only a big Fallout New Vegas fan.

Favorite game from those?

Mother 3 is one of my fave games of all time! I love KHII, and I'm tied for SMB3 and SMW. Also Fallout New Vegas fucks hard.

Any other favs?

Bug Fables, SLARPG, and TF2!

Favorite Movie?

Everything Everywhere All At Once, no question.

Oh, are you going to college?

Yep! I'm a film/theater major.

Do you have a YouTube channel?

Yeah! Click right here for it, I stream there and upload footage of my games/animations/my film projects + other stuff.

What is that little orange creature I see?

That's bweenop, my little persona that I use when I'm feeling a little scrunkly.

Do you have a ponysona?

Yep! Her name is Star Magnolia, you can search her on the blog to see art of her.

When will Susan Taxpayer/Astral Guard/etc. be out?

No clue! I take things slow, that's just how I am.

How do you work on so many things at once?

I make small, satisfying amounts of progress! I never try to complete one giant thing all at once, I just like doing small bursts of fun stuff. I got ADHD, so I learn to work with it.

Did you know you look like Weird Al?

Im going to run you over with a clown car watch out

WHY do you work on so many things at once?

Fun! I like learning, I like making cool stuff, and I like showing it to people :)

Do you need any help with your projects?

Potentially! I'll probably put out a post asking for help if I need it.

If you could be a horse, would you?

You kidding me? Several ton beasts with the frailty of a sickly Victorian boy; my clumsy ass would never survive.

Are you some sort of...furry?

yeag

Why do you reblog so much?

Brother I LOVE posting. that's just how it is.

Fav music artists?

It changes literally ALL the time but I will recommend ANYTHING by Vylet Pony, its music is incredible and probably the reason I'm a weird niche microcelebrity now.

Why are you like this?

theater kid + having a lot of fun on the internet makes you a bit silly hehe hoo

SUSAN TAXPAYER QUESTIONS

Is it out? Not yet! But hopefully sometime in the next year. I dunno! I take things at my own pace and keep stuff fun. :)

What are you using to make it? SMBX2! It's a free fangame engine for Mario episodes, but it's incredibly versatile and has a wonderful community, so I decided to make Susan Taxpayer in it.

Is there a demo? You betcha! You can find it right here. I'll also probably put it up on my itch.io.

How do I install it? I made a post here about how to run the SAGE '23 demo!

[ghostalservice]

Tagged by @xoxoemynn and @spirker (and @soupbtch literally while I was writing this!!) to share my favorite fics I've written! What a lovely meme!!!

I have sixty OFMD fics published for a total of over 700k words in this fandom (with another 100k at least dropping for AUgust....) and if I listed every one I loved I would be here for hours SO. Let's do a few per category??

THE BIG BOYS

Wanna Fly Away, my collab with Petrichorca, is my most beloved work and the most complex, personal, and honest thing I've written. It's an alien!Stede AU based on the Animorphs universe, and it explores gender and identity and community and what we owe each other and ourselves and. I love it. 180k, E.

The Squssyverse, my collab with @zombee, is 70k of tentacles, worldbuilding, mythology, ocean shit and gender fuckery, and it's one of the richest worlds I've ever been a part of building. Also.... it's INCREDIBLY SEXY. 70k, E

2. THE WEIRD BOYS

I write a lot of monsterfucking and monsterloving because of queer reasons and also it's FUN and it's HOT, so. Here's my favorites of those!

The First Wave, my mer!Stede/Selkie!Ed collab with @nonplayer-character, is full of sweetness and weird bits and my favorite OC i have ever met! 10k, E

A Latent Spring, my tree!Ed collab with @swashbuckling-sweethearts, is weird and wonderful and about what it means to change and grow and also fuck a tree. THE ART IS SO GOOD AND THE MAGIC IS SO FUN. 31k, E

The Curse of Iphigenia, my giant sea god!Ed/mer!Stede fic, was written in 30 wild hours, many of which were at work, and is one of the silliest, most fun universes I've written and i LOVE IT. Featuring a really fun cameo, too. 8.5k, E

Come Hither Gleam is perhaps my most ridiculous fic—Yeti!Stede and Sandman!Ed who also happen to be X-Files style investigators. Also, there's sex pollen. Sort of. 6.7k, E

(if you like these, subscribe to me on ao3 because there is MORE COMING YOUR WAY FOR AU-GUST)

3. HUMAN AUS

Checking it Twice, my learn-to-fuck fic, is my most traditionally kinky fics. Sweet, hot, featuring a list and some lace. 14k, E

Mighty Real, my pride fic, is all about the many different ways pride hits—and how it can kind of hit in all of them at once. Also, dildo parachutes and dick bubble wrap. I contain multitudes. The sequel is also a HUGE FAVE OF MINE. 15.5k, E

Man is a Giddy Thing, a post-apocalyptic radio theatre AU, is one that I love and that some of my favorite people in this fandom say they love best of my work. It's a strange one, but I've very proud of it. 10k, E

4. MULTI-PERSON COLLABS

Choose Your Own Adventure: Reunion! was maybe the coolest project I've been part of in fandom, ever? over forty scenes, 17 authors, SO MANY ART PIECES, and over a hundred ways the story could go. If you haven't checked this out, DO IT. 44k, E

5. CANONVERSE

Take It Slow (Hold Me Close) is a sweet little coda to 2.05, and I think it's one of the best things I've written, actually? 1.6k, T

Um. That's like. only 18% of my fics. I tag @trans-top-stede @swashbuckling-sweethearts @thetardigrape @gaypiratebrainrot @morethanslightly @dracothelizard and @mxmollusca!

[bitemegamer]

Log 01: A Note and Meeting Qiu and Tamarack (Long Post)

Something about this intro... It makes my heart ache in the best way possible. It's the start, the start to a new section of a new life. It is the Fall, the air is cooling down and I can feel it hitting my nose.

*Forgive me, I shall be using MC thoughts as that of my own and basing things off of how I would react, I shall be using first person writing

I decided, since my MC is 10 and I was a little bit of a nut at this time, I would have him believe that it was a ghost that poked him instead of him being rational about it.

He gets greeted with this paper, and... Honestly, how WOULD your little kid thoughts (esp that of someone who did believe in ghosts) think this meant?

*I blurred the last name for my own reasons, thank you very much*

I really, truly wished to be Nancy Drew or one of the Hardy Boys. I spend so much time watching mysteries with my mom. Probably way too much time.

Too bad I am going to break those rules, Mother! Muahahaha! I am a little troublemaker. Just kidding. However, it's okay. I have a way to bend the rules... Just a little bit ;)

*Proceeds to go to the woods, which to me feels like straying even further??? tbh, knowing myself as a kid, I would have done this without thinking too deeply*

Oh where shall I be going? On a cool quest! Off I go to the amazing and great unknown!

WHAT??? Man... :( I know for a fact I would have been so upset, yet a little relieved. Had I gone further into the forest, I might have freaked out just a little bit.

The ghost inhabits this building.

Also, random thought/feeling/vibe that I am feeling... This reminds me so much of when I was a little kid doing my own thing, just wandering about and feeling like the whole world was amazing and whimsical. As a kid, I would always go out of my way to have some sort of fun and adventure... Even if that meant getting lost or making something out of nothing.

