#i might talk to my artist about it when I schedule this piece

[bioswear]

Cult of the Watchers Cathedral window elbow piece idea for my DrakeNieR sleeve

- I’m glad Im able to draw out and test my ideas visually first, bc my second elbow idea sucks so badly

Like, we’re all in agreement that the first one is the best design for this tattoo idea, right? 😂

[abyssalzones]

What's your comic writing process like? I'm starting to get into making my own comics and I really admire your work!!! Any advice?

Ah, intrepid traveler, you've done well to journey to this secluded mountaintop spire, in search of the answers you seek. I indeed can provide such forbidden comicmancy knowledge... at the cost of your mortal soul...

coughs. anyway, I'm going to warn you immediately that what works for me does not work for everyone else, and in my experience the way I do things can prove very slow and discouraging for anyone who is more interested in the actual "drawing the damn comic" part of the process. I only do it this way because I enjoy weaving a narrative web that feels not only fully contained but re-readable, but my projects are often so long and my memory so shitty that I can't just keep all of it in my head! It would spill all over the place and make a really embarrassing mess of brain-juice. Not ideal.

but as for my own process, uhh... I suppose a comic would be fitting, right?

a little choppy but you get the idea.

as for turning words into art, I've been experimenting with figuring out the best way to do that for a little while now. Originally what I was doing for something like Ad Astra Per Aspera was to take my "script" and sketch it out on paper very loosely, before transposing that onto my canvas and working from there:

...but, I've found that can make it kind of difficult to space everything around on your standard page-size, and the thing I'm having the most problems with currently seems to be finding the sweet spot of panel-size proportions. So, I've taken to printing out standard thumbnail templates (you can just find these on google) and sketching very tiny panels in those, which seems to give me a slightly better sense of scale... (mild chapter 5 spoilers, sorry ad astra fans)

but I have yet to totally pull through on this, so who knows, maybe I'll try something else in the future!

As for advice, this is probably most applicable to me, but as a disabled artist I have a very hard time managing my workload without literally working myself into injury. I don't think I talked about this publicly but when I was working on that ten year anniversary comic I was literally drawing every single day for 3 solid months. Sometimes, in my case, I really can't bring myself to stop once I've latched onto an idea, and sometimes I find the most rewarding thing I can do with my time is to draw- but I seriously cannot overstate: Do not fucking do this.

You will fuck up your wrist, your back, your neck, your eyes, and probably your mental health. It's a well-known fact that mangaka have a lower life expectancy than the average japanese person due to the intense workload imposed on them by deadlines and personal expectations. Comics are a very demanding artform, and even though I'm not on any sort of mandated schedule there are times where I've toiled away at something when I likely should have been exercising or taking vision-breaks. Therefore the best advice I can give you is to chill the hell out.

Namely, find parts of the process you can be lazy about, and embrace the laziness! You don't like digitally sketching? Don't do it! Skip it, or maybe find a way to traditionally sketch things out in advance like I do. Hate lineart? Don't fucking do it. You really don't feel like wasting your time writing 72k words of comic scripts? ...then, don't be like me. skip that part. I'm a flawed human being and what works for me might not work for you.

The second most important piece of advice I could give is to read comics. Of all kinds. The reason for this is pretty self explanatory: In order to figure out your own comic-making style, you should first pick out bits and pieces from the artist's buffet to add to your plate. Manga, graphic novels, american comics, european comics, weird niche little webcomics, funny papers, anything and everything. This advice rings true of pretty much any art form, but I find it to be essential to honing comic-making skills because so many things you feel will just come intuitively often don't. and that's okay! nobody is born knowing how to leave space for speech bubbles or shape their panels in a way that imitates stretches of time. The best way to figure out stuff like this, in my experience, is to study the "masters", and then after becoming well accustomed to the basics, figure out what rules you want to bend or break to create your own style.

I consider myself to be in equal parts a writer and an artist, which lends itself well to making narrative comics, but maybe you're a bit more of an artist and want to focus on panel-by-panel visual storytelling. Or, conversely, maybe your talents lean closer towards writing, and the art itself is more of a secondary skill. Regardless of your unique blend of talents you can and should make a comic, you should just also be aware of your strengths and try to hone in on those- there will always be opportunities to build up skills you lack, but focusing on what you do best will always lead you in the right direction.

Anyway, that being said, here are some recommendations in no particular order:

Monster, Naoki Urasawa (!!)

Bone, Jeff Smith

Witch Hat Atelier, Kamome Shirahama

The first IDW run of Transformers comics (namely More Than Meets the Eye and Lost Light)

Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (!!)

Through the Woods, Emily Carroll (really any Emily Carroll comics)

Kill Six Billion Demons (webcomic) (!!)

Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo

The Third Person, Emma Grove

Tintin, Hergé (can be super racist please be wary)

Dungeon Meshi, Ryoko Kui

Calvin & Hobbes, Bill Watterson

Maus, Art Spiegelman

Cucumber Quest (webcomic)

Jellyfish Princess, Akiko Higashimura

Golden Kamuy, Satoru Noda (!!)

Note that I did not grow up with manga so I am seriously behind on a lot of extremely influential japanese comics such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, basically any of the original Shonen Jump comics, but they're widely considered building blocks of the genre so if you love the artform I think you should give them a try! Same goes for classic non-shonen manga genres like various Shoujo, Josei, Yuri, Gekiga, ETC.

same as above applies to a lot of classic DC and Marvel works, I unfortunately am just not a big fan of superhero comics... but I'm sure there's good stuff in there. a couple of my mutuals talk about booster gold and the blue beetle all the time so I'm assuming there has to be something worthwhile.

...and many, many, many more that I'm forgetting! I noticed as I made this list that, to my knowledge, hardly any of these are made by black or just non-japanese-mangaka BIPOC artists, which makes me sad about the gaps in my own comic collection. Therefore, anyone is welcome to add their own recommendations in the replies!

now go forth, and combine images with text!!!!!!!!!!!

[smoshyourheadin]

spencer agnew enemies to lovers one bed trope

The Start Of Something

pairing: spencer agnew x f!reader

a/n: GUYS IM SO SORRY I KEEP POSTING SO SLOW I HAVE NO MOTIVATION MY BAD THIS IS LIKE RLLY BAD AND RUSHED LMAO I DONT LIKE IT i have better stuff otw i promise (also anon ily for this!!) requests are open <3

working at smosh is pretty great. you’ve been working there about two years now as a producer on smosh games, and you’ve made some darn good videos. the people are amazing, it’s so fun working with literal comedians all day. damien is so kind, shayne is so smart, courtney is so witty, ian is so… morbid? either way, everyone there is family to you. the one thing you don’t like however? spencer.

it all started during your first big project at smosh. you and spencer were both assigned to lead a new series of board af. excited to prove yourself, you put in countless hours to make sure everything was perfect. however, spencer, being spencer, dismissed your detailed plans, opting instead for a spontaneous approach, leading the episodes to be messy, and all around bad quality.

every day at the office is a battlefield. Spencer’s snide comments about your meticulousness clash with your jabs about his unpredictability.

“nice color-coded schedule you got there,” spencer says with a smirk as he passes your desk. “did you plan your bathroom breaks too?”

you roll your eyes, not missing a beat. “at least i won’t forget to show up to work on time, unlike some people.”

he scoffs and walks away, and you smirk to yourself because of how annoyed he gets.

you grew up in a structured environment, where planning and precision were key to success. your parents, both engineers, drilled into you the importance of preparation and hard work. spencer, on the other hand, thrived in chaos. raised in a floridian household with artists for parents, he learned to ‘embrace’ spontaneity and creativity, when in reality he’s just a lazy piece of shit, and this fundamental difference in your upbringings is your reasoning for the friction.

the entire smosh crew is buzzing with excitement for the upcoming vid con. however, ian and anthony made a slight mistake: not enough rooms. as luck would have it, you’ve been assigned to share a room with spencer, and, of course, there’s only one bed.

“great,” you mutter, staring at the single bed. “this is just perfect.”

spencer shrugs. “we’re adults. we can handle this. or are you upset this’ ruined your plans?”

you shove him off, tongue in cheek, and put your bags down.

“yeah, well, i guess we’ll just have to make do,” you reply, mustering a half-hearted smile as you unpack.

that night, as you both lie awkwardly side by side, you can’t help but talk. the conversation starts stilted but gradually, you begin to share your perspectives. you explain how his disregard for plans made you feel undervalued. spencer admits he never realized how much effort you put into your work and how his actions might have come across.

after that night, some subtle changes begin to occur between you both. one day, you catch spencer glancing your way with what seems like concern when you’re stressed. you find yourself defending his unconventional methods when others criticize him.

one day, you witness spencer dealing with a personal crisis - a call from his dad that leaves him visibly shaken. as you’re the only person who saw him, you offer him a shoulder to lean on. that day, you see a side of him that’s vulnerable and human, softening your attitude further, almost affectionate toward him.

as you start getting along better, both of you struggle with your growing feelings. you’re plagued by internal conflict, denying what’s becoming increasingly obvious. spencer starts bringing you coffee in the mornings, and you find yourself lingering in conversations with him to try and stay in his company.

a crisis at smosh forces you both to confront your true feelings. a huge chunk of footage from shayne’s turn on tntl is accidentally deleted, and the blame game begins. in the heat of the argument, spencer snaps, “why do you hate me so much?”

the words hang in the air, and you both freeze. finally, you confess, “i don’t hate you. i don’t think i ever hated you. i think i was just scared that my efforts would never be enough.”

spencer steps closer, his eyes softening. “i didn’t realize. i thought you just… hated me.”

you break. hot tears sting your face, and you bring your hoodie sleeves to your eyes to prevent your mascara from running. he wraps you in a hug, and you sob into his shoulder.

in the end, you and spencer are inseparable. the crew notices the change, teasing you both about your newfound closeness, especially angela who you used to complain to about him. you’re all lovey dovey now, finding joy in each other’s company and embracing the weird balance you bring to each other’s lives.

