#sorry it's just been milestone art recently

[ministarfruit]

LEADER AT 250K!!! LET'S GOOO💙

[foxfirexo]

my minecraft base on a server with a couple ppl; i am very proud of how it is turning out, the vibes are cozy and it has very organically expanded over time :3

tiny bit of story feel free to ignore and just scroll past but i feel like oversharing so fuck u (kindly <3)

ive always been pretty creative even if i spent the last decade or so telling myself i wasnt. when i was little it was lego, when i got older it was minecraft (among other things)

but being an audhd transgirl growing up in a very conservative southern baptist household (and as a PK and MK at that ;-;) and whose very existence was just fundamentally at odds with the teachings i was raised, i felt a lot of lot of pressure to suppress any self expression or identity i might have and with that went a lot of my creativity

after all, how am i supposed to be creative without expressing myself? and if ive numbed all the thoughts that i want to share bc they get me in trouble w my parents, what am i supposed to put into my art?

also being told your whole childhood that you're a guy and receiving all that lovely generational societal trauma of male gender roles and expectations really crushed the pointless wonderful meanderings of my mind. god i cringe a bit now(w compassion<3) but i used to brag about how obsessed i was with productivity, efficiency, logic, order but in hindsight i think it was 98% just feeling like i had to be a high achieving eventually bread winning "guy"

anyway as such ive had a very on again off again relationship w minecraft. it was a coping mechanism when i was young so ive put probably a good 5k+ hours into it but it became increasingly difficult to enjoy as i got older and ive gone years at a time never touching the damn game

its funny bc you could probably chart my whole healing journey and my ups and downs of my mental health by just measuring # of hrs spent in mc per month

but very recently ive been finally reaching a point (thank u therapist) that i am allowing myself the joy of self expression, that i am accepting and loving myself without the judgement of my youth holding me back, that i no longer feel like i have to hide myself away for fear of being crushed again because i have the self love to stand on my own two feet no matter what anybody else thinks

as silly as this probably sounds, joining tumblr just over a week ago has actually played a part in this too. ill probably ramble more ab that some other time whenever i feel like oversharing again but suffice it to say that this environment is incredible and everyone on this platform has made me feel so so so comfortable in my own skin being myself sharing my thoughts and feelings and just existing :3

and ya its a bit goofy but im actually seeing this milestone in how im playing minecraft. not only am i playing again (pretty regularly, too!) but im... just fucking around. no plan, no goal, if i have an idea pop into my head i just go out and do it but im equally content to just strip mine, chop trees, tend to my farms, whatever sounds good in the moment.....

and im building again too!!! no worrying about doing it "right", no stressing about wasting time bc i didnt count something right and now i have to move that wall or i changed my mind and now i have to redo all my flooring... just chipping away at it, trying out new blocks or decor ideas, enjoying it more for the process than the finished product and never needing anything to truly be finished

so ya :3 i havent felt this amazing playing minecraft since probably 2014/15 and im super proud of myself for getting to this point, its been a long journey and im by no means done but silly little things like this give me so so so sooo much hope and encouragement ^^

k thats all if u actually read all that im sorry or ur welcome lol

[dayz-ina-daze]

So… this is. A bit of an emotional post for me to make, and I’ve rewritten it a few times and cried over it far more, just because I’ve been feeling very lost and hopeless recently, and I just… really want some advice. Some suggestions. … Some comfort, even.

I turn 20 in April. I spent my last “milestone” birthday, the 18th, half-convinced that I was dying because I had undiagnosed POTS, narcolepsy, and intense chronic pain that genuinely made me feel like I was on death’s door… so, uh, I didn’t really do anything special for that birthday. Or my 19th, as I was also in very poor health… though I’ve now come to the understanding, two years later, that this “poor health” is just. Not ever going to get better.

I haven’t done something “big” for a birthday since I was a lot younger. And with the way things are shaping up for me, this might be the last birthday I’m able to share with my family before I’m inevitably kicked out because I just can’t keep up with college and the deal was I either stay in school or work to stay at home, and I can’t get a physical job for reasons that’ll become clearer later on.

So… This all to say, I’d like to do something “big” for this birthday. But… I have some pretty heavy restrictions. I don’t have a wheelchair (The cheapest one I have my eye on is about $300 out of pocket, and I just. Don’t have that money. Ive been trying to save up for that, though, as it would help me get an actual job + let me get out of my house more with significantly less worry… I’ve been begging my doctors to help me get it covered by insurance, but they claim that it’ll just make me regress, which is… a whole other issue) and can only walk maybe 5-10 minutes with a cane before I need to rest. If I push myself, I’ll be bedbound with blinding pain for the next day or so, or I’ll just straight up pass out — or, usually, both. The weather is turning warmer, and I have a severe case of heat intolerance, so I can’t be outside for long.

I’m not a fan of museums or aquariums or the like… Im not smart enough for escape rooms… Bowling is out. Most arcades are out. I don’t live in a very accessible town… I don’t really want to go and see a movie; that just doesn’t feel like “enough” of a thing to go and do… So, my point here is: Does anyone have any suggestions for what I could possibly go out and do? Just random local town suggestions… I like writing and reading and art and animals haha, if that helps spark anything…

Sorry if this is just… dumb. I probably won’t get a lot of answers anyway, I’m just… I want to do something. And I’d just like some suggestions… maybe some reassurance that it’ll get better someday, and I’ll be able to have a normal birthday again… I dunno’.

Thank you for reading :) and thank you for any suggestions

[writingwhimsey]

Heyyyy!!

Congratulations for the followers milestone!!

If the asks are still open, can I ask for a 'cuddles during a rainy day' trope with Kenshin? (Its not in your list but I thought it'd be cute♥) A fluff or comfort fic would be nice but you can make it you want. Thanks in advance!

Thank you for the request and I am sorry for taking so long to get to this. I hope it was worth the wait and that you enjoy it!

Lazy Day

Kenshin sat in a council meeting, a rather disgruntled expression on his face. Sasuke and the warlords of Kasugayama Castle had noticed that he had been even more stabby than usual… a term Sasuke had used to point out his lord’s foul mood.

