#in the short future this draws are going to have a digital version

[alien-linkm]

Who let me cook🗣🗣

I think the lesbian witches are like David's moms or something (+in my universe David uses he/they)

In the next one I feel like David is a little out of character, maybe I should have drawed Barry insted of him who knows🤷

(Context: They are smoking weed)

[sageourplanetmeow]

FREE COMISSIONS

Ahem, so I have decided that in preparation for the possibility that I do commissions as part of a future job that I am going to practice doing that but for free. So the floor is open, go nuts with it! Basically go on the thing on my blog that says ‘Free Comissions’ and request something if you want.

It can be: a short comic, sketch or art piece and you can choose whether I do it on paper or digitally. For comics, there may be some possibility that I make an animatic but it would have to be relatively simple since I am still not that good at that. Practice would be nice though :>

!PLEASE DON’T REPOST THEM WITHOUT PERMISSION ONCE I’VE MADE THEM!!! AND REMEMBER EVEN IF YOU ASK I MIGHT NOT GIVE PERMISSION SO DON’T BE HOPEFUL!

!YOU CAN PRINT THEM OUT!

!YOU CAN’T REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION OR CREDITS!

!DON’T EXPECT THEM TO BE TOO GOOD!

!I’M NOT THAT EXPERIENCED!

!IT MIGHT TAKE SOME TIME FOR STUFF TO COME OUT CUS I’M BUSY!

Stuff I Would NOT Like To Do:

NSFW

Revealing outfits

Right wing propaganda

Discriminatory/offensive content

Heavy HEAVY gore

Smut

18+

Pedophilia

Zoophilia

x… I don’t know how to say it but you know x reader but it’s in art

Things I Would Prefer To Do:

Hazbin Hotel

Doctor Who (PLEASE ASK ME TO DO THIS I BEG YOU)

Sherlock&CO (ASK ME TO DO THIS AS WELL I LOVE THIS PODCAST SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA)

Arcane

Lego Monkey Kid

VAT7K

Tangled The Series

Helluva Boss

The Owl House

MLP Gen 4 (preferably as humans but I’ll take a swing at their pony forms even if it’s difficult)

The Ghost And Molly McGee

The Amazing Digital Circus

Carmen Sandiego

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (the mutes would be difficult to draw especially Scarlamagne but I’d still be cool with trying)

Octonauts/Octonauts: Above & Beyond

Ducktales (either ducks or human versions would be fine)

Sophia The First (sue me Cedric is great)

Secret Life Of Boys (It’s a BBC thing)

Wallace and Gromit (it would have to be comical though because I don’t know how easy angst would be to draw)

The Emperors New Groove

Ramshackle

Lackadaisy

Steven Universe

Heartstopper

Dodger (the BBC series)

Hercules (Disney)

DC Superhero Girls (preferably the newer ones)

Thunderbirds (1960, I mean they’re puppets so it would be hard but I like them so)

Sherlock Holmes (black and white one or the BBC series)

Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (I find them hard to draw but I love Donatello so I would do my best)

Moral Orel (I haven’t drawn anyone from there yet so it might take some experimenting but again this would be cool to do)

Murder Most Unladylike

Greek Myths

Picture Of Dorian Grey

Hermitcraft

Empires SMP

FNAF Security Breach (preferably Sun and Moon)

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Tangled The Series

Disney Movies I dunno

Circe (by Madeline Miller) and the Odyssey

The Wizard Of Ozz

Cats (animals)

Sharks (less easy)

Mushrooms

Minecraft Buildings but drawn

Your OCs

My OCs

Self-Inserts

Redesigns

Designs for certain concepts

Ships

Fanart

Fluff

Angst

Fanart of fan fictions/covers/illustrations for them (they might not be a consistent thing)

[misaneeragoni]

A big appreciation post w/ art recommendations!

In the order of who I digitalized my fanart of first. I'll keep updating this as I continue working on them!

No. 1: @gokuya_59 !

Their blob drawings and animations bring me so much joy, you have no idea. They're incredibly kind and polite as well!

No. 2: @dissvicious !

Their comics are funnier than they have any right to be and I'm so glad to be fed my weekly dose of Kid Pirates happiness.

Thank you for always being so kind and awesome as well!!

No. 3: @luna_oriX !

They make really cute Marco birb drawings with plenty of positive messages! :D

No. 4: @d_tuqui ! @tuquidflamingo

One of my absolute personal favourites when it comes to drawing Doflamingo, they're incredibly talented and have a very unique style that really adds realism to their drawings! I always geek out just a little a lot when I see them post, and I find myself continously returning to their drawings over and over just to marvel at them. They're also an incredibly fun and kind person and they're my go-to source for finding new Doffy pictures. Rock on!!

I tried to pay homage to their style with my drawing, but failed. I hope to fix this within the digital rendition in the future!

Oh god I'm so glad I digitalized this! It actually looks like Doflamingo in the digital rendition, even if he's still got a few issues like having a rather filled out face with intense hollow cheekbones and a mouth that's just... not that. It does not look like a mouth.

(alternate version with scraggly pencil strokes. Ehhhh. Depends on personal preference, I guess!)

No. 5: @CoffeeTimeWorks !

Their kindness just keeps on making me come back to them over and over. They're incredible supportive and they've made me care for Penguin and appreciate him so much more! Their sketches of the silly flightless bird are incredibly clean (how do you do it?!) and a total pleasure to look at.

No. 6: @wani13go !

They make such high quality Crocodile and Doflamingo drawings, and I'll forever be in awe of the speed at which they work. Wow! They're also very kind, the google translator lets us communicate even through the language barriers! :D

I failed the anatomy on this drawing quite a bit, as it was supposed to be a drunk Doffy leaning on Wani. All good things take practise!

No. 7: @Putako_pigpet !

Another japanese artist, and an incredibly kind one yet again! As they're learning English while I'm learning Japanese we're trying our best to make sure that we understand one another, haha.

They make really cute drawings of "Kikokutan", the personification of Law's sword!

No. 8: @RottenBuggy !

This artist makes incredibly clean drawings of AU versions of Shanks and Buggy, and they've started drawing THE most adorable pet Buggy you've ever seen. And don't even get me started on how cool their cosplays look! They're also very kind and forthcoming, I'm glad I found them!! :D

No. 9: @shiibeex

Another one of those godly Doflamingo artists! They absolutely manage to capture the freaky tall vibes of Doflamingo, and they absolutely excel at drawing stunningly gorgeous chiselled bodies. The colours and shading they use are nothing short of breathtaking!

They're also very kind and uplifting! I'm glad I found them.

No. 10: @rPwjdwjdqh37

They draw quite the variety of characters and their shading / colouring skills are on a whole other level! They're also really kind! ^^

No. 11: @YKM_______

Now I'm not exaggerating (much) when I say that they are my personal messias. Their art really hits the spot for me, the colours they use are super vibrant and the characters look about ready to hop out of the screen.

They draw a lot of KidxLaw and Onigiri, and I love them all the more for it. They've drawn them in so many different situations, and I just about drop everything when I see them post. They're also very very kind! I've interacted with them quite a few times, and they're super supportive and happy to share the KidLaw love :D

No. 12: @creepyslimy

Another one of the Doflamingo greats. They have this uncanny talent to draw Doflamingo in such an attractive way that you start to question everything you thought you knew about yourself. They're just that good!

They're very very kind and friendly, and I'm very glad I've found them online. Their anatomy is on point and you can practically feel the Doffy love radiating from your screen.

No. 14: @koyatawanko

Another japanese artist. They make really, and I mean REALLY cute drawings of a small kitty version of Law, as well as ocassionally other chibis to e.g. Luffy and Kidd as well. It's so much fun watching their characters' journeys, and they're also very kind!