[oddballwriter]

HEYAA. I’ve been so obsessed with ur MK stuff lately it’s insane. Wondering if I could request a little blurb with Steven? 🙏 Maybe artistic reader who uses Steven as a muse of sorts? 🎨 Maybe Steven finds reader’s sketches of him and Reader is like embarrassed 😨 that he may be uncomfortable with it? Add and change up anything you’d like!! 😽 ur my fav writer thank you 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼❤️❤️

Your Drawings Look like Heaven to Me

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Summary: Steven always enjoys your drawings and art, big or small, painting or simple sketch and doodle. But he's a bit surprised when he discovers that you have a habit of drawing a certain muse that you have. 

Warnings: There's nothing that I can actually thing of other than it's mentioned that the reader draws Steven when he's unaware, but I don't think it's that bad. Also 'Y/n' is used once. 

Author’s Snip: This was meant to be just a little blurb but I got the writing equivalent of zoomies. You asked for a cookie and I made you a cake with layers, frosting, and toppings. This is insane how did I do this. I think it's because I've been drinking a monster while writing this. I have paused the video that I was previously watching in the background because I am so focused. I'm not even joking this shit is 1517 words long and that is before I proof and grammar checked it. I think this might be the longest writing I've done thus far. Enjoy your free cake, anon.

Notes: This is written in the lens of a world where it's just Steven, so none of the actual events in the show happen.

I’ll shut up now. Enjoy! And don’t be afraid to request.

꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦

Steven always knew you drew. You met at your jobs at the museum, at the time, you were working the front desk while he of course worked at the gift shop. The two of you weren't all too familiar with each other since you only saw each other in passing. You knew him as Steven from the gift shop, and he knew you as Y/N from the front desk. You did learn more details through others. Steven was a chatty guy who had an impressive knowledge about Egyptology and mythos. And you were the person at the front desk who did nothing but sit there and draw all day when not granting visitors entry, or in most cases, taking a second to scan a preprinted ticket and check the schedule.

Steven heard talk that you were really talented in your art. You were able to draw what were basically pictures of things you saw or even made up. He hadn't seen your actual art till one day he found you sat where he usually did for lunch, drawing the statue man that he talked at everyday. And wow, were they right about how well you could draw. Though while you talked to each other you laughed "Well of course I'm able to draw him perfectly. He doesn't move.".

That lunch break was a long time ago. You two started dating between then and now. Steven managed to leave the museum for a new one that actually let him be a tour guide. You eventually managed to find work that let you use your skills in art instead of using it to beat the boredom of your job. And you also moved in with Steven in his little flat, in which he cleared out some of this clutter to make a space for you to work and make your own.

You would draw little doodles for Steven to have. Like Gus swimming around. An Egyptian god that you made using his books as a reference. You even drew him a little alligator with a speech bubble saying "Later" on a sticky note. He still has it by the way. He laminated it using clear tape and has it in his wallet as a pick-me-up when he's upset or as a lucky charm of sorts. You always made drawings for him. But never once had he thought that you would make drawings of him. Let alone how many drawing you made of him.

Steven isn't a man who likes to snoop around regularly, feeling a massive sense of ruining someone's privacy. But you said that he could always look through your sketchbooks and art pieces if he wanted, as long as it wasn't a commission that was still being worked on, which he respected. You, like any other artist, had a plethora of sketchbooks of different sizes that served different purposes. There were your personal sketchbooks, outline and testing sketchbooks, practice sketchbooks, a lot of sketchbooks with a lot of different things they were for. It amazed him just how many you had and how you were able to remember which is which.

He knew which ones were ones he gifted you though. Steven was never confident when it came to gifting you supplies. He wasn't an artist himself so he didn't know what was perfect and what was something you would say thank you for out of courtesy. One of the things he used as a safe play were sketchbooks. The bookstore he frequented had a section of art stuff and found that the sketchbooks were not only great quality but also had various designs on their covers. So he'd get you one almost every time he went.

When he looked at them on the shelf next to your desk he realized that he had never actually seen inside of those ones. He was a bit hesitant to grab one since he didn't know if you would want him to. It's not like he could ask you right now. You were out running some important errands and he didn't want to bother you. However, they were on the part of the shelf that you put all your regular personal sketchbooks, which he was allowed to look at so he took a one random from the collection and flicked through the pages.

Out of some coincidence, it was the first sketchbook he got you, which was admittedly one he got you before he learned what pages were good for actual art. The first few pages were doodles that were likely from testing how the paper held up with the actual process of drawing which soon stopped and the rest of the art was actually taped on like they originally belonged to another sketchbook.

Steven thought of that as a clever use for the pages. You would sometimes make art you thought was nice on miscellaneous papers and would simply take the piece with the art out and stick it somewhere else. But he soon notices a theme amongst all the doodles and drawings, which then follow into all of the other sketchbooks he gifted you.

Him.

Most of the drawings in these sketchbooks were of him.

They were all different. Some were him lounging around or taking a nap. Something that would have made him unaware of you creating a drawing of him. There was one that was him asleep laying in bed from what would be your side of the bed. His face was calm, the limpness of his arms and body was captured perfectly, the sheets drawn with the most accurate wrinkles, and the lighting gave the impression of the light of the morning that came in through the curtains. It looked like you simply took a picture of him while he slept but it was clearly a sketch drawn using a pen and pencil.

There was these bust and face portraits that spanned through out the books, of course of him. The first were already so good in detail considering these had to be drawings of him from memory. But they only got more detailed as they went on. You managed to get his amount of stubble right. You had the little baby curls that lived along his hair line. The crease between his eyebrows he had since he always had a slight anxious expression. That tiny little dimple that he had next to his nose that he didn't know existed until you pointed it out one time.

Steven's mind was boggling to him to see such detailed drawings of him that looked so carefully done even when they were simply quick sketches. They were life-like. They were him. They were Steven. To be honest, how could it not? You see his face all the time. So why wouldn't you have him completely memorized. It was just the fact that you had taken time and pages to draw him and him alone.

It was a bit jarring, for the both of you, when you walked through the front door with a hand full of groceries and other things from your errands and he was seen looking at all the drawings of him. You were embarrassed that he finally saw all your drawings of him and worried that he would think it was weird. He thought that he crossed a line and breached your privacy.

You two avoided talking about it till Steven finally did during dinner later that evening.

"You, uh, draw me... a lot." Steven spoke. "Yeah. I do." you blush as you avoided eye contact in case his eyes showed that your fear of him finding your habit with drawing him was strange was correct. "Why do you draw me so much?" he questions. You sighed, "It's sort of a habit I formed." you confess. You proceeded to explain how it started,

"I first drew you as an exercise to get rid of some art block. I usually draw faces of people I know as a means to do that. So I drew you. It was okay. But when I looked at it a couple days later I thought that I could do it again to improve on detailing some more. Then I used you as a study for lighting and colors.".

"Then, sometimes, I would just draw you when I thought you looked pretty or thought of you. And that's sort of what I've been doing." you explain further. "I thought you would find it weird if you saw all the times I drew you and so I just put them in the books you got me and hoped you wouldn't see them." you say in a timid manner.

"I don't think it's strange. I think it's actually quite flattering." Steven clarifies. "I was just surprised that you think of me as something worth drawing. Especially with such detail." he remarks. You breathe a sigh of relief at that.

"If I'm entirely honest, love," Steven spoke up, "Never tell me that you're drawing me from where I am. I'll get nervous and possibly ruin the position that you're drawing me in." he remarks.

[cringecannon]

I know people talk about Gortash a lot already, but I can't help myself — he's so sinfully hot ToT I want him to manipulate and trick me into being indebted to him. I want to be a reluctant knight or an artist at his service, that he one day decides to ALSO coerce into fucking.

I also adore that you make this a safe space to share horny thoughts. Thank you for that.

I’ve accepted my place as The Gortash Blog. He’s a co-owner at this point.

People in his employ are some of his favorites to exploit, because what are you going to do about it? He’s the one paying you, and even if you risked quitting, who’d hire you knowing that you’d been so disgraced? Working for him in any position is prestigious… do you really want to throw it all away over a bit of harassment?

That’s what it starts as, anyway. Small, innocuous comments. Nothing explicit, but clearly some innuendos. You ignore it. Play dumb. You figure he’ll bore of you eventually.

He never does.

He invites you to eat with him, schedules more private meetings, promotes you, pays you extra. It’s sudden, overwhelming. He gets bolder. He buys you jewelry, putting it on your personally. The claws of his hand piece press into your skin uncomfortably when he places a firm hand on your lower back to lead you where he wants to. You might mention something, that this doesn’t feel professional. He’d just laugh. You live to serve, don’t you dear? Be quiet and serve.