After the council had finished, most of the men cleared out. Shingen, Sasuke, Yukimura, Yoshimoto, and Kanetsugu remained. “What is it?” Kenshin asked, glaring at all of them. “Are you all finally wanting a good battle?”

“No, no. Don’t even think of reaching for that blade.” Shingen replied.

“Though it is a beautiful blade.” Yoshimoto remarked. “It really is a work of art.”

“We’ve noticed that you…well you haven’t been very happy here recently, Lord Kenshin.” Sasuke pointed out.

“You’ve been lashing out more than usual.” Yukimura agreed.

“Is there perhaps something going on with you and our lovely goddess?” Shingen asked.

Kenshin glared. “MY goddess.” He corrected. 

Shingen just smiled unaffected. “So it is something to do with her.”

“You know, I thought your foul moods would ease up once you two got together.” Yukimura quipped.

“There has been a significant decrease in KU’s since they got together.” Sasuke stated. “Though they have started to increase once again, which makes me believe that there is something up.”

“It’s nothing.” Kenshin said.

“There is something troubling the princess?” Yoshimoto asked, eyeing Kenshin. For someone who could seem so lackadaisical, Yoshimoto could be quite observant.

Kenshin sighed. “I can’t fight the sky.”

All of the men looked at him, dumbfounded for a moment. Shingen was then fighting off a chuckle as he looked at Kenshin. He however couldn’t keep the amused smile from his face. “Are you saying the princess has been feeling down because of the rain we’ve been having?”

“Yes, dammit and I can’t make it stop raining.” Kenshin replied. “She’s been wanting to go out for several days now, but the rain prevents it. If I could fight the heavens to make her happy, I would.”

“Wow…I can’t believe you got that out of him or even understood what he meant in the first place.” Yukimura said, looking at Shingen.

“You are a useful Kenshin translator.” Sasuke agreed.

“If anyone could make the heavens bend to their will it would be you, Lord Kenshin.” Kanetsugu spoke up.

“Don’t give him any ideas.” Sasuke said, just imagining having to pull Kenshin back from trying to stab a cloud or fight a lightning bolt.

“I think the solution is simple.” Shingen said. “You can’t go out, so just make some time for the two of you to spend together inside.”

“You know, in our original time,” Sasuke spoke up, “rainy days are perfect for doing nothing.”

“Your suggestion makes no sense, Sasuke,” Kenshin replied, pulling out his sword and holding it to his ninja’s throat.

Sasuke sighed. “That’s the third KU of the day.” He muttered before meeting his lord’s gaze. “What I am trying to say is, in our time, people will spend a lazy day together when it rains. Don’t get out of your night clothes. Maybe read…couples might…cuddle.”

“A lazy day?” Kenshin asked.

“Yes, a lazy day.” Sasuke replied.

Kenshin seemed to debate for a moment, enjoying the idea of spending the day with his love…he especially liked the idea of cuddling her all day. He sheathed his sword. “Alright, we’ll try this plan of yours.”

“I will take care of everything so you don’t have to worry about anything other than spending time with the princess.” Kanetsugu told his lord.

“Good.” Kenshin replied, his mood already seemingly improved.

The next day…

The Oda Princess groaned as wakefulness came to her and she could hear the sound of rain pattering outside once again. “Ugh…”

Kenshin’s warm lips brushed against her forehead. “What’s the matter?” He asked.

“It’s raining again.” She answered him, frowning slightly as she opened her eyes to see his handsome face.

Kenshin lifted his hand to caress her cheek gently. “I wish I could make the rain stop…”

“But you can’t so don’t try and fight the sky.” She said, a smile coming to her face at the thought.

Kenshin chuckled. “Alright…but my schedule is clear for the day. Sasuke suggested we could spend a lazy day together since it is raining.”

“A lazy day?”  She mused. “That does sound nice.”

Kenshin smiled as he pulled her closer and kissed her gently on the lips. “I hope you’re prepared to not leave my arms today.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Sasuke mentioned that in your time, couples will use a rainy day as an excuse to cuddle all day.” Kenshin answered. 

The princess smiled. “That does sound nice.”

The maids were coming in to bring them breakfast then. The princess’s cheeks reddened at being seen by the maids cuddling Kenshin, but Kenshin felt no such shame. In fact his embrace only tightened, The maids bowed, smiles on their faces as they left.

“We should eat the food while it’s hot.” Kenshin said. “I had the cooks prepare all of your favorites.”

The princess smiled. “Thank you, Kenshin.”

The pair were crawling out of bed and going to sit down in front of their trays. When his lover went to sit beside him, Kenshin pulled her into his lap. “I told you, you are staying in my arms all day.”

She smiled, her cheeks reddening, but she was happy none the less. “Well…I do like the sound of that.”

The lovers ate their breakfast together, feeding each other and sharing kisses and the warm embrace. Afterwards they moved to the covered porch off of their room, Kenshin bringing a blanket and wrapping them up together.

The princess snuggled up with Kenshin as they sat watching the rain. “Hmm, this is the perfect way to  spend the day.” She said. “I wish we could spend every rainy day like this.”

Kenshin kissed her cheek. “Whatever it takes to make you happy.” He said. “And keeping you in the cage of my arms is the perfect way to spend any day to me.”

She nuzzled into his chest. “I love you, Kenshin.”

“I love you, too.” Kenshin replied, pulling her close to share a deep kiss, pouring all of his love for her into the kiss. It was a simple and lazy day spent together, but it was the perfect way to spend it. Kenshin couldn’t imagine being happier. Never had he imagined that he would find doing nothing all day could be so fulfilling.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

HI BRAINROTTTTTTTT I know I’ve been radio-silent lately (college life has been, admittedly, kicking my ass) BUT I wanted to reach out and give a little life update that I thought might make you smile!