No. 15: @saracrossing02!!

They're an incredibly talented pixel-animation artist, and thankfully they make a lot of Doffy animations, because those look absolutely stunning! Their takes on all of the other One Piece characters are worth checking out as well, and they make super cute DoffyKitty animations! They've been nothing but kind in my contact with them and I really appreciate all of the positivity going around ^-^

I drew something for their strawpage, hence the drawing is so different for them.

No. 16: @mailboxxi_

They make really fun drawings of a variety of characters and they have some really "stop-and-stare" kind of pieces that are absolutely gorgeous to look at! I love the type of colours they use, they're very pleasant to look at.

Another strawpage one!

Thank you so much for reading this! I wanted to give some love to all of these artists and perhaps make them known to a few more people. If you're looking to commission somebody, maybe check out the ones among them that take commissions!! Have a lovely day!

[emo-eyemakeup-evildude]

The end of Astorvember 2024!

We have officially made it to the last two days of Astorvember, or as they were called last year AU Days:

29. Defier of Prophecy (Alternate Universes) 30. The Future of Hyrule (Post-Calamity)

As always feel free to engage with the themes literally or figuratively; make a piece of art that depicts the prompt or make a post promoting your own AUs, however you want to engage with the prompts.

Sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated, whether you made posts, interacted, or lurked. I'm consistently amazed with the longevity, depth, and creativity of this fandom for a little cardboard ratman who was onscreen for five seconds and then died. I have so many plans for the next year, as well as ideas for next year's Astorvember.

Moving on to more zine things, I'm officially extending the submission deadline through February 1st. I want to give everyone plenty of time to complete their new submissions and collect older works to be submitted (I may or may not also be scheming, more info to come). Unfortunately for Astor, November is extremely busy for most folks. I want the zine to have a truly astronomical amount of submissions, so keep them coming!

FAQ under the cut, and thanks again to everyone for making the official second Astorvember so much fun.

Q: What is the maximum number of images per submission? A: No limits for now. The full, digital zine will have much looser limitations (I'm fully prepared to be proven wrong on this, but for now no limits) but for the curated, printed version I ask that you submit a shortened version in the same vein as NSFW works having a censored companion piece for the SFW editions (optional, you can also opt to have your piece removed from certain versions, but no piece will be removed from the full version). As always, no changes will be made without author/artist permission, but keep an eye out for follow up emails. Repetitive or superfluous images may be removed in the event that y'all actually find a number of images I'm unable to handle.

Q: Can I submit digital submissions such as videos and gifs? A: Yes, tentatively. The full, free version of the zine will be published as a PDF, and I may be able to embed gifs, videos, or hyperlinks. Digital extras outside of the main zine were always welcome as a category of submission, so go ahead and submit them. If you want these submissions to be included in the physical zine, please include a thumbnail and summary.

Q: Can I submit a craft to the zine? A: Yes, and there are two ways to do so. You can submit pictures of the craft, and feel free to include a short essay on why you made it, how, when, anything else you'd like to include (under 2500 words). Or you can submit a tutorial for how to make your craft.

Q: Is 2500 words a hard limit? A: No, if your work is a little over go ahead and submit it as is and I'll let you know if it needs to be shortened. The word limit was primarily intended to discourage submissions of full novel-length fics. If you want to submit a fic that's longer than 2500 words, choose your favorite chapter and include where readers can find the rest of it such as links to Tumblr, AO3, or other sites.

Q: I don't have anything serious to submit, can I submit memes/jokes? A: Absolutely! Memes and jokes are more than welcome. As a matter of fact, I would like to write an essay on the top Astor fandom shitpost extravaganzas of the past four years. If you have a favorite Astor meme such as the egg thing (2020) or the egg thing (2024) or Astor Thursday or the White Boy Bracket or any other absurdity, submit it. Include a summary of the event from your POV, where you were when it happened, screenshots, or just what event you would like me to write about.

Q: What can I submit? A: TL;DR writing under 2500 words (ficlets, fic excepts, essays, poems, etc), visual art roughly the size of a half a sheet of printer paper or smaller (drawings, photographs, etc), miscellaneous works such as sheet music, craft tutorials, physical merch, and others subject to approval. Full info above (or here). Submissions are now being accepted until 11:59 pm CDT on February 1st.

Q: How do I submit? A: Email propheciesofdoomzine@yahoo.com and include: -The work's title -The name you would like to be credited as (screen name, url, or nickname preferred over legal name) -Is the work potentially NSFW and if so what content warnings apply Again, more info above (or here).

Q: How many submissions are you looking for? A: As many as y'all got! No limit, go wild.

Q: Can I submit more than one piece? A: Submit as many pieces as you want. Seriously, no limit.

Q: Who can submit works? A: Anyone! Submissions are very specifically and intentionally open to anyone and everyone instead of taking applications and selecting artists to create a piece specifically for the zine.

Q: Can I submit works I've already posted? A: Yes, this zine is intended to be a collection and celebration of the last four years of the fandom. All works are welcome, no matter how old they are or how many people have seen them. This also very much includes pieces from this or last year's Astorvember.

Q: Can I post the piece I submitted? A: Yes, if you want. You can post it, say it was submitted to the zine, post it and don't say it was submitted, or keep the whole thing secret. You can change your mind and post it after submissions close, before the zine is released, whatever you want.

Q: Are original characters/self ships welcome? A: Yes, so many fan works about Astor are full of original characters and the zine would not be complete without them. All original characters are welcome, very specifically including self insert and self ship characters. They are so welcome that we're making a yearbook page dedicated to original characters.

Q: How do I submit an original character to the zine yearbook page? A: Submit a simple school picture style portrait (feel free to make it silly) of your oc with: -Their name -Their relation to Astor (mentor, family, friend, significant other, weird dogs, etc) -The name you would like to be credited as and/or what fic or au they're from if applicable -A senior quote/superlative (if you want) And again, just to be clear, self insert and self ship characters are very much included in this!

Q: Mr. President there's been a second yearbook page. A: So many people have joked about Astor being a mass original character due to his lack of background and character development that if enough people submit the above for their fanon version of Astor we'll do an Oops! All Astors version of the yearbook page.

Q: Will there be physical merch? A: Possibly, still working out logistics. Proposals for physical merch are one of the categories of submissions, email propheciesofdoomzine@yahoo.com with ideas for things like pins, stickers, keychains, etc. Handmade items are welcome and encouraged if you have the time!

Q: Is NSFW content allowed? A: Yes, both art and writing. All submissions that include violence, gore, nudity, sex, etc will be marked as such. In the event that a physical zine is made there will be curated versions including a safe for work version. When you submit your works please include any potential content warnings. We'll be in contact if any works might need additional warnings. That said, no works will be censored. As mentioned above they will be clearly marked in the full version and omitted from the safe for work version. If you would like to submit a censored version of your work for the safe for work version, you may.

Q: I still have a question. A: Send me an ask, a message, email the submissions email, send a flock of birds to follow me around, reach me in my dreams, whatever. If you need something clarified or reiterated, go ahead and ask. If you're unsure about your submission, go ahead and ask. If there's a secret third thing, go ahead and ask.

[jariten]

April 2024 Roundup

A little delayed but I will try to keep it short. Did some quick catch up on stand alones and made some progress on various series. But I couldn't resist the siren call of the anthologies so I just have to mention those.

Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai I was really delighted to see licensed but when it dropped I forgot about it.... Or had to put it off for money reasons, I forget. But with a sweet discount code I finally grabbed all 5 volumes of part 1: Disciples of Avan starring the plucky Dai who was raised by monsters freed from the control of the evil lord who was defeated by the Hero and his party. Riku Sanjo's art also goes really well with Akira Toriyama's monster designs while overall having an identity of its own. With a story unique from the games it doesn't just feel like a quick buck manga tie on the game series but a representative work in RPG style fantasy manga from the 1980s and a great read for anyone who wants to be more familiar with manga from that decadeUnfortunately only 5 of 25 volumes of this edition are out for reasons Viz has not publicly disclosed so I will refrain from speculating. But it was comforting to know that Viz's release isn't the only international edition in limbo. Hopefully something gets worked out in the near future.

Okinawa by Susumu Higa also had a long and rocky path to the store shelves. I pre-ordered it I think in 2019 then that was cancelled, then the translation got a digital release then the print version was back on then, finally, in 2023 I saw it in stores. Finally read it and its a great companion to Shigeru Mizuki's Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths as a wartime criticism of the Japanese army, while the second part serving as a commentary and look into the recent history of Okinawa as a region still existing under soft occupation of the United States army.

Megami Tachi to (With Goddesses) is an anthology of stories written by Katsuo Kawai adapted by various female manga artists. I'm not familiar with his work so I won't go on to describe his style and oeuvre but the involvement of Yamaji Ebine made me want to check it out (her story is about a woman put in charge of taking care of a shrine and its kami, which turns out to be the bare empty basement of an apartment complex). I really liked the variety of stories taking place across various time periods and locations and how each manga artist's own individual styles stood out with the absurdist scripts. And to keep to the collaborative spirit while making his own contribution Kawai himself drew a story based on a script by movie director Satoko Yokohama about the day in the life of an old actor. Was also delighted to find out this collection contained the pro debut work of Yuriko Hara, who'd go on to make Cocoon Entwined!

Wakaba no Rhapsody is a companion to Hana to Waltz, two anthologies highlighting the new talents in the magazines Asuka and Aokishi. The big name draw is Kaoru Mori but I was very impressed by the artistic prowess of all the featured artists, whose impact was heightened by the HUGE trim size of the volumes. Featured in both volumes was Akira Shouno whose one shot collection Good Night Field I read last year and was very fascinated by. Especially the recurring immortal vampire and the yukionna he regularly visits. Really hoping the rest of the featured artists get their own one shot collection in the near future, but while waiting for those I might check out some of their long form series.

[gjyfm]

Hey y’all here are some rough sketches of how I loosely imagine John Watson in my a03 fanfic The Plummet (New update out now!). Digital art is not my go to, so I decided to do a more realistic drawing of him, but I hope to post a more stylized version of him in the future. I’ll also be doing some more stylized short little doodles and things of Sherlock x John moments (unrelated to my fanfic) cuz it’s fun.

Have fun you guys! I’m gonna go sleep now cuz all I’ve been doing is writing, reading, and drawing jonlock stuff and my brain is a little fried. I genuinely posted this and then realize I misspelled John’s name in my drawing and had to delete it and fix it 0_0. I go zzz now luv you bye

[strawberrysundi]

Sooo I wasn't planning on doing this post just yet and I don't have a good digital drawing of her yet, but

Ana!!

So my take on her is very different from how I think most people imagine her, I wanted to go in a different direction that made her more than just the girl one/ninten's girlfriend/nicher Paula and she's become one of my favorite characters to play around with ^^

Design details and a giant wall of text detailing her character and story below :3

So like the entirety of my interpretation of Ana stems from one thing

That face

T_T

Very prominent eyebrows (Invasion From the Unknown actually mentions the same thing!!! the illustrations don't show it though and there's not really any other similarities between that version and mine), mouth usually spread in a frown, she's not a happy person Pink dress with a white collar and frill at the bottom, pink hat with a black band (or maybe cream with a red/pink band? i might play around with that idk), red shoes and white stockings She almost always wears her hat when she's out, having to leave it behind in Reindeer was very frustrating but she knew she'd get it back eventually at least (And yeah, she's fat. Her sprite doesn't look fat, I haven't seen other designs that make her fat, I didn't really take inspiration from her model because I hate it and it's not really fat either, I just wanted there to be a fat girl who's not, like, a mean-spirited joke, and since MOTHER's sprites are suuuper vague I decided to take advantage of it and design the characters however I wanted. thank god i'm on tumblr and not posting these to reddit or something, they'd crucify me)

Now her character!

Basically, Ana is grumpy and sour Constantly

You can contrast that with Ninten's 24/7 positivity

In general, I see the world of MOTHER 1 being very bleak and gloomy, with Ninten being the sole exception who helps bring light to the places and people whose souls are being crushed by the weight of everything Ana's sort of the final boss of repressed emotions and pessimism for Ninten to tackle (besides the actual final boss, who completely blows anyone else's emotional repression out of the water - I have a Giygas post in my drafts but I honestly have too much to say about him, I need to trim it down ><) It alllllll plays into the themes I wanna play with in my M1 interpretation :3

So Ana was a young girl living with her mother and father in Snowman's local chapel. Even before the Invasion she was pretty well-known for not being particularly upbeat. She was super reserved, pretty much never smiled, and preferred reading and praying to other people's company. She got some of it from her father, who was a priest and raised her to value proper behaviour and following God or whatever, but she's also just kinda like that. Her mother was much warmer, loving her daughter and never judging her for being less outgoing than the other kids, and Ana was always happiest curled up with her next to the fire, listening to a story.

Oh, and of course she's psychic, powerfully so. Bad news if you tick her off. Her family regards it as a miracle from God. She's a little clairvoyant, but not enough to know exactly what the future holds. Just short little confusing snippets and hints of what to do and expect.

One day, everything suddenly changed. The town was hit by an earthquake, everything was covered in darkness, the animals on the outskirts of town went berserk, and people went missing. The sounds and the shaking jolted Ana awake, and she ran down the hall hoping to be comforted by her mother. Opened the door, standing there with a candle, staring at the empty bed and a shattered window.

Ana buried her feelings and set out to try and find her mother (her father just stayed home and prayed, never leaving the chapel), but the monsters and creatures that had appeared were too strong for her alone, and she could only get as far as Reindeer before she had to turn back. But she heard a little voice in her head that told her to leave her hat behind, and she knew that whoever returned it to her would be the person she had to follow to rescue her mother. She waited impatiently back at her home, praying with her father, obsessively reading the news (similar disappearances all over the country, especially in Easter, interesting), and hoping that the hero, "Ninten," would show up soon.

Eventually, after FAR longer than she was happy with, he showed up and. Is this really the hero? This is just some bucktoothed kid and his geeky friend. She shoved down her frustrations along with everything else (at the very least she appreciated finally having her hat back) and told him that she needed to join him. He's happy to meet her of course because he's Ninten ("New friend!" "We are not friends.") And so the trio gets to set off on their journey!

In the completely wrong direction. Why are we stopping in Halloween.

For some reason, Ninten doesn't seem overly concerned about the fate of the world. He and his stupid friend just keep goofing off and hunting for these useless melodies. This isn't a scavenger hunt. The world is gonna be destroyed. She's furious, but she bottles it up. This is the person who's apparently fated to save Earth, so she has to stay with him, no matter how annoying he is or how much time he wastes.

So Ana spends the whole journey getting progressively more ticked off as they keep getting distracted by the hunt for the melodies. Ninten's shenanigans and his relentlessly positive attitude continue to get on her nerves, and she refuses to engage with them. This is a SERIOUS mission, and she's not gonna stoop to their foolish level, even if she has to stick with them.

So I'll be able to get more into the fight among the group when Teddy joins when I do his post, but short story is that Ana is against Lloyd staying. If they're actually gonna see this mission through to its end, someone strong like Teddy's gonna be far more useful, and they've wasted far too much time to let Lloyd slow them down. Her anger's really starting to boil over at this point. They've been together for ages, and they've barely gotten any closer to saving the world.