He says it like a joke, but it unnerves you. You go out of your way to distance yourself from him. Luckily you’ve spent enough time with him to know his rough schedule. Guessing what days to make yourself scarce is risky, but worth it. You stop wearing his gifts, turn down additional pay. You’re hoping that things will just go back to the way they were. You didn’t think through your plan enough. He’d obviously corner you eventually. You’ve been avoiding him. He treats you so well, and this is how you repay him? Inconsiderate little brat. He should throw you out on the street. He won’t… if you do as he says. No complaints. The only thing he wants to hear from your mouth from now on is “Yes, sir.”

You don’t say anything, frozen under his stare. His hand snaps up to your face, fingers digging into your cheeks. That wasn’t rhetorical, dear. You murmur what he wants and he nods, slowly pulling his hand away. He pats you on the cheek condescendingly with a smile. Much better. Now, turn and bend over. You have a lot to make up for.

[feyspeaker]

Hiii! Gosh, I love your work SO MUCH. You recently mentioned in an answer to someone that you have ADHD and because of that, you have lots of rituals for your work in order to stay focused. May I ask what your routine is? I have struggled for years and years as a working artist to control or harness my adhd, and I would love to hear what works for you!! Thank you so much for even reading this :)))

Hi there!! Thank you so much. ♥

I'm probably a terrible person to give advice, because I absolutely do NOT have a handle on my ADHD. I often feel like I'm drowning in it, as I'm sure a lot of other people in the same situation can commiserate with. A lot of my issues are exacerbated by my agoraphobia and anxiety, but I won't go too into that stuff because I am not really in a place to talk about that aspect of my life so much. I do think I've become more aware of it as I have gotten older and am definitely better at managing it than I was when I was younger. Also to start off, I'm not medicated for it.

First and foremost, I tend to need to overstimulate myself in order to get down to painting, though this is only so effective. I play really loud, very noisy music when I work. Angelspit, Combichrist, The Gazette, etc. Heavy electronic, industrial, nu metal kind of stuff. It helps drown out my thoughts so I can focus on painting. I need to Not Think to be able to paint. I have to already know I'm in flow state on something and really into it if I'm going to be playing mellower stuff.

I also like to play youtube videos or shows on things I'm currently fixated on. Like I'll watch nothing but videos on Welsh folklore or horse training or whatever the hell. I really struggle with listening to audiobooks or podcasts because they aren't engaging enough.

I have parental controls on my computer set up so that I can block out any distracting websites, however this is really not super helpful because I have to keep social media open at all times as it's part of my job to manage those things. It does help some though. It might work for you! They make browser extensions for it.

I try to keep momentum on pieces. I can't let a piece sit for more than a few days, or I know it's time to bin it and give up. I either hyperfixate on a painting until it's done, or it's not good enough and it's going to be like an anchor dragging my momentum down. The second I feel momentum waning I know I need to make a change. I've made huge changes to how I take commissions in order to help me with this, as this is my biggest struggle. I hate sending updates on things, waiting for emails, painting things I'm not super invested in, etc. I recognize that I am incredibly blessed/lucky to be in a position to be a little pickier about the work I take on and how I take it. But I do firmly believe in general that a commission based artist should try to make sure they are doing work they enjoy and not just slogging away on something that they don't vibe with at all. That's good advice for anyone, but I do think that us folk with ADHD tend to feel burnout and artblock harder. I know when I have artblock literally NOTHING can get me to paint, so that's why momentum is so important.

I also try to recognize things that I know are going to trigger me into avoiding what I need to do for the day, or causing me to spiral. For example, if I know I need to make a phone call I try to do that first if at all possible, otherwise I am going to end up not getting anything done for the next 6 hours. If I know I'm going to have to have to leave the house for an appointment or something scheduled, I typically just let that day be a wash and don't plan any work for it. I end up physically ill when I have something I have to go out and do (like going to some appointment or even something small like going to pick something up off of FB marketplace) so I try to just Avoid That, but if I can't I will just clear my schedule for the day.

I try to maximize my Good Days by minimizing things that trigger my procrastination/lack of motivation/distractions. But when I have bad days I just try not to beat myself up about it. (Still do, but I'm trying to get better.)

The worst thing is letting a whole day be wasted sitting there, knowing the time is passing. Knowing that there is something you should be doing, but you're not doing it. Knowing that you don't want to be doing that thing, and that you'd rather be playing a game or painting something else. But not doing that either. And before you know it, the sun is setting and you've done no work AND had no fun and it's time for bed. Ugh, I've had so many days like that.

It's important to recognize when that is happening, and to just say "fuck it" and go do the fun thing you want to do instead of toiling for hours in indecision. That's probably bad advice for people who have poor responsibility skills (like actually making sure to get work done on the good days) but I am saying this in good faith. Sometimes when that happens I'll let myself go bake a bunch of bread or obsessively clean a cabinet out so I still feel like I did something that day. Next day, I try to do better.

I don't know if this is helpful at all- I know people with ADHD have a lot of different experiences/tendencies, but this is what helps me. I slipped a lot after my dad's cancer diagnosis several years ago and felt myself really just completely letting go into the ADHD time void because my thoughts and worries were so loud I couldn't drown them out with all the screamo in the world. I started fixating on BG3 really hard near the end, and it's absolutely responsible for me being Okay artistically and emotionally speaking after his passing last month. I think difficult situations can make our symptoms worse, and to an extent we have to ride the wave and be kind to ourselves.

That's perhaps my closing thought- be patient and kind to yourself. Our brains don't really work right but it can be a blessing in that I think the flow state we are capable of is really something otherwordly. So try to identify what helps trigger that in you and foster it.

[kokomiin]

I didn't want to have to do this but I am currently being harassed by somebody I worked for with no sign of letting up, so here it is. Some of you might remember me working on an RPG called Moonatic since last month. I was contacted by this person in early December to be the artist for the game, after seeing how many people were working on it I decided to accept, but everyone involved was working out of goodwill under the promise that we would eventually be paid. I was encouraged by the director to work at maximum capacity every day, I am aware that I have an especially fast art output compared to some people, but this still takes work and energy as I am a human being. If I was only able to complete one piece in a day, he would comment on that being "a shame" and would point out if I finished my work day earlier than him due to exhaustion even if I had actually gotten things done. I kept working hard every day because I genuinely believed in the project and thought this kind of crunch wouldn't be permanent, and I didn't want to cause friction between myself and the director by complaining which I now realise was a huge mistake. Whenever I took a day off I had to announce it, there was no set schedule and I believe he would have me working every day if possible.

My friends can attest to the decrease in my physical and mental health before I even realised how I was being affected by this. The director also initiated a friendship with me as well as me being his employee, I accepted but over time personal boundaries were crossed, he made judgements about some things in my personal life and just two days ago, the day before I decided to resign, he implied a romantic interest in me knowing full well that I'm in a relationship. This was a breaking point for me and I had to reevaluate everything, after discussing with many people I decided it was best for everyone if I left. But when I gave the director my resignation, explaining to him the stress I was under and how I was uncomfortable with how he spoke to me, but that I would still let them use my work for the project, he immediately reacted with a mental spiral, blamed me for the project failing and even now still refuses to contact me directly.

A few weeks ago he insisted on purchasing a VR Headset for me, which I declined multiple times due to the cost and because I didn't ask for it in the first place, but around my birthday when he kept insisting I decided to accept, considering it my compensation for the month's worth of free labour I had done. I drew many character design sheets, environments, a comic, promotional artwork, helped to finish the trailer's storyboard and had begun animating it, with only a few days of breaks. I left the project because of stress and a lack of personal boundaries that were caused by him, and now this person is spamming me with payment requests to give him back the money for this gift. He claims it as a work tool, but when we talked about him getting it for me he treated the 'work' aspect as an excuse and said he really wanted to hang out with me in VR after work. Now he is declaring it as a work tool that needs to be repaid if not shipped back. A VR headset is not at all a necessary tool for this project, which is an RPG game developed in game maker.

I'm genuinely afraid about what else this person might do as he is blaming me for the project failing as though it was my own, and refusing to take responsibility for his treatment of me. If you are an artist, in the future please avoid any company with the name Andel in it. If I end up being forced to pay back the price of my free labour :') I'll open emergency commissions, ok?

screenshots under the cut (i'm pretty shaky right now so I forgot to add some, the ones related to my resignation have been added now)

[iyokko]

introducing: iyo

sup! i’m iyo. i’ve had this account for a while, but finally decided to start using it. this is probably the most formal i’ll be for a while. also, a txt version of the image with more info is below in the cut!

introduction pt. 2

general stuff

iyokko — any prns (they/them default, afab)

hi there! i’m a midwestern digital artist who also likes to dabble into worldbuilding. i’m quite busy with schoolwork and extracurriculars, but i like to make time to share my insane ramblings i have throughout the day.

i’ve got a lovely girlfriend! i’m fruity, unfortunately. i might talk about her occasionally, but i’ll try not to since this is the public eye.

i have a pretty poor attention span though, and i’ll probably appear periodically on this account. when that happens, i’m still alive! feel free to send me stuff.

fandoms

here are some of my interests as of late:

murder drones

aphmau (why i joined tumblr! was a mystreet and minecraft diaries kid growing up.)

alice in borderland

extraordinary attorney woo

wings of fire + fantribes (also a wof kid! still am. make most of my extra cash through the ever-popular fantribes on discord.)

blue lock (manga)

beastars + beast complex (both manga)

oshi no ko (manga — stopped reading it for now since it’s gone off on the deep end)

hallow knight

danganronpa (the disease infected me in middle school and it’s sadly rotted in my head permanently)

one piece (just got into it! wish me luck)

warrior cats (read this at the same time as wof and aph. no wonder i came out so gay)

other stuff too! this is just from the top of my head.