I recently got into a relationship— my first completely willing, self-initiated relationship, with somebody who actually treats me like a human being (!!! which is honestly a major milestone for me, as I’ve never. uh. had that before)! Genuinely I’ve never met somebody so compassionate and patient and empathetic and,, GRAHH I could ramble about her for hours honestly,, ANYWAYS that’s beside the point! Not only has she been actively encouraging me to ramble about The Arcana, but I’ve actually shown her a handful of your headcanons, and she’s mentioned loving your writing & finding the headcanons adorable!!! So you’ve not only got my support, but hers as well, hehe :]€

Not to mention, she’s actually been asking me to share the headcanons and posts that resonate with me most, and has been making references to a handful of them !!! It makes me grin every single time,,

On that note though— your headcanons have also given me the words to describe & express not only some of my own experiences (particularly with EDs, S/A, insecurity, and much, much more), but also express my wants and needs around those things in a way I’ve never been able to before— and they’ve been a big help in my relationship so far in terms of finding ways to communicate my needs & boundaries by using your writing headcanons as a base for those conversations (I have no clue if this is making any sense; I really hope it is, haha!)

ANYWAYS !!! All of this to say, things have been wild lately— I’ve been happier these past two months than I’ve ever been, honestly— and your writing & openness has helped me and my partner figure out, express, & even connect about our wants and needs in ways we wouldn’t be able to otherwise— so I really can’t thank you enough!

As an attempt at compensation though, here’s two silly doodles of Julian I did recently that I thought might make you smile. :]€

I hope you’re doing well, my friend! Remember to take care of yourself out there, keep doing the things that make you happy, & remember that you have friends in your corner !!

@lurkingposting I am so sorry it took me so long to respond to this, I just couldn't find the words -

There are so many emotions you stirred up with this message: gratitude both for your good fortune and for my small chance to assist you with it, joy on your behalf, pride for how well you're doing - not to mention how deeply humbled I am by the sheer amount of credit you're giving my work, when this is clearly something you've put so much effort into accomplishing!! Well done to both of you for building something so healthy and being so brave about facing your pain and difficulties!!

I am so, so very happy for you friend, and I'm wishing you and your partner only the best moving forward. May you have the sweetest love story :)

Much love to both of you -

brainrot <3

(P.S. - thank you for the Julian art!! I love your style, and his little academic mumbling moments XD)

[velvet-cupcake-games]

Made Marion Development Update, November 2022

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for your patience with our skipped October update. We're in that awkward stage of development where it's a lot of writing and behind-the-scenes work, so we just didn't have a lot to show last month.

The Writing Department:

I've hit my first major milestone in Robin's route! Here's hoping that writing goes ever faster from here on out. It's been a huge struggle for me since my bout with long Covid, because my brain keeps fighting me and making it difficult for me to pull out words. But I've been writing some fanfic and that's actually been helping me make more progress on Made Marion's script as I retrain my skull-encased electrified tapioca to string sentences together. Check our socials over the next month (or maybe just Tumblr, who knows how long Twitter will be up at this juncture) if you're a fan of Gilded Shadows and want to see me playing around with the crew from Quill's route. I'll post a link when I'm done!

The Art Department:

Ysolt, on the left, may be familiar to some of you who check our Discord. She was a possible backer-designed sprite who wasn't claimed by our character design backers, so we collected suggestions from our Discord participants for her design! 

At the start of the game, Geoffrey's old Lady Chamberlain is about to get married and quit her job. He needs somebody to run Nottingham Hold, which is partly why he was closing his marriage contract with Marion's father. What happens when his prospective bride disappears or runs away with the Sherwood rebels and he never meets or is rejected by "Lady Anne"? He hires the recently-widowed Lady Ysolt to be his new Lady Chamberlain. She works for him on every route except Geoff/Gui's and Alanna's. She looks quite competent, doesn't she?

On the right is Fawzia. She is many things: freebooter turned smuggler, Meissa's friend, unsung hero of the internal revolt that ended the Nibirian War. She's the reason Meissa has so many nice Nibirian fabrics and art objects in their home. She also helps supply the Rebellion. As someone who left her native Sunjata due to her lack of citizenship status in any city-state, Fawzia is a fan of freedom movements. Fun fact: She will be a love interest in our third planned game,Fatebreaker, which is set during the Nibirian revolt. Sorry to those of you who would like to romance her now - never fear, you can romance her slightly younger self later!

The Programming Department:

Every time I swear I'm done with screens (any of y'all who have played with Ren'py know what I'm talking about), I remember that the darn things can be very useful sometimes.

Neutral endings, like the one pictured above, come with a sepia tone screen. Good endings are full color and bad endings are black and white - perhaps with a bit of blood splatter for those really bad endings.

We are Hiring!

We are currently looking for a freelance 2D Visual FX artist to join our team for a series of commissions over the rest of development. We're looking for some simple animations to spruce up the game, such as sword swing FX during combat scenes and some magic spell effects. Please see our job announcement and if you or anybody you know is a freelance artist with animated VFX skills, contact me via Twitter, Tumblr, or Discord (I don't recommend KS because we're moving quickly and it doesn't always alert me when I have messages).

That's the Made Marion news from November! See you next month!

[ugh-yoongi]

some streamer you suck!seokjin drabbles pls 🤲

oh, you suck!jin my beloved. thank you for wanting more of him! i hope you enjoy this. <3

read you suck! here / milestone celebration

pairing: you suck!seokjin x f. reader

wc: 644

warnings: just a few bad words. this is all fluff.

Seokjin screams as he gets killed on-screen.

In his headphones, Jungkook cackles wildly. It’d been a bad idea, getting him into streaming, but if people liked Seokjin on his own, they like him ten times more with Jungkook. (Mostly because Jungkook is a brat who knows nothing about loyalty. Most of their subscribers tune in just to see how Jungkook’s going to fuck him over, and he always delivers.)

“Sorry, hyung,” Jungkook says, but his smile is wide and scheming, bunny teeth making him look far more innocent than he is.

It’s worse when Seokjin acts all indignant about it, so he just plasters on a smile of his own. “It’s fine, Jungkook-ah.”

Then he returns the favor. Hides behind a stack of crates and promptly kills Jungkook’s character with a headshot.

They go back and forth for hours, coming up with increasingly creative ways to kill one another despite being on the same team. Jungkook sneaks up behind him and stabs him in the back because life imitates art; Seokjin drops a boulder on him. Jungkook drop-kicks him off a cliff; Seokjin shoots him with some kind of laser and vaporizes him.