This all finally comes to a head on the Mountain (I love the Mountain, everything happens on the Mountain). Ninten's starting to lose his cool as the stress of their journey starts getting heavier and heavier, having to leave Lloyd was incredibly painful, and he's angry with her for not having their backs. She snaps that they aren't friends, they're just allies on the same mission, and they can't afford to waste time goofing off and making pals, and the fight gets more and more heated until everything Ana's been holding in finally bursts free.

She's terrified, and she's been terrified ever since her mother disappeared, and she doesn't know if they can really win or if she'll ever see her mother again, and having to just stay bottled up while they just wandered around seemingly not doing anything has been awful, and infuriating, and she can't stop herself from crying anymore.

Ninten quiets down and lets her have what she needs for a few minutes before he tries to comfort her. He didn't realize she was keeping all this inside, and he feels horrible that she was dealing with this the entire time. Once her tears die down, he rests his hand on her and assures her that they're gonna save her mother, and everyone else, too. He doesn't know how, and he's terrified sometimes too, but he also knows that for whatever reason, they need the melodies if they want to win. He apologizes for just ignoring all her feelings for the entire journey, and tells her that even though she's been so firm about not liking them, he doesn't want her to be alone. She can tell him anything, she doesn't need to keep everything to herself. That's what being friends is about, right?

So this is huge for both of them, and it's when Ana finally starts to warm up. She finally sees that it's good to be open and have friends, and that they'll be stronger for it if they're close. And, as they climb further up the Mountain and continue being friends, she starts to realize some muuuuch more uncomfortable feelings, too. Of course she pushes them down at first, but when they reach the cabin, they're alone together, and who knows if she'll have another chance to open up like this, she comes out and asks Ninten to dance.

I flip-flop a lot on whether Ninten actually feels mutually about her (you can choose yes or no when she asks if you like her back, I don't think Ninten's really ready to figure that stuff out for himself), but goddd I love this scene so much, for such a simple, clunky game, its tender moments hit so hard ;-;

So by the end of the story, Ana's reunited with her mother, she finally has friends that she loves and cares about, she's discovered new things about herself, and she's developed a new sense of hope and brightness for the future. A happy ending :)

So that's my version of Ana, I think she's very different from every other version I've seen of her so it's not like I'll ever see content for her that'll really speak to me unfortunately, but I love her and I love thinking about her dynamic with the other characters ^^

[rjalker]

Random parts from my dream:

Part.....2?

The mom: Oh, yeah, I've known who your soulmate was since you were 13, lol, you just didn't notice the message written in the clouds.

[the person who's just met their soulmate for the first time paraphrasded in the ether: and you didn't bother to tell me???]

The husband, cheerfully: Yeah, I think he'll have something to tell you that I forgot.

[the person who just met their soulmate paraphrased in the ether: Why aren't you upset about this????]

[the husband paraphrased in the ether: because we chose to get married and I know we actually love eachother. a soulmate bond can't even try to compete with that.]

It was a world where soulmates were a thing and forever ago before written history people had figured out that you could easily break a soulmate bond by just. aborting the baby it produced. and then the Magic Eugenics God™ would go ewwwwwwwwww you had a misscariage you're unfit to be in my breeding program get outta here!!!

and then in the future they invented medicine you could just take to simulate an abortion/miscarriage so no one actually had to get pregnant. If you found your soulmate you could just take the meds and instantly break the bond before any bullshit happened.

___

then there was stuff about Flatland I mostly forget...I think A Sphere and A Square went on a picnic...

___

Part...1?

there were 3 rings that were used to create portals to three other worlds. One was called White As Death and had a symbol of a bone. It opened a portal to The Death Zone. Another one was...okay I just forgot what it was called but it was red and had a symbol of a cloud. It went to The Twilight Realm. The last one I didn't learn the name, but it was green and had a symbol of a snake that looked like the number 2. I have no clue where it went.

The Death Zone was where ghosts and other souls of the living went after death. The Twilight Realm was I think an endless dungeon thing. if you ever found the sky it was always pink and purple and cloudy which is where it got its name.

To open a portal, you had to have all three rings, worn by three different people, and you had to use them to trace the same shape in the air that would become the portal. Whichever ring you used last would determine your destination.

The portal making thing wasn't going well because the people were failing to communicate properly and the first time thy made the portal too small for anyone to actually fit through. Then they got in a tent and made the portal by tracing along the doorway. Then they all grabbed the tent and ran through the portal, which flipped it inside out and....successfully closed the portal behind them???

very weird.

___

And then there was this guy, Riowolf, or to his friends, Rioruff. A trans man who was kidnapped by the government and experimented on in a secret evil lab into a partially-transformed werecatwolf (the government wanted 'the best traits of cats and wolves combined with Human Intellect™') before they tossed him back out onto the street. A common problem in this setting, with varying results. The government has not suceeded in making a full werecatwolf (or werecat, or werewolf) yet but they don't care how many people they have to torture to make one.

being bitten by one does not let you become one. yet.

His ear normally stands fully upright but I made the canvas too short. this is supposed to be expressionless since it's just a character reference.

[ID: A simple digital drawing of an original character. In the center top of the image is his face, in the lower left and right are a very simply drawn version of his full body, flipped to show his front and back. The left half of his face (which is on his right) is light pink, with darker red-pink burn marks on his forehead, over his eye, and his mouth, with this eye closed, drooping to the left. His mouth also droops to the left. The other half of his face is covered in black fur, with a tall pointed ear, a grey nose, and whiskers. His eye on this side has dark sclera, a large round pupil, and a red iris. The black fur continues down half of his body and includes a long tail, with a red double-spike at the end. On his wrists and ankles are grey, red, and grey stripes. He wears no clothes,and the human half of his body is simple pink blobs in the shape of an arm and leg. On the werecatwolf side, he has a digitigrade leg and a paw, both with sharp claws. End ID.]

with extra text and also his clothes

[ID: The same drawing above, but now Riowolf is wearing a red short-sleeved shirt under a denim jacket with tattered edges, and grey jeans with ripped edges. On the werecatwolf side, the jeans have been cut at the knee. The front of the jacket is covered in many small black pins, with text reading, "assorted other pins", "he/him pronoun pin (trans man). On the back is a black symbold of scratches left by claws. An arrow points at his closed eye, labeling it, "blind in this eye". Smaller text above his angled ear on the face closeup reads, "not mad the canvas is just too short". In the upper left corner, text reads, "July 22 2024, public domain, Riowolf or to friends Rioruff". End ID.]

He's a punk anarchist. He lives in a time when there's either nuclear winter, or just on a completely separate planet where there's constant cloud cover making it "permenant night". Cities are enclosed and kept heated by some sort of thing with wind. certain parts of the city would always have lights on for visitors from other cities, others would switch on and off to simulate day and night cycles.

Here's what the end of his tail looks like. Not really sure what you call this shape.

[ID: an MS Paint scribble of Riowolf's tail, which is solid black except for the end, where there is a large red double-spike, like a flattened bolt of lightning, or the letter N mirrored onto itself. End ID.]

I think they were transforming people by dunking them into giant chemical vats. It wasn't very clear though.

You can see the speedpaint of me drawing him, as long as the HD versions of the art above to download here on the Internet Archive:

[very-grownup]

Book 75, 2023

I love Connie Willis. I think it is a legitimate failure of the science fiction community because the only people I ever see talking about her work are me. She has eleven Hugo Awards!

