#incapable of focusing

[isilrina]

Happy #ArtMonday, everyone!

Today, I'm thrilled to share the story behind a logo I completed two weeks ago. It all began during a creative session while I was working on my "workspace" piece, listening to "Making of a Legend" by The Phantoms. The music sparked a surge of inspiration, prompting me to pause and sketch out the initial concept for this logo. You can even catch a glimpse of this moment in the time-lapse of my "workspace" piece on Instagram.

But later that same day, fate dealt a cruel blow. In the midst of my hyperfocus, I accidentally closed the project without saving, losing hours of work. Yet, I managed to salvage fragments of the design—just enough to piece together the essence of the final logo.

Despite the setback, I chose to persevere. Typically, I would shelve such projects indefinitely, but this time, I embraced resilience and dove back into the creative process with renewed determination. And you know what? I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Of course, every journey has its setbacks, and losing the original time-lapse was a bitter pill to swallow. It captured the logo's evolution, each idea unfolding in real-time. Nonetheless, I find solace in the fact that the end result surpasses the previous version in every aspect.

This project also marked my venture into working with vectors—a new frontier promising smoother results for future designs. It's a learning curve, to be sure, but one I'm eager to tackle head-on.

So what is this logo about? It's the symbol of one of my OCs from an original story called "Nexus Connection." Meet Alex, also known as Ikaros in the streaming world. He's not the protagonist, but a vital character nonetheless. Alex is a renowned streamer, celebrated for his gaming prowess and commitment to gender equity in gaming—a central theme in our story.

His pseudonym and logo, inspired by the Greek myth of Icarus, symbolize the dangers of unchecked passion. Just as Icarus flew too close to the sun and fell, Alex's journey serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of obsession. It's a reminder that even our deepest passions can consume us if we're not careful.

Reflecting on my recent setback, losing hours of work to hyperfocus, I'm reminded of the importance of balance in all things. Funny how life imitates art, isn't it?

In essence, this logo embodies resilience, creativity, and the power of embracing imperfection, ultimately leading to growth and improvement.

Speaking about all those things, I also wanted to give you a heads-up. I've been off my focus meds for a few days now due to some health issues, and it's been very challenging. Until I'm in the clear, I can't take them anymore (and there's a possibility I might not be cleared, ever). So because of that, my whole creative process is going to be much slower than usual.

My husband and I are going to stay at my parents' house in the south of France for a week, and I'm going to take this time to get better and try to refocus myself, but it might not be enough.

We'll see how this goes. Take care and see you next Monday.

[foldingfittedsheets]

The greatest insult I’ve ever been dealt was my father-in-law dismissively telling me, a born and bred Pacific Northwester, that there was nothing interesting to photograph in forests.

“It’s all just green,” he complained.

Every patient my betrothed has relayed this to has audibly gasped in outrage.

[interdimensionalhellscapeportal]

Obviously this sketch is from an AU where he grew up with regular dental care and also the ability to smile without Vibes of Impending Doom

[makotonaegiunderstander]

something I’ve been thinking abt is how many people think Makoto is immune to despair. I don’t think he is. I think becoming the ultimate Hope was BECAUSE he felt despair. He wouldn’t have fully reached that point without Junko. Makoto becoming such a beacon was his last attempt to avoid completely falling and it wasn’t because he didn’t feel despair, it was because he was too damn stubborn to allow everything to go to waste and he refused to sacrifice his beliefs for someone else’s. His inner monologue tells me he DID experience the same new low the other suvivors did in the final trial, but at the point where he had the choice to give up and die, he looked at the others and he looked at Junko and he couldn’t allow it to happen, not out of self preservation, but because the idea that Junko would have control over their lives made him FURIOUS. and that utter refusal to die kicked in, wether luck or otherwise, and he made the concious effort for one last push while something in him was breaking. He had to be broken in order for the Ultimate Hope to come through so aggressively, bc it could only exist in the face of the Ultimate Despair. He snapped the same way she did, but in the other direction. In what could have been his final moments he chose to embody everything Junko wasn’t, and every single optimistic and luck fueled ideal in him suddenly charged forward and pushed him. It was a combination of the final straw and a choice. Makoto isn’t immune to feeling despair, he’s just too stubborn to fall into it of his own volition. I think that’s why I like that scene in DR3 so much. People were SO SHOCKED Makoto actually fell for the tape, that he actually became despair for a moment. I saw people getting mad or disappointed, saying it was pathetic and Makoto seemed to fall from some sort of pedestal for them. Honestly part of me wonders if that sort of mentality, which clearly people had in universe, affected Makoto a bit. Like he started to see himself as less of a person, subconsciously. Prompting him to take more risks, less self preservation, act way more bold. It seems he has to be reminded a lot not to put himself in danger by his friends, to not do something too reckless. All over the place I would see in regards to that scene either this frivolous ‘oh this was just angst drama with no meaning behind it’ or ‘he can do better than that. he’s so weak’ or ‘come on, there’s no way he’d fall into despair, he’s the Ultimate Hope!’ This kind of mentality, which was kind of ironic considering Ryota was there the entire time saying the same thing and treating Makoto the same way. Like Makoto was superhuman. Like Makoto didn’t feel despair the same way ‘normal people’ did. In a way that was also how Munakata saw Makoto. Makoto stopped being a PERSON to the world when he became Ultimate Hope, he became a concept, a belief system, much the same way Junko ascended beyond herself. But the difference is that treating Makoto that way is the opposite of the reason Makoto became such a representative for hope. He wasn’t doing something no one else could. He was doing something everyone had the chance to, he just… was a little more optimistic, a little more stubborn, a little more ‘gung-ho’ about things. He just took the lead where no one else did, where no one else knew they even COULD in the face of Junko’s unstoppable force. She had overcome the biggest threats and obstacles in the world, what could one person do? And the answer Makoto found was, anything. Everything. It doesn’t all rest on Makoto, he’s just the one that was inspired to try to do what seemed like the impossible. But as evidenced by the change in his friends after that trial, it’s clearly not something only Makoto is capable of. The others pulled out of despair thanks to Makoto, but it was their choice to do so.