While Jungkook grumbles and whines to his subs, Seokjin reads over the comments in his own chat. Most are about the game, but there are plenty asking about his regular life, too. They ask about his recent trip to Jeju and all the cool pictures he’d taken, if Xander has bitten him recently, what anime he’s currently watching.

And some ask about you, too.

A shy, genuine smile takes over his face and his chat are relentless, comments immediately pouring in poking fun at him. Some of his subscribers have been with him since the beginning, when the two of you were just hesitant, emotionally constipated roommates, so they’ve seen every iteration of your relationship. You’d had to explain to him what a ship name was, because it’d trended once when he let it slip that your anniversary was the next day and he wouldn’t be streaming, and then you’d had to explain it again when you showed him all the explicit fanfiction of him and Jungkook.

(His subscribers loved you before, but they loved you even more after you joined his stream one day and someone jokingly asked you which Jinkook fic was your favorite and you actually had an answer. Seokjin is still trying to live up to your legendary status.)

He streams for a little while longer. Hears you shuffling around the apartment, in the middle of your nightly routine. You stay up late on the weekends, wait for him to be done. Even after a year, Seokjin finds himself unable to sleep if he can’t pester you to cuddle him before bed—run your fingers through his hair, press soft kisses to his forehead, hold his hand.

After he’s done, he takes a quick shower and meets you in your bedroom. Slips on a thin pair of pajama pants and slides beneath the duvet, immediately fitting himself to your back. Your warmth seeps into his own skin, heats him up from the inside, and all he can do is sigh.

Content. He’s lived a thousand lifetimes and has never felt this content.

“Hi,” he says, words spoken into the space just beneath your ear.

You reach back, fingers immediately in his hair the way he likes. Content. “Hi, Jinnie. How was your stream?”

“Jungkook was a bastard.” You laugh. He’s so content. “But it was good. Chat asked about you.”

“Oh? Tell them I’m behind on my reading list.”

Seokjin chokes, starts wheezing. You roll over and hit his back, still laughing, and Seokjin feels dizzy in so many ways and for so many reasons. He feels like he’s blooming. Finally feels whole.

For the first time, he’s so thankful that he’ll never run out of time.

[kowlsy]

The Strad Ep. 18 with Brett Yang

Me and Ash worked together to transcribe this for anyone who wanted to read it! 

[Davina]: Hi and welcome to the Strad Podcast! I’m Davina Shum, I’m a cellist, and I’m the online editor at The Strad. Regular visitors to thestrad.com will know that TwoSet Violin celebrated a significant milestone late in 2022. Upon reaching 4 million subscribers on YouTube, the violin-comedy duo put on a performance of a lifetime with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, with Brett Yang playing the Mendelssohn violin concerto and Eddy Chen joining him later for the Bach Double. Not only this, but for the occasion, Tarisio loaned the pair two Stradivari Violins from 1708 –The Empress Caterina, and the Regent Superb. What an opportunity!

Brett and I chatted recently about his experience playing this marvellous instrument,  what it taught him about his playing, as well as other instruments he’s played throughout his career. Here he is.

Brett, welcome to the Strad Podcast! Wonderful to have you here today. You’re joining me from Singapore so it’s quite a global collaboration today. First of all, let’s talk a little bit about instruments that you’ve played throughout your lifetime, throughout your career. Readers of the Strad will know that you’ve been lucky enough recently to play the 1708 Empress Caterina Stradivari violin for your four million subs concert in November 2022. So, a wonderful opportunity, but opportunities like that don’t just come out of nowhere – there’s a build-up to that. So, tell me a little bit about your first instruments that you played.

Brett: Well, sure! First of all, thank you for having me on board. And thank you to all the Strad listeners out there. It’s an honour to be here. Violins! It’s always interesting, I felt like when you grow up as a kid, you kind of just get passed an instrument. And you just go along with it, right. And as you grow, and as you learn, practising more and more, you start developing [an] awareness for, let’s say, quality of sound. Or, type of violin you’re playing, the playability of it, things like that.

My first full-sized instrument was a Scrollavezza, and I hadn’t changed for, honestly, a good… 16 years. 17– 18– 17 years. Sorry, I’m just adding numbers up. So, about 17 years, I played on the Scrollavezza. As a student, shout-out to my parents, actually, for helping me buy that instrument. It’s definitely… They’re very supportive. I think definitely when you play an instrument this long, you start growing with it, right? And a Scrollavezza, like … the violins change over time. The sounds change over time. So, that was kind of my first instrument. I never had many experiences playing multiple instruments. Because… back then, I was just really focused on practising. So, it was just whatever I had, then, right. Fast forward to now, I mean, right now I play on a Widenhouse, which is a new violin.

But talking about the Strad, that’s super interesting! That was on loan by Tarisio. We went to New York last year, in 2022, in April. We visited Tarisio to make a video out of it, I think they were auctioning the Da Vinci Stradivari. So they had us there to, you know, play a bit, share to our audiences what the world of instruments is like. Talking about Stradivaris, Guarneris,  and all these makers. Because, there are a lot of people out there that don’t know who these makers are, actually, from our audience. So, I think they really find it fascinating how crazy expensive it can be, right. Because it’s almost like a collectible, it’s like Picasso, in terms of art works. Things like that.

The Strad [for the four million concert] came about when I reached out to Carlos, so shout-out to Carlos. I was like, “Hey, we’re doing this concert, what does it look like when you loan instruments?” and Carlos was like, “Hm, how about we get you a couple of Strads?” and I was like, “Sounds fine by me!” [laughs]

Davina: “Yeah, okay, yeah.”

Brett: “Yeah, sure, why not?”

People always ask, did we get to choose or not? I kind of left it in his hands; I knew he would pick great instruments for us. Stradivaris, I mean – – at this point, I don’t really care. It’s a Stradivari, that’s, you can’t really complain, right? And Carlos picked two violins for Eddy and myself, both from 1708. So I played the Empress Caterina, and Eddy played on the Regent. Now, I’ve been fortunate enough to play on Strads before, in videos, so I’ve had a slight taste of what it was like, playing Strads. But I’ve never had a Strad for, you know, a longer time. To practise on, to get to know. You know, I was asking like, a lot of soloists, Hilary, Ray, “Hey, what is it like playing on a Strad? Are there any tips?” A lot of them were just saying, look, it takes time to get used to. You have to spend time, you have to play it more. And that was definitely something I experienced. You have to change technique in a very delicate way to adapt to a Strad. And, you hear these stories, “Oh, a Strad, you can’t just kind of force the sound out, or really play into the string like a Guarneri  or Vuillaume, you have to kind of let it sing by itself”. And that was definitely the experience.