I do think her most significant long works were in the '90s and the kind of science fiction she writes was not as embraced as science fiction as it would be now. I feel like there's been some much needed erosion of drawing firm lines between hard science fiction and soft science fiction and the idea that hard science fiction is /real/ science fiction have you read her short 1995 novel "Remake" about a future Hollywood dystopia where everything is just remakes of previously successful works starring digital versions of long dead actors that various production companies own the rights to and the protagonist is a disillusioned Hollywood cog whose job is finding sets and props in previous movies that can be digitally copied into the new version of movies so nothing new or real has to be made but I wasn't reading "Remake" I was reading Willis' new novel, "The Road to Roswell".

There are two kinds of Willis novels: the serious ones and the romantic comedy non-science fiction genre pastiches but make it science fiction. Willis loves a screwball comedy and doesn't see why she can't have that but also aliens are there or it's time travel and I love that.

"The Road to Roswell" is an alien abduction story that's also a road novel traveling around Nevada and New Mexico and the special kind of Americana that's grown around UFO sightings and alien conspiracies. Francie is reluctantly in Roswell on the Fourth of July weekend to be the maid of honour in her best friend's latest attempt at a wedding that Francie is determined to talk her out of (one previously referenced fiancé was a breatharian), when, at tentacle-point, she is kidnapped by an alien who looks like a tumbleweed. The alien wants something. Or to go somewhere. And Francie is going to be it's wheelman. As Francie tries to appease the alien and get back to Roswell in time to stop her friend's wedding, the group of abductees becomes bigger, eventually acquiring a conspiracy theorist, a man selling alien abduction insurance packages, a casino loving senior citizen, and a cowboy.

It's just charming. It's silly and light and easy to read and the affection that develops between the alien and its abductees, particularly Francie, as they grow from trying to figure out how to escape to how to communicate with it to how to help it achieve it's goal (but also still get back to Roswell to stop Francie's friend from marrying a man who's arranged for them to get married in a museum recreation of the alien autopsy video) holds everything together.

I never regret the time I spend with something Connie Willis' has written.

[eigwayne]

Today's Project: Creature Crafting!

This is a method of inspiration for creature designing, for any gentle readers who are writers or artists or game masters- or anyone, really, your purposes are none of my beeswax. If it looks useful or fun, try it!

I might have posted this method of monster creation before, but if I have it's been a long time and I'm almost certain I didn't include pictures last time. So please enjoy it today, despite the weird fish monster I greeted you with.

What you do is take parts of skeleton illustrations, mash them together, and draw a new form around it to turn this chimeric mess into a new creature. I primarily use illustrations of extinct animal skeletons, which adds a prehistoric feel and lets me decide whether and where to add feathers, fur, osteoderms, and spikes without the original animal informing the decision.

That is, in theory. If you've read about paleontology you'll probably catch your knowledge of the actual animal creeping in a little too much. It's one thing to go "The original's eye sockets are the middle ones, not the big ones in the back." It's quite another to get stuck on "This torso was a mesohippus so the front feet have to be hooves no matter what." If that's the case, purposely adjust the design to be different and that should reboot your creative juices. No one needs to know the original animal had hooves if they no longer appear in the final result.

Actually doing stuff:

TLDR Short Version:

Gather reference images. Suggested sources are extinct animal skeleton illustrations.

Cut into three pieces: heads, torsos with front legs/flippers, and hindquarters with rear appendages and tails.

Shuffle each category of parts up.

Select one of each type- one random head, one random torso, one random tail.

Sketch new creature based on the random parts.

Add details, embellishments, or notes based on the new creature from the sketch.

The Details:

To start, gather your references. I cannot supply mine because I printed them out and no longer have links, but search for things like "paleozoic skeleton illustration", "extinct animal skeleton", or "dinosaur skeleton reconstruction" to start. I advise using "extinct" or "reconstruction" and synonyms thereof in pretty much any search to avoid getting recent dead animals, human remains, or reconstructions with fleshy bits and exteriors that might influence your design. Also illustrations are easier to interpret than photos once they're cut up. Trust me.

Once you have your source images, you can go digital by slicing the images and saving the pieces as different layers or images, or manual by printing them out and cutting them with scissors. I cut mine into three parts- head and neck, front limbs with torso and spine, and hips/hindquarters with rear appendages and tail. Keep each type/category of part together and once they're all cut up, shuffle the stacks.

I suggest keeping the parts in a folder (or physical parts in an envelope) so you can use them in the future. Mine are separated like so:

Also if you're smarter than I am, you'll flip your images so they're all facing the same way. I have six envelopes instead of three because I forgot, resulting in "heads facing left", "heads facing right", "torsos facing left", etc.

To start creating, select one piece from each pile. I like to arrange mine at the top of a sheet of paper, photocopy it so I can keep the skeleton images but reuse the parts again later, and sketch the animal on the photocopy. I did one this morning and took photos to illustrate the rest of the process. First, my paleo parts:

I'm pretty sure this is a terror bird's tail and a mesohippus torso with that turtle head. First, sketch the basic shape this creature suggests. I usually start with the hindquarters and back, then sketch in the upper legs (because if there are issues, I'm most likely to change the feet over anything else, to make things more logical, but the shape of the haunches usually stays close to the same).

That torso tells me this is most likely a four-limbed creature. The tail is unfortunately from a photograph so parts are hard to make out. I'm not sure what that thick bit of pelvis in front of the tail is, so I'm most likely going to ignore it. Maybe I'll make the rear legs a little chunkier to suggest it's there. The front limbs have a slope to the shoulder blade so even if I didn't know this is most likely a mesohippus, I'd give it a horse's shoulder because that just makes sense with the bone shape.

After the shape of the animal is down, you can evaluate what details it tells you. This one, despite the claws in the rear, looks like a grazing animal so I decided it uses the strong beak and feet to eat grass and dig for tubers. It has high protrusions on the spine above the forelimbs, where the withers would be on a horse, but with the low head and neck, it doesn't looks very rideable. So I sketched a rear view showing the high spine compared to the round sides. Then I sketched the feet to sort those out (this is where the "This was a mesophippus" thought I mentioned earlier happened, which is how this creature got stumpy claws on both rear and front toes later). And I did a couple different possibilities for the facial horns, with the thought that maybe the males have big horns for defense and display. Then I figured, why leave the lady turto-rhino-phosrhaco-ponies out, and figured they can have out-sized horns too.

At this stage, I add notes to myself. I know my handwriting is bad so here's the most relevant ones:

maybe add some fur or fat

no good for riding if domesticated

-if adding fur, could turn into hump (this is in reference to the tall withers)

grazing and digging (with an arrow toward the hooked turtle beak)

floppy ears could work but it'd look even more rhino-like

And that's the gist of it! After this, you can move on to a new creature, try something different with the same skeleton, or polish this animal up a bit.

Want to see a similar method by a professional illustrator using just skulls (3D rendered, no real skulls involved), with dynamic results? I happen to have found one today! Try this video from Youtube channel Jazza: Drawing Insane Creatures from Mystery Skulls!

And here's another example from me:

Happy Chimera Creature Crafting!

[ahiddenpath]

Writing News

You might have noticed that I launched a new fic recently called Infinite Possibilities! I think it's really interesting, and not the sort of fic I see often. It's (what I hope is) a realistic look at the difficulties of digimon living on earth as more people find their digimon partners and have access to the Digital World via their digivices, from several perspectives (Chosen, partner digimon, non-Chosen, non-partner digimon, the Bureau, Yggdrasil, Homeostatis, etc). The setting is canon in the Adventure world, but of course my thoughts on the topic are speculative/head canon. The fic opens before the events of Kizuna, so most of the Chosen are college age.

That's the big thing, but I have a lot more details and thoughts about the future of my fics beneath the cut.