“But… this world is so huge, and we’re so small. What can we do…? No, we can probably do anything. Yeah! We can do anything!”

[21angryfrogs]

WE MODDED MORE STOATS INTO INSCRYPTION

[eldritch-bf]

It was actually extremely fucked up of Herbert to immediately call Dan “Danny” after hearing Megan use it in an attempt to emotionally sway him. Such a transparent imitation of intimacy. And yet Dan still sides with him. So who’s to say.

[kermit-coded]

cannot believe pete the plug canonically got back alley top surgery from a mafia doctor. truly the character of all time.

[suckishima]

The trailer for the Garbage Dump movie and Furudate's new mini stories from the movie announcement event got me super hyped and I couldn't stop thinking about this, so here's a little one-shot centered on the moments between and after both the Nekoma and Kamomedai matches :)

Summary: While waiting for the quarter finals of Nationals to start, Kuroo tries to mess with Tsukishima, Yamaguchi's brain short circuits, and Tsukishima continues to play it cool.

Words: 5,935 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi Characters: Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei, Kuroo Tetsurou, Hinata Shouyou Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Canon Compliant, POV Multiple, POV Alternating, Mutual Pining, Volleyball, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Haikyuu!! Chapter 298 Spoilers, Haikyuu!! Chapter 369 Spoilers, Getting Together, One Shot, Some Swearing

Excerpt:

“Have you noticed how Tsukki seems to only compliment people behind their backs?”

Tadashi chuckled. “Oh, definitely. But I hope you weren’t looking for more compliments from him out of me, Kuroo-san, because to be honest he mostly just talks shit about you,” Tadashi said with a not-so-guilty quirk to his lips.

Kuroo barked out a laugh. “No, no that’s fine, I deserve that—what I was wondering was if you knew what he said about you during the match?”

AO3

[sparklepoint]

for @loveotomization and the art trade prompt silence/kiss/betrayal :3c

[mihai-florescu]

Do you think theyd do eichi fs2 during akatsuki climax yes or no cast your votes now

[ninja-boo]

i hate this drawing

[valentinonono]

i think vaggie and angel have more in common then vaggie is willing to admit. i think vaggie's glee when adam got murdered is deeper than it seems. i think vaggie's dislike of angel's attitude is deeper than it seems. i think adam calling the exorcists "his girls" is deeper than it seems. is this anything.

[llitchilitchi]

every time I think about possibly starting a patreon sometime in the future I am hit with the realisation that my imagination and willingness to work on anything is the most fickle thing and I would probably forget to update it for half a year or have nothing to offer for even longer

[musical-chick-13]

"This show is SO good, you should watch it!!"

I gotta be honest. If I look at a character list on Wikipedia and get five characters down without seeing a single woman, it's probably not for me.

[monstrousparalysis]

What if you wanted to write a normal (read: it's gore porn) fic about a man doing consensual Experiments on his rival, but the man himself kept derailing the narration to talk about how much he loves his wife (read: who is also his sister)

[infiniteseriesofhalfways]

i need to pick a writing program and stick to it, all this moving about is gonna drive me to drink