qna

what brought you to joining tumblr?

aphmau brought me here! i saw the community, and as a lifelong aphmau fan—with a rewrite in the works by the way—i just had to join in. tumblr’s been on my radar for a while now to join!

what/when will you post?

i’ll be generally posting my art and ramblings! unfortunately, i probably won’t have a very set schedule, but i’ll try to post at least once or twice a week.

what should i stay for?

if you like my personality or art style, then you should stick around! i can’t promise i’ll be talking about every fandom i’m in, but a few that have always stuck with me are danganronpa, aphmau, and wings of fire. those three will probably continue being posted about throughout my tumblr career, so if you like that sort of content, i might be up your alley.

my inbox—is it open?

it’s currently open! but please be patient with me, i’ve only ever lurked on tumblr before. actually using it is currently a mystery i’m uncovering.

any sideblogs to be aware of?

currently i have one other account for my mcd and myst rewrite! it’s called @iyo-mcd-rewrite! hopefully the link worked for that—if not, you’ll often see me reblog posts from it.

i might make others for my two other big fandoms (wof and danganronpa), but for now they’ll be contained in this main one!

do you have other accounts?

discord — iyokko

instagram — iyokko__

toyhouse — iyokko

twitter — iyokko185998

email — iyokko.15@gmail.com

where do i contact you?

i’m most active on discord and toyhouse, but if you dm me on insta or email me, i’ll get it at a later date! twitter i am at a loss for on dms. that’s all for now!

[inception-bigbang]

Inception Big Bang 2024

Schedule/Rules/Guidelines/FAQ

Sign-ups May 13-20 Author summaries due May 29 Artist claims start June 1 Pairing announcement June 15 First check-in July 1 Second check-in July 15 Posting date July 31 August 11

A Big Bang is a fandom event where authors and artists work together on a two-part project. When signing-up, authors submit a summary of the fic they’ll be working on during the event, as well as the rating and relevant tags. Fics are later claimed by artists during two rounds (if needed) of fic claims.

(Details below the break)

For authors:

Your final piece should be:

an Inception fanfic 

written for the Big Bang (no reposting of old works)

at least 1500 words

Other than that, we are open to all ships and gen stories!

IMPORTANT: During sign-ups and fic claims the authors are anonymous. This keeps things fun! We want artists to choose based on the fics alone. Don’t make posts that give away which fic is yours. After claims talk to your artist! Keep each other updated - the best thing about a fandom Bang is working with each other!

Frequently asked questions of authors:

1. How much do I need to write before signing-up?

We recommend writing a summary of your story, the rating, and a couple relevant tags. Remember, what you submit is what we send to the artists! Make it easy to understand your story.

2. Can I change my mind about my submission?

Before fic claims you can send us updates or even send us a different story altogether. All’s fair.

After fic claims, any big changes should be discussed with your artist. You cannot change the rating from G, T or M into explicit. If you believe your fic might go down that road submit the tag before fic claims.

3. Can my fic be a crossover?

Sure!

4. Can it be a continuation of an older work?

Yes, as long the original fic’s name is not included on new piece and the part submitted for the Big Bang has never been shared anywhere else before. Big Bang projects are secret until the reveal date.

5. Can it be OT3 / Major Character Death / Kink ?

Sure! Just keep in mind that the more specific your work is, the harder it may be for one of our artists to connect with it. This is true for anything you may come up with - crossovers, PWPs, squeamish themes, you name it. We encourage creativity! But use the appropriate tags when you send us your summary and consider being flexible if our artists might have a hard time with that one.

6. Can I submit multiple stories?

Nope!

7. Is there the possibility of my fic not being claimed?

We work with artists interested in all different kinds of fics! We also have very cool and open-minded pinch-hitters. In our recent years all fics were claimed.

That being said, yes, there is the possibility. It ties back into the OT3 / major character death / kink topic – the more specific your work is, the harder it may be for our artists to connect with it. Also, the harder it may be to actually depict the story. Be considerate of our artists when picking the fic to submit for the Big Bang.

8. Can I sign up as both author and artist?

Of course! Just make sure you have the time and resources available to fulfill all the roles you choose!

For artists:

You will be choosing one (or more!) fics to make art for. Between fic claims and the final posting date you and your author will have one and a half months to work on your collaboration.

Your piece should be:

Art drawn or painted, including digital art

Photo manips

Original music

Gifsets (if you’re making them! don’t steal gifs)

Fanvids of at least 45 seconds

Physical crafts like sculpture, knitting, and embroidery

If you want to create something we haven’t mentioned here, check in with us first, but chances are you’re fine. As long as it's something you can submit within the deadline it’s fair game.

Frequently asked questions of artists:

How do claims work?

We will make an anonymized master post of all the story summaries available for the Big Bang. To make claims on them, send us an email with your top 3 picks. Fic claims happen on a first come first served basis so try to respond as soon as you can. If needed, we will have a second round of claims.

2. I'd really like to participate but I'm not sure of my availability - can I still sign-up as an artist pinch-hitter?

Absolutely! We can always use an extra help. If you sign-up (only) as a pinch-hitter we will contact you after both rounds of fic claims, or later in the event if we’re needing back-up.

3. Can I sign-up as both artist and author?

Of course! Just make sure you have the time and resources available to fulfill all the roles you choose!

Most asked question for everyone! XD

Panic time, I won’t be able to make the deadline! What now?

Hey, it’s okay! Life happens, we get it. But keep us updated. Send an email to inceptionbang@gmail.com or drop a message to @stormofsharpthings.

We can work out extensions, or if you can’t complete your piece, we can talk to pinch-hitters. It’s okay, really, as long as you let us know what's up!

[cosmokyrin]

Potential - Chevreuse/Chiori - Genshin Impact

Summary: When the captain and the seamstress have a passing talk about marriage. Ship: Chevreuse/Chiori (Genshin Impact) Rating: Teen and Up Length: 1,171 words Notes: This drabble came to me out of nowhere! It really just started with Chevreuse's line thinking she was disturbing Chiori's mind with her presence, and my introvert ass latched to that relatable thought lmao I first shared this over the Cheviori server I created, and decided, after adding and editing, to share this out as well. I hope you enjoyed them being gay as much as I did LMAO Cheviori real!!!! Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55668778

Full fic also available here! Read below:

“Chevreuse, we’ve talked about this. I don’t mind you being here at all.”

"I know, I know. I just wanted you to know that you don't need to talk with me while I’m here. But if my presence in the room is disturbing your thoughts, you can always tell me to leave. No hard feelings," Chevreuse told Chiori from across the room. It was late at night in the Chioriya Boutique, but the famous — or infamous — seamstress continued to be surrounded by colorful spools of thread delicately spun by her skilled hands. There was a deadline to be met in the next few days, and if Chiori wanted to keep her schedule in line, she had to put in a few extra hours. She enjoyed this, anyway. But a regular guest, the Captain of the Special Patrol — her current significant other, no less — seemed to think her conspicuous presence must be jarring for an introspective and artistic, brooding character like hers. In fact, it was true, Chiori did not deny, because any human presence warranted a portion of one’s attention, no matter how familiar they were.

But Chevreuse’s presence was different. It was comfortable, serene, still. Like ember in the form of water. Like the fire of the hearth, bright and encompassing yet humble and healing. Chiori was sensitive of her personal space, yet Chevreuse fit in like she was already a piece of her.

"You don't need to. I guess this is also good practice when we get married."

"Yeah, I guess..." Chevreuse then almost dropped her book, and her jaw, upon realizing something. "What did you say?"

Chiori shrugged. "When we get married, I'll be living with you often, so that means there will be times that I'm working and it's inevitable you're within the same space I am, and I have to..." Chiori looked up to Chevreuse who dumbfoundedly stared and blushed in front of her. "Just stating facts. I mean..." She softly chuckled, seemingly with a hint of nervousness. "This is not a proposal, Chevreuse. It's speculation. We might not have dated for so long but we are still dating, nonetheless. Marriage might become an option for our relationship someday."

Chevreuse’s mouth opened and closed like that of a fish, failing to create any coherence. She cleared her throat and gazed to the ground, redder than ever. "I-I mean you're right. Nothing wrong with a marriage talk once in a while."

Chiori laughed softly, but the way it reached Chevreuse, it seemed she was being egged onto something else. It was oddly inviting, the way the seamstress looked at her with a sly smile as a needle was lodged in between her teeth — a dangerous habit — much like Chiori herself. "Do you see me as a potential wife in the future, Captain?"

"I, um..." Chevreuse tried to focus on her book, attempting to allay her sudden discomfiture coupled with a fear of saying the wrong thing. She had taken off her gaze from Chiori, quickly falling quiet and reclusive. The seamstress immediately saw through it. She dropped her smirk and looked on with concern.

"You don't have to answer that one if it doesn't make you comfortable."

Chevreuse shot up a glance to Chiori, shock written in her face. She then sighed upon realizing how worked up she had become. "No, I was... I just don't want to say anything wrong."

Chiori shook her head and chuckled. "Perhaps it wasn't really a simple thing to ask. But you don't have to answer me just to please me. Or you can say whatever you want, no hard feelings. And just so you know, whatever your answer, the future always changes—"

"I want to marry you someday," Chevreuse blurted out.