So I actually changed my technique a little bit during the month leading up to the concert. And that was very scary. So, even though it was a Strad, I was also very nervous because I was not familiar with it.

Davina: That’s interesting, isn’t it. I’ve heard the same thing about Strads as well. I’ve not played a Strad cello before, that may change one day, who knows [laughs], but I have heard that definitely it takes getting used to. That’s exactly what people say, it’s not always smooth sailing. In a way, it kind of plays you, the instrument and you, you’re playing, you have to sort of meet… in the middle. I know you’ve just said you had to change your technique in a certain way. What sort of techniques did you have to change? In terms of the right hand, the left hand?

Brett: Yeah, I like what you said – it’s almost like a dance together with the instrument. You can’t just lead all the time, you have to work with your partner on a dance floor, right? It kind of felt like that. The biggest change I noticed, actually, was in my right hand, bow arm. The left hand had some changes, mainly just, you know, typical intonation, spacing issues, when you're shifting up and down. The size of the violin is slightly different to the violin I normally play on. But, the bow really was the big change for me. The Strad just would not give way. If I decide to press a little bit too hard, it kind of just won’t give me the colourful, velvery sound it has, that this Empress Caterina had. And so, it really taught me how to approach my bow technique, actually. Because after playing on a Strad for a month, I’ve noticed my sound production is better.

Davina: Right, when you go back to your other instrument, you mean?

Brett: Yes. Because I’m trying to recreate that same sound. And a Strad really told me how to make that sound.

Davina: That’s interesting. So, was it a change of, you know – I mean, we can get quite technical here, because it’s string players. But you know, in terms of contact point, or like, pressure, like, what sort of things had to change? And also, how much of it was to do with the setup? I’m aware that the setup back in 1708 would have been very different, the way that people would have approached the strings, presumably gut strings, would have been quite different because you really have to coax the sound out of a string, in that way. You know, you can’t press into gut strings because your instrument will just say, “No, thank you.” How much of the setup has an influence on the way you produce the sound?

Brett: Oh, a lot! Honestly, I couldn’t make any changes – I was too scared. You know, I was like, “Ooh, maybe I could…” You know, tweaking the sound post, and things like that, it was too close to the concert. But, in terms of, like, the setup and the technique, I had to use a lot more bow, in terms of bow speed. My distribution of my bow weight had to change a lot too. So, I really had to kind of change my bowing technique in a way where when I was playing piano, soft, I wasn’t just lightening the bow up, I was actually removing weight. It’s very hard to explain. It’s like, there’s still weight,so you still have that fullness in that tone…

Davina: Yeah.

Brett: But I think that’s what they talk about, what they say about pianists: your softness has to project to the end of the hall.

Davina: Yeah, that’s the hard thing about playing piano – soft — It sounds like we’re talking about the instrument.

[both laugh]

Davina: Yes, piano is very hard. But that’s the difficult thing about playing soft, isn’t it, to have that core, that still focused centre of the sound, but at a lower dynamic. And it can hurt physically if you’re not doing it correctly, right.

Brett: Exactly! And it can’t sound like it’s whispery, or like you lost contact point… [sighs] fluffy, right. It needs to still have that core in the sound. And the Strad really taught me how to do that. I mean, I’m no professional at it, but it really taught me how to create that sound. And it was a new sound, actually. It taught me, you know, it’s like you have to know what you want in order to be able to create that sound you want. If you can’t hear it, it’d be pretty hard to make that sound. So the Strad kind of gave me guidance in the type of tone I like. And actually, I’ll be honest, when I first played it – this is going to sound crazy – when I first played the Empress Caterina, I wasn’t so sure if I liked the tone. But very quickly, I started understanding it more and more. It was almost like my ears hadn’t developed the understanding for the sound I’m hearing. And then literally over the course of a month, wow, I heard the difference when I went back to my violin. I was like, no way! It’s undisputable, the tone is so much more complex. It offers a lot more colour, you know. But, when I first played it, I couldn’t hear it.

Davina: Yeah, I could imagine that if you were new to a Strad, and you have this sound, and initially, you just think, “Oh I don’t like this sound because it’s unfamiliar”, but, what it does offer, if you allow yourself to open up to it, is that it’s got [a] much wider colour palette.

Brett: Yes.

Davina: And it enables you to discover those, but you have to put in the work to actually find those colours and develop your ear, in that sense.

Brett: Yes.

Davina: I mean, I wanted to ask you a little bit about the approach to a very old instrument like this – 1708 – compared with modern instruments. You know, you mentioned the instruments you’ve played, that you currently play, and also the Scrollavezza. I’ve played a cello by him, before, once. I tried one out.

Brett: Oh, wow!

Davina: I met his daughter in Cremona, I met her, and I played her father’s cello from 2000. So, presumably, modern instruments, when you play an instrument where you’re the only owner to have had it, compared with a Strad or a [instrument from an] old Italian master that has been played by numerous hands before, you know. Tell me a little bit about how you think that has an impact on the instrument’s sound. You know,  you mentioned before about how, like, [a] modern instrument, it sort of grows, you sort of grow with it.

Brett: Well, [laughs], I’m wondering, “Oh my god, do I even deserve to play this Strad right no?” That’s the first thought. But I think in terms of the sound … [sighs] To be honest, there’s so many times where I … A soloist has played my instrument and it sounds completely different, and I’m just like “Huh, wow, I got to practise. It does not sound like the violin that I play on!” [laughs] That’s kind of the modern instrument’s side.