A RACCOON!

If I end up dying, let it be known that I met the end of my life with the coolest animal ever.

I'm sure said kid feels very different about a total stranger being in their backyard climbing up their fort.

lol, he thinks I'm quirky...

I mean... You were the one who sent the note... Right? Right? Oh God, never mind--

Don't look at me like that *SOB SOB* I'm trembling over here as if I am some sort of scared little grey hound!

Nice to meet you as well, Qiu!

*Snorts*

OCD Autism meeting and seeing someone with ADHD for the first time be like (joking):

I decided to be a little more nicer to him and politely just point it out to him:

This honestly does beg the question for me... How often has Qiu lost something simply from people just not telling him that he dropped his pages.

That's it, Bud. You. Me. We're going to be in it together. You're never going to lose something like that again while I'm around you.

He'll listen to me, but he will have no idea what I am talking about. At least he tries.

Making art out of trash... I see.

Yeah... Maybe my joke about ADHD might not be as much of a joke as I thought it was.. Hm...

Oh... OH... She's so cute, she makes me wanna cry..

Tamarack really went: 'Wow, okay, *bye*.

Well... Since I have exceeded my image limit for this post, I do believe that I can have this a closing moment... As of now, my MC has met both of the wonderful romantic/friend interests and I think they're both so wonderful!

I know that I am currently playing the Demo at the moment, but goodness this is so cute. This reminds me so much of my days after school and spending time with my friends around this time period.

I can't wait to finish this intro out and write more about my silly little thoughts... Until then, I hope you guys have enjoyed my little comments. I love doing that when I play games.

[that-ari-blogger]

A Study In Style

Roll With It is the best piece of television ever put to screen. This is not up for debate, I will not be taking argument. I will die on this hill. Roll With It is perfect. No, I'm not biased.

In all seriousness, this episode is gimmicky and fun, so as far as plot goes, analysis is difficult. Instead, I'd like to focus on the character writing and artistic embellishments on display and explore what they do for the story.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Spider Man: Into The Spiderverse, Arcane, Critical Role Campaign 3)

Artistic style is a remarkably underrated part of animation. People credit the writing and the direction, but the specific visual elements that make up a style can often have a more significant impact on the story.

Think of it this way. You are watching a series through a window. The direction dictates where the window sits and what it sees, the writing and the acting dictate what goes on outside, but if the style describes the window itself. A window made from tinted, stained, or warped glass will change what you see dramatically.

So, She-Ra's base art style relies on pastel colours and a two dimensional, cartoony aesthetic. It's realistic in theory, at least in contrast to One Piece, but its flat and appealing, and the expressions are often exaggerated to great effect.

Because focusing a shot is difficult when you don't have a camera (smudging colours in animation has a habit of not looking too good), animation has picked up tricks to focus the viewer's eyes. For example, Spider Man: Into The Spiderverse brought animation into the forefront of the public consciousness, and almost single handedly changed the industry, and it used a mixture of techniques to express its focus.

The items in the background of this shot are less detailed than Peter, and have a kind of 3D glasses effect making them difficult to focus on. They are also in stark contrast with the red of the Spidey Suit.

She-Ra takes a different approach, saturation. The vast majority of the series is shot in pastel colours with little-to-no shadows clogging up the shots. This is then accentuated by specific key-frames of bold colouration and deep shadows that contrast wildly with each other and the rest of the episodes they are in. I have a habit of using these key frames as my opening screenshot for these posts because I think they look the coolest.

The point of this is to highlight certain elements in your mind, in the same way that when you close your eyes after looking at a fire, the image lingers for a moment, memory tends to work the same way to bold colours. There is also the idea that making specific moments stand out visually tells the audience to pay attention.

If you focus on certain moments, you guide the audience's view towards them. It's the same thing that a camera does in a still image, focusing on specific items in the shot to guide the eye.

In Roll With It, as the characters present their own plans, the art style changes, to match the minds that you are being transported into. Adora's style is the same as normal for the series, but the contents are different. Adora is matter of fact and to the point, but she perceives threats everywhere. Adora cannot relax.

But the specific colour choice also has an effect on the meaning of a shot, and for that, let's discuss the other animated pioneer of the past few years, Arcane.

Arcane has zero chill, and even less subtlety. This shot centres around Jinx's mental instability caused by her sister. Its a tortured mind who is hallucinating about someone who isn't actually in the scene. So, naturally, her world is on fire with pink flames, associating that fire with Vi, for whom pink is a signature colour.

Glimmer, however, takes the series' key frames and colour and dials that up to eleven. Everything in this shot is bold and action packed. I am tempted to describe it as violently pink.

But the shot is entirely monochrome. Everything here is pink or black, and that acts as a neat worldview for Glimmer's worldview. Glimmer perceives the world in black and white, but where the white would usually represent good in that idea, here, it is replaced by pink, and by Glimmer. Adora has a reputation for a hero complex, but I would argue that Glimmer has something similar. Not in the same way as Adora's pathologic need to save people, but Glimmer definitely has an ego problem.

The pink also makes Glimmers mind difficult to read as an audience, and I think that is the point. Everything in Glimmer's worldview is super bold and in focus, meaning that it dims the effect of the focus. In the wise words of someone with a definite hero syndrome.

"When everyone's super, no-one is."

Glimmer is the perfect example of how someone with an incredibly simple worldview of good and bad can do some truly morally grey acts. In this case, because she doesn't believe in good and evil, she believes in Glimmer and evil. Either you agree with her, or you are her enemy. I wonder if that will ever come up again.

There's also no way I can mention this scene without pointing out that this is a reference top classic James Bond, and that speaks to Glimmer's character as well.

The original James Bond was a character whom the world revolved around, and who rarely ever failed. He was charming, and witty, and cool. In short, Glimmer perceives herself as a Mary Sue. And it's important to understand that this is her opinion of herself, and not the actual reality. Once again, Glimmer has an inflated sense of superiority and does not understand the fact that she could be flawed.

Bow, on the other hand, is simple. He is the single most simple character of the entire cast. But that doesn't mean he is flat. I want to stress that Bow is only rendered this way by the insanity of everyone else on screen.

In a world where everyone is a ticking time bomb, Bow serves to balance out the shenaniganry, which makes him an Orym figure.

Art by Hanna Friederichs (@agarthanguide)

For context, Roll With It is very clearly drawing on the aesthetics of table top role playing games. This is the D&D episode, and no this hasn't artificially inflated what I think of the episode at all.

Critical Role is a D&D actual play series that is currently in its third campaign. If you have read my series on Stray Gods, you will recognise two of the cast members of CR as Laura Baily (Who played Grace) and Ashley Johnson (Who played Calliope).

Orym of the Air Ashari is a character played by Liam O'Brien, a voice actor who is somehow not weighed down by the sheer amount of talent he is lugging around. Seriously, this guy has been in everything from Star Wars to League Of Legends.

In any case, the current campaign of CR centres around a collection of walking disasters, and I mean that as a compliment. Everyone in the series is one step away from spiraling into insanity, with the one possible exception of Orym.

So, Orym has taken the role of the team's everyman, rendered simple by the rest of the cast, and you can see where I am going here.