Silence instantly filled up the space they occupied. The Boutique, being a peaceful and unassuming background, suddenly seemed to wake with eyes as wide as Tamoto’s and turned to the young lovers. A hot, hot blush spread to the Garde captain’s face that the thought of biting her tongue off suddenly didn’t seem stupendously irrational nor torturous. What did she just say? She wanted to slap the book on her face, the most useless thing she could try to do to hide her unfathomable embarrassment. She instead covered her mouth and squirmed uncomfortably like a worm dying in her own sweat. She hated her uniform at the moment. 

From her peripheral view, it seemed that Chiori wore a serious face. Did she say something wrong? Was this, by the gods, the wrong answer? More blood rushed to her face now. She took another deep breath. She had to face this head on. This was the most important thing she learned as a soldier. So Chevreuse took another swig of air and courage, then raised her gaze to her lady.

Chiori was holding in her laughter.

Very hard.

"It was…” Chiori said, nearly choking on her own stifled laughter. “It was just a 'yes or no' question."

Crap. Chevreuse completely turned tomato when she realized how corny she sounded, especially now that Chiori's laughter broke out. Her partner was cackling so hard she shut her eyes and had tears pooling in the sides. Captain Chevreuse wanted to go back to being a worm to die in her own sweat. "I'm sorry, okay..."

Chiori let herself giggle a bit more, head slightly bent backwards. She wiped her tears of laughter away and faced Chevreuse with an incredible softness and a beautiful smile that the captain burned in her mind. "What are you sorry for? You didn't say anything wrong." Then her gaze almost instantly shifted in intensity that the captain froze with the subtle bait and switch. But Chiori was… gentle? Happy? In love, perhaps? Chevreuse gulped at the thought.

"Okay. To be fair to you, I see you as my future wife, too, Chevreuse. Or husband. Whatever you prefer."

"So it's mutual, huh?" Chevreuse said, breaking into a grin of relief before her brain and shame could catch up. She blushed all over her face again, but at least she could properly gaze eye to eye with her significant other this time. They laughed together, shaking their heads from the things they just found about each other. Like Chiori said, even their feelings, as strong as their bond may have been now, could change somewhere down the line. Yet, Chevreuse couldn't help the excitement that swelled in her heart upon knowing that she wasn't the only one who saw such a future for the both of them.

Chiori only answered with a wide smile before she resumed her sewing work. Others would have waited, but Chevreuse didn't need the words. If there was anything she liked about their relationship, it was the miraculous ease at which they talked without saying anything. Chevreuse stood up from the sofa and walked across the room towards Chiori.

"Can I disturb you tonight just this one time?" she asked.

Chiori raised a curious brow and shrugged. Chevreuse leaned down and gave her a kiss.

[runabout-river]

There is a thread on Twitter about how Weekly Shonen Jump handles the ending of a popular series.

https://x.com/Cer_clover/status/1822057976783351845?t=yksiQQWNq-X2g7gAxjaaoA&s=19

JJK is unlikely to get a 2nd part because of how Weekly Shonen Jump handles endings. Once a series enters its final arc, the mangaka and editors set a deadline for how many chapters are left. This deadline rarely changes, which means the story often gets rushed, with skipped plot points and condensed character arcs.

The length of a manga series is often decided through discussions between the mangaka and their editor. The editor needs an idea of how long the series will take to finish, which leads to talks about whether the story should be extended or shortened to fit the magazine's schedule.

Creating manga for a magazine is still a job, and not every artist gets the same flexibility as big names like Oda (One Piece) or Araki (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure). Most artists have to adapt to these restrictions and do their best to finish the series within the given timeframe, knowing they may not get another chance if they miss the mark.

Shonen Jump doesn’t usually give extra time after setting a final chapter number. Even if JJK got a second part, it would still face tight deadlines, leading to the same rushed feeling we’ve seen in other series. It’s better to end JJK in its current run, allowing the story to finish naturally without the pressure of a second part that might feel incomplete.

We've seen this happen with other long-running series like Bleach and My Hero Academia, where the endings felt rushed and left fans disappointed. Since JJK already has many characters, subplots, and a complex world, stretching it into a second part would likely make the problem worse.

This makes me believe that despite the series popularity, it's unlikely that the magazine would move from their hard deadline.

I'm not saying that WSJ would do anything with their deadline. My thoughts since the end has been anounced, are that the JJK manga would wrap up and some time later, probably several months and maybe even in 2025, a new JJK series would be anounced when the magazine has the correct time slots again and Gege had a vacation in Europe or something.

I also don't see the story as stretching into a second part, with how JJK has been told, it would be about telling the parts that are already there and finishing them in a new and less stressful environment because I can imagine a fresh start with a new chapter 1 to be exactly that.

It's like how Naruto had Boruto as a sequel but this time it wouldn't be done with a finished story carrying over to the next generation (because even if JJK completely ends now, there is so much left undone that I will not call it a well rounded story). It would be like: timeskip, old story beats that were left open interwoven with new themes and maybe even a protagonist and genre change.

But we'll see. We'll see.

Until then though I don't want to stop theorizing and analyzing the story and the circumstances that are presented to us. Like, why would I not want to make posts about how we could get JJK 2: More Kaisening?

Am I supposed to be afraid of being wrong about it or something like that? 😂😂😂😂 I don't know about anyone else out there but I'm enjoying myself right now and I hope others are too :D

[comicaurora]

Got told by a friend who also reads the tumblr that my ramblings about Doctor Who are the same as you with ReBoot: "endlessly trying to get people to watch a show just so you can have someone to talk to about it" as they said. and I wanted to ask how you managed to get people into a show they are put off from due to being told about it a lot? also what are your thoughts on Doctor Who and it's 60 year history?

In my experience convincing someone to try a show is like 20% your actual pitch and 80% them. Your pitch can help them decide if they might like the show, but it's up to them to decide if and when they'll actually watch it. They need to be in the right headspace, have the right kind of schedule, nothing else eating their attention, etc. Some people just don't do bingewatching, or they only do bingewatching and need to block out a long weekend to power through. And since I know a lot of artists, sometimes they react to media in unpredictable ways - an episode will hit them just right and suddenly they're off on a tangent and can't even think about watching TV.

It can be a bit frustrating if you really want to talk to them about it right this minute, but honestly I've had some very nice discussions about media with people who haven't tried it, and I've been on the other side of that dynamic as well. I first got into Leverage because my dad used it as an offhand example when describing a frustration he had with longform media (that characters wouldn't be allowed to overcome their personal issues because they made good drama) and it intrigued me at exactly the right time to make me want to check it out. Hell, the entire point of the Detail Diatribe format is one of us rambling an explanation of what makes a piece of media so cool or so annoying to an audience surrogate who hasn't seen it.

I have had luck offering to watch shows with people before - I sat through the first three episodes of The Owl House with a friend recently and she really liked it, though last I checked she hadn't watched more since. I got another one into Transformers Prime by just showing the Starscream episodes which I knew would hit just right. The downside is sometimes I'll be told that they haven't watched more since because they like watching it with me specifically, which is both very sweet and mildly frustrating.

But when it comes to the actual pitch, in my experience it's good to zero in on the parts you personally really liked and the parts you think they specifically would really like. For Doctor Who, I loved the RTD portrayal of 9 and 10 as "lonely gods," and I really liked the angsty character drama, but to get someone into the show I'd probably show something like Blink, which stands on its own with a very simple yet scary monster premise, or Vincent and the Doctor, which highlights the historical angle, is incredibly emotionally impactful and also stands on its own without needing much overarching context or understanding of the show. Neither of these episodes show the parts of the overarching story that I liked, but they work well to communicate the general vibes without needing too much outside context, and they're about as good as the show gets.

As for Doctor Who specifically, I was watching New Who as soon as it started because my parents were so into it (which meant I had nightmares for months about that fucking gas mask zombie two-parter jesus christ) and I really liked the 9 and 10 runs, with a slight preference for 10 because he was a little less grumpy. I stuck through the whole 11 era even though I kinda stopped liking it after Amy and Rory left, and I finally tapped out with 12. The problem was I was watching Sherlock around the same time and was starting to notice Moffat's habit of rewriting all his heroes into deeply unlikable turbochad megageniuses and then turning directly to camera and saying "isn't he wonderful? if you don't agree you're shallow." Because it's a really good sign when you kick off your season by guilt-tripping your audience into watching!

Even that didn't fully wreck it for me, but I remember the exact episode that made me go "yep, think I'm good" - series 8, episode 5, "time heist." The Doctor and friends wake up in a weird room with some strangers and no memory of how they got there, a hooded figure on a screen tells them they all agreed to get their memories wiped to rob a bank and that they all have doohickeys that will instantly "shred them to atoms" that they're supposed to use to avoid capture by the telepathic minotaur thing that'll melt their brains if it catches them. Now, rule number one of character deaths is "if it doesn't leave a body, they're not actually dead," so I figured the doohickeys were teleporters, and the hooded "architect" pulling the strings from a TV screen was probably a recording of one of the memory-wiped characters pulling the strings - most likely The Doctor, what with him being the genius master planner type. These twists aren't particularly complicated. I cannot stress enough how simple "The Doctor orchestrated a mildly clever way to break into a secure vault without the telepathic minotaur thing finding out" is. The part where I tapped out is when The Doctor went off on a long-winded, very impressed monologue about how ingenious this whole scheme was, culminating in the big reveal that the brilliant architect who orchestrated this entire scenario was in fact……… The Doctor. Obviously.