I've been talking lately about being unsure of sharing my work, due to various threats (AI, stolen content, book binding of fanworks, etc) accompanied by a general decrease in engagement across social media in general, and especially in old fandoms like digimon specifically.

I still feel that way, frankly. But I have also noticed that if I don't share my fandom work, I tweak it forever. I can only grow as writer if I practice producing finished works; fussily editing a few chapters indefinitely won't teach me a damned thing.

So, I will be sharing Infinite Possibilities, and probably trying to complete my other open fics, too. There may be some changes, though. For example, I will not be drawing art routinely for IP (it may happen sometimes if I get the urge, but it won't be a chapter expectation). I will also shift to using screen grabs from Tri to promote Tri: Integrity Lens when I post for that, and only drawing if I really want to, rather than using the art as a mandatory promotional tool.

Future fics

Currently, my plan is to not launch any more longfics. I can't say at this time if that means forever or until I complete one or two longfics. It will likely take me a few years to knock out my open longfics, so it's better not to speculate that far out.

I may, however, launch the occasional oneshot or short fic. I actually have a short fic (about 3-5 chapters) in the works right now. It's an explicit sex story, and it's a bit chaotic. It explores various sexualities and lifestyles in a safe, accepting, patient environment. I'd have to say that it's... definitely the most, just, blatantly sexy thing I've written.

Here is the status of my current open fics and my plans for them:

Puits d'Amour

I've been struggling for months with the next art for Puits d'Amour, and I don't want art struggles to hold me back from completing my writing. I will eventually share the next chapter of PdA, and the half chapter that exists after that (I am unsure if I will add more to it or just post a shorter chapter). After that, there is no more existing content, so there will be a pause as I figure out my next steps.

Tri: Integrity Lens

I am going to cut down on artwork and utilize more screenshots. There are currently about three chapters written that could be published without too much intensive effort, so I imagine you will see these after I post the remaining PdA chapters. They're quite good/exciting/interesting, too!

After those are shared, I will need to sit down and figure out what gets worked on next.

Four Years

There is no material waiting in the wings for this one. I still need to sit down and plan how I will handle the rest of the story. I would also like to get back into editing the old chapters, and hopefully book binding the edited version.

I've never done art for this fic, and it's going to stay that way, with wiggle room for an occasional "I must draw this!".

Infinite Possibilities

Currently has about 10 written chapters waiting, but I do need to add in scenes, so they aren't "ready to go." Most upcoming updates will be for this fic until I get through the existing material. I will be using the commissioned cover art when I announce new chapters, so art won't slow me down, although I may draw on occasion if I really want to show you something.

Practice

This is the current title for my sexy fic, but I am hoping to come up with something better. I could start sharing it soon, but I'd like to finish the whole piece and use that to cover about two months' worth of updates, while I work on other fics. No art for this one, except maybe a cover piece.

[rachelgardnerfictionkin]

Blade the Bisharp - AI Enhanced - By RachelTheFictionkin

Blade is one of the many warriors in his clan, reminiscent of feudal Japan. As the eldest son of the Shogun, Guntō the Kingambit, he is highly respected among the clan as the future ruler. Born into the imperial family as a Pawniard, his parents insisted he undergo daily physical training to prepare for the role in governing leadership. Blade trained alongside his fellow kin, hunting wild prey for food and combating against rival clans. To a greater extent as a younger and weaker version of himself, Blade displayed ambition, working diligently to impress his mother and father.

When Knife was born, Blade loathed the idea of having a brother, fearing that his presence would overshadow his accomplishments and ultimately diminish his chances of becoming the shogun of Kitakami. Blade would bully infant Knife out of spite, wishing he had never been born. However, as the years passed, Blade's mistreatment only made Knife more affectionate toward his older brother, often looking up to him as a hero. Blade soon softened, learning how precious having a sibling is, and did everything in his power to protect his younger brother, even going out of his way to strike down anyone who tried to harm him.

In contrast to Knife's shy and reserved nature, Blade is direct and short-tempered. Some might call him a tsundere, but Blade is also known for being quite flirtatious, with a provocative sense of humor at times. Since Rachel the Angel is his brother's girlfriend, he has gone ahead and considered himself her brother-in-law.

Here is an AI-generated image of one of my Pokémon OCs. AI assisted in enhancing the original drawing I created on Procreate. The minor alterations to the character will be replicated in future illustrations.

Blade the Bisharp, Character Design & Lore ©️ RachelTheFictionkin (Me) Bisharp ©️ Game Freak Inc. AI Tool ©️ pixai Original Art (Reference Image) ©️ RachelTheFictionkin (Me)

Original Art (Reference Image) Link: Blade the Bisharp - By RachelTheFictionkin

AI Settings

Strength (Reference Image): 0.55

AI Tool: pixai.art (used on 5/30/2025) Editing Tool for Small Fixes: krita.org (used on 5/30/2025) Drawing Tool for Base Drawing & Flats: procreate.com (used on 5/30/2025) Model: Haruka v2 (PixAI XL) Sampling Steps: 35 Sampling Method: Euler a CFG Scale: 5 Seed (Current Task Seed): 3229813836767186 VAE Model: (Default)

Boosters: HiRes

Prompts (Prompt Helper Enabled): male, head, man, metal armor, shiny armor, blue armor, light yellow armor, glossy armor, big blade on top of head, shiny blade, glossy blade, glistening blade, double-headed axe blade with white edges on head, metal helmet, dark blue helmet, shiny helmet, glossy helmet, glistening helmet, smirk, sharp teeth, smirking, red eyes, thin eyebrows

Negative Prompts: nsfw, worst quality, bad quality, low quality, lowres, anatomical nonsense, artistic error, bad anatomy, interlocked fingers, extra fingers, text, artist name, signature, bad feet, extra toes, ugly, poorly drawn, censor, blurry, watermark, simple background, transparent background, old, oldest, glitch, deformed, mutated, disfigured, long body, bad hands, missing fingers, extra digit, fewer digits, cropped, very displeasing, sketch, jpeg artifacts, username, censored, bar_censor, mosaic_censor, conjoined, bad ai-generated, nsfw, long neck, skin blemishes, skin spots, acne, the wrong limb, error, black line, excess hands, female, girl, eyelashes

Upscale: Upscale (x1) & Image Enhance (x1) Upscaler: R-ESRGAN 4x+ Anime6B Upscale Ratio: 1.1 Denoising Strength: 0.55 Denoising Steps: 35

[theghostpinesmusic]

Earlier today, I saw that it was 3/21, and that date caused some long-dormant neuron in my brain to fire, but I wasn't sure quite why. A little while later, it clicked: 3/21/20 was the date for the second of three livestreams that Goose broadcasted from "T's House." As you can likely guess from the date, this was right after COVID lockdown had started in the US: I had actually just seen the band play an opening set in Bend on 2/20 (my first time ever seeing them) and their first T's House livestream was posted on 3/15, less than a month later and in lieu of a string of shows they'd been supposed to play in mid-March and had cancelled because, well, the world was ending instead.

Though the returns are ever-diminishing, I feel like there's still some therapeutic value to this day to writing about how the spring of 2020 felt to live through and how I felt living through it. To keep this post at least a bit short and at least a bit to the point, though, I'll assume you were there too and thus you at least remember your own version of how it felt that's likely not that tremendously different from my version.

In short, it was bad. And usually, in hard times, I have a tendency to fall back on my connections with people, spending time in the wilderness, and listening to music as the things that help me get and hold onto perspective. That spring was exceptionally hard, then, because 1) contact with most of the people I knew had suddenly become potentially deadly, 2) we hadn't yet reached the point where even going outside alone (whether it be into Moore Park or the actual wilderness) felt safe, and 3) all of the live bands that I loved had gone belowdecks along with the rest of us.