Bow and Orym are the straight men of the group (a deliberately ironic choice of wording), balancing out their companions and offering a sense of stability and comfort.

But, both Orym and Bow have stuff going on behind their eyes. Orym is grieving form the loss of his husband and father, and Bow is dealing with some serious self-worth issues, but you don't see those elements that often, purely because of the more overt nature of those they surround themselves with.

But this is a post about style, and what do the visuals of Bow's plan tell us about him?

Well, Bow's style draws on the aesthetics of the original She-Ra series, back when the series was designed entirely to sell toys and nothing else.

Once again, Bow is simple, he is a paragon hero, who is fighting in this war because it is the right thing to do. So naturally, his mind harks back to the version of this story that was purely idealistic.

I also want to quickly mention Mermista here, because she is my favourite character. In her mind, she is She-Ra, armoured up and powerful, the chosen one.

And this is where my point comes in to this post. That's right, I do actually have something to say.

This episode is a D&D episode because it is drawing on the key element of TTRPGs, the chaos. TTRPGs are fun and are designed to be a mix of different playstyles. Sometimes you are playing Blades In The Dark and you want to be something out of left field, and that is completely ok.

The message of this episode is that different styles complement each other and make each other better by contrast. Foils are important, even when they aren't antagonistic.

Final Thoughts

This episode is perfect. No more comments.

Next week, I will be looking at White Out, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[milflewis]

hey i was wondering if you could do a blog rec list maybe? no pressure though! you just have good taste in drivers and shows and stuff imo and seem to know a lot of cool people here!

ah ofc! not really sure how to do these tho so sorry if it’s shit lol or if i forget anyone!

writer blogs

@hungerpunch valewis. dantteri. valtteri blog. lo’s writing has literally made me sit and stare at a wall before. @husbono sewis. smick. posts seb, lewis, mick, alex etc. i live for whatever genius edit idea natasha will bless us with next. @vettelsbitch maxiel. sewis. seb blog. every other month c comes into the gc like. guys. i had this idea for a fic and now i’ve slipped and accidentally written 10k. pls help. and it’s always the best thing ever. @rosyjuly smick. sewis. posts seb, lewis and mick. whenever i see that rosy has answered some fic prompt or smth and there’s a little readmore under the cut! pure delight i’m telling you. @thelittlebirdthatkeptsomanywarm sewis and slagclaren (will forever be grateful to a for writing a fic based on one of The lewis/jenson commercials). @traincoded also has written a slagclaren fic that filled the void of Another batshit insane commercial. @lewishamil10n valewis and sewis writer. always has the Correct Takes. @effervescentdragon sewis. brocedes. sebchal. charlos. pretty much whatever is poking at akira’s brain at that moment is what she is writing. @azzy421 mainly sewis. the writer of the lucky thirteen au! @trailsofpaper also mainly sewis. the writer of The sewis Knight au. @tinytauris and @yukierres are both doing god’s work filling the yukierre ao3 tag. @collarboen sewis and is also a miles/lewis truther! every single one of these writers have knocked me the fuck out with their writing. just saying.

artist blogs

@andreagrimes writer. also a valtteri blog and v v funny. their style of drawing is one of my fav. @russilton writer. george/lewis blog. mark also bullies kyle on main so like. follow him even just for that lol. @ilikecarsandlike4people and @storm3326 they both do v different kinds of doodles and art styles and i love them both

gifmakers

@ferrawri this is fran. if i loved her less i could talk about it more. posts daniel, lewis and motogp. mostly fabio and marc. @userhamilton posts seb, lewis, mick and lance mainly. has only one wrong opinion but that’s about the sebstache and i’ve given up trying to get ppl to see that light on that. @mickschumachergf posts v cool gifs of lewis and seb and mick etc. and is into fe! (also v funny and sometimes does these cool gif sets with subtitles or smth different and funky with them and they’re fantastic everytime). @formulaonedirection posts mainly lewis and lando. (her tags? genius and comical). @eliotheeangelis posts old f1. a godsend truly

editors/graphic makers

@queerbenched the funkiest graphics. @brawn-gp v v cool edits. @ivettel the most insane gif-editor i know. like half the time i’m like literally HOW are you doing this. fairly sure pure magic (and sooo much skill) is the answer. and writer and seb main. @yukierree v cool and colourful graphics and edits.

lewis blogs

@teamroscoes and @l8tof1 are The lewis blogs. @localoptimist and @lewishcmilton are v funny and have the best takes on things. @4405x sewis main. @sweetaswithscottymac also into fe! @vvettell also posts about seb and alex and fe! (also v funny and nice and i love seeing her takes on stuff)

seb blogs

@wdcseb also a writer! of the sebchal agenda. @unhinged-vettel v funny and really cool edits. @seblicha also v funny and chill

mick blogs

@princemick if you follow me you should definitely follow kyle lmao. at least just for context. they also make cool gifs and graphics too ig. @acrosstobear The Mick Blog . @mickbetsch the coolest gif-edits fr.

yuki blogs

@tsuchansworld and @tsu22 are both yuki blogs and are always correct. @lewki The yuki and lewis blog.

valtteri blogs

@eleyhsa and @garnetaldebaran are The valtteri blogs.

alex blogs

@raceweek her text posts never fail to make me laugh. @alxalb the funniest tags.

fe blogs

@sweetaswithscottymac also posts about lewis and indycar. @mickstart also has the Best michael schumacher takes and just takes in general. @andrelottering also a writer and i think into indycar too? (pls i’m so sorry if i’m wrong)

[caustic-caffeine]

Helpful Casey Guide (or, what you’ll find here)

this post updates from time to time | last update: july 11, 2024

Who is a Casey

aka “Asphodelity”

a(n):

digital (and sometimes traditional) artist ;

worldbuilder ;

rock and metalhead ;

ambulatory wheelchair user and chronic illness haver ;

incredibly based individual with all the correct opinions and the coolest hair you’ll ever set eyes upon (/j)

low quality rendition of me below 👌

What is a Casey

Ingredients:

healthy helpings of neurodiversity, queerness, disability ;

the occasional political, theological, or philosophical post ;

large portions of art and writing, particularly of ocs ;

status updates and storytimes

This blog may be unsuitable for people below the age of fifteen. Please stop use and consult a physician (/hyp) if you have allergies to any of the following:

red/black eyestrain ;

gore, body horror ;

fictional drug abuse ;

fictional toxic relationships ;

overall dark themes such as violence, abuse, etc ;

possible artistic, non-sexual nudity ;

potentially “cringey” things ;

a marginalized person expressing themself online (controversial, they know)

When is a Casey

Whenever he feels like it, in the PST/PDT timezone. …Don’t expect a lot of consistency.

Where is a Casey

You can find Casey in a number of places, with varying levels of activity. Not all are listed but these are the most relevant:

instagram profile

art fight profile

toyhouse profile

discord server

pronouns page

cara (inactive here)

Why is a Casey

well, when a man and a woman love each other verrry much—

Casey, in short, just wants to share their experiences and thoughts and perhaps promote greater understanding and appreciation for others like him. Also, with a blog, they can dump what’s in their head without derailing conversations with friends! Yippee!

Other Info About Casey

“Who’s that one oc I see so frequently on this page?”