My tolerance for authorial wanking is very low, and while a lengthy monologue by the hero about how smart the hero's plan was is tolerable when the hero is an egotistical genius about to be taken down a few pegs by the narrative, a lengthy monologue by the hero about how smart the writer was for writing the hero's plan is another animal entirely, and it circles around to being frankly insulting when the plan is that basic. "I put on a hood, recorded a video, wiped my own memory and then watched the video. Truly my genius is unparalleled on this or any other world."

So yea, that's about when I called it off, and why I wasn't particularly surprised when Sherlock season 4 turned into an unmitigated tire fire. I watched a few episodes after The Doctor regenerated into 13, but I kinda fell off the wagon after it started looking like none of the characters were getting arcs I was interested in following.

Historically, Doctor Who hasn't been good, it's been fun. I've watched some snippets of Old Who and found them difficult to stick with. It's had an astoundingly widespread cultural impact, but it's one of those things I don't really get, and because the show changes so much from season to season and Doctor to Doctor I think it makes sense that most fans are really only fans of very specific eras and doctors. If the whole show changes out from under you, it makes sense you might not be as invested afterwards - that's just the nature of the game when the franchise has been running since 1963.

[sapphire-drawings]

While probably not a fic you were thinking of- as an author of a *very* old maxwil fanfic (2016!) i don't doubt that most authors would still love to see fanart of their fics, even old ones. the pieces i've been given i treasure to this day

Okay this changes things.

My heart melts at the thought of anyone treasuring anything I've done

I don't read much cuz I spend most of my time drawing (that's why I have so much shit scheduled) but knowing this actually encourage me to reread stuff and do some art!

It's feels nice to draw things out of others writing so I hope writers enjoy what artists draw out of their fics.

I genuinely admire writers. Getting into any kind of creative project is an amazing thing and write it out in such beautiful detail is so hard for me that most of the time I only go with it and horribly write key moments so I don't forget about them. Not to mention my terrible English lol

If anyone know of any good Maxwil fic link it here so I can expand my "to read later" list hehehe. Who knows, I might do some art out of them

I don't know what fic you're talking about but now I'm intrigued. . .

But when the art is done. . . Should I just link it to their AO3 comments??? Is there an etiquette to follow that I don't know????

[pa-stella]

For the ask game, please ♡ (◍•ᴗ•◍)

🎉 💖 💪 😩 🎭 🎆

ohhh Su 💕💕💕

"🎉 Where have you noticed the most growth in your writing?”

I don’t know if it can be considered growth, I used to have trouble posting stories under/over a certain number or words. This year I learned that each fic I write has the perfect amount of words because… that’s how I want them to be. Like, I can convey my messages with 100 or 5k words and both are okay. (Does this makes sense??)

“💖 Was there a comment or another piece of feedback that made you feel all the warm and fuzzies?”

I must confess that, when I’m feeling particularly bad and unmotivated, I like to reread the tags people add when they rb my stories… they have the power to make me feel so much better! If I have to choose something that surprised me… I’d say these adorable doodles by @7000f1 💕

“💪 What ship gave you the most brainrot this year?”

I think we both know the answer to this. In general hypmic has conquered my brain and heart, but if we are talking about ships… HitoJaku gets the prize for making my mind go jdkwhdjsjhddkjendkd whenever I think about them. It’s not the first time I have an otp, but this level of inspiration and obsession…. is totally new haha my wips and ideas are 80% about these two old men and this ship is making me work and study in other areas other than writing. Second and third places go to KuuJyu and SasaRo 💕

“😩 Are there any ideas or fics you scrapped?”

Mmm, if I have an idea I try my best to write it down. I might not publish the fic, but I don’t just scrap it. It’s more common for me to abandon a story for some time before finishing it though…

“🎭 Did you do something new this year? Write for a new fandom, in a new POV, new ship?”

Ohhh, I did some new this year! I wrote xreader stories for the first time (I still have to work on this skill, but I’m pretty proud of the Jakuraixreader one even if it was the first one) and I started to write about ships and characters I’d usually just… ignore.

“🎆 What are you most excited to work on or share in 2023?”

At the moment I’m working on a few different AUs. The first one is the HitoJaku Florist/Tattoo Artist one and I’m having a lot of fun. I even made moodboards, maps, etc. This time I decided to wait at least until the third chapter is done before posting it… so I’ll have more time and it’ll be easier to schedule it. Another AU is… is something I’ve already talked about here and I decided to make it my 2023 biggest project. I’ll try to do a sort of novel/comic out of it, but it’s also possible that I’ll just do an illustration for each chapter instead.

[assenavlp]

Oprah and AI

I watched this primetime ABC propaganda sh¡tshow so you all don't have to.

AI AND THE FUTURE OF US AN OPRAH WINFREY SPECIAL

I hadn't heard or seen any press for this show, and just happened to see the listing as I was trying to find something to watch, a few nights ago, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted to watch it or not - lol - so I scheduled it to record, just in case. Finally bit the bullet, yesterday.

The recording caught the last bit of a political ad, before the show began. It warned that "Biden & Harris want to force you to buy an electric car". LMAO And awayyyy we go…

The show (and segment one, of five) cynically begins with a group of everymen/women expressing confusion, doubt, ambivalence, and suspicion. All the better to commence giving you the soft sell, my dears…

THE AGENDA

Oprah: "I was Bedazzled, Fascinated, Curious, and also Concerned. But there is no doubt, it is Here."

She began by breezing through a very basic timeline of the notion and progress of AI, over the last 70 years, and promised, a couple of times, that the show would be "not so technical".

It should be noted that in this hour and four minute-long programme, at no time do they speak of the mass theft of art, music, or literary works (let alone personal data and images shared on social media). 'Cuz who cares about them highfalutin artistic types? Gatekeeping snobs and weirdos, man. 'Ah don't know anything about art, but Ah know what Ah like.' They don't even touch on the issue of likeness theft. They do speak of it, in regards to fraud, later on, but not in regards to creative works, for which there was that whole actor's strike. I see you going to the SAG Awards, Ms. Winfrey. [Buh Gok!] Nor do they speak on the mass of false advertising. They also don't get into the massively detrimental environmental impact. Shocking.

Meta admits scraping every adult Australian’s public post to train AI, no opt-out https://www.diyphotography.net/meta-admits-scraping-every-adult-australians-public-post-to-train-ai-no-opt-out/

Without further ado, the woman who brought us all such greats [chuckle] as Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, and the book, "A Million Little Pieces", now brings (to the general public) the so-called Effective Altruist*, OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman.

At about 7 minutes in, in the most earnest, pandering tone, he says, "the most important thing that will happen here is, everyone in the world will be able to create at a level that is still hard for us to imagine. This is gonna be an enabler of human ability to create, to flourish, to make new things, to create new companies and services like we've never seen, and we want eeeeverybody to get to do that, not just the white dudes", as he stares directly at Oprah. LOL

Oh, the sweet, sweet 'democratization of art', you bad, bad, racist and ableist anti-AI folks. [rolling eyes]

Of course they allow him to express concern as he pays lip service to safety and regulations, as fellow sociopaths Elon, Jeff, and Mark, all grace our screens, and he speaks of regularly working with the Executive Branch. Mm hmmm. The folks who love their corporate donors. Okay. Go on.

Oprah: "How do we know we can trust you?"

Sam: "The bar on this is clearly extremely high, um, the best thing that we can do is to put this technology in the hands of people, talk about what it is capable of, what it's not, what we think is gonna come, what we think might come, give our best advice about how society should decide to use this. Um, say when we think it's important to not release something, which we also might get wrong, and build up that trust over time. But it is clear that this is going to be a very impactful technology, and I think a lot of scrutiny is thus super warranted."

Oprah: "I actually saw a headline, that said you were the most powerful, and perhaps most dangerous man on the planet, and I'm wondering how that sits with you."

Sam (holding back tears - really): "I…. It's definitely strange to hear you say that. It doesn't… I don't feel like the most powerful person or anything even close to that, uh, like I feel the opportunity, the responsibility in a positive way to get to nudge this in a direction that I think can be really good for people. And that is, like, that's like a serious… exciting, somewhat nerve-racking thing, um, but it's something that I feel very deeply, and I, and I, and I, and I realise how I'll never get to touch anything this important again."

We really needed some violins, here.

Oprah goes on to express her "concern" over the "nefarious" ways some have already used the technology, but then goes on to gush how "calllm" and "relatablllle" he is, and thus, "it seems like everything is okay"…. And he, in turn, replies that he doesn't want to give anyone "a false sense of security", that "there will be bad, too", and that they'll "mitigate, as much as we can" [whewwww, lol] acknowledging full well that "this technology will be misused"… Then he quickly slips in another one for everyone's AI-Bro Bingo card: "like every technology before it…"

Oh, how they love that canard.

*Effective Altruism: letting billionaires amass their fortunes, untaxed and unregulated, so that they can 'benefit' society the way THEY, alone, see fit. Yeah, no.

Then there's a commercial break and they bring back the common folks, for segment two, gushing about their kids using AI to "draw" (yeah, no) dinosaurs, and using the simplified AI filters on TikTok (See? Folks are already using AI, no biggie, lol), using it to generate 'reference' material for sermons, but "never" actually using the raw product (no, of coooourse not), and their fears, shock of all shocks, are slowly being allayed. Apprehensions of "how it will eat you alive" now gone, by "talking to it". Who could have seen this miraculous reversal coming? LOL

HOLY S*** (Their asterisks, not mine.)