Davina: That’s kind of the weird thing, is hearing your own instrument back, because we’re not always in a position to do that. But someone recently played my instrument and I play a modern instrument from 2005, and I heard it and I was like, “What? That’s not what it sounds like!” I mean, there are other factors as well, the fact that it’s not right under your ear, and you’re at a distance, but it’s interesting, seeing how a different person approaches your–

Brett: Oh, for sure! And especially when you get soloist to play.  Eddy’s always like “Woah, I’ve never heard that from your violin before!”–

Davina: You’re like, ‘Oh, thanks.’ [laughs]

Brett: “–That does not sound lik– Oh thanks, thanks, thanks for that” [laughs]]

But I just think in terms of the Strad – it just seems like it’s more developed, over time. It’s a great maker, and time was on its side, on the violin’s side, right. And, it’s been played a lot more, and has a lot more colours to offer. Even the slightest bow change, the slightest pressure or weight that’s placed on it, different contact point. It’s very obvious that the sound has changed. And actually, the way I see it, the Strad kind of guides you do discover the sounds, which is what I mean by when I went back to my instrument. It kind of gave me tools to try to figure out how to make the sound I want, right. I started getting a bit more experimental. It’s, “Oh, okay, this is the type of sound I can make on this violin. Oh, this is the type of sound. Oh, it gives me …is kind of more … edgier sound if I’m here. Oh, here’s a bit of a more … rounder tone or warmer colour, you know, yellow, sunshine.” I don’t– things like that.

Davina: Kind of daunting, at first, because I imagine that when you’ve got something like this, you can kind of have multi-option anxiety, like ‘Oh my god, where on Earth do I start?’ I don’t know why this is the first example to come to my head, but, for example: if you have a drill with a thousand different drill bits, you just think, “Oh my goodness, like, what on Earth am I going to use all of these tiny little drill bits for?” Then, once you get a bit more education, and you understand maybe a little bit more about your craft, you’ll find the right drill bit for the right occasion.

Brett: Yes. And can I add also, I was very scared of hitting it, or dropping it, that is all very true. So actually, the first week, I was super wary of just, playing, even playing fortissimo. I know I’ve played violin for a really long time, but I just really didn’t want to chip it in the corner or do something like that. You know, of course it happens over time, it just happens, it’s normal, of course, sometimes you hit the side when you’re getting really into the piece. Everyone does it. But I just didn’t want to be that person. [laughs] In the first week anyway.

Davina: The instrument’s survived this long, this is not the end of the road, not with me!!Brett: Yeah, but that gge me a little bit of like– it made me a little bit anxious, at the beginning. Actually we made a video about it, funny enough, in the video I did, the tip of my bow hit the side of the Srad a little bit. Eddy was like “WOAH!” and I was like “NO!” So that was a bit of an experience.

Davina: Bit scary, yeah.

Brett: Bit scary.

Davina: Yeah, definitely. That would just be the time that your hand would just open involuntarily.

That was Brett Yang, and that was just an excerpt of our conversation. Keep an eye out on thestrad.com in the coming weeks for a series of web articles featuring Brett.

[minevn]

WE DID IT!

We've reached 100 followers everyone! Thank you so much for your support! This has been such a journey and never in a million years would I have expected people to like and enjoy my stories as much as I do, seriously, it means so much to me! Thank you all once again for your support, it's been amazing and has made me so happy to read all of your asks

I would also like to apologize for not posting as much recently. My brain has been a little fried from writing, but I'm slowly but surely working on the drafts! Sorry for the people who sent asks and are waiting!! Here's to hoping this event will be a little bit more of a break and motivate me again!

ANYWAAAAAYS!! For the poll, Mine doodles won! I'll be taking 50 requests for Mine doodles! I've also decided to add some flat colors! As mentioned in the poll post, in the beginning you may only request one drawing that way anyone who wants to request gets a chance, after requests start dwindling/ a certain time period ends(still deciding, maybe a week or two!) you'll be able to request more, all a ask is that you don't spam please! No need to worry if you don't get to ask a request, either because you weren't here the first time, or time ran out or all the slots filled up, this event will be repeated eventually and you can ask then!

I do have a few more things you can request/rules and what you can't! Please read carefully and if you have any questions let me know :3

CAN

Request multiple Mine characters in one piece

Request your oc/s with a Mine character or multiple!

If there's a specific pose and/or outfit you want me to draw the Mine cast in, please send in some references, thank you!

I ask that you send requests in my askbox, you can turn on anon ofc!

Also please be kind of specific about what you want. like if you want to suggest maybe like Yani and Jun, like what are they doing, is there any sort of place you had in mind for where they are? Any kind of outfits you want to put them in? If you just want a drawing of one of the characters, you can just say (name) plain and I'll try to come up with something! I'll also assume that an ask with a Mine character and you oc is romantic unless stated otherwise, so please be as specific as you can, even if you think I may not need it or it should be obvious, I need things stated to me clearly :3

CANNOT

Request nsfw(I'll probably have that event on twitter at some point!)

honestly, anything that goes against my rules so like no proship or bigotry or anything else gross like incest(Please dni with my stuff if you're into any of that stuff)

No requesting other people's yandere's(You can suggest your yandere oc with mine though if you want to, just not any solo drawings of a yandere not in Mine.) Also if you're requesting your own yandere, I ask that you keep anon off for that ask, just so I can make sure it actually is your yandere, thank you! Also if you don't want your account to me linked with mine, then you can send me a message of your ask and I'll send the ask to myself :3

Also I'd prefer to not draw any solos of your ocs(Once again, totally fine if you want me to draw them with the Mine cast :3)

Please don't request shading or clean lineart, it tuckers me out quickly and makes me lose motivation, if I did that, this event would never finish LMAO

Please don't rush me either, I have a life outside of Tumblr and Mine. I may also not like how the drawing is turning out(I'm sorta a perfectionist when it comes to my own art) and I may also lose motivation or just may not feel like drawing(Kind of like what's happening with writing rn)

Honestly, for my don'ts I don't think I have to worry, everyone who has followed me has been really kind and respectful but I felt the need to clarify things and say things because of some of the stuff I've seen on social media. Anyways, HAPPY 100 FOLLOWER MILESTONE EVENT!! I appreciate each and every one of you so much more then you could ever know, I wish I could express my joy and gratitude better! MWAH MWAH <333333

With that, let the event BEGIN!!