This is them! They’ve kinda unintentionally become the main mascot™️ of my social media presence lmao

you can find more details about them at their toyhouse page. feel free to draw ‘em :3

“Do you have a DNI/BYF?”

Not really. If you’re an asshole, I’ll just block you :p I’d prefer if people younger than 13 or older than 35 don’t interact, but if we’re already moots or you’re interacting for art reasons then go ahead!

“Do you participate in Art Fight?”

Ohhhh brother, you bet I do. Here is this year’s art fight info, here is this year’s prep thread (see my reblogs), and here are some minigames I made (also see my reblogs)

“What’s your commission status?”

Closed for the moment; art trades and collabs are open though, so feel free to reach out if you’re interested! I currently don’t feel comfortable making money off of my art; I want to improve and expand my horizons first n all!

“What hashtags can I use to search your profile?”

#art: #oc art, #oc ref sheet, #illustration, #doodle, #art fight (and #art fight 2024), #art trade, #art commission, #gift art (for specifics)

#just thoughts: #asks open, #answered asks (for specifics)

#writing; #oc lore, #worldbuilding (for specifics)

“Who are those people whose names are in brackets?”

Those are the characters who are featured in each post! Most are mine, but some may be other people’s; if they’re other people’s characters, they’ll be probably credited as such! This is here so yall can more easily identify my ocs if you aren’t familiar with them already :]

For ex. my current profile banner is of Francis!

[drawsdenfiles]

I mostly seen you in the comment sections about trump, and I gotta say you’re kinda based on some level when it comes to debating people. I also hope you grow on your art journey and get more attention, coming from a small artist myself. :o)

Oh my gosh, I know, I've just been going off at some of these people. And AW! I LOVE the art I've been able to post lately. The style is so fun and messy and the colors are looking so pretty...

It's fun to draw fanart for a series that's as entertaining, inspiring, frustrating, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking, as the Dresden Files. Jim Butcher is really something else when it comes to putting major stories together-- you don't even have to be a writer to take his advice into whatever creative thing you're working on, it's neat.

Us artists have to stick together! Making something out of nothing, whether you're writing, drawing, painting, singing... It's, to me, one of the coolest things an individual can do. I love your art, by the way, you've got yourself a new follower.

Thank you so much for sending me the sweetest message ever. ♡

[notquitejiraiya]

8 YEARS

Last year, I wrote my first yearly recap after having been inspired by a tradition set by the wonderful @unioncolours each year. That recap contained an array of fics and thoughts and inspirations after the insane year for me that was 2022. It was a huge year for me in terms of many things. Shortly after my last recap, I got a master’s degree and officially became an engineer, something that honestly spurred on my creative drive. While studying for that degree, I had my coolest year of writing in a while: as you know from the last recap, if you read it, I wrote 9/10, Love Means Nothing (which, yes, will be finished in time, don’t worry), and most importantly, I wrote Strangers.

Most importantly, I say, because the entirety of 2023 would ultimately hinge upon what Strangers began. But that is something we’ll come to in time.

Be warned, this will be long, but if you'd like to read about my last year, please do keep reading below :)

Before we begin with the majority of this essay, I wanna give a shoutout to the lost soul of the year that is Traditions. It wasn’t long and it wasn’t hugely exciting, but it kickstarted this year in terms of fic posting, even if only on Tumblr, and it was a cute one. I always love a little challenge like those from a gift exchange, and it’s always nice to give a gift. I hope it was nice to read, too!

But, starting on the meaty stuff, I think it’s important that I address the two constants throughout the history of this blog. The first, which comes as no surprise to any, is ShikaTema: the most important ship to ever exist, to me, and the heart of some of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had throughout my fandom life. The second constant is a topic explored in a lot of Shikamaru-based content across the fandom and one that I will never tire of.

That second constant is chess.

The game of chess is something very special to me. The first day I met my partner, we played chess against one another for hours (and I lost - the only time he’s beaten me, actually). My best friend, who introduced us that day, gave me a rook keyring that I have kept on my house keys ever since, whether I’ve lived in my home town, another city, or now even in another country entirely. My favourite musical - one of the things I connect to my father best with - centres around chess, its politics, and its capacity for obsession. And probably the most important fic on this blog to date obviously takes its name from the game.

I have no doubt that most people who follow me, especially those of you here on Tumblr, discovered my writing as a result of Chess, either by reading it or maybe through the incredible art which that fic was lucky enough to receive. It was so special and personal to me to write, and while it’s certainly no longer my best work as an author, I’m still immensely proud and pleased with how it resonated with people. I think, so far, it is the most beloved thing I’ve written, at least to others.

But something that always bothered me about Chess was how little chess there actually was in it. Sure, there were a couple of scenes where chess was played, but there was more flower arranging and fish and chips than there was time sitting across a chessboard. It felt almost like a wasted opportunity to write about Shikamaru being a chess whizz and doing next to nothing with the skill. I couldn’t let the idea die. In many of my older stories — Tumblr-only stories — Shikamaru plays chess (or shogi) or inspires Shikadai or Temari to do the same. But nowadays, it feels like it has all been leading up to right now and to the monster that 2023 has birthed.

When I came to write Strangers in 2022, an idea came to me as just a little easter egg. That idea was that, in the Strangers universe, Temari’s husband would be a world-class chess player, and she, too, would have an equally worldwide job. It sort of naturally followed that Temari, too, could be a chess player; what she might lack in terms of natural strategic prowess, she more than makes up for in drive and ruthlessness, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about chess players in my life, it’s that they hate to lose. Temari 101, methinks. As I made my way through writing Strangers, that fact nipped at my brain tirelessly until, before I knew it, I had a 30k outline and, by association, a goal for what 2023 would be for me as a writer.

2023 would be the year of Grandmaster.

I’ve always been more of a character writer than a plot writer. I think perhaps that’s one of the reasons I’m drawn to writing AUs over canon works; to me, while writing, it’s more interesting to explore how an existing character would behave in a totally alien environment to their canon one, and Grandmaster is this year’s attempt at that.

I mention this because, while I call Grandmaster (GM) a ShikaTema fic, it is, first and foremost, a fic about Temari. Shikamaru is there — of course, he is — and he plays a crucial role in so many of the elements of her life within the story. But the story is unequivocally hers. We see what Temari sees, focus on what Temari focuses on, suffer through Temari’s delusions of her own self-importance, and feel the weight of the expectations put upon her. It’s an exploration of the weight of ambition that’s not necessarily your own, and it has gutted me to write more than Chess ever did.

I don’t have enough delusion of my own self-importance to yet write and publish an essay on this story, why I’ve written it, and how it feels to write it, but there are a few points that I have to voice in this yearly reflection because they’re so crucial to my last year as a writer and online.

You will hear me sing the praises of my friend Bex to the ends of the Earth. While we share a name, we have very different approaches to writing, and we often tell quite different stories, but she is truly responsible for inspiring me to write Temari-centric stories. 100%. If you are reading this and somehow haven't read what I truly consider to be the greatest ShikaTema fic of all time (no one cries for unknown soldiers), follow that link, read it right now, and then come back a changed individual. And you will be changed, I promise, because it changed me on an almost chemical level with its power. Everything you write, Bex, has that power, and it is extraordinary and frankly terrifying in the most incredible way.