Or, at least all but one of them had.

My obsession with Goose was only a few months old in the spring of 2020. I'd stumbled onto some of their live sets on YouTube in late 2019, and when COVID first hit I was still in the initial stages of that fun-but-overwhelming dive down the rabbit hole that makes discovering a new jam band so great: I was still learning the ins and outs of piles of new, musically complicated songs, still figuring out where the songs ended and where the jams began, still learning lyrics so that I could sing along, still getting caught up on "the best" shows and jams (as per the online fanbase), and still nerding out over the band's "lore."

By the way, that's the one and only time I'm going to step out of my age bracket with slang use in this post, and yes it made me uncomfortable.

It's worth acknowledging here for the uninitiated that I certainly had access to plenty of music when lockdown started: I have a pretty decent record collection, lots of odds-and-ends backed up digitally on hard drives, and, of course, a Spotify subscription. That being said, for dyed-in-the-wool jam band fans like myself, a big part of the draw is the fact that "your" band is always evolving, that every new show is different than the last, and every performance of a song you love is another iteration you can love again in a new and slightly different way. The closest thing I can compare it to for people who aren't insane is your favorite sports team: sure, if you're looking for something to do on a slow Wednesday night, you can watch a replay of an old Red Sox game, but why would you if they're playing a new game, live, an hour from now?

So, yes, while it definitely qualifies (and qualified at the time) as a First World Problem, there was also a way in which having every new show and future tour by every band suddenly cancelled in March of 2020 felt like a microcosmic acknowledgment of the broader shutdown of society. What if there were no more new shows every again? What if lockdown never ended?

Suffice to say that when I heard that Goose would be broadcasting a series of livestreams in mid-March, I was over the moon about it. It had been a few weeks at that point since my life (and everyone else's) had been reduced to a fog of liminal uncertainty occasionally punctuated by moments of sheer terror, and even just the idea that someone out there somewhere was still making art, making music, made it feel like maybe that liminality might not last forever.

Now, imagine me putting on an Old Man Cardigan and relaxing back into my rocking chair before starting into this next part...

Now, back then, at least in the music world, livestreaming wasn't at all the thing it would become during the pandemic and then beyond. The Live From Out There livestream series (which was where these Goose streams showed up originally) was this weird, eclectic coalition of up-and-coming artists and musicians using a relatively untested livestreaming platform to put their work out there into the world at a time when everything felt shut down. It was like a traveling carnival for your TV or computer screen, and there was more than a bit of Station Eleven about it, considering the circumstances.

I remember having to figure out for the first time how to pay for a webcast and then how to set up my TV to actually connect to my computer to play it, which is wild to think about now, many, many live concert streams later. But it gives you a sense, too, of how exciting and new the whole thing felt at the time: we couldn't fix COVID, but we weren't going to stop making and enjoying art in the meantime.

Later, of course, there would be livestreams galore as musicians and other artists used the format throughout the pandemic to get their art out into the world and/or to maintain a revenue stream in the absence of large gatherings. In my own particular musical circles, Joe Russo's Almost Dead would eventually debut a webcast series of archival releases that ran once a week for months and Trey Anastasio and his band would stream from the empty Beacon Theater in New York City for eight weeks in a row, and The Beacon Jams in particular still hold a special place in my heart not just because of the music but because of the times that it was in response to...but at first there was sort of just Goose, alone, doing this new thing a week or two into lockdown while everyone else was at home sanitizing their apples one by one.

As the story goes, the band and their crew all sort of just left the road when lockdown started, holed up together at "T's House" as one big pod, and focused on getting some new music out to people before eventually dispersing once it became clear that things weren't going to be back to normal by April.

Eventually, a smaller, quarantining version of the band and crew would record and release a series of moody, acoustic streams from "The Solarium," and ultimately the whole band (plus a new member) would livestream the entire Bingo Tour "festival" over the course of two weekends all more or less before any other bands caught up. But first there was just these three sets from "T's House" on 3/15, 3/21, and 3/27, and I very clearly remember watching each of the three live as they happened, and then again and again later, feeling each time like I was reaching and briefly grabbing some sense of normalcy before it slipped away again an hour or so later.

There was also something charmingly ad hoc about the entire thing, from the haphazardly moving but intensely close-up cinematography, to homey details like the brief cuts to the crew chilling on a couch or a friend cooking in the kitchen, to stripped-down "in the round" setup the band played in (Rick sitting on his own amp instead of a chair was a nice touch). We weren't just being given new music to enjoy, but also being granted an extremely intimate look into the process of how it was made. Plus, there was honestly a part of me that, by late March, drew a lot of solace from watching a houseful of people having fun together: something that I wasn't able to experience myself and badly missed.

Even outside of the videos themselves, the audio from those sets became the soundtrack to that first spring for me. I played them through my headphones while I sat at the kitchen table, rushing to get remote classes set up for the first time in time for spring term. A few weeks later, I played them through my earbuds when I finally started taking solo walks around town (while making sure to dodge down a side street if I saw another walker). Later still, I played them in the car when I started finally venturing out to Moore Park and then Mountain Lakes Wilderness.

Honestly, they aren't even particularly great sets of music by the band's usual standards, but there's still something about them (and the video of the studio space in particular) that is stamped on my brain and that takes me back to that first COVID lockdown like nothing else does. Since, I've seen the same band who recorded these sets in that tiny living room play to a sold-out Red Rocks crowd and to a full Warfield Theater while Phil Lesh watched from a private booth. The huge growth of the band since still feels a little weird in and of itself, but what's even more striking to me is how much the videos of these "T's House" sets feel like concerts I was "there" for just as much as that 2022 Red Rocks show or the most recent run of shows I saw in late 2024.

Anyway, this is "Rosewood Heart" from the 3/21 set, both because it's one of the few videos from those sets that the band has officially released since, and because this particular version was one of the first breadcrumbs that I followed to find my way back to something approaching a normal life during that weird and awful spring of 2020. And because the jam holds up. The last few minutes are especially gorgeous.

[breadbut3d]

Just a short "about me" thing ig idk

(that was a lie. This is not short)

Hey! My pronouns are he/they. (still not 100% sure tho so might (will) change in the future), Enby Aroace :) You can call me Bread.

NSFW DNI. This is my space to do stuff. I post what I want to.

Please don't ask for donations. If you do it will be deleted.

I ramble a lot which you can see when I talk about my fandoms later lol.

Asks are open if you want to make an art request or ask questions (Wow really?!) or something idk. I'm bored and want to draw something. Can be fandom or Oc related idc.

Fandoms and tags and stuff under cut.

Tags just so I can find posts easier (Did I just spend like an hour of my life going back and tagging all these? yes yes I did. Was it worth it? probably not) -

#I has thoughts - original posts / posts where I give an opinion ig

#Bread cooks (no it doesn't it toasts) - for post's I'm really proud of / I think are cool

#Wow attentions :D - original posts with over like 30 notes (Might go up in the future)

#so questions!! - asks

#BreadButOc - Oc related suff. Not much yet but there might be more in the future.

#the schools do be schooling - just school rants and homework rants and stuff because I hate my school so much.