[anythingredfox]

Thank you, 21k viewers and 771 Followers! 😄💖🎉 This picture is to celebrate the Milestones of the 21k views of my fanart: “Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon” in DeviantART, and 771 Followers from all my different social media sites!  🥳 🎊  And really, to just show my appreciation for you all! 💖💖

I really appreciate everyone’s support in all my works! 💖💖 It has been 2 years since I first started, although the first year I did not post much as I had to undergo a surgery. I was 21 years old then.

Also, my OCD was still pretty bad back then, so all my art had signs of OCD all over it (One example, I must draw exactly 2 clouds on the right, and 1 cloud on the left). My OCD got a bit better in 2022, though, but it still comes and goes!

I’ve never had any art tutorial or class, and I actually had pretty much stopped drawing around 2014, when my OCD got worse. I only recently started drawing more in 2021 again, because it was one of the only things left that I still could do, because of my 6 severe illnesses. (I had to give up pro gaming.) My personal favorite traditional art, ✏️ drawn during the time when I had just started to draw again, is Anna and Elsa from “Frozen”. ❄️

Because of my 6 severe illnesses, I also worry if my senses, reflexes or brain might get affected.  

It was also my first time ever using the internet, because I’ve never had a PC or any form of PC before this; the closest to the internet I’ve ever gotten to before this was just online multiplayer… So, all the support you’ve shown me is encouraging! And, sorry if my social skills are kinda awkward, haha 😅

But, once again, I would really like to thank everyone who has shown me so much love, and especially to the ones who have supported me all this time… Thank you so, so much! 😊

Special thanks to some people that I’ve interacted with: (in alphabetical order)

(DeviantART) Annadonobird Blastbee482 Boyrobin Brad128bit Burke23 Comercole2 Cosmichael   DonhimesamaDaifutari Huntergamer273 lenarratorexe666 MewPsycat MikeTheZoroark NG64Machinima Pawprint1 Sa6044 SakuraUmby UltraDragonite

(Instagram) BlackCatsArts13 Cat_puter Ccseasisee Gamer_central_2000 Gamermel21   Imptchoo Michiyuwi Notarealname1008 Susancarolball Taylorismaybe unholy_flamelash woolygrammmm_ Xavi.rodes.art

(Other Websites) Carina Müller @dragon--n93 guujiiyaee @jedisamurai97 @rainbow-kandi-korn22 Spiral // Smart Ent. - Official

(Fortnite) devilkuroo Diecimila Psam11 ss2982 はりねづみ

(Special Thanks) BlueAuraDog

I want to thank more people, but there’s no space, so;

To everyone else who’s not on the list because I’m running out of description space, thanks so much for your support all this while! We may not have talked much, or at all, but I really appreciate everything that you do! 💖💖🌈

🫶

[signs-of-the-moon]

Hi guys! Sorry for the radio silence throughout most of February. I stated it on my main blog, but I'll also mention here that for a while I was going through a strong creative block. Literally couldn't do anything creative--no writing, drawing, even daydreaming. It was very frustrating and did not help my mental health at all. I think it was a residual side effect of burnout from both work and the holidays. Not to mention there's still a bunch of special occasions going on that take my energy (Valentine's day, my datemate' bday 4 days after, then President's day which made work swamped with irritable customers. Now I've got my sister and mother's bdays coming up in March and they're both milestone birthdays too).

I think another reason for the block was that I wasn't consuming enough media, stories, and fanwork to be inspired. But I've been reading a lot of fics recently, as well as trying to reread TNP, and that's brought my spark back! Idk if it will last, or for how long, but I'm riding this train til I can't no more.

All that's to say more from Signs of the Moon will be out soon! I've got the newest chapter of Moon High ready for a final edit. I'm trying to get the next chapter of Snowfrost's Fate finished as well (I haven't abandoned the story, it's just been put waay back on the back burner while I write Moon High 'cause balancing multiple POVs is challenging). And the next chapter of MH is also being written. I have plans for some mini drabbles/one shot pieces as well but no promises on those coming out. I also want to make some art but that might have to wait til I take vacation days from work in March.

As always, thank you all for your patience and support <3

[painterofhorizons]

How do I tell my Co workers I don't want to draw bday cards for everyone all the time?

Once me Co workers found out I could draw (which is, I can draw better then them who don't draw at all, not because I do draw at lot these days, I just happen to technically be able to draw) they started gifting me art supplies for my birthday instead of book store gift cards, but also expected me to draw birthday cards for anyone who has a birthday. At first it was only for the big days, like when someone hits a milestone. Now the mail just says "and poh, can you add a drawn card as usual" when I'm here like

No, actually I can't. I don't want to. Actually I don't draw much these days. Months. Years. I've been struggling with things and it has drained my creativity and drawing feels like a chore and even more so when you make me draw just because technically I can draw. And I hate it so much and don't know how to bring it up. Like yes, I did draw the bday card for my boss who tourney 50 recently. Big milestone, and also I really like her. But the other colleague with the upcoming bday that doesn't have a milestone and that I barely even like? I don't feel like drawing her a card just because technically I could.

It's like - I used to love LOTR and the hobbit. Then my friend group started playing LOTR dnd and it turned out even if I love them and thought I'd love LOTR dnd it's mentally draining for me with the socialising and always problems with finding a date where everyone can and the act of dnd'ing while in theory I love in reality is more draining then rewarding for me. And it has ruined my love for LOTR to some extent. I watch the hobbit because it's one of my fav movies and my stomach twists because we yet have to schedule our new session again.

And I feel like my colleagues expecting me to draw bday cards for everyone every year will do the same with my anyways conflicted relationship with the wonderful hobby of drawing.

But also how do I tell them without doing a mental Striptease with them? I just want to tell them "no can't do, sorry".

If anyone has an idea what to do with the situation in all ears, really.

[heartfulselkie]

Do you ever take requests (or commissions???)

Sorry for slow reply I know this has been in my inbox for a while!

I was planning on taking a few requests since I hit a follower milestone recently - but then a bunch of personal stuff came up as well as me being sick lately so I just haven't really been able to do that.