I had already started GM by the time you began releasing When I am Gorgeous, but holy fuck, if that didn’t spur me on. The character growth and arcs in those stories are something to behold and something I strive for. With that in mind, the first point of this writing reflection is a thank you to Bex specifically, without whom I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun writing as I’ve had this last year, and I wouldn’t be sitting where I’m sitting as I write this. So thank you - a hundred times over and more. I am honoured to share a corner of the internet (and a name) with you, my ‘rival’. Thank you.

The second point is another thank you. This time to @clumsydragon28, who is again a dear friend and without whom GM wouldn’t be what it is. From support in DMs to insane and phenomenal essay-like analysis in comment sections, you are outrageously inspiring to em and others and there aren’t words for my gratitude for that. But, as you already know, there are elements of GM and what is to come after GM that exist only because of you and your own beautiful writing and stories. I will refrain from spoiling the joys of the latter chapters of Plié — another absolute must-read where the love and joy of an art form ooze from every word and captivate you with their wholesomeness and beauty — but it helped me find the missing piece at the end of GM that lets me tie it up with a bow, and ultimately set into motion the fic that will follow. I can’t thank you enough, truly, but thank you. 

Having thanked those who frankly made it happen, I’ll get on with the writing-specific stuff. No spoilers, but it will be a little self-indulgent so bear with me.

I’ll start with something kind of trivial. GM is my first real time writing OCs in a fanfic as more than a passing reference. It doesn’t have many because I like to bring in canon characters where applicable. But sometimes that’s not viable, and I’m not about to force some character into a hole they don’t fit into because I hate when other people do that, so Danya and Mischa kind of had to happen. And I’ve had a really fun time writing them. It’s not uploaded yet, but there’s a chapter coming soon that’s quite focused around Mischa, and I think it’s some of my best writing in the whole story, and so GM has kind of gotten me over my fear of OCs. Nobody’s complained about their existence, and they’ve made the story more complete. A lesson learned, for sure.

Secondly, it’s no secret that I really like Rasa. Do I think he’s a wanker? Yes. Do I think hating him for what happened canonically is valid? Also, yes. Do I think that there’s nuance to his character that is often disregarded or forgotten? Absolutely. And, as a result of that, do I think he’s criminally underutilised in fics? Fuck yeah, I do.

So GM has a lot of Rasa. More than I initially intended when I began writing it, actually. He’s there pretty much all the time — if he’s not in the scene, he’s probably influencing what’s going on in it either directly or via years of impressionable behaviours. And it’s been really interesting to write that. Challenging, for sure, because I have to keep in line with all the relationships set out in Strangers and realistically make them come to a head where they do. And challenging in the sense that it doesn’t feel good to write some of the things that Rasa has to say in this story.

There have been a few times in my 8 years as a fanfic author where I’ve written something and actually felt violently emotional after having done so, but GM has given me a fair few of those moments, specifically as a result of Rasa. I won’t say which moments they are, partly because the expectation of how one is ‘supposed’ to feel consuming anything takes away the authenticity, I feel, but I wonder if when people read his dialogue in certain chapters — some already up, and some soon to come — they will feel the same as I did writing them. It’s an interesting thought I’ve never had the opportunity or time to really consider until GM, and one I am sure I will consider more going forward.

Speaking of Rasa and the link in relationships, I don’t know if I’ve even officially said in this recap that GM is the prequel to Strangers. I’ve never written a prequel before, but it’s a unique experience. It’s like working from the end to the beginning; it feels wrong and yet makes perfect sense. Keeping the sibling relationships in line with Strangers is really fun, honestly. Writing that fic, I had little opportunity to just write the three of them having fun or being loving in traditional ways, and I had zero opportunity to utilise Yashamaru.

Writing this fic, Yashamaru has been everywhere, and he has become one of my most beloved characters.

I have nothing else to say on that, I just wanted to give it it’s own line. He’s played a big part of warming my hear this year, and I love him.

Finally, I feel like this fic has really brought out the introspective beast within me. Introspection has always been my forte, but it’s really taken the reins this time. In some ways, I’m quite annoyed with myself for it and for being word and long-winded. I’ve always had the biggest respect for those who can say what they want to say concisely, and I have never been one of those people.

That’s the goal for the 9th year of notquitejiraiya, for sure, and I plan to do so with a fic in the same universe as has captivated me these last 2 years, this time with the focus on Shikadai. Shikadai will be a new challenge for me, too, especially a grown up Shikadai, and I'm excited to try and tell his story, concisely and without even half the discontentment present in both GM and Strangers lol. We deserve some cheerfulness and range here at NQJ Ltd.

But at the same time, I’m proud of the way I write and the way I express myself and the characters within my story. I think I’m quite good at following a train of thought in a realistic way — not quite to the level of my idol, Mr Alex Garland, but I’ve time to learn — and by being Temari-centric, GM has let me into Temari’s head and let me run havoc her thoughts. I’ve received multiple comments on GM about how it’s somewhat frustrating not to have Shikamaru’s point of view, and while I get why: no thanks.

This is Temari’s story. There will be some moments we see through other’s eyes, certainly, but I’m of the opinion that if we saw both sides of GM, it would be far more frustrating. This story will span ten years and for me, it’s an exercise in writing someone piecing together parts of their life during that time into something worth living and figuring things out as they go. In life, while you might get to hear what the people around you think from what they say and how they act, you don’t get the privilege of seeing inside their heads. Neither does Temari, and by association, neither do you. I hope it pays off in the end; I’ll be proud regardless.

But enough about Becks the writer. Something pretty insane happened for Becks the human being last month, something that she’s not completely over. I live in Finland now. I’m learning Finnish, and I’m on Master’s degree number 2 (yes, I am addicted to learning, do not judge me). I have, frankly, no time to write, but am I going to do it anyway? Of course I am. I can’t stop myself, even if I tried. Not to mention, the pressure of my first MSc gave me Strangers, and I’m not going to resist if the 2nd brings on something equally fun.

Another constant this year for Becks the human, that I am certain my friends must be sick and tired of, is The Brothers Karamazov. I bought myself that book as a treat for finishing my exams in 2022 and have been slowly chugging through it for the last year. I’m sure it comes as no surprise with my wordy introspective tendencies that I love a classic, and I think it’s quite fun that I’ve somewhat accidentally aligned reading this particular classic alongside falling into the Bungo Stray Dogs fandom and, even more fun, aligned with writing GM. Two wildly different stories of trios of Russian siblings. These trios – they follow me around, I swear! But jokes aside, I have only 98 pages left of this almost 1000 page beast, and it feels like the end of an era. Never in my life have I seen characters as humans more effectively, and never have I felt more inspired to make sure the characters that I write appear human, too.

But like I say, being wordy is my weakness. The evidence is in this almost 3k ramble alone. There are so many more things I could say, and maybe once I’ve finished GM and it’s all published and tied up with a bow, I might share those thoughts, too.

But for now, I must say thank you to the 8th notquitejiraiya year for being so memorable, despite my blog and my ao3 page having ‘little’ to show for it by way of variety. The 9th year will be a good one, I’m sure, and I enter it with incredible friends — authors and otherwise — and the will (of fire) to improve.