Next on the docket is Marques Brownlee, YouTube tech-expert, displaying the exponential improvement of fake videos, in just the past year - of course to Oprah's shock and disbelief - explaining how they're generated by referencing millions of photos. He did explain that "there really isn't any good set of rules" despite some embedding watermarks or meta data so that those who know how to look deeper will know it's fake. i.e. maybe 5% of the people looking at this crap, and at the moment, those folks can tell just by looking anyway.

Then Oprah plays at being the everyman, too, by expressing real concern, especially after he demonstrates a voice generator with his own voice, but of course, she gives him the opportunity to allay those fears; going back down the well-worn 'we've seen this before with new technology' trail that every tech-bro loves to travel, including Sam, in the previous segment. Am I sensing a pattern?

Marques: "I'll say I've seen this story before. Cars, in general, went through this; smartphones, of course, went through this; computers went through this; the Internet went through this; where at their very formative years, they're really, really confusing and potentially amazing but potentially horrible, and eventually, you know, humans sort themselves out, to lay the rules down in a way that we can actually trust that will be better than it is bad. So I've seen this story before and I'm hoping it plays out the way it's played out before."

Oh, that makes me feel so much better, because this all-encompassing technology is absolutely no different than any other technological advance we've seen throughout all of recorded history. No, not at all. [cough]

Next up are Tristan Harris, Technology Ethicist, and Aza Raskin, creator of the Infinite Scroll, talking about the incredible speed of the tech, the ills of "social media addiction, doom-scrolling, and polarization", and how he, Aza, "learned the hard way" that his "good intentions as an inventor just wasn't enough". Ya don't say. He did challenge the aforementioned "every tech" narrative by pointing out that the various problems of cars (eg. seatbelts) took decades to resolve. Of course he doesn't mention that cars, even still, are killing us every day, from their planned obsolescent over-production and resultant waste, to the continued fossil fuel dependency and pollution (or all the rare earth mineral mining devastation that electric alternatives will incur)….

Aza: "Once AI can do anything, people start to use it to do everything."

Tristan: "That's what's so confusing about AI, is it's going to give us all these benefits at the same time that it's undermining the foundations that we depend on, and you can't separate the promise from the peril, so I think instead of getting caught up in the question, "is AI gonna be good or is it gonna be bad", it's about, "is it happening at a pace that our society can respond appropriately."

Oprah: "But guys, it's here. It's why I started this programme by saying it is here."

Tristan: "Open AI's stated goal is to be able to build systems of AI that are even smarter than humans because there's trillions of dollars to be made on the other side…."

Oprah: "What do you want to see happen, now?"

Tristan: "OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, they need to be held accountable for the harms that they would create so that they're all incentivized to pull back, and go at the pace that they can help society be prepared and not be overwhelmed."

Oprah: "And who is holding them accountable?"

Tristan: "We need laws."

HA!

Back with some more everyfolks, segment three begins with the spectre of real life scams and the harm they cause.

BAD GUYS

FBI director Christopher Wray is trundled out to talk more about deepfakes and scams, and ch¡ldp0rn and sext0rt¡on using faked images.

Oprah: "Do you think we have the laws or regulations in place, now, to keep Americans safe from all that's coming, all the AI threats?"

Christopher: "I would probably leave legislating to the legislators, but what I will tell you from an FBI director's perspective, um, is that this is a type of technology that we see manifesting itself in more and more situations, more and more types of crimes, more and more types of threats, uh, and there's a degree to which, overall, our laws haven't kept pace with the technology."

Oprah: "Does that frustrate you?"

Christopher: "Sure, yeah, sure. What I worry about is the day, which is coming, it's not here but it's coming faster than we would like, where those, um, elite bad guys will find AI sophisticated enough to take their game to a-whole-nother level."

Oprah: "And the elite bad guys are doing what?"

Christopher: "So the elite bad guys are the ones, you know, for example, conducting the most sophisticated cyber intrusions. To me no country, no country represents a broader, more severe, more comprehensive threat to American innovation, American ideas, to our Economic Security, and ultimately our national security, than the Chinese government. China has a bigger hacking programme, already, than that of every major nation combined, and has stolen more of Americans' personal and corporate data than every nation, big or small combined. The scale of the threat is significant. If you took the FBI's programme, and just said forget Russia, forget Iran, just do nothing but China, the Chinese government's hacking programme, they would outnumber us 50 to 1.

Oprah: "We've got an election coming. Do you think this election cycle will be compromised by disinformation?"

Christopher: "I fully expect to see, um, disinformation by foreign adversaries. We are finding, all too often, that something on social media that looks like Bill from Topeka or Mary from Dayton is actually, you know, some Russian or Chinese intelligence officer on the outskirts of Beijing or Moscow."

Don't worry about the homegrown stuff. [shhhh]

Oprah: "What should we be on the lookout for?"

Christopher: "All Americans should try to be, you know, more discerning consumers of information. It is incumbent on everyone in America to bring an intensified sense of focus and caution to the use of AI, and how AI can be used by bad guys against all of us, but not to panic I don't think this is a time for panic."

So, in sum: Chinese and Russian AI, baaaaad. [furrows brow] American AI, goooood. [thumbs up] Nothing to see, here!

Back to the everypeople, and the fear of job losses, immediately followed by the old 'but there will be newwww jobs' cliché, and then the folks who were suspicious but they looove it, now, and the folks who aren't worried because they're "irreplaceable".

HEALTH, EDUCATION & JOBS

Oh! Bill Gates! Quell surprise.

Microsoft's Hypocrisy on AI https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/09/microsoft-ai-oil-contracts/679804/

Long story short: medicine is going to be sooo much better. And education, too!

Bill: "We can see it's already working pretty well."

Oh, really?

Kids who use ChatGPT as a study assistant do worse on tests Researchers compare math progress of almost 1,000 high school students. https://www.popsci.com/technology/kids-who-use-chatgpt-as-a-study-assistant-do-worse-on-tests/

And robots can do the blue collar jobs, too! (Including fruit-picking, on all that farmland he's been buying up.) Yayyyy, replicants! [facepalm]

Oprah: "What are the jobs that you believe are going to be undisturbed? What skills are going to persist in these, in this new world?"

Bill: "Yeah, that's very hard to make a prediction. I mean there'll be aspects of creativity, there'll be aspects of appreciating, uh, people [said as if under duress, lol], you know, social work, the teacher really engaging that student in the rich way. Even then I can't guarantee that software won't eventually get good at that, but you know, for the next generation, the more human, the more engaged you are with other people [so, not artists], that is a skillset that is in such short supply, whether it's mental health or education, that we can never have enough of that."

I dread to imagine what his visions for future mental health services are.

Oprah: "I mean I've expressed several of my concerns, but do you have none, do you have no…"

Bill: "I have significant fears about the risks. This is the first technology that is happening faster than even the insiders expected."

Oprah: "It's happening faster than you guys thought?"

Bill: "Absolutely."

Oprah: "Do you think that your company, that, that Microsoft, and other companies that are gonna make a lot of money off of AI have an obligation to help us manage and navigate through this change?"

Bill: "Absolutely. The fact that there will have to be regulation, that the way we think about taxes will have to change quite a bit. If the companies are working with the government, then at least we can craft something that's, that's not just profit-driven."

Regulations that you and your lobbyists craft? [chortle]

Oprah: "But what did we miss with the Internet and social media that we can use to apply now, to this moment of AI?"

Bill: "Well, I, I would say, speaking for myself, personally, and, I think, many others, that we were a bit naïve."

Ya don't say.

Stephen Fry: Musk and Zuckerberg have 'polluted culture' ""I’m the chump who thought social media could change the world," he told his audience at the Digital Futures Institute." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceq5q3jlnz3o

Bill: "We thought the Internet, the availability of information would make us all a lot more factual. The fact that people would seek out kind of a niche of misinformation, we were a bit naïve."

Okay, then.

Back to the everyones… and what it is to be "human". HA! "As a religious person, one of the things that I reflect on is "be careful about comfort because too much comfort is actually going to make your life worse, not better, because it'll decrease your over all capacity." (An actual good point.)

IRREPLACEABLE HUMANS

The final guest, Marilynne Robinson, novelist, is the lone 'creative' on the show.

Marilynne: "The impulse behind it seems to be to eliminate the human hand, the human eye in the making of the reality that we inhabit to the farthest extent possible. With the effect of, of, um, concentrating power in the sense of the control of this strange fantasy, uh, within very few people's hands and consolidating masses of capital, and masses of natural resources devoted to this very dubious project. It's just a human impulse to escape from its humanity, which is something that happens over and over again, historically. The impulse to say, uh, that there's nothing intrinsic about a human person, that cannot, in theory, be replicated by something that, frankly, works cheaper, works faster. I don't know why it is but it's part of our human lot to be uncomfortable with our humanity, and to mechanize it, you know, out of existence in some way. We're not enough in love with our own existence, and we're not enough in love with everyone else's existence, and I think that's very dangerous." [chef's kiss]

The same reason transhumanists are so obsessed with living longer and more artificially. They don't love - or respect - the time they have here. They want more, more, more.

Oprah: "What is the thing that concerns you the most?"

Marilynne: "I'm afraid that there will be so much investment of every kind into this project, that it will have its consequences before it really deserves them, and so there will be all kinds of cutting back on all kinds of employment and so on, anticipating this insurgence of, of AI, and then it will turn out that it's a, it's a bad project, you know, that it's more dangerous than it is valuable, and so on, and so we will have a disrupted economy on the one hand, and an unusable technology on the other."