#bread does the drawing - all of my little drawings, doodles, and stuff I put effort into. (not fanart tho. That's just in the #fanart tag)

#Breadmation - animation stuff

Normal level of engagement fandoms in blue, extra level of engagement fandoms in orange, Like the thing but not "in the fandom" in green, used to like but I have posted about so it stays on here in pink, extra ramble in normal,

Main fandoms:

Doctor who (who could have guessed), the life series and hermitcraft more the life series side but still. Mainly Joel's POV (when I say mainly I mean almost exclusively) but sometimes Mumbo as well, writing (both fan fic and non-fanfic although normally I'll just post about fanfic). (Speaking of fanfic Shameless self promotion), Shoot from the hip, Torchwood

Stuff I like but won't post about (that often):

The amazing digital circus not in the fandom a whole lot. I have dipped my toe into it a few times but never properly gotten into it, Undertale never been in the fandom but I love the game. Playing through genocide rn and it's so fun (yes I have already done pacifist don't worry), Sherlock and co best podcast ever, Good omens the ending of season 2 literally gave me depression I wish I was joking, The owl house Hooty is the best character ever. I will take no critisism, Ghosts (the uk version. Can't stand the american one), Severance season 2 is over and I'm totally normal about it, split fiction idk just something about it man I'm a writer what can I say??, Our flag means death I love the dumb little gay pirates even if they are fucking morons. Also Lucius my beloved! I love him so much. Best character. 10/10. See my live reaction here. I was not prepared lol. Romeo and Juliet apparently????? I'm just here for Mercutio and Benvolio but still. Since when was I this much of a nerd??

(there's probably more that I'm forgetting but I'll add if I remember)

Might as well do my (main) ships while we’re at it:

Thoschei. Literally all of them. This has basically become my life. It’s not healthy I know but what can I do? Don't answer that, Bencutio They make me ill. I'm not even kidding I stopped breathing once because of them, Lokius, Aziracrow Fun fact these two were actually what made me discover fanfic and fandom spaces, Caphavers, Stobotnik. I don't post about them a lot but when I finally see sonic 3 you know I will go insane over them EDIT: I have seen sonic 3. I am insane about them, Janto I'm not okay about them. Especially Ianto. He's my boy!! :D, Zoe x mio (split fiction),

tbh most of my ships are with my oc’s. I would go into detail about them but you don’t need a 5000 word essay on why they are the best blorbos to ever blorbo.

Anyway hope you have a good day/night/whatevertimeitisforyourightnow.

(this was longer than I planned it to be but oh well. The more the merrier or something.)

[ronaldanthony4]

finally March, the start of my favourite time of year. The weather begins to warm up, and the world awakens from its winter slumber. For me, March marks the beginning of what I like to call "having a fun season." It's a time for adventure, exploration, and most importantly, spending quality time with friends. As the months go by, I always look forward to the laughter, inside jokes, and unforgettable memories of this season. March is just the beginning of all the fun that's in store for me in the coming months.

But March holds even more significance for me this year. It's also the international month of femininity, and I couldn't let it pass without doing something special. I decided to bring together five of my beloved original characters, each unique and representative of different aspects of femininity. They are Liliana, Penny, Evelyn, Sandra, and Ella - collectively known as "ASLEEP," an acronym made from the first letter of each of their names, including their only male member Arlon.

I wanted to create something truly remarkable, a piece of art that would showcase their individuality and sisterhood. I spent hours brainstorming ideas until I finally settled on a concept: two versions of the same artwork, both featuring the five girls. In one version, they would be dressed in stylish strapless short baby doll dresses, strolling through a colourful mall; in the other, they would be completely naked, surrounded by nature in a serene lush garden. The contrast between the two settings highlights the versatility and diversity of women, and how they can thrive in any environment.

As an artist, I'm constantly looking for ways to improve my craft and push myself creatively. Recently, I discovered an incredible tool that utilizes AI technology to enhance and de-noise artwork, called "BigJPG." With this software, I can digitise my traditional inked outlines without worrying about captured dust or rough strokes. The possibilities are endless! I was eager to test this new method on my latest project and see if it lived up to its promise. I began by drawing and inking the body bases on paper, just as I did in the past.

However, for the faces, I opted to use my current Android tablet. My first attempt left me feeling hopeful but also aware of areas where I could improve. The lines were cleaner and sharper, but I realized that I needed to switch to a 0.5 fine liner pen to achieve the desired effect. The final result reminded me of the style in the animated series "My Little Pony," with bold outlines that gave the characters a playful, vibrant appearance. Overall, the combination of traditional and digital techniques allowed me to experiment and refine my artwork in a new way.

Although the new method reduced the time spent inking by half, it still took me two hours to complete the faces of the group. Colouring them took me from morning till noon, but the result was well worth it. Seeing the five girls come to life on my screen filled me with pride and satisfaction. Their distinct personalities shone through, and the contrast between the two versions was striking. The combination of traditional and digital techniques added depth and dimension to my artwork, enhancing the overall visual impact. I am excited to see how this hybrid approach will further elevate my creative process and final pieces in the future.

This experience taught me that sometimes taking risks and trying new things can lead to amazing breakthroughs. I plan to continue creating group artwork, possibly once or twice a week, using this innovative technique. It's exciting to think about the potential it holds and the opportunities it opens up for me as an artist. As I sit here admiring the finished pieces, I feel grateful for these five OCs that I brought to my creative endeavours. They represent the spirit of friendship and unity that makes this time of year so special.

Here's to March, femininity, and the power of art to bring people together. Cheers!

[jeff-kamikow]

Hack These 3 Ecommerce Trends in 2023 | Jeffrey Kamikow

Jeffrey Kamikow has noticed the distinctions between ecommerce and “regular” commerce are falling fast, if they ever really existed at all. No matter what your business does, who it sells to, or how it’s built to make money, it needs a cohesive ecommerce (or at least e-conversion) strategy.

What this looks like on the ground, of course, is up to you. No one can hold your hand and tell you that this is how you turn your online dross into ecommerce gold.

What experienced marketing professionals like Jeff Kamikow can tell you is how to capitalize on late-breaking ecommerce trends — how to ride the wave that everyone knows is cresting, but few are exactly sure how to catch without wiping out.

These three ecommerce trends are all set to build or crest in 2016. Which are you most looking forward to capitalizing on?

Multichannel Is the Way to Go

Ventureburn has an in-depth look at the emerging power of multichannel marketing and sales. If you have time, definitely read the whole thing. Here’s the short version: Since your customers access your ecommerce platform on a variety of devices, you need to tailor your marketing campaigns to capture them all.

Use mobile ad networks to turbocharge conversion rates and reach customers opportunistically, retargeting systems to catch prospects on the conversion bubble, traditional PPC and search campaigns to draw in desktop-bound users, video and email to build awareness and loyalty, and non-digital word of mouth campaigns (brand ambassadors, anyone?) to develop legitimacy.

Content Marketing Works Pretty Much Everywhere

Think no one reads your product descriptions, ad copy or “about us” blurb? Think again. Content is the once and future king of ecommerce, naysayers be darned. What’s different for 2016 and beyond? In a word, quality. We’ve been hearing the drumbeat about quality content for years, but it’s (unfortunately) been possible to skate by with subpar, corner-cutting content until relatively recently. That’s certainly not going to be the case in 2016, and likely won’t be for the foreseeable future. Make sure your ecommerce portal’s content engine is well-oiled and primed to purr. From your product descriptions and reviews to parent-page content, blog and sales collateral, everything you produce needs to be on-message, authentic and structured to sell.

Responsive, Ready or All In? Either Way, It’s Mobile Now & Mobile Forever

Mobile ad networks aren’t the only mobile-centric ecommerce trend set to shake up the digital landscape in 2016 and beyond. Thanks to recent algorithm changes by Google and other search engines, ecommerce sites that don’t have mobile-friendly architectures and designs risk drastic hits to search visibility and performance.

If you haven’t already, get on the stick and invest in a mobile-friendly overhaul that touches every aspect of your ecommerce operation — including ancillary pieces like confirmation emails and tracking tools. An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure here.

Which ecommerce trend are you most looking forward to in 2016? Which are you most skeptical about?