And become more concise. That’s job no1.

Thank you all for playing a part in the last 8 years, whether we’re close or we’ve never spoken. Your time means the world, and I hope you have an incredible day / night / life.

Becks x

[picnokinesis]

hi! i was wondering how you feel about people making podfics / art / translations / other things inspired by your fics?

Hello my friend!!

I absolutely LOVE it when people do this!! Seriously, it's the coolest and most touching thing, yknow? Like, to have inspired another person!! It's such an honour. I've had a couple of folks draw some awesome fanart based on my fics before, and @puffins-studio is incredible and has made some AMAZING dolls based on my fics too! I've never had anyone do translations or podfics (although I have played around with the later before, since I do love both listening to and recording podfics, I just never get anything finished rip) but, again, I would be so honoured and delighted if someone did this! And the same would go for if people wanted to write fics based on my stuff, or I think there was someone who asked me a while back if they could make gifsets based on my fics? Which sounded like the COOLEST thing ever!!

So in short - yes!!! A thousand times yes, PLEASE do this and please tag me if you do anything because I'd love to see it!! I should probably put a blanket permission statement up somewhere tbh

[isolabellz]

hi! i just came across your account and ur art is so amazing and ur so talented i’m obsessed. also i um wrote the fic your most recent post is based on and seeing that is probably the coolest thing that’s ever happened and i love how you’ve captured that moment okay have an amazing day!

omg i’m so sorry this took me so long to respond to tumblr likes to hide my inbox notifications but omg!! thank you so much!!!! thank you so much for writing such an amazing fic like so many scenes are constantly bouncing around my head i’m obsessed!! i kinda have an addiction to drawing scenes from fics but i always get nervous that i won’t capture the moment how the author intended so im so happy you like it!! hope you have an amazing day as well!!!

[laurasauras]

18, 23, 29 for the ask game!

18. Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

nah. i'd love to, don't get me wrong! there are some beautiful worksheets out there and i like the idea of having all the information to hand for sure, but i just can't make myself do it. it's too homeworky. i can't even use scrivener's character templates, i put the name in and then everything is random dot points in no order. i use all my organisation at work, i don't have any left over for home 😂

i guess i do outline longer fics/original stories, but it's not with a guided tool, it's dot points all the way down. i often don't outline until i'm midway through writing the story too and "outline" can be pretty generous. this is from my "aaa priorities" document (which functions as my calendar and quick reference guide)

the fics are in order of what my priorities were last time i thought about it and i haven't updated the Prince of Grief one that i finished over the weekend, so you can see what i had there as my outline for the ending that's been sitting there for a casual 4 years. evanescent idolatry's outline goes on for pages and pages though. which is part of the reason i haven't written it--because i've already fucking written it 😂

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

the one that's on my mind rn is Prince of Grief because as i say i finished it over the weekend and i'm not gonna lie, rereading it was REALLY painful. i didn't let myself edit it because i wanted to FINISH it, but i did have to go in and correct john's quirk, which i'd used incorrectly. what, did 2018 laura not have the time to check the wiki? she didn't even think she needed to, hubristic bitch that she is! and oh my god, i overused CAPS LOCK. that's not even addressing the way i leaned heavily on dialogue because i hadn't learned how to balance it with prose yet, as well as like a million other things that hurt me as i was rereading.

apart from that, maybe Elevatorstuck! it's not a particularly long fic, but i was unspeakably proud of it when i wrote it and the concept remains solid. i like the timestamp format and there are times when the writing is pretty good too, but god. i didn't know how to write john back then. a couple of years ago i went through and got rid of like 80 million exclamation points and i think that improved it, but it'd be cool to do a rewrite with all my 2024 mad skillz.

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

to be honest, i think the "inspired by" function of ao3 is really underrated and there's nothing really holding me back from writing sequels/prequels of other people's fics. i mean, i'd ask as a courtesy, but i know if anyone wanted to write something based on my fics i'd just be super flattered and want to read it!

i suppose Social Norms aren't the only things that get in a way of a "could", so my answer is actually BONES OF BLACK MARROW by oxfordRoulette. it's hands down the coolest fic ever and i think about it constantly. the reason i can't do this is because the story is perfect in its shape and there isn't a need for a sequel, but also because the creativity and coding know-how required to do what they did with the formatting is simply beyond me. i have on multiple occasions shown people this fic as proof that fanfic is Real Art

[pinyeti]

dear tumblr

today I start my first day of junior year of college pt2

not really an insane first but it feels pretty important for some reason let me give you a rundown

I have an art thing due today so I spent all of last night on that THEN AT 4AM I SAW A MUKBANG ON NOODLES and don't ever do this I feel sick I ate noodles very early and I put frozen corn in it except it was very last minute so I doubt it had time to cook properly which is probably why I feel this sick anyway then I DONT FINISH MY ART THING cuz I've never worked with neutral tones before and have no idea how to design it for a wall in 3 hours so I just.... watch Carol and the end of the world for a bit and slowly fall asleep at 4.30am

I have a 9.30 TODAY [CURRENTLY WRITING THIS IN MY TAXI ITS 9:14] SO OBVIOUSLY I wake up at 8:30 unprovoked thank god I had the forethought of having my shirt ironed cuz clothing decisions would have killed me, I contemplate making breakfast for my family [my moms not in the country rn] BUT I REALIZE THE MEALS IVE PREPPED FOR THE WHOLE DAY HAVE BEEN EATEN BY PIG BROTHER so I decide im gonna order them something at lunch time then (ok tmi [actually what part of this ISNT tmi]) I try shaving my girl stache cuz I've had issues in the past but MY STUPIF PINK GIRL RAZOR WONT WORK I DOUBT I CAN DO ANYTHING WITU IT AND ITS SO OVERPRICED FOR NO REASON so I pull out my dads razor (A NEW ONE DW) AND IT WORKS WONDERS WTF AND IM WILLING TO BET MY NEW SQUEAKY CLEAN BABY FACE ON IT BEINF LESS EXPENSIVE anyway then I go keep all my dishes in the kitchen cuz I have a billion in my room you'd think my depressive episodes give birth to them but really it's just me always (woah my taxi guy just dodged a food biker and I felt it in my bones) I steal my little sisters makeup cuz her makeup is pretty cute she's pretty cute i wish I started makeup when I was younger so I'd be a pro now but no I had to be not like other girls UGH. THEn I take my club banner im president just president things and run to a taxi and start updating everyone on tumblr and it kills time till my first class of the day isa301 introduction to database management systems surprise I do information systems and business analytics and I have no idea why

I think some of it is me being extremely insecure about my skills, I love art but a career in it? after seeing my dad struggle following his dreams? yeah no I'd take a cushy job and financial freedom any day

the world wants dreamers to dream when everythings working against them you're sick for that world I hate you but I adore my dad for being a dreamer and I think he's the coolest and he's so supportive my moms so supportive too ofc there are the absolute horrible moments but today I feel like seeing tje world in a good light (I'm expecting pictures of the messy room I left behin)

whys it taking me this long to get to class it's 9.27 and I have the banner to keep in my office so I need to do it quick hmmmm should I be late to nash's class or walk in with a banner snd a sob story I really need this professor to be on my team cuz he grades you based on how much he likes you seriously I didn't realise people like this actually existed okag I might have time to quickly go place the banner it's 9.28 I'm so dumb I didn't check where my class is

[illustrious-paladin-lesbian]

Thanks for the tag @justbabyme! This stumped me for a minute lol

Rules: 1) Pick a fandom 2) Write five things you absolutely LOVE to see in fanart, fanfics and whatever other forms or creativity. But stay positive! No passive aggression or insults or resentment towards "opposite" kind of content etc 3) Tag five people do to the same!

