#this was quite the experience

[xamag-draws]

[Monster High] so since pink lagoona is a hot topic in the fandom, i though it'd be a fun challenge to try and make some pink lagoonas myself. there's actually a lot of material to work with imo!

these are all essentially looks for a recolored g1 lagoona, only the last one being intended for her g3 personality. i wanted to make more for g3, but didn't quite like them in execution, so maybe another time..

tropical treasure: beautiful, glamorous, colorful, but a bit more of an aquarium decoration than a strange beast. loosely inspired by bettas

ghost ship cruise: etherial haunty lagoona, inspired by jellyfish. light, translucent and probably cold to the touch

coy classic: elegant mermaid pond lagoona, inspired by koi fish. this one is kind of an amalgamation of her g1 dolls that exists in my head tbh

little axolotl: cute and quirky, like the new lagoona. inspired by axolotls and sea slugs :)

[cemeterything]

an angle i enjoy in cosmic/eldritch horror is when, instead resorting to the old classic "the horrors being so incomprehensible that they break your brain and drive you mad" cliché, the premise is that in comprehending the horrors you are so changed by the experience that your new state is indistinguishable to an outside observer from madness. you comprehend the unknowable just fine, but actually communicating that to anyone else is impossible because they just don't have the mental framework required to understand it. the eldritch horrors don't drive you mad. what does is the ordinary everyday horror of finding yourself isolated, ridiculed and doubted at every turn, no matter how hard you try to make yourself heard and understood.

[ao3commentoftheday]

managing creative envy

Just like in other areas of our lives, it's easy to be jealous of others when we create in fandom spaces and post online - the online aspect of fandom just offers more opportunities for it. Hits, kudos, comments, reblogs. Whatever unit of measurement you look at, there's always some number out there ready to tell you who's "better" and who's "worse" at whatever creative endeavor you engage in.

Except that none of those numbers actually gauge skill or quality.

When we're jealous of those numbers, what we actually wish we had isn't bigger numbers, it's attention. Reassurance. Excitement. Community. Whether the number is 5 or 5000, that's what it represents. We want those things and that other person has more of them, and so we end up jealous.

To manage that jealousy, we need to understand what we need and then find ways to get it. It might not come from posting on AO3, but maybe it comes from a local writer's group. Maybe there's someone in your life that you wish cared a little more about your "silly stories" and took you more seriously when you spoke about writing. Maybe what's missing isn't related to writing at all and it's more about having someone who cares about you and thinks you're important.

But numbers are just one thing to be jealous of. Perhaps the envy is instead because of another person's abilities. They come up with such interest plots! They have such fun ideas! They always have the perfect words, the singing phrases. For them it's easy, and for me it's just impossible!

Whether it's easy for them or not isn't what's making us envious, though. It's not about them and their abilities at all. It's about feeling like our own skills are lacking. The envy comes in because that person has what we want and don't yet have.

If we want to get past this type of envy, we need to refocus our energy away from being sad or angry or hopeless because another person is able to do something. Focus instead on celebrating the things we already do well. Take the time to notice improvements. Identify specific things we want to do better, and figure out how to learn. Remember, asking for help is always an option - and it might even lead to that feeling of community that might be lacking too.

Emotions are information that we need to take the time to interpret. Take the time to reflect on what's causing it. Find the thing that's missing from your experience and then figure out how to fill the gap.

[fairycosmos]

whats the deal with the stigma around giving up anyway. yeah this is hard so i do not want to do it anymore. we don’t keep our hand inside a burning flame just to feel like a martyr. i’m off to get a milkshake 

[popcornoncemore]

My best friend who was raised Mormon had a coffee today and we just called for an hour and she was talking so fast and switching topics all the time and she told me the same story like three times

[satelliteduster]

oh my god i forgot to post my absolute favorite strip from gay comix (issue #2, 1981)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I want it back / I drag its dead weight forward.

[tea-cat-arts]

Shen Yuan getting transported into pidw isn't "the system punishing him for being a lazy internet hater," but instead representative of "step 1 of the creative process: getting so mad at something you decide to go write your own fucking book" in this essay I will

[roseofhybrids]

Since @sm-baby decided to grace us with the digital carnival comic today. Figured I'd express my gratitude with a small gift

How to turn 3-4 hours into 5 seconds

[jomeimei421]

Felt a bit nostalgic watching RT shut down…Here are the og faves again for old times sake 💙

[adealiz]

Disheartened

[otaku553]

He’s perfectly sane I swear

My submission for @where-does-the-heart-lie‘s DTIYS! Congrats on one year on tumblr!! Your art is always an absolute delight to see :D I hope this does it justice!

[eddwardtheseventhspacewizard]

Hot tip: Don’t trama dump and then flirt is the same breath to someone you’ve know for less than a day because what the hell man. I totally get trama bonding but you cannot call me cute right after you tell me you’ve been assaulted.

[barghest-land]

i'm not designed for this snow he said😔

[thelastunison]

forgot to mention it before but hi I finally started reading Dungeon Meshi like a week ago and now I decided to color in one of my favorite pages so far

[felixravinstills]

Festus Creed and Sejanus Plinth Sassing Each Other at the 10th Annual Reaping Ceremony

—The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023)