As for commissions... I have thought about that (since the extra money would be a help). But the issue I keep coming to is that I primarily work with traditional mediums. And I'm sure if I were to do a commission with markers or colour pencils, then people would expect those physical copies to be mailed to them and that's just a whole thing I'd need to figure out logistics for (I dunno if people would be satisfied with a scan of the drawing and I wouldn't want people to think I'm cheating them out of what they've paid for or something)

I've been working a bit with digital art since I got a tablet not too long ago, but that's a steep learning curve and I don't think anything I produce digitally is up to the same standard I have for traditional, so there's not really any chance of my using digital art for any kind of commission anytime soon...

Tldr: no I'm not doing either at the moment, but I may be open to a couple of requests in the future

[amaretto-mp4]

Some updates + small plans going forward:

Things have been quiet here and on other platforms recently, and I’m finding it increasingly difficult to regulate my social media usage with something I can work with, given my current situation with uni and lapsing into old habits. I could set time frames and schedules to share my personal art and ideas more frequently, but even that takes a toll - seems like the brain fog and my sense of urgency for tasks I really have to do are completely out of whack. I could go on about this for a long time but I guess that time would be better spent just trying to get those going again.

Sorry for the rant/ bit of an outburst, I figured I’ll be honest with some thoughts I’ve been having. I thought I might have myself together for my grad year but it seems I have a lot of catching up to do. I’ll probably continue to sporadically update my side page on IG and here on Tumblr, but will likely take a longer time off from my main pages - until this semester is completely done and dusted. Which is for another 2 plus weeks.

I’m also thinking about some small milestones I might complete or start when all this is over, like putting up a kofi system and maybe putting out my updated commissions info. I also have a bunch of old merch (og creature art) I’d like to clear since I might also be attending a convention or two with friends in the next year. Maybe a small Etsy shop? We’ll see.

Once again, not a very cheery update but yeah. Life happens.

[askamnesiamoonjumper]

Hey guys! Gonna give a lil update (both a mini life update and a update for the au stuff):

Tumblr is still messed up for me (currently posting this from pc) so I’m guessing it has to do with the bells they added to the dash considering that’s when it happened, so I’m assuming it’ll be back once they take them away, but if not I might have to go to staff or something we’ll see 

Anyway I got hat game on my pc for Christmas! but it sets my laptop on fire and runs very badly lmao so I’m probably gonna see if I can get a gaming computer for my birthday so I can play it properly 

Also sorry for not being very active lately, we went on vacation but I got sick afterwards and then a big snow storm hit, so just got a bit overwhelmed from all that happening one after another lol, I’m not sick anymore thankfully but the snow is still around 

In au related news as y’all know I’ve hit some art/writing block lately, so I’ve not started on the next prologue chapter just yet but thankfully I did get the plot of it figured out in a discord call, as I had been struggling to think of how it would play out bc it’s gonna be a A B plot situation, but I finally got a way for it to work out nicely ^^ so I got a little outline of the events jotted down, just haven’t started on the actual thing yet 

So after that chapter the prologue will be finished and so things can flow into the main fic, speaking of the main fic you’d assume I’d start working on chapter 2 after finishing the prologue and you WOULD be right, but I recently decided I want to go back and edit/rewrite chapter 1 just bc my writing improved so I wanna add extra scenes or better descriptions etc etc so it’s getting a revamp but not an outright rewrite just bc that thing is way too long to redo it entirely 💀

Also on the topic of writing i kept having the issue of thinking all the chapters outside of snatchers prologue chapter (heartburn) where all not the best writing, especially compared to aforementioned snatcher chapter that had way higher writing quality, I originally just chalked it up to being in the zone™️ when writing that one, but I realized I think it MIGHT be because it’s the only one not being adapted from a comic, all the others had comic or tumblr related things tied to them, but the snatcher fic was all it had going for itself, thus it had more descriptive words or spent longer on events etc because it didn’t have anything to go off of, where as the other fics ended up accidentally feeling more akin to scripts to me in how they did descriptions, ESPECIALLY forget me not because it’s literally just word for word event for event the same as it’s comic form, not sure if I’m making sense but what I’m getting at is that I’m glad that after this next chapter we are in completely new territory! No comics or ask blog stuff is tied to any of the chapters to come, so perhaps this will mean their writing will improve because they’ll only have the words to rely on, like I said idk if this little rant was necessary I just enjoy talking about my writing process is all 

But uh yeah tldr: next fic chapter will happen eventually, after that I’m going back to redo the first main fic chapter, and sorry I didn’t get to do any holiday art but maybe I will last minute do some doodles I dunno lol, OH, and I still gotta figure out a follower milestone event bc I’m super excited about it!^^ like I said of anyone has suggestions I’d love any ideas! 

Happy holidays! :3

[tearsasmascara]

GK IM SORRY IF THIS IS LATE, I HAVENT BEEN ONLINE MUCH LATELY BUT HAPPY 100 QUINN!! ey we dont talk much but its always nice whenever we do<33 i hope u had/have a good day and may u reach more milestones in the future :DD! speaking of milestones urhm may i join ur event😳 im always curious abt how people view me tbh FEKJFH congrats on 100 followers once again bb!!

HELLO!!! hi welcome to my event !! we’re vv recent mutuals but nevertheless i hope you like what i whip out for you

want to participate?

so for you, we don’t know each other too well bit i think this one is a little surprising, but nevertheless

cmon don’t keep me waiting!

childe!! so this might be surprising but lemme explain

first of all, who else is a chaotic beam of happiness other then childe? he’s such a goofy silly person and that reminds me of you, but he’s willing to do a lot for the one he loves and uskshd you give those vibes. he also is very good at what he does, and you’re really good at art ongomgomomgomgomgomgomgotmgotm (fangirls). i know he’s manipulative and egotistical and all that stuff and by choosing childe for you i promise (pinky promise) i’m not saying any of those are you haslhdd. i chose childe because he always brings a smile on my face whenever i see him in game and he’s really playful and cheerful just like you. he’s someone that i really enjoy being around ngl.

your color!! organs! i’m gonna keep that typo bc it’s funny is def orange!! i feel like this color is you because it’s cheerful and underrated. it’s really pretty and it’s always everywhere (i swear your drawings are everywhere on [tumblr]) and just overall you radiate very much orange energy.

your moodboard is mostly off vibes bc we don’t know each other well (id love to get to know you more tho)<3

i hope you like it!!