I don't even know which fandom to pick! There's just too many. I guess maybe ATLA.

1) the show itself is perfection! I feel like this is the only fandom I engage with where the canon material is so good. (I know that's not a fandom thing but I feel it needs said)

2) The fics are amazing! I can't remember ever reading a bad fic for this fandom. All of the writers have the coolest ideas and their own takes on things. Like I cannot tell you how many Zuko & dad Hakoda fics I've read that are based off the same idea and yet they're all so different (and they all make me cry).

3) The sense of community with fanfic writers and fanartists. I cannot say enough good things. I love when I'm reading a fic and there's a section for fanart and other fanfics inspired by that work. Everyone is hyping one another!

4) the cultural awareness from this community. I love seeing Inuit Katara and Sokka fan art. I love seeing people who build on the canon cultures by using the real world cultures they were based on.

5) the character exploration. So many fics dissect the characters mentally, and I'm here for it. My rec list would have to be a mile long.

Tagging: @half-skimmed @nomouthtospeakof @existentialdani @liminal-space-wasteland and anyone else who wants to brag about their fandoms

[tyforthevnm]

Interview With Gerard Way & Ray Toro Taken From Black Velvet 41 - Aug 2004

Interview With Gerard Way & Ray Toro Taken From Black Velvet 41 - Aug 2004

NB. Matt Pelissier is no longer in the band.

By Laura Fitzgerald

Link to interview: x

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE are the rock 'n' roll embodiment of Jekyll and Hyde. Onstage, cursing and howling, spitting and snarling, an enthralling yet seemingly unhinged band plough through their finest material, the slow but steady alcohol intake of the previous few hours having taken glorious effect. Chaotic, furious and playing as if their lives depended on it, it is hard to believe that just a few hours earlier Black Velvet was sat with these same individuals in an upstairs dressing room discussing cartoons and English cuisine. For despite their boisterous onstage antics, My Chemical Romance are some of the most grounded, polite and genuine people you will ever come across.

Off the back of the success of 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love' My Chemical Romance (Gerard Way - vocals, Ray Toro - guitar, Mikey Way - bass, Frank Iero - guitar and Matt Pelissier - drums) rushed into the studio in between tours to complete work on their second full length offering 'Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge'. "It's definitely a lot of growth for the band, rapidly from the first record," Gerard explains. "It's definitely a transitional record. You can hear a lot of the stuff we did well on the first record, that's all brought onto the second record but we explore a lot of different song types, structures, it's actually more structured for sure. The songs are all collectively a lot shorter."

Many bands profess to either being a 'studio' or a 'touring' band, enduring one because of the enjoyment the other brings. Unusually, My Chemical Romance claim to have no preference. "I think we're split pretty much. We like making records; we already want to make a new one. But at the same time, after three months in LA recording, the first night of our first tour we were like "fuck man this is what we live for". At the same time when you're on tour for a year and a half you're like, "I wanna make a fucking record".

The band is also unable to write on the road. "We like to write together in Jersey at our little shitbox practice space, that's where we write everything. We like to have stuff ready, sitting around in a studio, wasting thousands of dollars, going "ah I got a riff". That's a waste of time to us."

In fact, work on the album got so pressured that Gerard disappeared for a few days during the recording process, prompting a post on the band's official website declaring the front man 'Missing in Action', much to the concern of their loyal fan base. He explains, "It was more irresponsibility than MIA. I had forgotten my phone charger, I had a credit card on me, a notebook and some art supplies. I realised I had to finish two songs lyrically and do the artwork, so I found a hotel, charged a room and stayed there for a couple of days. But it got out of hand and it was really irresponsible of me. It was a little bit drink-fuelled, not majorly. It was more like I gotta get all this shit done and I'm gonna stay up constantly to do it and not use the phone or tell anybody where I was."

In the early stages of writing, the new album was rumoured to be a concept album about a guy that comes back from the dead to wreak revenge on those that had wronged him during his life. It turns out that although things did not pan out exactly as planned, fans hoping for a revenge-fuelled zombie killing spree will not be disappointed. "It is and it isn't a concept record. The coolest thing that happened on this record is the fact that we went into it as a concept record and then partway through making it you kinda get lost in the story, in your own life and stuff like that. And you can't help but write about your own life. There's a lot of stuff that happened in the band that I wanted to relate through lyrics about what happened in our first year and a half that I really just said 'fuck it' to the concept.

"So it's like this cool concept where you get lost in it then you gotta figure out what's part of the concept. 'Cause I'd say at least half of the record follows the concept, even the songs that have nothing to do with the concept too. You can't really plan things when you make a record 'cause if you do that then you get stuck. Oh you gotta use this song because it tells the story as opposed to oh you gotta use this song because it's a great song."

It seems that lately concept albums have been making somewhat of a surprising comeback. Coheed And Cambria are partway through a Star Wars-like trilogy of albums detailing the untimely end of a pair of characters confusingly called Coheed And Cambria, The Mars Volta's critic pleasing debut 'Deloused In The Comatorium' is a tale of a friend's coma after a failed suicide attempt and The Street's 'A Grand Don't Come For Free' is a moving account of, erm, losing a thousand pounds. My Chemical Romance believe this lyrical revival is a change for the better. "I think they're just bored of the same old shit and people are coming up with very creative science fiction horror movie type things and they wanna tell those stories through music, and I think that's really really awesome. I think people are kinda moving away from singing about relationships between men and women and moving onto more fictional things. And I think that's really cool because you can relate fiction sometimes better than reality."

With songtitles like 'Vampires Can Never Hurt You', some would argue that Gerard's lyrics are pure fiction. However, the frontman reveals that it is a conscious decision by the band to mask the true meaning of the songs behind horror movie imagery rather than the lyrics being completely straightforward (albeit supernatural metaphor-less.) Although the paranormal associations make for some extremely cool merchandise, the new album is a step away from all things Halloween themed. "The second record has a lot less of the supernatural element aside from the fact that it's a concept record about a guy that comes back from the dead. Obviously that's supernatural. We've kinda moved away from the vampire thing."

In case you are wondering, yes, the band are massive horror movie fans. The quintet saw Dawn Of The Dead together in Los Angeles whilst recording, the movie getting a big thumbs up from the band, unlike over the top blockbuster Van Helsing, Frank describing as "awful".

Another of the band's passions is cartoons, an obsession of Gerard's in particular. Before the group took off, the singer was working for a company making a series called 'Sheep In The Big City', as well as developing a show of his own called 'The Breakfast Monkey.' Intrigued, Black Velvet asked the obviously multi skilled front man to explain more. "It was a failed idea, it never got sold but it got close. It was about a monkey. He doesn't really look like a monkey though so it's kinda weird. He looks more like a cross between a monkey and the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and he has breakfast magic powers which are unexplainable. He hangs out with a Spanish wrestler and a kid who is really sugar damaged and has ADD and he rides his bike in all the pictures."