Mic drop!

Oprah, ignoring the words of the preacher before the segment, persists…

Oprah: "But it's also going to, no question about it, it's going to make life a lot easier for a lot of people, so what's wrong with that?"

Marilynne: "American schools ask for a lot of written work from students, and that's a very good thing. It's an autonomy-creating exercise, you know. But what we don't do, we don't tell them that this is a discipline, like an athletic discipline that they have undertaken to strengthen themselves, not just to bring themselves over some arbitrary line of sufficiency."

Never mind the physical process of writing, learning cursive, etc., which too many deemed unnecessary, despite all the literature demonstrating otherwise.

Oprah: "That it's the discipline of doing the work and the thinking process."

Marilynne: "Exactly. And students say writing is difficult, which of course it is."

Oprah: "It is."

Marilynne: "But difficulty is the point."

Oprah: "And so if you were in charge of this whole AI movement, what would you be doing or what would you advise?"

Marilynne: "I would advise that it be used for, you know, the kind of research that produces drugs and immunizations and so on."

Sure. With MUCH oversight. But then again…

Revolution, interrupted One of the promises of machine learning was better drugs, faster. A decade in, AI has failed to live up to the hype https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-artificial-intelligence-drug-research-hype/

Marilynne: "I would, uh, I would make a fantastic library. I would use it very, very judiciously to replace work that is drudgery without the arrogance of replacing the work of people who, you know, who are of very great value, you know, just because they are the substance of our ordinary interactions with the world."

Oof. There's MY personal sticking point. "Eliminating the drudgery." She was careful to make a distinction but I fear that nuance will be lost on most of the people already sharing that hackneyed meme. Everyone wants a replicant to do the stuff they think they're above doing. Doesn't end well.

Oprah was still desperately trying to make the case, though, retreating to the same old "fear of the new" and "nostalgia" arguments, asking how this time is different. Sometimes I thought, maybe she's just playing Devil's Advocate, with some of these questions? It was interesting that she gave the final word to someone who had the most philosophical viewpoint. But nahhh. Marilynne then compared it to The Manhattan Project. HA! Another mic drop.

And then Oprah's final thoughts, on this peak Boomer TV:

"A special thank you to everyone who spoke with us, tonight. I hope that they have left you with a clearer picture of what is coming. Artificial intelligence is still beyond our control, and to a great extent our understanding, but it is here. We're going to be living with technology that can be our ally as well as our rival. It is something that no other generation has ever experienced. This moment requires a different level of alertness, awareness, about who we are, and where we're going, what's real, and what's not, what's artificial intelligence and what is human wisdom, authentic intelligence earned through study and experience. We are this planet's most adaptable creatures. We will adapt again but keep your eyes on what's real. The stakes for all of us could not…..

And then the recording cuts out. [GUFFAW]

-30-

[dashawfrostart]

This Week In "Time & Again" #3: Gettin' Technical... Again?! And A Little Cynical

Hello again! I must admit... My weekly blog posting schedule has slightly shifted - first, because I posted the Halloween poster a.k.a. The First Teaser a bit later due to the creepy holiday itself, and second - because a bunch of life stuff is happening (yup, don't underestimate me, I do have a life outside artworks! 🤣). Usually everything has been fairly straightforward and gradual in my life, but there's a bit of certain activity going on in it right now, more than usual. And potentially also non-artistic side projects in my life. Because of that, I didn't get a chance to draw as much as I anticipated to during this week (already last week?! wowie!!!.. time flies, indeed!). But nevertheless, I tried my very best to go ahead with "Time & Again", for this is a project of the greatest importance to me. Slower or faster it's reaching its "well done" state - it doesn't matter. As you know, I'm not big on time limits 😁 At this point of time, the product is still very undercooked, so I'll be cooking it until done (even though I absolutely can't stand it when the packages say "cook until done"... because would you PLEASE be more vague?🤣).

To my surprise, I do not have an awful lot to say today. One might even say I'm ruining the format, for the previous posts I made had quite a (relatively) high word count. That said though - and some people close to me know this very well - every time I say I don't have much to say I end up writing twice or thrice as normal. Which leads us to conclusion that, perhaps, I actually do have things to say?!.. Either way, I'm sure you're not yet tired of me rumbling on and on about strange things that only some people - primarily digital artists - understand... Namely my habits of work. I am sure quite methodical in the way I draw, perhaps oddly. So I'll continue being technical for a while, until I run out of techy topics to talk about. And when I do... then I'll just spam more pictures 😁

However... A small demonstration of progress would be good for a wee little "teaser" of sorts:

(Note the layer names. I often make typos when I rename the layers - and I just don't bother and leave them as is, because it doesn't really matter. Pains me as a languages and grammar nerd, of course, but also entertains me a bit 🤣 Also, the cigarette smoke has been drawn on a separate layer as well, and it humorously states how I feel about this particular habit of this charming dirtymouth individual. Eeeew, Lothar. Not cool.) I do not always do that, but sometimes I start off drawing the outlines of the characters' bodies and end up "wrapping" clothes around them afterwards, like on the screenshots above. I think the reason why I completed the work on Chapter 3 so unbelievably fast last year was due to the fact that on majority of the frames Lothar appeared topless... Because I've noticed that when the characters don't have much clothes on them, it takes significantly less time to draw them. But of course!.. In this case you don't have to draw every single fold and wrinkle on shirts and skirts, extra seams on jeans, or additional stylish detail on any piece of garment that looks far too plain without it... Drawing characters naked - or half-naked - sure saves an artist a TREMENDOUS amount of time and effort. ... I suspect this is also the reason why in a lot of modern comics and mangas - and animated shows, too - the artists tend to include a lot of nudity in their projects... Why yes, isn't it obvious?! Because who, pray tell, wants to spend extra hours drawing all the clothes anyway?! Come on, clothes are overrated! I'm sure of it now.

... That was plenty enough of cynicism and sarcasm for a single post, I guess. Alas! I'm rumbling, again! That was not planned by me! So let's move on to the main part of this post now! Finally, on to the techy stuff, as promised! Yum! 🤤

First of all, I would like to mention a very important change in the way I work on my graphic novel now. One fine day, not long ago, I have discovered something... that turned my digital artist's world upside down. And the name of the phenomena that shattered my whole life was... Krita's weighted smoothing for the brush. (ok, ok... that sounded very exaggerated and pompous. But oh well!)

The screenshot on the left shows the brush settings I used all the time prior to Chapter 5. I used amazing Krita's Stabilizer smoothing, because I found it quite useful back in the day as I only started to use my Huion graphic monitor. I was so fascinated with it... It truly felt magical after a few years of using "a blind", screenless Wacom drawing tablet (which I will never ever go back to, for, to be honest, I have no idea how I was able to draw anything 🤣... tried using it a couple years ago just to see the difference, and I ended up exclaiming, "How in the ❤❤❤❤ do you even draw on this thing?!", and I set it aside for good... to collect real thicc layers of dust on the shelf 🤣). The right screenshot depicts the current settings I use for the weighted smoothing. Those are the Krita defaults.

An unskilled eye would probably not even notice any remarkable difference between the two as they watch somebody drawing in real time - or if they compare my older works versus the very latest ones. I must admit, the difference is sure very subtle. But to me, there's enough of a difference in how it FEELS when I'm drawing. The lines turn out better overall, somehow it makes me feel as if I'm drawing on paper rather than on a slippery screen. I could say, to me weighted smoothing imitates pencil drawing on paper very well. Which ultimately means... it's easier to draw in general. Thus, the digital artworks look more like my regular artworks on paper. It makes me happy that I can just be me when I'm drawing on both paper and on the graphic monitor. Back in the day, I was very worried about how switching to digital format was gonna impact my peculiar art style. Turns out it hardly does. ... Not that drawing on a graphic monitor has ever been challenging to me, for I learnt pretty fast, and yet, at times something felt a little off. So right now, I ponder, there's gonna be much less "off" and much more "awesome". Which is indeed lovely.

Now I question myself on why I've never used this brush smoothing before, for I truly think it would've made the process of work much faster and the final result a tad nicer. This proves that one needs a perspective, a few types of materials to compare before springing to any sort of conclusions. Seems like back in the day weighted smoothing simply didn't get enough attention and any sufficient "test drive" from me. But I am very happy I discovered this wonderful thing now. And I'm gonna stick to it - quite possibly forever from now on, as I will keep working on the rest of "Time & Again" chapters as well as everything else including random little arts with the other characters that I love to sporadically work on every so often, and the pieces for my online greeting cards store, and such.

... Like I already mentioned in the beginning of this post, as I write - I might get seriously carried away. And I see this post keeps growing bigger and bigger in size, again, so I should better wrap it up and save a little more exciting information for the next post (that I will hopefully try to schedule properly in order to restore more or less consistent posting timeframe, for now it's aaaaaall over the place!.. no promises tho).

I'm afraid, no animated gifs today. But for a nice goodbye, I'll drop a little "teaser" picture - a very rough sketch for some other "Time & Again" artwork that I'm going to finish up shortly (hopefully).

You will most likely see the end result of this particular artistic torment as a layout element on my social pages.

And for now - doooooodly doot doot! - I wave goodbye and leave the online world for a while to keep working on my obsession... and to eat some peanut butter, too, of course. See ya next time! 👋