Recommending 'Aquatine Hunger Force', ("It's incredible. Makes no fucking sense, it's awesome") and 'Adult Swim' as cartoons for us Brits to look out for in the future, My Chemical Romance feel that television in the UK is a bit of a let down. As is the food. "I did have a nice pizza today, I will say that," announces Ray, before adding "at a pub, but I might have had four beers anyway by that point." The culture shock topic is one the assembled give careful consideration to. The measures used to pour spirits are a particular pet peeve of Gerard's. Unbelievably such devices are non existent in America, "the bartender just puts as much as he wants in there. Sometimes you get a bartender that will put almost all vodka in your drink," he explains. "In the States, if you get a vodka cranberry it's almost clear, just a little bit of pink in it. In the UK there is just a smidgen of vodka in it, so yeah that was kind of a culture shock for me personally."

Before the topic is well and truly exhausted, Ray remarks "the toilet bowls flush differently" and "all the toilet paper is really rough." My Chemical Romance have toured with a bizarre variety of bands, from hardcore to emo and everything in between, their dream being to open for Iron Maiden one day. Whilst not as high profile as a support slot with Bruce Dickinson and co, the band did play this year's Concert For Compassion in Los Angeles. They explain to Black Velvet how they got involved, "I think that happened pretty quickly. John Reese, who manages The Used and Story Of The Year, has been a big supporter of the band for a long time and they were like "you wanna play this thing? It's gonna be cool and you're already gonna be out here." We said absolutely 'cause it's a good cause. So we did that and it was fun." A show to raise awareness of animal cruelty and to stop animal testing at Huntington Life Science's lab, many of the bands on the bill were extremely passionate and vocal supporters of animal rights, actively involved in work with charities like PETA. My Chemical Romance, however, do not fall into that category, and whilst you are unlikely to find the band protesting outside your local KFC, it would be equally as unjust to suggest that the band does not care. "We don't really have any kind of political stance or anything, but we support good causes. If it's a cause like that then we'll absolutely support it. We haven't really got into that aspect of things as a band" Gerard clarifies.

None of the band are vegetarian, "I wear a leather jacket" the singer states. "I didn't wear my leather jacket that day obviously, but I wear one every show so it's kind of interesting they even asked us to play. PETA contacted us once and I was like "dude what are you doing? I'm wearing a leather jacket!" I mean I didn't kill it, I just saw it in a second hand store, it's a cool jacket."

Despite claiming not to get into "that" aspect of things as a band, the one cause the band readily lends their support to is suicide prevention. When asked if they feel it is important to communicate such a positive message, Gerard answers "absolutely. Especially when you get up there and you and your band are so violent and abrasive and drunk sometimes onstage. It's very important to at the same time give a positive message. And even if we weren't that way live, I think it's kind of your duty as an artist that young people listen to and look up to or whatever they do, to lead people in the right direction, as opposed to just an extremely nihilistic attitude where you just say "fuck everything, it's all pointless, we should just die". There has been a lot of art like that made. There's nothing wrong with being crazy and cursing your head off and being nuts on stage but at least have something important to say." Wise words indeed. Nu metal is then mentioned, where a generation of frustrated teens were encouraged to respond to life's problems by sticking their middle fingers in the air. "Exactly," Gerard proceeds. "I think an example of that is Limp Bizkit. They have a song where it's just like "break stuff". It's ridiculous. They played Woodstock and incited riots and people got raped. Is that leading anybody to anything good? I don't think so."

And there you have it. Jekyll and Hyde undoubtedly. My Chemical Romance not only want to send you home from their shows with temporary tinnitus and clothes drenched in other people's sweat (the tell tale signs of a good gig); they want to lead you in the right direction. They rock, but they care.

Visit www.mychemicalromance.com for more info.

[incandescent-creativity]

I love you too, you creative genius! :D

Okay, more questions. Kind of silly questions as well as legit questions like in the first ask.

If you had to assign what fruit each of the teens and Dr. Agau would be, which ones would they all be and why if you have a reason?

What is Dr. Agau's favorite food?

Did you base any of the characters' personalities off of anyone particular? If so, who?

How many books will the SOLE project be, if done to plan?

Do you anticipate the book being completed if you finish Nano or do you think it'll be over 50k?

Have you ever dreamt about the SOLE project world? If so, what was the dream about?

What do you think would be the most popular fanfiction concept written about the SOLE Project books from their fans?

Which of your characters would you MOST like to see fanart of?

What do you think would be each character's creations to finding fanart or fanfiction of them?

OKAY so I KNOW that this was a pre-NaNo ask, but I was saving it to answer sometime in November, but then, well, you know, I blacked out in a creative fever, and now here we are.

SILLY QUESTIONS HERE WE GO :D

If you had to assign what fruit each of the teens and Dr. Agau would be, which ones would they all be and why if you have a reason?

Beth is a cranberry, because you have to flood cranberry fields to harvest them.

Hans is an pear. Hallie is a peach; sweet, and with a fuzzy sweater. Christian is an apple, because he likes pies. Matt is a strawberry. Michael is probably a lemon.

And Dr. Agau would be a tomato, because she's all about technicalities.

What is Dr. Agau's favorite food? Steak dinner with too many courses.

Did you base any of the characters' personalities off of anyone particular? If so, who?

I did originally base the cast off my only friend group at the time. Given as I started this project in middle school, as a different novel entirely, I think this is a writing sin that can be forgiven.

Now, they're their own characters with their own personalities, and the only thing that remains is the names.

How many books will the SOLE project be, if done to plan?

APPARENTLY it will not be a standalone, but a duology. It better stay as two, otherwise I'll tear my hair out.

Do you anticipate the book being completed if you finish Nano or do you think it'll be over 50k?

I didn't anticipate it being done after the 50k from NaNo, and I can now report that it isn't. The first book's first draft is nearly 150K long, there's no way this sequel won't be at least 100k. Help.

Have you ever dreamt about the SOLE project world? If so, what was the dream about? No, I hardly ever remember my dreams.

I know that other people have dreamt about it, which is wild.

What do you think would be the most popular fanfiction concept written about the SOLE Project books from their fans?

Fix it fics with happy endings.

Which of your characters would you MOST like to see fanart of?

I think both Hans's and Dr. Agau's designs are fun and compelling to draw, for different reasons. One being wings, obviously (check this out!) and the other being the severity and stand-out details Barbara has (e.g. red lipstick, hair bun).

What do you think would be each character's creations to finding fanart or fanfiction of them?

If Dr. Agau deigned to interact with it, it would be to go through and write up everything wrong with it. From scientific inaccuracies to things she wouldn't do or say, that poor author is getting a dissertation in their comment section.

Hans would think it's flattering but doesn't quite understand why him. Beth is the same, but she's more unnerved by it. Matt would think it's the coolest thing ever and want to make friends with every artist he finds. Hallie likes fanart better than fanfiction. Christian doesn't want anything to do with either; poor lad's self loathing is a little too strong for that.

Fanart would inspire Michael to try his own hand at art.